Which shot is more fatal with archery gear

[lugnutz]

Direct shoulder shot, or a gut shot?

[electrician]

i'll bite, what is more fatal then dead?

[oneshot]

^^this^^

[trapperdave]

a good broadhead on not so light shaft will blow right thru shoulder bone and into the boilerroom

(expandles are NOT what I consider good broadheads)

[lugnutz]

I'm sorry i should have said, which is most likely recoverable?

[swilk]

If a person is disciplined.....which we rarely are..... both should be recoverable. Assuming the deer is in fact dead.

Given the choice id take a deep penetrating shoulder hit over a gut hit.

Even with a gut hit ...... if a guy knows its a gut shot and waits hours without pushing the deer he should find it.

[Deleted]

There's a ball on the end if the shoulder bone that can not be penetrated with any broadhead made. It's maybe 2" in diameter. If you hit anything other than this bone, you should get both lungs. If that happens, most deer will die within sight of your stand.

If you hit guts, and don't have a good dog, or extremely good tracking skills and a lot of luck, you likely will not recover. Hundreds are lost every season. Double lungers are almost always recovered.

[deweydutchmen]

Bingo timex that socket is imposable to penetrate,

[billybobteeth]

lol nothing is impossible in the deer woods especially with a 500+gr arrow running fast for the weight and a sharp steel chisel tipped BH.

[kirch86]

I learned the hard way about that shoulder socket last year. . .

[whitetaildave24]

I've never hit one directly in the shoulder, but did gut shoot a doe last year and she bedded down about 50 yards away (there was no second shot to be had) and it took her nearly 5 hours to die and I watched the entire thing. I didn't want to chance getting down and spooking her. I know killing is part of hunting, but watching her for nearly 5 hours was not fun to do.
With that said, I would say the shoulder hit would be the more likely of the two to be recovered.

[trapperdave]

www.alaskabowhunting.com/PR/Single_Bevel_Broadheads.pdf

imagine what a 600 grain arrow w/a single bevel head out of hot compound would do

[lugnutz]

I've been told in the past that a gut shot is 100% fatal, but yet a whitetail can be single lunged and still survive. Not at all saying the a gut shot is a good shot by any means, i'd hate for somebody to twist that up.

[dbd870]

Yeah; he guy I hunt with in KY lost one he single lunged. He saw the doe bed down after the shot and waited 1.5-2hrs and climbed down and went toward her she got up and took off. We found frothy blood and followed to until we lost the trail in a field - never got her.

[Deleted]

Gut shot deer are 99% dead, but less than 50% are recovered because they lay down quick, clout up, and die slowly, most get pushed and not found. Anyone who would try this shot over a hit in the vitals would be a fool.

[DEERTRACKS]

BTDT on the front shoulder socket when he stepped forward as I released the arrow. Broke the broadhead tip, split the shaft, & bounced out. I tracked & jumped him 3 times for about a mile with a very faint blood trail of drops here & there.

[tynimiller]

If the bow hunter wasn't using a super light and "speed kills" set up...the shoulder shot will do the most damage and cause the deer to bed down quicker in my experience and observations of others. A good heavy-ish arrow with great FOC and good broadhead can blast through one shoulder and lodge itself making more damage with every step. *this of course is any part of the whole shoulder section not the knob or socket Timex mentioned...which is only dentable (if that's a word) but definitely not penetratable.*

Both involve the hunter needing to be patient and backing out...as both will expire if given time...however the gut shot can result in a deer going 30 yards or 500yards more often than a hard shoulder shot in my opinion and experience.

*Neither are preferred spots to hit a deer...just wanted to make sure any novices reading this know this!

[tynimiller]

Jun 4, 2012 9:13:38 GMT -5 DEERTRACKS said:

BTDT on the front shoulder socket when he stepped forward as I released the arrow. Broke the broadhead tip, split the shaft, & bounced out. I tracked & jumped him 3 times for about a mile with a very faint blood trail of drops here & there.

The crazy thing is I am 99% sure that deer is perfectly fine...but can you imagine the pain he had to have dealt with for a while.......man. Tought break there bud.

[trapperdave]

for clarification, what shoulder "socket" are yall talkin about? Deer have no shoulder sockets. I assume you re referring to the joint?

[Woody Williams]

Shoulder blade connected to the upper leg bone..