Grim Reaper Fail

[beachpeaz]

I need some expert opinion (not wild guesses) to help me get over this:

I hunted hard this bow season.  Finally pulled the trigger on a mid-130's mature 8 yesterday afternoon.  The deer had no clue I was there, so I had all the time in the world.  30 yards on the button.  Perfect broadside when I let the arrow fly.  Completely steady shot.

I watched the arrow fly and it APPEARED to be a good shot.  I was 100% confident in the shot and that he was dead.

I wait about 20 minutes and go to the point of impact to find my arrow (pictured) with zero blood on it, the insert broken at 30 degree angle and the broad head broken off.  Not a drop of blood.

I watched the arrow hit the deer.  I did not hit anything between myself and him.

I am BAFFLED and disgusted.  All that work for nothing.

A friend of mine said he had a similar experience and why he stopped shooting Grim Reapers.  He said that if they hit anything solid, there is a tendency for one blade to open first causing the arrow to turn and then all the energy of that arrow to not move forward and penetrate but rather twist and break (exactly as you see in the pic).  I've never had an issue.  Ever.

Anyone have any similar experiences or insight?  No blood!  How can an arrow with that much kinetic energy not penetrate past the broad head.  Even if it hit the front sholder blade?

I'm lost on this one.

 

[The_Field_Ager]

I have heard people are moving to heavier arrows and brass inserts to compensate for such problems. I prefer solid heads myself

[The_Field_Ager]

I imagine the potential for non-sysmetrical mechanical action would be a big factor in these kinds of failures

Edited November 12, 2016 by Papist

[Timeless]

I'd say you hit the shoulder bone.  There's not much else in a deer around the vitals to screw up your broadhead and arrow that bad.  I'm pretty sure that no matter what broadhead you were shooting, on this particular shot, this would have happened.

[Gencountyzeek]

Did the shot look low? I put 2 shots thru shoulder blades this year without a problem, but if u hit lower on the shoulder blade where it gets smaller and denser I guess that could happen.

[chas0218]

I'm willing to bet your broadhead didn't even pierce the chest cavity. My father in law had the same thing happen with a hammerhead 3 blade back in the day. He was shooting 31" aluminum shafts with 125 gr. head. Tons of Kinect energy and same thing happened just a little less breakage on the shaft. The insert completely ripped out and split the shaft slightly.

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[Buckmaster7600]

My guess is your bow isn't tuned perfectly and you hit shoulder.


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[Hock3y24]

i punched through a shoulder today with a heart shot, however it was the thinner part. i have hit the thick part and got about 2 inches of penetration, she lived. 

[wooly]

I've yet to find a broadhead that'll stand up to those DEC "robo-bucks"!

I swear them SOB's are BULLET PROOF,lol

[rob-c]

I wouldn't blame the head, my son hit a buck with a thunderhead and he hit the shoulder and the  insert was pushed into the arrow and the ferrule of the head was broken of in the insert .stuff happens...

[Don_C]

My son had a similar experience last year. After the shot he texted me, 25 yard broadside shot, he thought the shot looked good, but he said there was virtually no penetration. We looked and looked but found no blood other than a few drops. After an hour or so of searching I found the arrow with head intact and bent at a near 90 degree angle. All blades were still attached, some blood and hair on the head, but not much. We figured he hit the shoulder bones. I have shot many deer with the Grim Reaper and have blown right through shoulders with them. I even recovered heads buried in the opposite shoulder joint that were in perfect condition. I swore they were the best mechs out there, but after seeing this we tossed them. He went to G5s and I am using Spitfires now.


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[shawnhu]

Kind of how my arrows looks like when I miss and hit a tree

Hope you figure this out and put some closure to this.


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[orion]

Why are you blaming the broadhead?  Did you also recover broadhead?  Doesn't look like there is even a part of it left in the insert.

[brownclown]

Just switched to reapers yesterday after a gut shot rage did this

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[TreeGuy]

Just switched to reapers yesterday after a gut shot rage did this

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Umm, that broken broadhead would have worked great on a vitals hit... Did you recover deer ?

