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Oklahoma hunter Max Wynn said his compound bow broke while he was shooting at a target buck on Oct. 17, bruising his wrist and sending the arrow only about 8 yards. After buying and sighting in a replacement bow, he returned the next day and killed the 8-point buck; while processing it, he found an older broadhead embedded in the deer’s chest.
Oklahoma bowhunter Max Wynn said his 75-pound compound bow broke as he released an arrow at a target 8-point buck on Oct. 17, but he returned to the same area with a replacement bow the next day and killed the deer. The incident left him with a bruised wrist, and the buck’s chest later yielded an older broadhead that Wynn said was surrounded by healed tissue.
Wynn, 24, was hunting from a ground blind in central Oklahoma with his wife, Hartley. According to his account to Outdoor Life, the buck initially came within about 10 yards. It moved to roughly 25 yards after being startled as Wynn began to draw his recurve bow. Wynn set that bow aside, picked up his compound bow and released an arrow.
Wynn said the bow made a loud report, its string serving had split, the string had gone slack and both cams were bent. The arrow traveled about 8 yards before landing in the dirt; its lighted nock traveled farther. He reported a bruised wrist but no other injury. Wynn suggested a limb may have hit the top of the blind, though the account does not establish what caused the failure.
He bought a Bear Archery compound bow that evening and sighted it in at home using truck headlights. The following morning he killed a doe at 28 yards. That evening, accompanied by his 17-year-old brother-in-law, Maddox Allbright, Wynn returned to the blind. The target buck appeared along the same trail and offered a 30-yard quartering-away shot. Wynn said it traveled about 35 yards before falling. The buck weighed 186 pounds and had eight points.
A Bow Failure, Then a Return Hunt
The account shows how a sudden equipment failure can interrupt a hunt and create an immediate safety concern. Wynn said the broken bow bruised his wrist and that he was fortunate its limbs did not strike his face. His experience is a reported individual incident, not evidence about how often bows fail or what caused this one to break.
The discovery during field dressing added a second detail: Wynn found a Slick Trick broadhead inside the buck’s chest cavity. He said there was no visible mark on the hide and the tissue around the broadhead had healed. That suggests the deer had survived an earlier wound, although the report does not establish when it happened or who shot the arrow.
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The Hunt Across Two Days
The events took place during two consecutive days in October. On the first evening, Wynn was hunting with Hartley when the buck approached his blind. After the bow broke, he ended the hunt and bought a replacement setup rather than continuing with the damaged equipment.
On the next morning, Wynn tested the replacement by taking a doe at 28 yards. He returned that evening with Allbright, who was hoping to take a doe during youth deer season. Allbright chose to wait while they watched for the buck. Wynn told Outdoor Life that the buck came back behind a smaller deer, avoided the exact spot where the morning doe had been shot, and moved wider around the blind before presenting the shot.
“When I did, it sounded like a cannon went off inside my blind.”
— Max Wynn, speaking to Outdoor Life
Cause of the Bow Break Remains Unknown
The source report relies on Wynn’s account and does not include an independent inspection of the damaged bow. His suggestion that a limb contacted the blind is a possibility, not a confirmed explanation. It is also unclear whether the bow was later examined by a manufacturer or technician, or whether any defect was identified.
The report does not identify who shot the broadhead found in the buck, when the deer was wounded, or how long the broadhead had been inside it. Wynn said the surrounding tissue had healed and he saw no external arrow mark, but those observations do not establish the history of the wound.
No Further Inspection Reported
Outdoor Life’s report describes the hunt and the recovery of the buck but does not give a later update on the damaged compound bow. It is not clear whether Wynn plans to have the bow inspected or whether the maker has reviewed it. The report also does not identify any follow-up on the old broadhead. At the time of publication, the confirmed outcome was that Wynn had taken the buck with the replacement bow and found the separate broadhead while processing it.
Key Questions
What happened to Max Wynn’s bow?
Wynn said the compound bow’s string serving split, its string went slack and both cams bent as he released an arrow. The arrow traveled about 8 yards. He reported a bruised wrist.
Did Wynn get the buck after the equipment failure?
Yes. After buying and sighting in a replacement Bear Archery compound bow, Wynn returned to the area the next evening and killed the eight-point buck with a shot from about 30 yards, according to his account.
What did Wynn find while processing the deer?
He said he found a Slick Trick broadhead in the buck’s chest cavity. Wynn reported healed tissue around it and no visible mark on the outside of the hide.
Is the reason the bow broke known?
No. Wynn suggested a bow limb may have hit the top of the ground blind, but the report does not confirm that explanation or cite an inspection of the damaged bow.
Source: outdoorlife.com
