unusual shot results

[wabi]

I took my son out and set a few traps for raccoon yesterday afternoon. (the landowner has had problems with them and asked me to reduce the population - to 0 if I can )
When I checked my traps this morning I noticed the landowner's buddy from work was hunting the farm (saw his truck), so I walked in instead of taking the tractor and checked the (empty ) traps, then quietly returned. I stopped to talk to the landowner and drop off a bag of jerky for him. While I was there his buddy from work called and said he just shot a doe with his crossbow, but wasn't sure he could track her and wanted help. We fired up the tractor with the farm trailer attached and headed to the stand. He showed us where she was when he shot and we took the trail. The blood was dark red and only a few drops on the ground, but after a few yards it was "painting" the tall weeds about 2 feet high. I commented it was odd the blood was only on one side of the trail as I took the lead. It was a short trailing job, about 100 yards, but the first thing I noticed when I saw her was no exit wound?????
He shoots a Horton 175# crossbow and carbon arrows with a 3 blade replacable blade head (not sure of the brand), but the arrow was only in her about 6 -8" deep. He said the thought the arrow might have hit a small tree limb and deflected slightly, but the actual hit was right where I would have put it. Slightly high and to the rear on a deer quartering away and below him (he was in my 15' ladder stand) at about 25 yards. He is the type to get a bit excited when the time to pull the trigger arrives, and I never did get a good answer on where exactly he was aiming, but I have a feeling it was - at the deer!
We pulled the arrow and drug her about 60 yards to the creek bed to field dress her. We let him do the field dressing, but I showed him (I've seen him work before ) how to start the cut between the hind legs, then use his fingers to pull up the skin and guide the blade to avoid getting too much cut hair on the meat and keep from slicing the intestines.
I had him work slowly when he got to the diaghpram so I could see the lungs & heart. The arrow got one lung and penetrated the top of the heart, but did not exit it.
I guess the arrow could shed enough velocity/energy if it hit a limb to retard penetration, but I've never seen one from any crossbow penetrate so little with a fixed blade broadhead. I had an expandable open in flight once and stop on a shoulder bone when it flew off course (didn't do much damage, the deer was seen again the next day), but this one only hit a rib on it's way in.
I'd say he was very fortunate to get this deer so easily!

[huntman]

A friend of mine shoots the same bow (if it is an older model about 5 years old) The thing has no power i call it a sling shot~! I told him to change to an Excalibur. If it is a vital shot there should be no reason for that arrow not to be a pass thru at 25 yards!! Or are we just spoiled with the power of the Excal?

[mikej]

i agree i had a horton last year and well now i shoot an excalibur nuff said

[Vladymere]

Last year I shot a amall piebald buck with my Exocet 200. The shot was quartering away from me on the let side of the deer. I am a right handed shooter so my left hand is holding the forestock. I got my thumb up to high (always wondered how anybody could do that) and the string hit my thumb giving me one heck of a blood blister. The shot hit where I aimed but I did not get the expected pass through. The string striking my thumb either robbed the string of energy and/or caused the arrow to impact at an angle so that instead of a pass thorugh the arrow skidded along the ribs and stopped in the front leg "armpit".

I saw the little buck run off with my arrow sticking out of it's side and prayed to God that he would let the buck die quickly.

The buck ran about 70 yards and died behind a downed log. Bled out from a cut artery or vein in the "pit".

I still thank God for the buck's quick demise.

Vlad

[Camper]

I shot a large doe 2 years ago with my 185lbs Exomag, I was in a tree stand and the deer was 6-7 yards. I put the bolt behind her shoulder slightly high (no spine hit) and the bolt did not make a complete pass through however the broadhead did exit with the bolt sticking out 6-10 inches out the other side low. The doe went down within 40 yards and left a blood trail a blind man could follow.

I could not figure out why the bolt did not exit but I think It might have something to do with using the minimum bolt weight and broadhead.
I went up to 125 gr broadheads and have had no problems since (not that there was any problem with that) I was just a little surprised why it would not have exited.

My buddy has a Horton 175 and makes pass-throughs reliably on deer even at extended ranges (40) yards. Nothing wrong with his X-bow (other then it's not an excalibur )

I obviously prefer Excalibur but I don't think the issue was his crossbow
as many deer are shot with low poundage longbows and they get pass throughs