Grim Reaper II ???

[cehorn]

Wes' grim reaper thread reminded me to post this and I didn't want to hijack his thread. I was going to start a thread last week on this to get opinions. I shot a doe last weekend with the same broadhead as the other thread (whitetail special) but didn't get the same results.

After the shot, here is what I found. There was only hair where she was standing at the shot. Then about 10' away there was more hair with blood on it. Then another 5' was the arrow. The broadhead was covered in blood and there was blood for 4-5" in up the arrow and then nothing. So, no pass thru. However, there was virtually no blood trail at all. There were sparse drops for about 20-40 yards and then nothing. Luckily it was a wet morning and I was able to follow footprints until I found her. Overall she only ran about 75 yards. The hole on the front side looked similar in size to the one in the other reaper post minus the blood and there was no exit hole. There wasn't really much blood on the ground where I found her either.




Here's what I learned after recovery and dressing. I blew thru the front elbow, hit the back elbow and then bounced out. The bottom third of the heart was sliced to a point where there was only a sliver keeping it attached. I also got a little lung. I didn't get a chance to take pics while cleaning.

So...why no blood trail or blood at all really? I would expect blood everywhere from the shot placement (heart shot). The only thing I can think of is the way the heart was hit, it sprayed back into the body cavity instead of out the hole. Other thoughts are that since the leg was really forward when I shot her the leg being back while running closed up the hole. Or since I hit bone (elbow), that somehow closed up the hole.

What do you think happened to the blood and blood trail?

[clayg08]

i shot 2 deer with the 2" a year ago. the first is a doe i heart shot on camera. blood and carnage ! her heart exploded and blood flew everywhere like a horror movie. i believe she went 28 or 29 yards. the first pic is of her and the exit wound, and it cut one of the bones in her leg into.

the other pic is just an entrance hit, shot a tad far back. recovery was still only 75 yards and blood the whole way.

[Chance Love]

Every single shot is different. I wouldn't base your opinion on one example.

[clayg08]

Every single shot is different. I wouldn't base your opinion on one example.

exactly. don't expect the same results on every shot you make. they will ALL be different. placement, angle, conditions, animal ; everything differs

[Bonesplitter]

Blood signs maybe.

[Jourdan_D]

i shot 2 deer with the 2" a year ago. the first is a doe i heart shot on camera. blood and carnage ! her heart exploded and blood flew everywhere like a horror movie. i believe she went 28 or 29 yards. the first pic is of her and the exit wound, and it cut one of the bones in her leg into.

the other pic is just an entrance hit, shot a tad far back. recovery was still only 75 yards and blood the whole way.

is that left blade broke??

[clayg08]

is that left blade broke??

nope. still perfectly intact. i think the tip is hiding under the bloody hair in the pic.

[gpatterson]

Ground Blind or Tree Stand

Were you shooting from GB or TS? I've shot deer from both and most of the time when I shoot from a GB the angle is such that blood fills the body cavity. Its like filling a milk jug that has holes parallel to the ground if you fill it up with water the water won't flow out until it reaches the holes. Just my
2c. Shot a doe once from a TS at about 10yds went through the shoulder hit other shoulder didn't pass through destroyed the heart and only had a couple drops of blood.

[cehorn]

Every single shot is different. I wouldn't base your opinion on one example.

Don't get me wrong, I will continue to use them. I was impressed with the hole the reaper left, the damage on the inside and the distance the deer ran. The lack of blood trail for the shot placement and damage was very weird and I'm just trying to find possible answers as to why.

[super_dave]

I woul dconclude that even though you didn't have a blood trail, the broad head did an amazing job and the animal expired quickly. There have been several threads this year of " I made a good shot" "I had lots of blood" " I can't find my deer" " I need a tracking dog"!!

Sounds like you should keep using them. Every deer is different.

[cehorn]

Were you shooting from GB or TS? I've shot deer from both and most of the time when I shoot from a GB the angle is such that blood fills the body cavity. Its like filling a milk jug that has holes parallel to the ground if you fill it up with water the water won't flow out until it reaches the holes. Just my
2c. Shot a doe once from a TS at about 10yds went through the shoulder hit other shoulder didn't pass through destroyed the heart and only had a couple drops of blood.

I was shooting from a ground blind. I have shot a little high before and had to wait for the cavity to fill up. This shot was pretty low and the blood never came out. Another reason this is so weird to me. There really wasn't any blood on the ground where she died either although she fell on the opposite side of the shot (w/ no pass thru).

Your shot sounds exactly like mine. I guess it just happens sometimes.

I will continue to use the reapers. My concern is, would I have found the deer if it hadn't been wet with footprints or would I have found the deer if I had shot it at 5:45 in the evening? I think I would have as she never left the original trail she left on but lack of trail concerned me, especially if it would have been a buck.

[Smart]

Every single shot is different. I wouldn't base your opinion on one example.

This...^^^

I'd like to add to this that every animal is different. When dealing with a live animal, the variables are endless. It's quite possible that every broadhead made, shot in that same spot, on that same deer would have yielded the same blood letting results. Somethings are unfortunately, unexplainable and its not the equipment's fault. Unless it was a Rage. I kid I kid...