Like many others here, I've bowhunted for decades and been involved in many blood trails. Over a lifetime of bowhunting, you'll find yourself in many different situations after the shot is taken. Sometimes you'll see exactly where the arrow hits, and sometimes you'll think you did, but you later find out your eyes may have lied a little. Sometimes you won't see the impact at all. Sometimes you'll be able to watch the animal as it runs and sometimes you'll lose sight of it immediately in surrounding cover. You'll shoot some in the morning, some just before dark, and some just before a shower comes through. I never have found, or want to find a deer of my own the next morning that the coyotes have beaten me to. For these reasons, I like to make sure the arrow will penetrate as deep as possible. A broadside shot on a deer should always result in an exit hole for the best blood trail possible, especially when hunting from tree stands. I've seen many deer shot on video with expandable broadheads in the last few years and I'm not at all impressed with the lack of penetration that's commonly shown. I've seen many deer that were left overnight because the penetration was poor and the blood trail just wasn't there. I think some guys shoot heavy enough bows to shoot them responsibly, but many others don't, and they're doing themselves and the deer a disservice. It takes a lot of energy to send a big broadhead completely through a big whitetail, especially if he doesn't give you the perfect 15-20 yard broadside shot.
The awesome blood trails that some of the expandable blade manufacturers lay claim to aren't always possible if an exit hole isn't there, and many great blood trails have been produced by fixed blade broadheads. Many hunters that have never shot an expandable have shot thousands and thousands of deer through the years that ran 100 yards or less before piling up, and many of those made it less than 50 yards. The expandable blade advertisers would just as soon we didn't mention that.
Anyone starting out in bowhunting should ignore the big money advertising and shoot a sharp fixed blade broadhead that flies great out of their bow. That great blood trail that you'll get with an exit hole will always be welcomed. You can always try something different at a later date, if you see fit. I know a few good bowhunters that have tried expandables and abandoned them because of lack of penetration.
