No mans land
- Thread starter Jackalope
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Big_Holla
Senior Member
Saw that last night on FB, man that sure has got to make you wonder!! Heck, it looks like one of my old arrows LOL!
rgecko23
*Supporting Member*
Looks like a shot on even ground as well, not much if any angle too the arrow.... Would of been a kill shot if it was made from a tree stand from the looks of it.....
Buckmaster
Senior Member
Been there, done that. On the biggest buck I've ever shot at. 12 yards from a tree stand. We tracked for a mile before it dried up the next day.
I still lose sleep to this day.
I still lose sleep to this day.
When I first saw that on FB I immediately thought Photoshop. Hard to say these days. Looks to be over half the arrow inside that deer. That opposite shoulder has to have taken a hit too. Deer looks to be very healthy considering theres an arrow in it. I dont know... I'm skeptical. Although I do indeed believe in "no man's land."
Gordo
Senior Member
It 'appears' impact would be below the spine/above the lungs, which is impossible. Its actually above the spine, and non-lethal.
Lack of penetration on that deer in the photo is strange
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No way that's above the spine. Below the spine and above the lungs isn't impossible. It's right there. Many have had it happen. Brock will be along shortly to show a pic of one on cam with a wound right in the sweet spot.
When looking at the photo how much arrow should be in that deer? Without knowing that I can't really guess as to what happened. Initially I am thinking what about a shoulderblade or rib hit with it stopping there? The angle of the arrow makes it look quartering away, but it looks high enough to be in the shoulder blade. Otherwise I am thinking a rib/diaphragm hit which then stopped somehow without hitting any vital structures.
Flatlander
Junior Member
It is possible that the arrow could have hit the rib cage and continued outside the ribs therefore missing anything vital. Just bad luck, 1/2 inch inside and it deflects to the lungs, 1/2 inch outside and it deflects to the shoulder. That's why you need a broadside shot or when quartering away you need to stay back to play the angle.
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That's 2 inch blazers over a 4 inch wrap on an Easton FMJ arrow. I printed the image and used the wrap for scale and came up with 14 inches of arrow on the outside. I redid the measurements using the 2 inch blazer for scale and came up with the same. Even out of a woman's or kids bow there would have been around 10 inches of penetration. The shoulder blade and knuckle is well forward of the hit.
It could be some idiot forgot his arrow with broadheads and so tried to shoot it with a field point, therefore not inflicting the right amount of cutting surface to clip the lungs.
I believe that anyone who as hunted for any amount of time has hit and not recovered a deer. For many reasons, and there are many variables. It is hard to evaluate this shot by just a photo. We do not know how long this particular arrow shaft is, nor do we know what kind of broad head, or the distance, or the shot opportunity. They are all factors and any one of them can result in a wounded animal. A sharp broad head is often overlooked. It is important because the broad head needs to cut through flesh, tissue, and organs to cause hemorrhaging for the animal to die quickly. Make sure your broad heads are sharpened or new. If this person took a hail Mary shot and his arrow lost enough inertia to penetrate the animal then it was a bad decision on behalf of the hunter. Maybe the shot was through brush and the smallest twig threw the arrow off course. Again a bad shot choice. But there are times when everything can be perfect and the 6th sense of the deer wins out over our skill. As Flatlander said, just a fraction of an inch either way can put this arrow into no mans land and the deer winds up surviving.
It makes everything we do that much more important. Please do not overlook or take lightly any aspect of hunting. The skills that we as hunters have constantly need to be honed so we can be the very best that we can be.
I have wounded many deer in the years I have hunted. It is terrible. I try to evaluate my circumstance and learn as much as I can from it so that I do not repeat the same mistake twice. (However...I am very good at making a whole new set of mistakes.)
Happy Hunting Y'all.
It makes everything we do that much more important. Please do not overlook or take lightly any aspect of hunting. The skills that we as hunters have constantly need to be honed so we can be the very best that we can be.
I have wounded many deer in the years I have hunted. It is terrible. I try to evaluate my circumstance and learn as much as I can from it so that I do not repeat the same mistake twice. (However...I am very good at making a whole new set of mistakes.)
Happy Hunting Y'all.
I'm beginning to lean towards Hoytmania on this one. The angle doesn't appear flat enough with the body to be going along the outside of the ribs. Anything just inside the ribs I'm not sure how it wouldn't hit lungs unless it was a field point. Otherwise the only other option is a diaphragm hit which somehow misses the lungs/liver and stomach which the position is just about right for that. There are multiple muscles in the diaphragm so even if you take out one or 2 you can still breathe, just with additional effort and not as efficiently.