I think I prefer hams...

[WhitewaterDuck]

So, after reading the “sick” thread below, I’ve decided it’s time to discuss something about kill shots that I wanted to post last November but didn’t want to deal with the grief I know is going to come my way; I still don’t want to deal with that grief, but it’s important enough to discuss that I’ll deal with it.

I’ve killed plenty of deer with stick and string, and I’ve made some poor shots over the years. Of the poor shots I’ve made, the only ones that did not result in me recovering the animals were ones (2) that hit solid bone in the front shoulder and one single lung shot where the deer spun hard and the arrow exited the brisket. On that deer, I had 100 yards of heavy pink frothy blood, a bed of pink frothy blood with what appeared to be a hunk of lung tissue, followed by a petering trail that disappeared once the deer stopped going downhill and hit level ground. All these deer were looked for for days and then buzzard patrol was performed. I lost one deer that I shot low and back, but I’m sure I would have been able to find him if it were not for a 15 minute, 2”/hour gullywasher that hit moments after I had my blood saturated arrow in hand. I’m not counting that one, because the way he was walking out of there and into the thickest giant briar canyon I’ve ever seen with his ass end swaying makes me know I could have stayed on his blood trail and found him had there been any blood trail to follow. Regardless...

I’ve made three other bad shots on deer. Two were deer hard quartering away, and I attempted to slip the shot in just behind the ribs which would have resulted in an exit in front of the opposite shoulder. I pulled both shots two inches right, and both times, I shot the deer in the ham close to the bunghole. Both times, the deer hunched up, walked slowly away, and fell over stone dead within 80 yards. The third bad shot was a result of my limb saver having slid up to where it was interfering with my top cam rotation. I lost three arrows in different misses on a target afterward trying to figure out what the hell was going on. On the deer, however, I shot 2.5’ to 3’ right and several incheshigh and nailed a big 10pt in the top middle of his ham. I stunned he’s spinal cord with the shot, and it was well above the femoral artery. The deer went down, but after 5 minutes, he got up and slowly walked off and bedded down. I jumped him trying to get a finishing shot in him, and he just walked off 75 yards and needed again. I found him there dead the next morning after deciding to leave him overnight.

I’ve heard or read hundreds of stories much the same...bad shot resulted in a ham hit...and ever single time the story ends with, “he didn’t make it 50 yards.” I’ve yet to hear or read where someone shot a deer square in the ham and lost the deer.

So, those first bad shots are not the only deer I’ve failed to recover. I’ve lost a couple of deer that were absolute “money” shots...I thought. Maybe I shot high and over the spine...maybe I shot just a tad behind where I thought? But the deer were hit and not found nonetheless. How man threads do you read about the hunter making a seemingly great shot just behind the shoulder only to never find the deer? I’m not saying that a double lunger or heart/lung isn’t going to die...I’m saying that the chest drops fastest and farthest and there is less room for error there than people think.

So, all of the stories about ham shots that all end in “he dead,” are not hitting the femoral artery; it’s a big artery, no doubt, but it’s way, way too small for all of these people to have hit it. I know on at least one of my deer that I did not hit it. My theory is this...the majority of a deer’s cardiac output goes to the Hams, which do nearly 100% of the work of propulsion. When a sharp broadhead cuts through those muscles, the deer is going to bleed to death if coagulation doesn’t stop the bleeding...and unless the deer lays down and doesn’t try to walk or run away, the blood is going to continue to flow with the continual movement of the wound channel and the increased cardiac output that walking/running requires. If you aim dead center of the ham on a broadside shot and pull it three inches either direction, you still get massive tissue damage and hemorrhage. If you miss 5 inches in either direction, you get a clean miss on one and you get a shot just in front of the ham in the posterior abdomen...where the aorta runs and splits to each femoral artery and where the renal arteries and arteries that feed the gut branch off the aorta...but that is a five inch miss. If you miss five inches or more low or to either side...then you need to practice more before hunting anymore with a bow. So...dead center ham, you have a seriously big margin for error with no bony projections to get in the way.

I’ve thought about making that my main kill shot for a season to test my theory, but I’ve never gone through with it. Last year in Ohio, I was there for 2 weeks, and except for the first 24 hours, there was rain in the forecast off and on every day of my trip. Some days it poured, and I stayed in. The best I had was a rain-free morning or afternoon hunt that was followed by rain showers within 4-6 hours max. I discussed losing that big buck after the rainstorm with my bud, and worried that with any deer I shot that didn’t just do the death run and crash, I would possibly end up in the same situation. Then I half jokingly said...” deer shot in the hip or ass don’t go far and generally die quickly.

That afternoon, I had a doe slip in from behind me and walk straight under my stand. She started walking away from me, and I could tell she was going to take the well beaten trail that kept her pointing away and giving me a hard quartering away shot at best. I was zeroing in on that last rib when I remembered my discussion with Travis. I figured a shot at the hip with slight left miss would be perfect double lung/liver/heart kill, and a slight pull to the right would be the deadly Texas lung shot. At ten yards, I focused on a spot dead center of her left ham with her quartering away hard left, Drew till I touched my anchor point, and let a perfect shot fly. I was using a two blade 160 fr Zwicky on a Douglas fir shaft out of a 54 lb longbow. She lunges forward, and trotted about ten yards before returning to a slow steady walk. I waited ten minutes and started tracking. I followed a good blood trail...not rage double lung good, but plenty good and easy to follow...for 60 yards where she was piled up dead. I had cut through her ham and my broadhead entered her peritoneal cavity just behind the intestines. I did not hit the femoral artery, yet she bled out within 60 yards and within a couple of minutes max after the shot.

So....anyone on here ever shot one in the hip/ass...not just grazing it...and failed to recover the deer? I’ve asked this question on Archery Talk snd have never received, that I can recall, an answer of yes. I have, however, received a ton of stories where the deer was shot in ham and died quickly. All of this is anecdotal and there has been no true research done, but the anecdotal evidence is overwhelming regarding the lethality if ham shots vs thoracic cavity shots. If this is indeed true, which I truly believe it is, then how would y’all feel about taking this shot as your primary kill shot on deer ranging from broadside to hard quartering away to straight away? How would y’all feel making it your secondary kill shot if you had it open and a shot to the typical thoracic kill zone was not available due to obstruction?

Thanks.