Could you actually hit below the spine above the near lung down to get a single far side lung hit?
Also Grant you know this is a political site so stay on topic
I know the void is a falsity but it is normally discussed in the context of a normal hit at normal angles more lateral. I do assume the same applies at severe high entry steep downward trajectory but was curious if there would be any chance of off lung only hit. Clearly near lung only is common.
Below the spine, the only way to miss lungs entirely is to miss them entirely— ahead or behind.
It is also possible to shoot at a steep angle and get only one (far) lung when shooting OVER the spine.
And the third possibility is (from a very shallow angle) to clip the very top of the near lung and hit the body of a vertebra or a spinal disc.
There is no “void” in any intact animal. Anyone who says otherwise is just flat out WRONG.
“ Could you actually hit below the spine above the near lung down to get a single far side lung hit?”
Nope. Not in a strict sense, although I suppose that at a steep enough angle you could do very little damage on the near side and a pretty fair amount on the Off side. That would be a pretty solid hit because all of the damage would be very close to the midline of the body.
Going over the spine to top the Off lung is a likely to be a VERY difficult recovery job, because the entry wound is through backstrap (so it’s relatively closed) and the exit is high, and it’s literally a Marginal hit, so it won’t clip much in the way of substantial vasculature and it won’t bleed very hard.
My takeaway, the lungs don’t necessarily collapse from a nick or holes from something dull poking them. Best case is a sharp head…..that causes blood to fill the lungs- they cannot breathe. This is the blood we see them coughing up on a good double lung shot.
We hear guys claim a shot in the lungs with a dull FP kills them. Probably, but from what I’ve seen, they can go a long ways for possibly days- and they would be hard to recover.
I think the takeaway from the void claims- peripheral shots around the vitals can be iffy.
The non-killing void can certainly seem to exist if you watch an animal run across a half mile field with an arrow sticking out both sides right under the spine. It’s just a shitty dull broadhead.
Lungs collapse from air getting inside the chest, but not IN the lungs — just in the space where the intact lungs would be. An entrance wound that doesn’t close up is your friend. So is an exit. You knew that.
Also, blood pressure in a vessel increases exponentially with diameter, and the big vessels are close to the heart. BP in the periphery of the lungs is very near zero, so even with a very sharp broadhead, the blood is just kind of oozing out, so that can clot and heal.
Lungs collapse from air getting inside the chest, but not IN the lungs — just in the space where the intact lungs would be. An entrance wound that doesn’t close up is your friend. So is an exit. You knew that.
Also, blood pressure in a vessel increases exponentially with diameter, and the big vessels are close to the heart. BP in the periphery of the lungs is very near zero, so even with a very sharp broadhead, the blood is just kind of oozing out, so that can clot and heal.
The bull was caked with dried mud from wallowing- he was literally a dark brown color vs the light tan of these bulls. On the shot, it made that kerplunk sound of the arrow compressing against the hide.
Over the next 15 minutes, the bull walked a little ways, fell down, then got up, fell, rolled around a little obviously struggling trying to get up. There were cows at his side through all of this- hadn't spooked...and I didn't want to run them off thinking that bull was dead.
Eventually I snuck in and put another arrow in him from behind. Interesting autopsy. The recovered head was dull as heck. the wound channel was bruised through the middle of the lungs- very little blood from that. I was surprised the lungs didn't collapse with that arrow through them.
Those ST's weren't the best steel....and not the sharpest out of the package. I think the combo of factors; not that sharp to begin with, bad blade angle that had the head chopping its way in through dirt caked hide and hair dulling the very thin crummy steel.
I would imagine a forward opening Mech head would have done the same- crummy thin steel blades with an easily dulled edge....though I've shot mech's in the past with 100% effectiveness.
Since that instance, I shoot a more tapered design that slices in. These slice in effortlessly and puts very little of the blade bevel in contact with hair, hide and bone AND I touch them up right out of the package. They have the added advantage on most animals dying in sight....many just don't know they were hit- especially if I did my part and wasn't made on the shot.
I've been involved with 2 crazy instances of arrows taking a severe turn when hitting a critter- both mech heads.
The one was my buddy testing a mech head design way back when - the predecessor to the Rage. I was filming for a rep buddy on a Texas HF ranch. He shot a fallow deer at 40y slight quartering away. On review of the footage, the arrow hit and you could see by the back end of the arrow, it took a 45 deg turn on hitting ribs exiting out through the front brisket never penetrating the rib cage. We finally got that deer...and the wound channel was as described- a non lethal shot but made a white fallow bloody as heck.
The other was a Tekan. A pro shooter buddy hit a whitetail 30y out and the arrow hit, said the arrow flew funny, arrow hit and flipped downward and exited out the bottom of the deer on the same side as the hit. He said it looked like the arrow took a 90 deg turn straight down. We never found that buck- a nice 160 class buck as it turned out. Our rancher buddy friend shot that buck the next week in rifle season and he said the wound channel was still healing and visible. He said it looked like the arrow hit the rib cage, penetrated slightly and turned straight down.
Now with that one, I pulled a couple of his arrows out of his quiver in camp and some of the blades would come loose- so no doubt he shot an arrow with a blade dangling- something one doesn't have to worry about with fixed heads.
Anyway- to the "Void" thing...I think there is enough craziness that CAN happen that would explain away the void theory.
The craziness is just where whack-job beliefs like The Void come from. Alternative Facts kind of thing.
Alternative Facts aren’t Facts — they’re alternatives TO Facts.
his shot exited 1/3 of the way down on the far side.
There is no way to shoot under the spine and not hit lungs.
Shoot the same height as the spine when it passes below the shoulder blades, 5 inches behind the shoulder and you hit lungs. Same windage 3” lower it’s a liver hit.
Shoot 5 inches behind the shoulder blade/joint, at heart level and it’s a dead center gut. shot. Shoot the deer 4” below back line through the shoulders and you voided your chance at eating good.
That’s the void.
yep...depending on where you hit...theres a lot of non-lethal meat up there.
