Pull back on bow

My sister in law released an arrow on a mature buck this weekend. She said it was a behind the shoulder shot but unfortunately, we were never able to recover it. We spent hours looking but the blood trail died off. This is making me second guess if I would be able to take one down with what I pull back. What do you (if female) or your wives pull back and have they been successful with bringing a big boy down?

And she was using a G5 100 grain broad head.

It's all about placement. Look at the anatomy and you'll see that shooting tight to the shoulder with a light bow is a 50/50 endeavor. You don't want to hit bone, other than the thin ribs. You can shoot higher and a few inches back from shoulder and double lung pass through every time (even at low KE) which should be an easy tracking job- but not always. If you're shooting deer from the ground, the blood trails can dry up really quick as the animal's skin shifts over the wound. Gravity is not your friend when hunting ground-level.

Equipment-wise, some things that can tip the scales in your favor would be to:

1. Tune up and shoot a VERY SHARP cut-on-contact 2-blade like a Muzzy Phantom
2. Go a little heavier with the arrow weight and you'll pick up a few more ft/lbs of KE without sacrificing a whole lot of speed. I've always found that heavier arrows broadhead tune better anyways...

I know of a woman that shoots a 40 lb bow. She killed a 1600lb eland with one shot in the right. It's a matter of shot placement t with the right broadhead. Sounds like it was a bad shot to me.

Deer are amazing animals and have a strong will to survive. Fear can drive them farther than you would think is possible with the best placed shot, no matter the poundage or broadhead. Although rare, I have tracked deer that shocked me when we found them and cleaned them, either by the lack of blood or distance they traveled.

As far as poundage, it all depends on the equipment IMO. I have seen women and kids shoot 35lbs very effectively and get pass through shots on mature deer. The right set up with the right bow, and you could sale me on less. Shots should be limited to shorter distances and placement is even more critical. There was a time, not long ago, that I would have said anything under 40lbs is unethical but technology has changed dramatically.

One thing to remind her if the deer is quartering away to aim where you want the arrow to come out. If you aim behind the shoulder when they are quartering away then the arrow will most likely come out ahead of the shoulder on the opposite side and most likely miss any vitals.

A lot of the women on these TV shows are shooting bows in the 40's. So I think a bow in the 40's would do fine. After that it all comes down to shot placement and penetration. As stated above you will get better penetration with a cut on contact broadhead and a heavier arrow. That said, years ago when compound bows were shooting 200 fps people were using mechanicals and todays compounds at 40 pounds are probably comparable. So a good mechanical is not bad choice.

My guess is she it the shoulder and maybe got marginal penetration. Just get her back out there and get the next deer.

your gona want a serious Brodhead that does a lot of damage as soon as it hits to help with the little penetration your gona get with most shots... not a huge fan of them but rage will make a hole and will make up for lack of penetration and you wont run out of a blood trail...

There is also about a 2 inch spot in the "vital" areas where there is nothing there at all. I witnessed my grandpa (shooting 45 pounds) hit a deer where I thought it would be a perfect double lung. Well after a 2 day look, we couldn't find anything. The blood trail ended, it started to rain, and we couldn't find tracks. Well Lord behold it, the deer showed up on cameras again the next week and we could see the scab where he hit it. Looked like a perfect double lung but it hit that small spot. When he finally killed it with a rifle, we looked at that spot and we could see that small area in between the lungs and heart. Its weird

also known as the sweet spot! seen a few shot there in my days. for low poundage bows i think they should use a fixed 2 blade cut on contact. 3 blade fixed would be ok. but no way should they use mechanicals at that low a poundage. a 2 blade in the right spot from a 40 pound bow put down an eland in less that 150 yds. its more about arrow placement more than energy or speed with archery!

I'm all about the 2 blade FIXED on low poundage bow, you need all the penetration you can get. We had a kid in exactly the same position as this lady 3 weeks ago. IMO Dad didn't do his part outfitting him for the deal. He had a bow, the bow had the energy. Dad tries to put a cheapy fixed blade on it I veto. Said he isn't shooting anything with that with his set up... He pulls up a knock off muzzy.

Almost made me want to buy a couple 2 bladers to keep down there in case it comes up again. I did slip the kid a pack of slick tricks cause they were better than anything he had...

Good news! The buck showed up this weekend at another stand and looks healthy. We had him at 18 yards and seriously thought about taking him but thought our sister in law should finish what she started.....we may not be able to pass him up a second time though lol.

i carry extra 2 blade BH also just for that situation.
glad that buck showed back up. hopefully the hunter can finish the deed!
good luck!