Will a arrow kill a animal as fast as a rifle bullet?

Generally? No, as arrows travel in the range of 150-300+fps. Will an arrow kill an animal quickly - even instantly? You bet your dupa.

A well placed arrow will kill VERY quickly!
A arrow cutting thru a deers lungs can put him down within 10 seconds. I have taken deer with that shot that fell within 30 yards of the shot.
I have taken deer with a rifle shot, 270 and 30-06, hit in the same spot and they have run 100 yards or more. I figure a deer can run that 100 yards in less than 10 seconds.
I dont know if its the bang, the shock or both that make a gun shot deer run, but I have seen deer jump, stand in the same spot after a well placed arrow......... then fall over, seemingly not knowing they are hit.
So.... I think it depends on the shot placement.

One of the very few deer I killed with a bow took an arrow through both lungs that passed through her and stuck into the ground on her off side. She jumped upon being hit, then actually walked over to examine the arrow where she collapsed.

An arrow, while every bit or more effective then a rifle bullet kills in a very different way.
Most people just take it for granted that a rifle bullet kills, but take for granted the actual process. I rifle bullet kills in three ways. They are not mutually exclusive as they often work in combination
1) Damage to central nervous system (Brain/Spine)
2) Damage to Cardiovascular system ( Heart (Anything that bleeds alot)
3) Damage to respretory system( Lungs)

The rifle bullet accomplishes these three effects through massive shock which generates temporary and permanent wound canals.
While an arrow is capable of killing in all three of the ways that a rifle bullet can, It kills by penetrating and severing these structures.

[ 04-03-2003, 01:04: Message edited by: Thomas ]

The arrow has a sharp edge that slices through the tissue, while the rifle is more of a blunt trauma that pushes through the tissue. The smaller blood vessels seem to seal better and not bleed as much from a bullet as a sharp cut, but the bullet does a much better job of causing damage to the central nervous system if the shot is placed in the spine or brain

It makes little difference what you shoot them with, as long as they are well hit.
I have had deer travel less than thirty yards, shot with an arrow, and had them travel one hundred yards , shot with a gun.
however, a higher percentage of deer drop on the spot with a gunshot, though they don't always die right away, and require a second shot.
I did drop a deer in its tracks once with an arrow, though. it did need a second arrow.

For a little different spin on this question.. What would YOU rather be shot with?
I would say a gun.
I have shot a fair amount of deer with both gun and bow and the thing is about a good sharp broad head, it is almost like they are dead and don�t even know it. There is something somewhat eerie about that.

Back to the original question I would say the bullet has the potential to kill quicker, but that may not always be the case. Every deer that I have ever shot through both lungs with a bow has never traveled farther than 50 yards. That is probably 5 to 10 seconds I guess? I have had deer shot through both lungs and the heart with a 30-06 and run over 100 yards. Obviously in this case the arrow is the quicker killer.
By the way I don�t want to be shot by either of them.

Arrows are inadequate and should be banned!

Arrows are inadequate and should be banned.

You will probably get lots of replys for that statement,if you don't here you can post it in the bowhunters fourm.
Have you ever seen an animal taken with a bow??

Major Caliber
Why do you think arrows should be banned you now what I think you are a ASS HOLE trying to start trouble or a Animale activest.
Why dont you change your name to Major pain in the ASS. IF you dont like to Bow Hunt why even bother to read this form.

Don't worry about it SHORTMAG. Guys like Major Caliber are dynamite fishing blowhards. He has about 1200+ pieces of crap posted and as far as I can tell cannot put more than one sentence together. You should avoid swamp garbage like this and take it as a bad smell that will be gone with a light wind. He is proud to show his stupidity on a daily basis so what can you do.
DOA

Major Caliber
You Don't have a clue.

TrapShooter
As I stated earlier I have shot a few deer with high powered rifles before. Two this year, both with a 300WSM. Now I know that it does not equal the mighty 300RUM, but it is no slouch. It is way more gun than needed for the 100 to 120 yards I killed may two deer at this year. For the record both deer dropped in their tracks.

