Not what I was hoping for.... Need advice

[totally_addicted]

Tonight my fiancee and I went hunting. We had 3 bucks come in at 7:30 and my fiancee picked a 6 pointer, in velvet, and took a shot at 15 yards. She immediately said she hit him. It was a weird angle for me in the stand so I could not see the shot placement. She hasn't ever shot a deer before, but we have practiced a lot over the past three years and on some nights she out shoots me hands down. Not being sure if she hit it I told her to shoot at one of the other bucks. (We both have tags so I figured the worst that could happen is she shoots a double and I am tagged out for the year.) I really want her to enjoy herself and become as interested in bowhunting as I am or at least so she wants to continue doing it.

So here is where it goes bad. Her 2nd shot was a 23 yard broadside shot. I watched the lighted nock and arrow hit the deer a little high and back but not terrible. BUT there was absolutely no penetration. She pulls back about 45 pounds and was shooting Rage 40KEs. Which after tonight she will no longer shoot. I got out of the stand a few minutes later to check for blood from the first deer. All I could find was a busted half of an arrow that had some blood on the busted end. NO BLOOD anywhere else. We backed out for 2 hours and came back with 3 other people with flashlights and high hopes. We found NO Blood anywhere from the first deer even though half an arrow was most likely lodged in the deer. We did however track the other deer with the shallow wound well over a mile zigzagging through the corn field before the blood dried up as I expected it would.

So long story for this simple question. I have a bummed lady and we need to find her a new broadhead. I am done with mechanical for her. I should have listened originally.

What do you guys recommend?

[Kettle]

It may not be the broad head but the kinetic energy of her arrows. If you do switch to fixed broad heads make sure you paper tune the bow so they fly strait. What grain tip is she shooting and arrow grain. Might be a good idea to increase the overall arrow weight for better penetration.

[Wanderer]

Sorry to hear things didn't work out better.

IMO, the Shuttle T Locks are a good broad head for penetration, including getting through the shoulder blade. They're a small looking broad head but have a similar cutting diameter as most other fixed blades. The small solid blades are strong and very quiet.

I think they're a great choice for most any archer but especially for those who shoot lower draw weights.

[rkhinrichs]

Increase her FOC and use a fix blade. sorry

[leech~~]

This is just my take everyone has their own thoughts. I really don't care much for Mechanical Broad heads. I want some thing that is not going to open if I ding a twig in flight and I want some blades out and cutting right when they hit the Deer to open a larger entrance wound. Bleed out is what kills most Deer and the sooner that happens the better. I want a good blood trail at the hit point, not some where a long ways from my stand once they bleed internally enough to die but have not dropped any or much trailing blood because it's still inside.

The chances of a mechanical broad head not opening or not opening on both sides or becoming damaged and not opening altogether once they hit a rib or bone cuts down their wound opening process. If you think about it there are only milliseconds for a broad head to do it's job once it hits the Deer. I want blades out and causing damage at the point of impact, not doing some mechanical calisthenics a few inch's through the Deer. A good Muzzy or Striker broad head works well. IMO.

[Lunker]

I have been very happy with the G5 Montec fixed. Very solid, single piece broad head. I will continue to shoot them, though I am also adding a mechanical to my arsenal this year also.

[BLACKJACK]

Reading a few articles this summer about the new broadheads and their take was that in high poundage bows expandables are ok but if its a low poundage bow you should shoot fixed blades. I only shoot 52 pounds and I've had many pass-threws on deer with my 100 grain Thunderheads. My rule is that if the blade hits the ground, like on a miss, I put in new blades, so they're always razor sharp.

[Hoyt4]

If you go fixdd blade. Rockets Ultimate steel heads are awesome. I have taken Elk ,Deer and bear with this head no problems. I have Mechanical and fixed in my quiver great luck with both.

On my Elk hunts the state law was fixed blade only and would not use a different head on my next Elk hunt.

Good luck the rest of the season hope she brushes off and gets back after it.

[sticknstring]

Joe - sorry to hear the news! Sounds like an eventful night on stand together - too bad it had to end that way. Pretty neat getting to see a velvet buck too. My wife has shot all three of her deer w/ Thunderheads. She pulls about 43# or so. I would definitely get her into a 1 1/8" diameter or less fixed blade of some sort... plenty to choose from. Let me know if you need some fresh eyes for tracking - I'd be happy to help.

[nbadger23]

That's a bummer for your fiance. I've shot between 40 and 45 lbs for the past 15 years and have used the 3 blade 100 grain muzzy broad heads for probably the same length of time and been very happy with them. I don't know as if there's a "bad" fixed broad head out there, as long as the blades are very sharp.

My two cents after shooting at this draw weight for so many years, try not to have the expectation that any type of a broad head will give you the ability to consistently shoot through the shoulder.

Get her back out practicing to get her confidence back and back in the woods as soon as you can. We've all been there before and likely will again, you just try to learn and make yourself a better hunter as those things happen.

[Archerysniper]

My wife shots the Magnus stingers, in my opinion the are the best for low energy bows.

[Musky hunter 82]

Thanks to Archerysniper my wife is shooting Magnus stingers also. She shoots a Misson craze bow set at 27" draw length and a draw weight of 40#'s. Last week she shot the Magnus 4 blade broadheads for the fist time at our block target and I must say at 20 yards she buried it up to the fletching's. To compare I had her shoot a 3 blade muzzy at the same time and it penetrated 5" less than the Magnus. Really impressed so far, but she hasn't shot a deer with them yet, but the good thing is if they break they have a lifetime guarantee.