[brownclown]

i did. however a coyote got a hind quarter on one side  and the meat had spoiled. I had shot him on sat 11/12 about 7 am. I watched him bed and watched  him until 930 when i backed out after grabbing the arrow and brief look at shot location. he was downwind of me about 75yars away so i didnt want to disturb too much as leaves were super loud . He was quartering away slightly at the shot time i so hoped exit clipped liver or partial lung. he stayed in thick area so was never able to confirm. i gave as much time i as could thinking i may be in for tough tracking and wanted to have some daylight if needed so returned at 3:30 pm. i tried to sneak up down wind but it was thick and LOUD i ended up bumping him. i lunched an arrow over his back as he ran for about 30yrds and bedded again. i figured with cold evening temps it was better to back out then to push him. i returned following am and found him about 30yrds from where i last saw him. Im am very upset with myself about the whole experience and trying to learn from it. Im not sure what i should have done differently. Maybe i should have gave more then 9 hours before checking him  but the results would of likely been the same.  I ensure you i practice a ton and am an excellent shot. this was an easy 25 yrd shot. However i believe my mistake was being unable to overcome "buck fever". i have only experienced that intensity once before when i saw the largest racked deer (140+-) i have ever seen in real life. typically a 100" deer is a trophy in my area. however this one probably only goes about 80-90 inch. im thinking its because i have been hunting HARD this year with very few encounters and is the last weekend for early season bow. i believe i just placed to much pressure on myself to be successful. Maybe, ethically i should not have taken the shot based on the intensity of adrenaline i was experiencing?  i was shaking pretty badly up until i took the shot. maybe i rushed ? i didnt feel like i was shaking one i drew on him and felt i ran through my mental checklist prior to releasing the arrow.  The facts are, i made a poor shot causing an animal i love and respect a painful death. and i wont attempt another shot unless im 100% confident. In this case even being 90% sure i was making an ethical shot ended up horrible...   My point about the broadhead was simply that at most i clipped a rib or two and yet the end of the blades broke off on both sides. This should not have happened. it didn't contribute to my experience . But, if i had made a marginal shot on vitals it might have left a very poor blood trail. The exit hole was tiny in this case compared to the usual devastating holes i have had in the past

[shawnhu]

Wasn't there, but I suspect your rage didn't break inside the deer.


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[stoneam2006]

i did. however a coyote got a hind quarter on one side  and the meat had spoiled. I had shot him on sat 11/12 about 7 am. I watched him bed and watched  him until 930 when i backed out after grabbing the arrow and brief look at shot location. he was downwind of me about 75yars away so i didnt want to disturb too much as leaves were super loud . He was quartering away slightly at the shot time i so hoped exit clipped liver or partial lung. he stayed in thick area so was never able to confirm. i gave as much time i as could thinking i may be in for tough tracking and wanted to have some daylight if needed so returned at 3:30 pm. i tried to sneak up down wind but it was thick and LOUD i ended up bumping him. i lunched an arrow over his back as he ran for about 30yrds and bedded again. i figured with cold evening temps it was better to back out then to push him. i returned following am and found him about 30yrds from where i last saw him. Im am very upset with myself about the whole experience and trying to learn from it. Im not sure what i should have done differently. Maybe i should have gave more then 9 hours before checking him  but the results would of likely been the same.  I ensure you i practice a ton and am an excellent shot. this was an easy 25 yrd shot. However i believe my mistake was being unable to overcome "buck fever". i have only experienced that intensity once before when i saw the largest racked deer (140+-) i have ever seen in real life. typically a 100" deer is a trophy in my area. however this one probably only goes about 80-90 inch. im thinking its because i have been hunting HARD this year with very few encounters and is the last weekend for early season bow. i believe i just placed to much pressure on myself to be successful. Maybe, ethically i should not have taken the shot based on the intensity of adrenaline i was experiencing?  i was shaking pretty badly up until i took the shot. maybe i rushed ? i didnt feel like i was shaking one i drew on him and felt i ran through my mental checklist prior to releasing the arrow.  The facts are, i made a poor shot causing an animal i love and respect a painful death. and i wont attempt another shot unless im 100% confident. In this case even being 90% sure i was making an ethical shot ended up horrible...   My point about the broadhead was simply that at most i clipped a rib or two and yet the end of the blades broke off on both sides. This should not have happened. it didn't contribute to my experience . But, if i had made a marginal shot on vitals it might have left a very poor blood trail. The exit hole was tiny in this case compared to the usual devastating holes i have had in the past

