Never bow hunted before, quick question:  how often do you get pass thru shots vs an arrow stuck in the animal or deflecting off ?  I know it depends on placement and gear... just wondering in general what the pass thru % is like ?

I have had several pass through shots but I have had more that just stick..  My most recent one was a rib shot that just stuck in the bone.  The deer ran off and during the process the arrow fell out with barely any blood.

I am about 80% pass thru out to 30 yds.  65lbs/ Bowtech Tomkat / 27" draw/ Rocky Blitz heads/  350 grain total arrow weight.

ETA:  make sure your heads are sharp, bow is properly tuned and arrows spined correctly.

I would say I have a high amount pass through, but I use a high poundage. my rig is tuned up too so I'm spitting out broad heads at 350 fps (compound bow)

 
2nd year hunting for me.


Look up arrow FOC. Don't obsess over it but make sure it's within normal range. If the arrow is not stabilizing foc might be too low.

A heavier arrow will help with penetration as well - speed will help with flatter arrow travel but weight is more important for penetration.

Calculate your ft/lbs.

I was getting about 50-60% pass through initially.  I switched to a slightly heavier arrow and then recently changed to fixed blade broadheads.  2/7 failed to get full pass through then.  One of those was with the fixed blade but it was a heavily quartering away shot and the arrow ended up in the opposite shoulder blade.

Only once have I failed to get full pass through on an entirely broadside shot though.  I did watch my buddy skip a rage broadhead off of a whitetail at 30 yards though.  Quartering away shot and he must have caught a rib just right.  You could see a large slice in the deers side so it seems the head opened, I'm sure the deer healed up fine though.  He probably should be shooting fixed blades with a 27" draw out of a Diamond Black Ice but I just can't convince him to make the switch.