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Shoulder or not?

Bowtie747

Bowtie747

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2021
Messages
1,818
Location
Ohio
Hey guys, haven’t seen a post like this here so if there is point me that way.
My point of this post is I’m curious with how bows are in 2021 how guys feel about Shoulder shots or what they think will happen if you accidentally hit shoulder. I’m not here to start arguments so negative reply’s please don’t reply. This is just for fun!
I did some backyard testing today and wanted to post my results just for fun as well. I bought a bunch of plywood 2x2 sheets. Ranging from 1/4 AC and OSB. 1/2”OSB and 3/8” CDX board. I also bought 26 gauge plated galvanized steel sheets and a 22 gauge Steel sheets for welding. I figured one of those would represent a deers shoulder or more. Now I know their are other things that a deer would have such as ribs and skin but again this was just for fun to see what would happen. I used a Hoyt Rx-1 at 67lbs, 550 Grain 300 spine Gold tip pierce with a 200 grain cutthroat broad head. Here are my results to sum it up as quick as possible. None of the plywood sheets by themselves stopped the arrow. It blew through a 1/2” sheet of osb and stuck in the target behind it. I also got pass through a with each sheet of metal separately but mounted on a 1/4” sheet of AC plywood. I also put two 1/4” sheets of plywood mounted with a gap and it blew through that as well. I also buried an arrow up to the fletching going through 3/8cdx put on top of a 1/4ac plywood.
Had tons of fun doing this and was super happy with the results. If anyone finds this at all interesting I might do other tests with lighter arrows and heavier arrows. Maybe these tests mean nothing but hey again it was just for fun. Thanks for reading if you have any questions post below! Or if you do any cool arrow experiments post that here too.
 
Your set-up should blow right through a deers shoulder BLADE.
Any arrow hitting the shoulder BONE and you're going to have a long night...
 
That’s a great point! My thing is I still see guys talk about being scared of the blade. I don’t understand that. I also love arrow tests and thought some guys might like to know without testing their own expensive arrows and broadheads haha Thanks for the reply!
 
phatkaw said:
Your set-up should blow right through a deers shoulder BLADE.
Any arrow hitting the shoulder BONE and you're going to have a long night...
Click to expand...
Idk about that. The Hunting Public did a video where Aaron shot a buck from the ground at 15 yards and the arrow was deflected by a small branch. The arrow hit the knuckle of the front shoulder and cut right through it. They called in a tracking dog but the buck only went 75 yards.
 
Awesome reply! I definitely remember that video. That’s kinda where I was going with this post. The difference on the heavy part of the shoulder and what guys thought about it. Those 22 gauge steel sheets are pretty stout for what they are and it blew right through. Bone is different than metal obviously. Another point I was slipping in is heavy arrow setups and how awesome they are. Arron from THP uses a super heavy arrow setup (600 to 700 grains) I believe. Doctor Ashby’s talks about the bone breaking threshold.
 
At some point your going to hit shoulder. Either by mistake, or just the animal being jumpy or twisty.
It happens. Your set up...... you should be in pretty good shape. Bump up 100 grains with a insert & you'd
be in the Ashby/bone breaking threshold. The sound difference is also a bonus going up in weight.

I personally like aiming tight to the shoulder in the deadly V. You hit that web of front arteries & it's
over in a few seconds. They don't make it far. That's my favorite shot. I like staying as far away from
the guts as possible. I'm flying 832grains & don't worry about shoulders & bone.

Keep 'em sharp & nice set up by the way!
 
If anyone is wondering about there broadheads go to utube and check out John Lusk broadhead tests,best advice on shot placement tight to the shoulder,the worst is be careful you don't what to hit that shoulder! Then you end up hitting to far back,use a well designed arrow setup.
 
I shattered the knuckle on a mature 150" 10 pt. 650 gr arrow. 70lb Bowtech Experience. Strickland Helix 125 BH up front. Taxidermist thought I shot it w/ a rifle. He said he thought it couldn't be done w/ a bow! He knows I'm a bowhunter so now he is a believer.
 
Anecdotal only, but I use a pretty standard arrow and broadhead (Gold Tip 300s with 100gr Muzzy) setup on a 60-ish pound draw weight bow, and I'm not afraid of hitting the scapula. My dad is an orthopedic surgeon, and he's of the same opinion. I wouldn't want to hit the thicker shoulder bones, but the scapula just isn't thick enough to be a problem for this setup.
 
I was a committee for over 10 years that was called out to recover wounded deer for a controlled hunt.Bbetween that experience and 40 years of killing deer myself and with others who had a pocket full of tags,I've been on hundreds of recoveries.I've seen deer hit in every conceivable place and with every conceivable arrow/BH combination.A few things.First most people really don't understand deer anatomy all that well and often claim to hit the shoulder,when they really don't.In reality,the vast majority of time a shoulder bone is hit,be it the humerous or scapula,the vitals are missed.There are few exceptions to that but for the most part,the shoulder bones go around the vitals.A quartering to shot,a shot at a steep downward angle are exceptions as are shots that just barely hit the scapula.Regardless,most hits to the shoulder result in a wounded animal whether it's penetrated or not.The scapula is thin and most reasonable arrows with a moderately heavy arrow and a fixed head should penetrate.That's almost always a deer that will survive for at least several days,if not making a a full recovery,unless the spine is hit,which runs right between the scapulas.A light arrow with a mechanicals will nevr and I mean never fully penetrate the humerous.It can be done with a heavy arrow and a single bevel head but it's still ac bad palce to aim.
 
So my personal opinion on “shoulder shots” would be that having a setup capable of said shot is always a good idea. However to feel confident in taking that shot should always be a no imho. I don’t believe it to be ethical I’ve passed deer that I’ve dreamed of seeing because it was to risky of a shot. But that’s just me. I know my setup is capable of blowing through the blade BUT not the knuckle. I hit a brute last year at 25 yards and he jumped the string and ended up with getting hit in the knuckle. I also think the arrow was deflected as the only penetration was the tip of the broad head. So I know I kinda went on a bit of a rant here but to sum it up in an ethical answer shoulder shots are a no. (Again this is my opinion I’m not bashing you guys who strive to break the knuckle and I wish you all the very best in a clean quick harvest!)
 
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