Can I put a broadhead through a shoulder?

Okay, I've taken small game with my bow. Pheasant on the ground. I tried that in-the-air stuff, didn't work. Squirrel. Rabbits. I've never taken "big game" with a bow.

I'm using a 60# PSE compound this year and three-blade Muzzy broadheads.

Can I successfully take a shoulder shot on a mule deer or should I always shoot behind the shoulder? I'm trying to learn.

And what about cow elk?

Thanks!

Guy

A deer shoulder won’t be an issue, more importantly the best lung/heart shot will be behind the shoulder angled to the off shoulder


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K. I was thinking that was the best shot placement, right behind the shoulder.

Guy, even with a Muzzy and a fairly heavy arrow I would stay away from the front leg bones. Muzzy's are probably the BEST as far as hammering a bone, but even with my 75lb bow shooting fairly heavy carbons, I have had one not make it very far through a small VA does scapula. Gotten lucky with a couple, but I'd steer away from the bones. My experience is that it is unpredictable at best.

I would NEVER try to get thru an elks leg bone. I am not sure what sorta combo it would take, but it would have to have serious mass and I still wouldn't feel very comfortable with it.

Ribs on the other hand have been smashed without issue over the years.. No issue there at all with just about any decent broadhead.

My cousin's up in Northern NY are pretty crazy archers and use the best of the best bows they can get their hands on. They love bows the way I love great rifles.. They both shoot carbons and Rages and have come to the conclusion that if they stay a few inches back from the front leg they are getting such good, quick kills there is no reason to try and flirt with the leg bones. They go through broadheads like I shoot bullets and they have come to their opinion nothing kills like the Rage, but they have to stay off the leg bones to ensure penetration, even shooting 80lb Hoyts..

Guy, I hunted deer for a long time with a compound. (got 14 of them) I found that shoulder shots are a no-no. You might get lucky once in a while but it's not worth it. Behind the shoulder is the best bet. Neck shots are great but "very" difficult.

Cleanly taking game animals with a bow is predicated on one thing, Exsanguination. The broadhead cutting arteries and internal organs(specifically heart lungs and liver) and a hole, hopefully on both sides, for that blood to exit the body as quickly as possible. Shot angle and placement is key. you do not need a lot of poundage to get a complete passthrough when you have a sharp BH and a well placed shot. depending on your arrow weight you will be generating 60-65 ft lbs of energy which is more than enough for the animals you are going to hunt.

As stated above, stay away from the shoulders!

A good sharp broad head may penetrate the scapula on a small deer if hit higher in the scapula (thinnest part at a 90 degree angle, but at an angle may glance off, only wounding the deer. Also, that high on the shoulder and you are not going to catch much of the lungs, if at all.

I shot a mule deer buck with a 350 fps crossbow once, and he started to move while the arrow was in flight. His onside shoulder came back covering the vitals, and that g5 fixed blade broadhead hit squarely on the shoulder bone above the elbow joint. The 125 gr broadhead was buried halfway into the bone. There was very little bleeding from the wound (15 drops of blood in 1500 yards), and I lost the trail amongst all of the other deer tracks back in the bedding areas. It took me two weeks to finally find that buck and harvest him. He had a good limp, but was otherwise healthy. I wouldn't want you to have to go through that kind of situation. It wasn't fun!

Elk have the densest bone of any animal in north america, so staying away from the shoulder even with rifles is recommended here. Years ago, one of the gun writers performed a penetration test on elk shoulder bones, and his conclusion was that the minimum caliber and bullet weight that would reliably penetrate elk shoulder bones at any angle and still make into the vitals, was a 338 Win Mag with 250 gr bullets. No bow is going to carry that kind of energy.

Have fun with your bow!

I certainly don't have the experience bowhunting that some of these folks do...but, I'd stay away from shoulder shots.

A slightly quartering away, behind the shoulder shot will drop a critter as quick as anything. A friend of mine arrowed a moose this way last year and it only made it three steps before collapsing in a big ol' heap of moose meat.

as everyone said, stay away from the shoulder or any large bones for that matter. Chances are you will not get propper penetration anyways.

This was a kill shot with my 70 pound Destroyer 350 at 40 yards shooting Shuttle T-Locks, on some one else's impale ram. He took a foolish shot quarter towards with a crossbow. Shot penetrated through the bone and just made it through the hart.

Ps. the crossbow shot deflected off the shoulder bone and punctured the animals flank. We search for at lest an hour before spotting it and running it down.



