Archery Elk shoulder blade shot

[Jethro]

Yeah everyone wants to be an internet star. All I care about is recovering elk. For the purposes of this poll, the elk that weren’t recovered are just as important as the ones that were.

If anyone following this has shot an ELK, in the shoulder and didn’t recover it, please chime in with answers to the 4
questions….no judgement/finger pointing as no hunter is immune to a possible split second poor decision. The larger the sample group the more powerful the data……thanks all.

For those following (if any ) I will update the thread with a review of the data as we get more/enough


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If the elk wasn't recovered, question #2 is tough to answer.

I've seen an elk hit in shoulder. Judging by how much arrow was sticking out, I'd guess no it did not make it through. Barely any blood. Not even enough to say we "blood trailed" it. More like instant grid search from where it went out of sight. I don't remember if we recovered the arrow.

About 65lbs, 30" draw, 440g arrow, fixed blade. Shot distance 30-35 yards.

 

[switchbckxt]

For sure,…unrecovered shoulder shots will be assumed “not through” and documented as so


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[shootnrun]

I shot a cow at 53 yards about 8 years ago and got a pass through on the offside shoulder blade. 70#, 30 in draw, 480ish grains, fixed blade. She went about 30 yards and stood there for a few minutes before she tipped over

 

[bpurtz]

I'd like to see pictures of the scapula from those claiming to pass through. I hit a bull what I think was dead center of the scapula this past season and got maybe 3/4" penetration.

40 yard shot, Kudu 100 grain, carbon maxima arrow - not sure total weight, 68lbs compound.

The bull ran 20 yards stopped and stood there for 10+ minutes and eventually walked off like he had been stung by a bee - blood trail ended about 50 yards from where I last saw him.

 

[shootnrun]

 

[Dos Perros]

Bull
No
Fixed
430/27.5"/70

 

[bpurtz]

View attachment 676542

How thick/thin do you think the bone was at that spot? I'm guessing, but I believe the bull I lost was hit about half way up from your shot to the top of the blade. I felt like if I was 4-5" to the left (I was looking at the bulls right side) I would've just clipped the blade and killed the bull. I just made a terrible shot.

 

[5MilesBack]

I'd like to see pictures of the scapula from those claiming to pass through. I hit a bull what I think was dead center of the scapula this past season and got maybe 3/4" penetration.

The scapula itself is nothing to write home about, it's fairly thin with a ridge that runs vertically on it. After getting my bull moose quartered and home and processed a few years ago now, I shot the heck out of those scapula's which are bigger and thicker than an elk's, and they provided no resistance at all regardless where I hit them......with both fixed and mechanical heads. I shot them from 40-60 yards.

 

[bpurtz]

The scapula itself is nothing to write home about, it's fairly thin with a ridge that runs vertically on it. After getting my bull moose quartered and home and processed a few years ago now, I shot the heck out of those scapula's which are bigger and thicker than an elk's, and they provided no resistance at all regardless where I hit them......with both fixed and mechanical heads. I shot them from 40-60 yards.

Maybe I hit the ridge - Idk. My arrow broke off at the broadhead and was laying 5 yards from where the bull was standing when I shot.

 

[5MilesBack]

Maybe I hit the ridge - Idk. My arrow broke off at the broadhead and was laying 5 yards from where the bull was standing when I shot.

I hit a big bull square in the shoulder knuckle, where the blade and humerus come together and got maybe 2" of penetration from 17 yards on a slightly quartering to me shot. That's the only thing I know of that completely shuts down penetration on the shoulder area.

 

[Beendare]

I'd like to see pictures of the scapula from those claiming to pass through.

I see where you are going with that….but the scapula varies in thickness from about 1/8” to over an inch on that center ridge. It depends a lot on where you hit it. The scapula i shot through was about 5/8” entry, about 1/4” exit- thats less than a rib.

The front leg bone is heavier than most of the scapula.

Some heads like the 2 blades or tapered 3 blade COC heads just plain blow through stuff- including all but the heaviest bones. Head design and Blade angle matters A lot when it comes to penetration- see the pic below.

Not a shoulder obviously, a straight 2 blade head would have blown through this vertebra but the short bleeder blades along with the bulging ferrule stopped this head in its tracks. Edit; You cant see the bleeders in the pic, they are wedged into bone perpendicular to the main blade.
thats split bone in the background- looks like a nok. Paralyzed the back half of that bull…then it was rodeo time.

Steelforce Phat head 2 blade with bleeder blades…they should call those bleeder blades “penetration Inhibitors”

 

[shootnrun]

How thick/thin do you think the bone was at that spot? I'm guessing, but I believe the bull I lost was hit about half way up from your shot to the top of the blade. I felt like if I was 4-5" to the left (I was looking at the bulls right side) I would've just clipped the blade and killed the bull. I just made a terrible shot.

Maybe 1/4". Long time ago so I can't remember that detail.

 

[Beendare]

Well there was that time I ricocheted an arrow off of a Columbian mammoth leg bone- heres the chip


Ha…. Man look at the mass in that- crazy.
That old Far Side cartoon was right…..

 

[nidahobrushswimmer]

Wish I still had the picture but can’t find it. Bull two years ago.
Slick trick ss3
No
27.5, 70 lbs, 450 grains.
Thankfully he was so rutted up that I was able to call him in again further down the draw and put a second arrow in him.

 

[Coveyleader]

When it comes to shoulders vs arrows, just remember the house always wins.

 

[Kyle C]

2 bulls
Yes
517, 28.5, 75lbs
125 exodus, and 125 G5 striker V2
Fairly high FOC I think around 16-17% when I measured it last and running 200 grains total up front.