This is how he ended up. That is the front of the arrow sticking out. Not very impressive until you see what was hit, and the fact that he was already bugging out when the arrow arrived.
The arrow exited the body cavity after cutting through the second to last rib.
The one on the right was my wife's, a 125 gr VPA. Her hit was through the lungs at about 25 yards. However, her buck was also gathering himself to leave and after exiting, it re-entered the offside leg and shattered the femur.
Neither show any damage after hitting significant bone, and will be ready for service again after a quick touch-up.
I am not seeing the arrow in the first pic? It looks to me that your setup worked pretty darn good!
Maybe if you're hunting in Florida! With the exception of the deep south, an average whitetail doe weighs 115-130 dressed out. The average antelope buck weighs that much on the hoof. I am still amazed how small pronghorns are compared to even an medium sized whitetail.
Regardless that's a great goat, and great result. Congrats!
Some thoughts on my set up. While arrow flight is very important, that kinda goes out the window if the target is moving rapidly when the arrow arrives, as is often the case, especially with some species like pronghorns. The force vectors change instantly, similar to an untuned arrow hitting a stationary target. My approach is to do everything to minimize the consequences of that.
First, by starting with proper tune. Then selecting a quality BH. The BH must not fail. Any edge or point damage during impact will severely impede further penetration. Design is also important. Vents do nothing to improve arrow flight out of a tuned bow. In fact, they create turbulence in flight. Turbulence increases drag. Extra drag at the front of the arrow is a destabilizing force. More significantly, they impede penetration by fowling in every tissue they penetrate, especially as the arrow starts to deflect from several forces at impact and while cutting. An un-vented head has no holes to fowl, resists deflection better, and is stronger.
How you drive that BH is also important. You need enough mass behind it to keep it moving. Mass is more important than speed. I target about 9 grains per pound of draw weight as a good compromise. My set up is about 8.5 and my wife, who shoots a much lighter bow so it's more important, is at about 9.5. A stiffer shaft also transfer energy more efficiently, aiding penetration.
Where that mass is concentrated is also a factor. Higher FOC creates more stable arrow flight and helps to minimize deflection at impact. I'm at about 15% and my wife is at almost !7%. All the weight in the tip would be ideal, but obviously that's impossible.
It's impossible to create the "perfect" arrow. All you can do is make compromises based on what you think is important, and the results you're willing to live with. Point integrity and arrow deflection during penetration are the two things that have the most impact on penetration. While the things you can do to improve terminal performance are limited and have to be balanced with other attributes, they add up when taken together. I don't do anything, no matter how trivial it seems, that negatively effects terminal performance without good reason.
I also bias my efforts to mitigate what I can't control during a shot. I have control up to the point the arrow is released. But no matter how disciplined you are in shot choice, you simply can't control what happens once the arrow leaves the string. That's why I bias towards terminal performance when making equipment choices.
Midwest and Canadian whitetails will be bigger for sure.
I have noticed poorer penetration on Pronghorn than whitetails though with the same equiptment.
... oh, congratulations on the pronghorn!
Nice post still though; enjoyed your pics.