The doe I shot I will admit laied there and suffered longer than she should have. Maybe five minutes. This was a perfect broad side shot. I hit her just behind the shoulder about centerline of the ribs. The shot could not have been much better. The 150 grain Hornady Spire Point did a great job of mincing both lungs and breaking her back. It still took a few minuets for her brain to get the message.

The second deer I shot with the same rifle, a young buck, was about 120 yards. This time with a 150 grain Swift Sccirrco. (sp?) This was a somewhat bad shot on my part. The deer was quartering towards me and I was about 20 feet high in a climber, the deer was down in a deep bottom below me. At the shot the deer hit the ground like a hammer. I watched him for about a minute through my scope to see if he would get up. When I was sure he was down for good I started getting my gear together to climb down. It wasn�t till I turned and started down the tree that the deer gave his last kick. This might have been two minutes. When I got down to the little buck I was shocked to see the devastation left by the Swift bullet. It removed the top 1/3 of his quartering shoulder, a good hunk of his spine and let the air out of both lunges. It still took the brain a couple minutes to get the message.

The third deer I shot this year was with my tried and true High Country Ultra Extreme(old school) and a 100 grain Steele Force broad head. It was another perfect broad side shot on a doe at about 25 yards. I shot her low in the side through both lungs, just missing the top of her heart. She might have run a total of 50 yards if you count the arch she made. I heard her do the death flop about 30 yards from my stand on the other side of the briar thicket she had just run through. In this case I did not actually see her die, I only heard it. It might have taken a total 30 seconds.

Now I now this is only three accounts in one year. But it is about par for how my hunting has gone through the years. I will also say nothing will kill a deer faster than a 140 grain Nosler BT put at the base of the head and neck with my 7mm mag. IT IS INSTANT. But I don�t always have that chance.
So I will finish with this. Given text book broadside shots the bow may kill quicker. You can agree or not. This is just how it has happened for me.
Shawn

Overkill,
Will an arrow kill a deer? You bet. It happens every year. My personal feelings on the subject is that the bullet offers a wider spectrum of lethal placement than the arrow does. How an arrow kills has already been covered. What has not been covered is why an arrow doesn't kill. An arrow that strikes a heavy bone stops right there. I watched a nice antelope buck south of Gillette, Wy about twenty-five years ago that had been hit in the spine with a fiberglass arrow. It didn't seem to bother him, but it had been there long enough that the shaft had unravelled. I have no other info on this. just that I had a chance to get a good look thru a spotting scope from less than a hundred yards and that the wound had healed. A bullet strike at the same place would have resulted in chops on the table. I used to archery hunt, and lost a mule deer doe I'd hit poorly. My fault, but I stopped using a bow. I've never lost an animal I've hit with a bullet. For those who do hunt with a bow, and are selective about the shots they take as well as developing their skill, more power to you. I hope you get a nice one.

/

Arrows kill by hemmorage and bullets kill by trama however, dead is still dead.

I believe that the Bowhunting study done by the Unv. of Mn. had data, stating that properly placed arrows and bullets were almost equal in the time they took to kill deer. It was also around 1 minute on ave.

I don't think as kill can be made much faster. The animals body has so much oxgenated blood and electriacl pluse. It does take some time to cease those functions.

I remember butchering chickens & turkeys as a kid. After the head was cut the bird still would kick, flop around even run a few steps, and the lungs would work (very little) but the birds were clearly dead being headless.

Went on a wild boar hunt some years back,the night before the guide gave us a pep talk and he said that no one had hunted there and dropped a boar with one shot.Guess what I shot one the next morning at 30 yds and it didn't move,was dead before it hit the ground.It was a 250 lb boar.Not good just LUCKY.
Have taken 35 deer,1 boar,a ram,lots of small game with a bow and lost only one deer with a bow.Lost 2 with muzzleloader,shooting round ball,and none with a rifle.
If you haven't tried bowhunting you are missing a great time.

The fastest I've ever seen a deer go down was with a bow. The arrow passed though the heart and the deer drop in her tracks so fast she just disapeared right in front of us.

When an arrow passes though the lungs or heart blood pressure drops and the brain doesn't receive the oxygen it needs and the animal passes out,along with suffocation due to the lungs filling with blood.