I’ve shot through both scapulas with a 42# longbow drawing 28-1/4”. I didn’t do that with a 440 grain arrow and a punch point 3 blade broadhead. I did it with 585 grains and a 2 blade single bevel. His draw weight isn’t the reason he didn’t recover those two bucks.
The first buck was not hit in the neck, and I don’t see how people keep saying it. He hit that deer directly in the knuckle of the humerus and scapula. With a 650 grain arrow drawing close to 30” like Dan does, that arrow cuts the heart out. The second buck was a combination of suboptimal arrow setup and poor logic in shot planning. Hunting low in the tree, 30 yard shot, stopping the deer, and you aim for the top of the vitals knowing the deer will drop? Regardless, my belief is a single bevel, even with limited penetration, splits the vertebrae and possibly severs the spinal cord. People think the bone is what drops deer or paralyzes vertebrates, it isn’t. The spinal cord has to be severed or damaged.
I think Dan could reevaluate his setup but I don’t believe he will.