[Powerstroke]

I've shot Magnus Stingers, G5 strikers and Slick Tricks. All of them have taken deer for me.

In my quiver I have a combo of the G5 and the slick tricks. Both are replaceable blades, 1 1/8" cut. I like the tip on the G5, but I love the 4-blade cut on the ST's. The hole doesn't close on a 4blade hit.

For what its worth, my 11yr old daughter is pulling just over 30lbs and I have her using the slick tricks. I have the most confidence in them getting to the target.

[mainbutter]

My first bow hunt was with my 50lb limbs backed down to about 45lbs, 27 inch draw.

I used slick tricks, and they sure were slick. Broadside shot that was a little back, missed the guts luckily but hit the liver, it was dead 100 yards away a half hour later.

For my 40lb longbow, I'm going with 2 bladed land sharks 125 grain. Cut on contact and they fly well from a lower poundage bow.

[Bear55]

I'd look into some 2 blade fixed heads.

This is just a shot in the dark but I think that first deer is toast somewhere nearby. If the entry would was up high a little bit with no exit wound there won't be a lot of blood.

2nd deer likely a non-fatal hit and will live.

[nbadger23]

Bear - I was kind of thinking that same thing. I just wasn't sure if the arrow broke off in the front shoulder or in the back legs. If it was up front I'd guess that deer died. If it was back then it likely lived and ended up like a buck I shot one year that had a broad head and part of an arrow embedded in it's pelvic area. I was lucky I didn't cut myself when I was cutting up the hind quarters.

[PropsterII]

I like the G5 Striker recommendation. I don't have experience with the Slick Tricks but have heard good things. The only thing that concerns me about using Slicks with low KE bows is the angle of the blade. But if others say hey, no problems at low poundage, that's great. The Hell Razor from NAP was a great head for my kids as they were coming up, and my daughter still shoots them. The Thunderhead is awesome too even for low poundage. For the NAP heads I think they works so well because of the blade sharpness.

And as a side note I also believe that first deer may be dead, second one iffy. Get yourself a go pro and film some of these first sits with her so that you can reinforce her perception of where or if she hits a deer. But above all, get her pumped back up and back in the saddle. Coyotes gotta eat too.

[totally_addicted]

Unfortunately, I was unable to find either deer. After last night, I devised a game plan to check the thick areas adjacent to the area where the bucks were shot. No blood, no deer anywhere. The one we tracked last night stopped bleeding in the middle of the corn field. At this point I'm out of options. The one that has the arrow somewhere lodged in it, never bled a drop that I know of. I searched high and low. It is the worst feeling in the world to have injured/lost a deer and know it likely died because of the result. I went out and bought some thunderheads and we are going to shoot them tonight to make sure they are flying true.

I am switching back to regular nocks because the added weight to the back of the arrow, due to the lighted nock is not helping us at all.

We will be back in the stand this weekend hoping for another opportunity. She isn't as bummed as I am. She is very positive saying, "At least I proved to myself that I can hit a deer." She is always looking at the glass half full!

[NIBOWMAN]

My daughter shot her first deer with the Muzzy Phantom Mx cut on contact head. With 42# draw at 28yrds she passed through the onside ribs and stuck in the far shoulder. The buck left very little blood trail but we were able to find him about 300 yrds from the stand. Good luck and please tell your fiance it sucks but it does happen. Keep practicing and get that confidence back up.

[Bear55]

You did you best totally_addicted, nothing wrong with that. Early season can sometimes make a recovery all that much harder with thick vegetation, lost one I should have recovered many years ago. I did eventually find it but it was too late and spoiled. It was a high but lethal hit, little to no blood and I walked right by the deer several times. Pretty much had to step on it to find it.

[rkhinrichs]

My daughter shot her first deer with the Muzzy Phantom Mx cut on contact head. With 42# draw at 28yrds she passed through the onside ribs and stuck in the far shoulder. The buck left very little blood trail but we were able to find him about 300 yrds from the stand. Good luck and please tell your fiance it sucks but it does happen. Keep practicing and get that confidence back up.

Muzzy Phantoms Mx are the only broadhead i shoot! my bear this year ran only 40 yards. I have shot my field tips and phantoms and they shoot the same

[PropsterII]

I would not give up on the lighted Nick. That should help you more than the bit of extra foc you might gain.

[totally_addicted]

What does everyone else think about the lighted nock? Keep it or not?

[Rippinlip]

Sorry about the deer, but it happens and let her know it will happen to almost everyone in their lifetime.

As far as lighted nocks, I use them, it will add some more weight, which in turn could help on the force once released. With that being said I will stop buying them when these go dead. I feel with the new bright wraps and fletchings they offer, it's almost as good and a lot cheaper.

They might make a difference if the shot is real late or real early morning. I have had the chance to watch the lighted nock pass through multiple deer and think I could have still seen the flight and recovered the arrow without the nock.

For a fixed broadhead, my wife shoots the Muzzy MX4 and the last deer she shot was a doe at 15 yards with under 40 lbs of pull and got a complete pass through and real good blood and she piled up under 100 yards.

[sticknstring]

I would definitely keep the lighted nocks. They make seeing the hit so much easier. The benefits far outweigh the disadvantages, imo.