Lost Bull Help!

dblcheater · Nov 4, 2006

Shot a good bull on the UT opener muzzleloader. Ranged him at 150yds broad side and put what I thought was a good shot (copper hollowpoint 385 grain powerbelt) I heard it hit but he ran off. I only saw him run 10 yds until he went over the ridge and headed downhill. I found his blood trail but he wasnt' bleeding a ton. Looked forever and never found him. I'm sick about wounding an animal plus it would be my first elk. I would hate to lose such a awesome animal. Just looking for any suggestions on tracking him. I'm headed up again to look for him so any help I would greatly appreciate!! suggestions? tactics? do you think he is gut shot with not much blood? or what? how far could he run? how far of an area should I be looking? I have tracked animals before mostly archery kills, but never muzzloader hit animals.

burnloungekid · Nov 4, 2006

LAST EDITED ON Nov-04-06 AT 09:21PM (MST)[p]Just don't give up! I had a similar situation this year on the rifle deer hunt. We never found him but I know how you feel. I'm still loosing sleep over it. I've tracked down a few animals myself. My technique is to not move on without blood or a track. Lots of people walk around aimlessly hoping to find em. I like to take is slow and only follow sign. If he's not pushed around he should lay down for a while. So, good luck and at least keep me updated!

Just courious where are you from and around what area are you hunting?

Colville · Nov 4, 2006

use some paint or flagging tape. They unless the come to a complete stop, they don't turn 90 degrees all at once so you can look back on the line of tape you've left to see the angle he's been moving in. It'll help you make better guesses on where to spend your time first. If they dry up and slow down it get's real tough.

woodruffhunter · Nov 4, 2006

Some great advice from Colville. Also, I would take a few of your friends to help you. The more help you can get the better. Its sounds like you were confident in your shot, let us know if you find him.

Foreman4x4 · Nov 4, 2006

There's really no telling how far he could go without really knowing how well he's hit. Some times if you shoot them a little high they won't leave much of a blood trail, especially if the bullet doesn't exit, but they'll bleed like crazy internally and generally won't go too far.

Was the blood dark or frothy? Was it up high on any of the brush/vegetation or only on the ground? Not always, but usually with a gut shot you'll smell it and/or have fluids other than blood.

Do as suggested and mark what blood you can find. It'll at least give you an idea which general direction he's headed and you can easily go back to the last sign if you lose it.

Best of luck in finding him.

dblcheater · Nov 4, 2006

thanks for the help guys! there wasn't alot of blood that I found but I shot him in the evening, when i noticed he didn't go down I quickly looked for blood and it got dark on me real quick so I decided to come back in the morning, and give him time to lie down somewhere. I got on the the blood trail in the morning however it had snowed a little bit and melted off which didn't help plus he was on a sage brush moutain with mostly sandy soil which just absorbed blood. I did find some blood high on the sage brush (which was probably 3ft tall) but then it just seemed like he dried up and I couldn't find a single drop after about 80 yds from where I shot him. I let you know how it goes tomorrow! thanks again

GrizlyHunter · Nov 4, 2006

If he was running, and he was in sandy soil, you might have luck tracking his tracks, not his blood. If he's running he's most likely tearing up ground pretty good. Just a thought. The paper trail is good idea...I've used it and it tends to give you a real good idea where they're headed.

Good luck.

Grizzly

groundhog · Nov 4, 2006

All good advise. I always stay with last blood until there is no hope. If you can get a good look at his track and measure it with a stick, length and width it could help later. Once a hurt animal starts down hill they usually continue that direction. Follow any natural trails, draws, ect and look for tracks. A hurt bull can go a long way, or he could be right there. Check around any water sources and look for birds. It sounds like a high hit that may be to far back.Good luck and don't give up!!!

whaletail · Nov 5, 2006

I have found wounded game using dogs. They don't have to be hound dogs any dog will follow a blood trail.Of coures it works best if you get them on it soon after the shot. Look for ravens,magpies or eagles working the dead animal. Also listen for coyotes on the animal. They will howl at the kill sight to communicate to other coyotes.Good luck finding your bull.
Whaletail

The_Indian_Peak_Sneek · Nov 5, 2006

Using dogs to track a big game animal is illegal in the state of Utah.

Foreman4x4 · Nov 5, 2006

>Using dogs to track a big
>game animal is illegal in
>the state of Utah.

So is leaving an animal to rot on the mountain.....

The_Indian_Peak_Sneek · Nov 5, 2006

I know what it's like to wound something and spend the next week or two tossing and turning.... so by all means, do all you can to find it. I'm just looking out for you and everyone else who may read this....

Please refer to page 15 of the Utah Big Game Proclamation

C. Use of Dogs
23-20-3 & R657-5-16
A person may not use the aid of a dog to take, chase, harm or harass big game.

I have seen it enforced. Why taint your hunt if you don't have to? Get your buddies together and go find that sucker, best of luck to you.