Man lay off yourself some...it's unfortunate absolutly but you practice you know your limits and we're well inside them. Deer fever can get you and did more than likely don't beat your self up about it. It has happend to all of us and if it hasn't either they are perfect hunters or haven't killed many deer. Chalk it up as a learning experience and hang his rack up with pride. Stuff happens to us all. Glad you found it. But don't beat yourself up about it.

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[brownclown]

27 minutes ago, shawnhu said:

Wasn't there, but I suspect your rage didn't break inside the deer.


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i believe it was definitely in the deer where it occurred . i hard a strange Thwack sound when it hit. the arrow was found  laying on the ground, lying flat on its side right next to where the deer was standing at impact. 

[pistolp71]

I'll never use rage again. Had this happen last week. Buck was hit perfect behind shoulder at 21 yards. Blades broke off inside deer. Arrow came out far side like a field tip.

[Chef]

Yea all mechanicals are crap learn to tune your bow and shoot a muzzy


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[LET EM GROW]

Sorry for the OP's hard earned loss, i know how you feel completely.. and it sucks!! I have never seen a broad head do this or even hear of this happening. But just the thought of using a mechanical that deploys like they do makes me cringe. sorry just my opinion.. 

Any broad head that hits bone has a great tendency to break, chip or do whatever you dont want it to do. Im guessing the OP hit the knuckle of the shoulder hence there was no penetration on a broadside deer.

I could be wrong but shots usually always look better than they actually are. Again i could be wrong. Just saying from experience. Ive shot rage originals, rage hypos as well as fixed heads. Have never had any of them fail me, im sure some out there will and do, but if a broad head goes through a deer and cuts the organs and arteries as it should, i dont know why people complain. Sorry for stating this, but to me thats asking for alot, especially if the broad head harvested the animal you shot. I have only had a couple blades bend in all my years hunting fixed/mechanical ... 

1 broad head for 1 deer id be happy.. 1 broad head for multiple deer is even better. lol im going on #5 deer out of the same rage hypodermic broad head, and the very first hit with it was a spine shot(buried deep) its still razor sharp and has a very sharp tip. I visually inspect and give it some sort of pressure test and re install.. 

[Hock3y24]

I have switched from rage but have never had a blade break. bend yes but thats crazy. Nap sling blade for me for now. i have shot those rages through shoulders and spines also. 

[shawnhu]

Sorry for the OP's hard earned loss, i know how you feel completely.. and it sucks!! I have never seen a broad head do this or even hear of this happening. But just the thought of using a mechanical that deploys like they do makes me cringe. sorry just my opinion.. 
Any broad head that hits bone has a great tendency to break, chip or do whatever you dont want it to do. Im guessing the OP hit the knuckle of the shoulder hence there was no penetration on a broadside deer.
I could be wrong but shots usually always look better than they actually are. Again i could be wrong. Just saying from experience. Ive shot rage originals, rage hypos as well as fixed heads. Have never had any of them fail me, im sure some out there will and do, but if a broad head goes through a deer and cuts the organs and arteries as it should, i dont know why people complain. Sorry for stating this, but to me thats asking for alot, especially if the broad head harvested the animal you shot. I have only had a couple blades bend in all my years hunting fixed/mechanical ... 
1 broad head for 1 deer id be happy.. 1 broad head for multiple deer is even better. lol im going on #5 deer out of the same rage hypodermic broad head, and the very first hit with it was a spine shot(buried deep) its still razor sharp and has a very sharp tip. I visually inspect and give it some sort of pressure test and re install.. 

Op states arrow was on the other side laying on the ground. He had plenty of penetration.


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[growalot]

Not to derail...but this gives new meaning to the term..."old iron side"

more moving parts = more things to fail...I prefer solid broad heads..

Edited November 16, 2016 by growalot