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Guy,

I have taken many WT deer with the bow.
Here are some key points to keep in mind.
-Muzzy 3 blade 100 gr w/ razor sharp blades
-Aim for the exit, low and behind off side front leg
-Most double lung shot deer go 40-50 yds
-Muzzy will blow right through a shoulder blade and exit
-Muzzy will shatter off side leg bone and usually not exit
-Illuminated nock will show exact POI on animal
-Be careful cleaning out your game, broken
arrow/broadhead blade could cut you and require
immediate medical attention!

Best of luck Guy!

JD338

Thanks all

Guy, great advise already given. I shoot a 50lb bow with a 100gr Thunderhead and have zero problems getting pass throughs on deer. I always shoot low behind the shoulder and aim for the lower 1/3. If the deer ducks (and they always do) I get double lungs and if not I get heart. This has always worked for me. My daughter shoots 42lbs and does the same thing with the same results, complete pass throughs. At 60lbs and a sharp Muzzy you'll have no problems what so ever if you put it behind the shoulder and send it through the vitals. Mike

Not much to add that hasn't already been said. Don't intentionally shoot for the shoulder, and a quartering away shot aiming for or tight behind the opposite shoulder is the money shot with archery. Dead broadside behind the shoulder is second best.

I'm not recommending shooting through the shoulder of any large game, but if you were inclined to try I would definitely recommend reading up on and adhering to Dr. Ashby's insights - a lot of his writings / notes can be found at: http://tuffhead.com/education/ashby.html

JD338, pretty much sums up all the important bow hunting points. I'll add, keep arrows in the quiver as long as possible; tripping with razor blades on a pole is not good.

FYI - my experience is a bit different from JD338 though. I've never been able to blow through a shoulder. I've had shoulder hits using a PSE Nova at 60lbs and Jennings Buckmaster 2000 in the mid 60lbs, 2315 Easton Arrows at about 30" and a couple 125 grain broad-heads including Mussy's. I use fingers though, so my arrow flight isn't as clean as those using releases; so my arrows are slower and take awhile to straighten out... For example I had a neck shot on a young buck at 15 yards, arrow broke into three pieces; buck went 15-20 yards after the jugular was sliced and there wasn't any bone contact that I could see. Another buck shot in the neck at about 8 yards, the arrow broke in two and did not penetrate the spine but the buck dropped where he stood. I tend to get clean pass throughs at 20-25+ yards when going just behind the shoulder...

Good luck in your endeavors Guy Miner.

I agree that behind the shoulder is best, I have taken 7 bull elk with a 60lb Mathews and 100g Muzzys and 4 of them were pass throughs with broken ribs on both sides. Ranges from 4 to 32 yards, elk traveled from 15 to 150 yards before dropping. Another large 6x6 herd bull was facing me at a slight quarter and I placed the arrow between the front of shoulder and breast bone, he went about 10 steps and tipped over, arrow penetrated 16 inches and took out heart. This shot was recommended by Chuck Adams in an article he wrote years ago.

69gto":1udl27e7 said:

I agree that behind the shoulder is best, I have taken 7 bull elk with a 60lb Mathews and 100g Muzzys and 4 of them were pass throughs with broken ribs on both sides. Ranges from 4 to 32 yards, elk traveled from 15 to 150 yards before dropping. Another large 6x6 herd bull was facing me at a slight quarter and I placed the arrow between the front of shoulder and breast bone, he went about 10 steps and tipped over, arrow penetrated 16 inches and took out heart. This shot was recommended by Chuck Adams in an article he wrote years ago.

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I was hunting from the ground and took basically that same shot on a doe that caught me at the end of my draw and turned towards me. That was with the old 100 grain 3 bladed wasp broadhead. Took out her windpipe, top of her heart, and 1 lung if I remember right. Needless to say she didn't get far. Came to an abrubt crash in sight.

Nimrod84,

FEIW, I was shooting a Matthews MQ1 set at 65 lbs, drop away rest and a Tru-Ball release. Arrows we're Carbon Express. The bow was fast and quiet. Most of my shots were under 20 yards.

JD338

Muzzy broadhead, drop away rest and tru-ball release?, shuttle t-locks. What happened to seal skin arrow rest and zwickey broadheads property sharpened with a file, a flemish twist strings.

Bruce,

Funny how much archery has changed.
Every year I practice at 40 and 50 yards and wouldn't hesitate to take a shot at that distance yet my average shot distance is 18-20 yards.
I love archery season and the up close and personal challenges that go with it.

JD338