Blunts/penetration???

[Coodster]

OK the past few times I have been out hunting, on the way back I shoot at the rabits to pass the time in the heat, and it helps not to scare the daylights out of me when I'm looking for them,, and the wind is all wrong so.. to the question. first rabit, head shot, half arrow penetration. second, third, and fourth rabits was body shots, knocks them for a loop but they run away looking unhurt?................
5th and 6th rabit, shoulder hits and recoverd, the blunt pennetrates to the shaft but thats it. Is this normal for a blunt to pennetrate? or are they supposed to bounce off??? Shots are around 20-25 yards or so.

Hoyt Warftec, 51# @ my draw 27.5" 29" axis arrow with 3, 4.5" feathers and a wrap, 125gr saunders screw in blunt, (a hard rubber blunt) total arrow is 410 grains at 195fps.

It got me to wondering if my 125gr magnus 4 blade stinger will penetrate enough to get both lungs on a mule deer? (razor sharp) or should I go to a two blade head?

as for the rabits I think I'll put a muzzie grashopper w/a field point or an adder w/a field point.

thanks for your help.


Chad

[Larry Hatfield]

a rubber blunt is not known for it's penetration. i use .38 hulls on an 11/32 wood shaft when i rabbit hunt. they penetrate and cause trauma also.
i would think only a very centered shot with a rubber blunt would be likely to penetrate. if you struck towards the outer edge it would be more likely to bounce.
a sharp broadhead will kill a deer. even shot out of a very marginal weight bow.

[Passthru]

What kind of blut are you using?

If those critters are that tough, I would use a broadhead. I don't think anything is going to run away unhurt after taking a blunting from that bow.

[cch]

I would use a judo rabbits can be tough. Blunts are fine for grouse but a rabbit can get to his hole really fast if not killed instantly or your arrow is still in it which I think is best. I shot a snowshoe this past week with a field tip mid body and the arrow stayed in him but that doesn't cause much trauma and I had to finish him off. A judo will put them down in a hurry. Good Luck. Chris.

[Pinelander]

I would think that ya have to shoot them with something that causes not only trauma, but also cuts and tears into their vitals. I don't shoot rabbits, but the same thing applies to squirrels... ya gotta do some bodily damage as well as blunt trauma. I'd just as soon use some old 4-blade broadheads backed with turkey stoppers with flat side forward. Cut, pop, and tear 'em up....

[LBR]

Depends on how tough your rabbits are I reckon. I've shot them with hard rubber blunts (and gotten full penetration, but with heavier draw weights), judo's, field points, homemade blunts (.38 casings with finishing nails running crossways through them), and broadheads. Went to broadheads exclusively for the last few years--lost rabbits with every other head I tried. The ones the blunts/judos took out cleanly would have been just as dead with a field point--head shots or double-lung shots. I plan to try the Ace Hex-Head next--they performed great on grouse, after we lost birds shot with hard rubbber blunts, steel blunts, and judos. Every bird that was hit with a Hex-Head went down, even a couple of marginal hits. Can't guarantee they will do the job on rabbits, but they show a lot of promise. At worst, use some cheap broadheads--they work well.

Chad

[Passthru]

LBR,

I'm going to try the hex heads on squirrels this year. Did you know you can sharpen them with a 1/2" drill bit? Nice heads.

[LBR]

Yep--Bob told me how to sharpen them, but I never have--these things tear a hole as they are. I've had mine for a few years now, but things haven't worked out for the rabbits yet--either forget to bring them, or just plain missed. Rabbit season here runs with late deer season, so I usually take a rabbit or three while deer hunting.


Chad

[Ronin]

LBR, I made my first and only traditional kill last February on a running rabbit at 15 yards with a hex head. It did more damage than some .22 hollow point hits I have seen. Hit him behind his left shoulder and exited low through the shoulder and leg on the right side. Would have been a perfect hit on a deer as well. Tore the top of the heart off, smashed the shoulder, and broke the leg. He ran about twenty feet, stopped behind a juniper bush, and then fell over. It was a snap shot and happened so quickly I wasn't quite sure if I hit him. Hex head went through him like he was paper. Rabbits are tougher than one would believe.

[Ronin]

Oh, I forgot. Samick Hawkeye, 50#@28", 2016 shaft.

[LBR]

"Rabbits are tougher than one would believe."

I couldn't agree more--at least they seem to be in some parts of the country. I read/hear about folks killing them with judo points pretty often, but down here I'd pass on one before I'd shoot it with a judo--unless it's a perfect hit, it's just a wasted shot. With a perfect hit, a field point will do just as well.

Congrats on the running shot--rabbits are tough enough sittin' still!

Chad

[Dsturgisjr]

We do a bit of rabbit hunting and the Ace Hex blunts seem to work the best. I'm going to try drilling the face of a regular steel blunt this year too. Seems like that sharp corner on the Hex kills cleaner and aids in stopping the arrow.

[thisbucks4u]

I use a fender washer behind a ma3 junker three blade and it seems to work well. I will tell you, the rabbits up here in Ohio sure arent as tough as the ones in the Hondo/Sabinal area.

Its kinda funny if you step back and think about what we do, just to whack some bunnies.

[BowDonkey]

One of the guys at TradGang used 3/8" ID steel tubing cut to length and slipped over the end of the shaft to create a hex blunt that you don't mind shooting with careless abandon. I use empty 30-30 shells cut with a tubing cutter 1 5/8" long and slipped on a 11/32 woodie. Dipping it in some thinned Slipfix tool handle coating seems to make them kill better. The weight of the 30-30's made up that way is around 125 gr. This worked well with my heavier longbows, haven't tried it with the Warfer, so I'm not sure as to it's effectiveness with a lighter bow.