Yes, Axis deer are considered an invasive species in Texas. Originally from India and Nepal, they were introduced to Texas as game animals. Since their introduction, Axis deer have established free-ranging populations and are legally categorized similarly to feral hogs. They compete with native whitetail deer for resources and can cause damage to local ecosystems and agriculture. However, Axis deer are not widely found throughout Texas. Most of the population of Axis deer is found on private land. While a few landowners allow access to selected hunters for free, many consider Axis as a new 'cash crop' for which many hunters are willing to pay to hunt. If we at ABF ever get an opportunity to access numbers of Axis deer, you can rest assured we will be testing on them.

We agree. Depends on where the branch is and how big. You still have to know the trajectory curve. If it's directly in the way, both fly over. If it's 1/3 the way there, heavy arrow clears for sure. (Both probably) If it's 2/3 of the way there. How high is it? Its just not a real practical thing. BUT NO ONE Practices that - not anyone I know. It's total theory. Now I do have a shooting machine...... I have to admit, I am a total sell out that the arrow is the most important part of this. I want it to penetrate with maximum efficiency and the goal is always a pass through. So if we both clear the branch, but plan B happens and we hit the humerus bone or scapula (Both also have ribs behind them) at the elk? What has more potential lethality? That is what I cannot let go. It has to kill the animal, we can both practice trajectory curves.

Actually, all of them. For many years, most "solids" were just full metal jackets. Some had gelding metal jackets, but the best had steel jackets. The monolithic solids are, by far, the best. My preference was monolithic solids with a flat nose. In the days when most solids were nearly all gelding metal jackets over a lead core, most expanding bullets were just a gelding metal jacket with a non-bonded soft lead core, with the lead exposed at the nose. Those soft-nose bullets were notorious for coming apart and failing to penetrate deeply enough on the larger animals, especially in the smaller calibers. The FMJ bullets of the day did perform better on the larger game than contemporary soft point bullets. Long after smokeless powder cartridges using lead-core, gelding metal jackets came along, many of those hunting the largest game continued using their large-bore black powder rifles with their all-lead bullets (an all-lead bullet is also an actual monolithic bullet) because there was little chance of getting the fragmentation bullet failures of the early lead core gelding metal bullets, both soft points and solids. However, "solids" for some of the early smokeless powder cartridges had steel jackets over a lead core, and even though those occasionally bent or riveted, especially in smaller calibers, those failures were far less frequent. These bullets firmly established the "solid" as the bullet of choice among African hunters.

@ thank you sir

Haha. Yeah, if you built it right, you'll have no problem dropping an elk. I heard them in the last podcast saying that the elk threshold for breaking heavy bone and achieving consistent lethality is 650 gr

@@ScottWConvid19 Caveat: That 650-grain weight is with a structurally secure arrow having a broadhead with a mechanical advantage of at least 2.6 or greater. While arrow FOC shows no effect on the arrow's ability to breach a heavy bone, having an EFOC or UEFOC arrow is essential for achieving high post-breaching penetration.

@@OldDerelict Thanks Ed!

Ballistic tip is a lung shot or neck shot bullet, not a shoulder bullet. You dont use a flat tip on a phillips, bullets are the same way.

Do a lot of research and testing your setup. Many an elk has been killed with 40-45# bow draw weight ( if legal where you hunt) with a FIXED BLADE broad head. I suggest not using any mechanical as there’s probably not enough kinetic energy to get it to function. So much information available nowadays on women’s equipment. The most important thing is when you finally get a properly setup rig go shoot all you can. Build up your strength and possibly increase draw weight. Especially way before elk season. Make it part of your lifestyle and learn how to use properly which release you like. Watch “ bow only outdoors “ learning videos on releases. If you will commit to doing what he shows you won’t believe the Control you will have . Being in absolute control is paramount to being a good archer. GOOD LUCK to you in your archery journey!

@ well thanks! I’m shooting 45# now, it’s very easy to draw, I’ve had my bow a month and have put 500 arrows through it already. Super fun, I tried a bunch of releases at the shop and decided to got with a True Ball wrist strap style. I seem to get good groups with it. I’m not going to hunt past 30 YD, but will practice a little farther out.

@@timbow50 also I was planning on using iron will single bevel or the magnus single bevel. Depending on my finances. Haha

"As a new female...?" Were you a male before? I figured you meant new to bow hunting, but the way you worded that, in this day and age, it needed sarcasm 😂

@@angelaguimaraes3265 With your light draw weight, I suggest you choose a broadhead with a higher mechanical advantage than the Iron Will. Additionally, try to get your arrow's FOC as high as possible.

There are a few problems with that idea. If the arrow is a plain Jane run of the mill arrow, the spine will not likely be stiff enough to straighten out quickly when the energy moves to the front wings and also if the arrow hasn't been insert tuned and nock tuned, the fletches usually work to keep the arrow flying straight to compensate for the arrow not being true, while the shaft is being pulled off target. When you over power the fletches with larger wings on the front, that can receive more of the energy coming from the shaft, you're now allowing the broadhead to be influenced more by the twizzler-like shaft and also when that arrow comes in contact with skin, the direction would likely be diverted. It would be great if there was a way to just make a simple and easy change to show others the benefit of having a heavier, stiffer and straighter arrow, but that really does have to be built intentionally to achieve dramatic results

It is because the equipment manufacturers are good at selling their products. They push the faster bows and the scary named broadheads with 3" cuts and a large percentage of hunters fall for it. You could pick a varmint bullet that is light for caliber and gain speed with a flatter trajectory but it would perform horribly on big game. Seems really basic to me and I won't go light and fast ever again.

@@jamesmorris4428 You said it! We can run a “trad approved” arrow 230! The fast arrow guys will TELL YOU that heavy’s good for trad but NOT for compounds…..hhhhmmmmmm 🙋‍♀️

@junehansen7788 hit me on email. [email protected] - send more detail. Do you own the bows and want to build?

Well said. Here's the facts bud. Mass creates momentum, momentum keeps things moving and we are at the limit of speed. I did a whole series with a lab radar (Long range arrow performance playlist) and the momentum keeps going up with mass (while speed goes down) - and it is also tested at 60 yards. IF we had the velocity of rifles, the discussion is very different. Fact is, we don't. As far as "closed mind". I shot fast, light, mechanicals, and every whiz bang thing over 35 years of doing this crazy game. I am "BC" - before carbon, hell man, when carbon came out we put OVERDRAWS on our bows to go even faster. It was hilarious. It did not help arrow flight (to your point on 280 for fixed - we agree), we lost penetration compared to our "neanderthal aluminum arrows" but we kept saying "Speed fixes everything". I was in on that message 100%. I remember being one of the first of my friends in a trad group to shoot carbons. I was ostracized!!! Damn the flew so good! But I kept having penetration, on animals,....I believe the best word is inconsistency. So I said "why"......and went exploring.

@@RanchFairy well, I built and tuned a 650+ grain arrow with 300 in the nose for my trad bow. 50 pound Bear Montana, and I have a 30” draw. It was tricky but I was able to tune a 340 spine Easton Carbon Legacy with clever use of arrow wraps and etc. I got it dialed in with a 12”x1” vinyl wrap I cut myself, and an arrow 31” from nock throat to back of the head. Total weight without fletching is 638 grains, after I 4-fletch that with 5” feathers it will be over 650. Plus my heads are Zwickey No Mercy and will add about ten grains. I am not sweating that discrepancy because when I was tuning my nock point I split a 2x4 on a miss with a nock high bare shaft. It should penetrate pretty good. I can usually go up or down 25 grains in point weight from a tuned arrow without effecting broadhead flight.