[deerhawk]

Back in Oct I shot a doe at 33 yds with my Sniper using a 100 gr 1 3/4" 2 bladed swhacker with a 20" black eagle executioner. Total weight 443 gr. I also have a 36 gr nockturnal launch pad nock on the rear end.
Doe ran toward me and J hooked back the way it had came. Massive blood trail. Blood on saplings. Blood everywhere where she fell.
Shot a doe yesterday evening with the same setup. 27 yds. Doe turned and ran hard in the open hardwoods and I watched her pile up at about 80 yds.
Perfect shot.
Climbed down and found arrow. Started looking for blood. Couldn't find a single drop. After looking for a while I arrived at the downed deer and there wasn't even a drop of blood where she laid.
Nothing. Gutted the doe and her chest cavity was full of blood.
Both deer died quickly. Both ran about 80 yds.
The first doe was slightly quartering away. Arrow entered behind the first rib and exited the opposite shoulder. Massive exit hole and blood trail.
2nd doe was sightly quatering away. Arrow entered at the rear of the front shoulder and exited behind the 2nd rib. No blood at all. None.
2 shots, both basically same path through vitals. Opposite entries and exit wounds.
Been using Swhackers for yrs off and on. They kill deer dead. Some like em some dont.
Just interesting were the blood trail differences with very similar circumstances with opposite but equal results.

 

[Lever Action]

 

[Renegade19]

Amazing how that works. Buck in my avatar hardly left any blood. IF the bolt hadn't been covered I might have thought it was a miss! He ran maybe 100 yards at the most. Maybe that far. You just never know.

 

[hookedonbow]

Could be the late season doe had slightly more fat which plugged the holes but as stated each deer shot is different.
Congrats on freezer fillers.

 

[Renegade19]

Thanks for sharing that. One of the best videos I've seen!

 

[Gabowman]

That's the exact reason I stopped shooting the Swhackers. Ever since I quit using 'em a guy at work tells me how massive of a bloodtrail he gets on every deer from his Swhackers. He killed 7 this year and all gave great trails, 'couse most died within sight too.
I have switched head a couple times and some deer give me great bloodtrails and some don't, much like your examples. Next year I'm going back to Swhackers and will be giving the 3" 150 grain heads a try. If they don't bleed from that then I don't know what will.

 

[ko4nrbs]

The last deer I shot a few weeks ago left a really good blood trail and piled up at about 30 yards. The big buck I shot last year left a few drops here and there but piled up at about 40 yards. Both were double lunged. Reliable blood trails are definitely something you can't count on for a number of reasons.

Bill

 

[archer36]

No two shots are exactly the same even though it appears that way. A difference of a 1/2" here or there changes what arteries, blood vessels are cut. Also the amount of fat on the deer could inhibit blood flow. The deer's reaction also makes a difference in the blood trail. The faster it runs, the lighter the trail. If it bleeds a quart of blood over 80 yds it will be a lot sparser than if it walked 30 yds in the 20 or so seconds it took to die.

 

[KX500]

I'd have to disagree with your title - both ran about 80 yards, so pretty much the same results. As others have pointed out, there are a lot of variables with a blood trail. Broadhead did it's job - nothing better than not needing a blood trail!

I'd imagine for any broadhead you can think of, somebody has made a good shot with it & had a poor blood trail. I've got a couple broadheads I like a lot and they are both far more reliable in putting deer down quick & close than they are about producing great blood trails 100% of the time.

 

[Mission 400 SC]

I switched to Swat Xmag half way through the year, So far the blood trails have been fairly consistent and extremely good, I wonder if having the 4 blades makes a pretty good difference in keeping the blood flowing compared to 2 blades, I know plenty of people have good luck with 2 blades also. Just a thought!

 

[deerhawk]

I shoot 170 gr 3" FOCs with my scorpyd. Always get a good blood trail. Im going to use the 3" 150 gr swhacker with the sniper next yr.
I got the sniper last yr and shot it a lot with 100 gr practice tip. Had a couple packs of swhackers and thought I'd use em.
Killed 3 deer with em this yr.
All graveyard dead within 80 yds.

 

[wis-redneck]

The sharpness of the broadhead blades will also have a huge effect on bleeding. A person may think the blades are sharp, but not necessarily so. The blades need to be surgically razor sharp. The smoother the cut, the longer and more it will bleed. Examples, cut yourself with a so so sharp knife, and it does not take much to stop the bleeding. Nick yourself with a razor blade while shaving, and it is difficult to stop bleeding.

 

[JOE PA]

Looks to me like the first pic (doe 2?), the shot exited through the shoulder. Shoulder can really inhibit blood getting out. In 2016, I took this buck with a quartering away shot. He only made it 30 yards from the hit, but there was no blood on the ground until a few yards from where he fell. Massive blood clots inside the chest cavity, but none on the ground.

 

[KTownKiller]

I think a 4 blade cut would help keep it from plug'n up sometimes. Just a theory in my own noggin though. LOL

 

[Turkey hunter]

I had a good blood trail with the swacker 2 inch cut . 50 yard shot with the nitro x and double banded head. He went 30 yards.

 

[HuntIL]

Actually reading this thread helps me a lot. I have been using 125 grim reapers at the suggestion of my local shop as they had tested them thoroughly and loved them. I shot two bucks with them over the past couple years and neither left a good blood trail but both were dead inside of about 80 yards. However, both does that I shot this year left great blood trails that were several feet wide. One went 30 yards and the other went 120. Guess it makes me feel better that others share the struggle. Lol

 

[deerhawk]

There will always be struggles with shots from an arrow and broadheads. Just to many variables like arrow speed, shot angle, quartering away and to, mood of the deer, blade sharpness, and size of the deer.
An arrow sent through the vitals will usually kill a deer quickly. Whether there is a decent blood trail or not is up to that particular situation. In big open woods this may not be a problem but when a deer runs into a thick swamp or cutover it can complicate things dramatically.

 

[Muffinman]

I think a 4 blade cut would help keep it from plug'n up sometimes. Just a theory in my own noggin though. LOL

That's a good theory KT. Take a piece of hide and poke a 2 blade and a 4 blade hole through it. Then slide a finger in the hole to see which one is looser. Much less resistance with the 4 blade.

 

[archer36]

That's a good theory KT. Take a piece of hide and poke a 2 blade and a 4 blade hole through it. Then slide a finger in the hole to see which one is looser. Much less resistance with the 4 blade.

You have to look at total cutting surface. A 2 blade 2" cut is 2". A four blade 1 1/4" is 2 1/2 inches total. A three blade 1 1/4" is about 2" The four blade has more cutting surface that the 2 blade and the 3 blade has about the same cutting surface overall even if the 2 blade is 2".

 

[Mission 400 SC]

Then the SWAT at 2 inch by 1 3/4 inch!