Frustrated

BBB

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I'll probably get some grief for this story, that's alright. This morning, here in Oregon, I made the sneak on 6 cows. The wind began to swirl when I ranged them at 50 yds. I've practiced incredibly hard this year out to 80 yards, although 50 yds is my max, but it is nice to practice further. A cow stood broadside browsing the tips of a rododendrun and I pulled back. The arrow flew true and hit it's mark, right behind the shoulder mid-level, maybe a coule inches lower than mid-level. I crawled behind an old stump thankful for the moment I was experiencing right then. A deep breath of fresh mountain air and the smell of success. I made the shot at 7:45. The other cows funneled out of the cut and I heard a crash. At 8:15 I crawled up several yards (10-15 yards) to be able to assess the situation, the wounded cow got back on her feet (apparently she only went 10 yards and fell. I was shocked! I saw the fletchings sticking out an inch from the hair and right behind the shoulder, but no blood running out of the entry wound. I watched her in my binos for a few seconds and thought I 'll shoot again. She was quartering away and I let one fly! it went in low but right at the last rib towards the chest cavity. This time she bolted with both arrows in her. I sat back down and waited until 9:00 AM. I slowly began looking for sign when I heard a log break just in the timber. I never saw her but found the blood right off. First she was bleeding fairly well. Bright red blood, just as I expected. Even blood spray on the side I hit her......She kept going and going. I don't think I ever jumped her (the blood was already dry as I got further along the trail). I took my time (hours)walking giving her time to expire but the only thing that expired was blood eventually. I just got home an hour ago after a very long day doing grids in some thick rain forests. I know elk are tough and many of you might think I am seeing things as far as arrow placement, but believe me it was right where it was supposed to be. The frustrating part is I worked year-long practicing, investing in good gear, etc... I felt like I did everything right, including the shot...Poor cow, may the coyotes and bears fill their bellies with the sweet flavor of cow elk. I'm cravin' elk meat! What do you think?
 
It happens to the best of us, just dont let it get your confidence in your shooting ability. It sounds like the shots were good. Sounds like that cow was kin to my ex....mean as hell and woundn't get put down by one miserable little arrow..(but thats a whole different subject)
 
I know the feeling. Last year I shot an elk at 7 yards broadside. She ran off and I sat for 30 minutes. I found my arrow complete pass through. I looked for blood but found very very little only about 4 drops within the first five yards. I was panicked thinking it was a bad shot, because I shot her as she walked by. I decided not to look for blood but follow her hoof prints. There she was 50 yards away. I got both lungs but high. I would have never found her if all I had was blood to follow.
 
Tough luck loosing your elk. I lost one in OR one time, huge bull, was sick about it for years, still sick about it, but unfortunately this can happen. Just curious, were you using fixed or mechanical broadheads?

JL
 
dont get down about it. you did everything right and it ended up that way. go get another shot and make sure to keep your mind positive. wounding is part of hunting. do it long enough and we all lose them. stay hungry!!
 
One thing I have learned bowhunting elk the last 15 years, they are dang tough, Sorry for your crappy luck.
 
I shot a spike that in my opinion was "Super Spike". Hit him at the base of the neck at around 40 yards uphill, he took one step and fell over, kicking and barking. I put another two arrows in him since he couldn't get up and could only kick and drag himself. It was getting late and after watching him for what seemed like an eternity he still was not dead. Rather than risk getting beat up trying to slit its throat or make him an elk pin cusion, we decided that the shots were good and he was probably minutes away from death, so we left him and snuck out to pack him out in the morning. Little did I expect he was somehow able to drag or kick himself another 50 yards under a tree and was still alive staring at us. I put one more in him and he died within minutes. Three of those 4 shots hit both lungs and heart but it still took a lot longer for him to expire than I wanted to see. The elk was sucking blood in and having a hard time breathing but just wouldn't give up after at least 6 hours.
Keep your head up, elk are tough and sometimes those broadheads can bounce around off bone making a great shot less than ideal once you examine the internal damage.
 
Don't get down on yourself It happened to me on a cow elk about 4 years ago from 10 yards, and A buddy of mine had to empty his quiver on a 300 class 6pt bull 2 years ago and still had to wait and watch that tough sucker die! Elk are tough to kill, you did every thing right. As Joe Dirt would say: "You got to keep on keep'n on"
 
Its happen or is going to happen to every archer hunter at some time during their hunting career. Just keep hunting hard and taking those ethical shots. Bummer on the bad luck.
 
Anyone thats done very much archery elk hunting has a story similar to yours, so keep your head up. Instead of one of my miserable archery stories, how bout this. I shot a cow at 50 yards with my .338, right behind the shoulder. 210 Barnes-X @ 3000 fps. Not a flinch on her part. No blood either. Because of fresh snow, I was able to follow her tracks. Dead 75 yards away. Only blood was under her when I moved her. They are damn tough.
 
From what I have heard and experienced on elk it is actually better shot placement to shoot an elk right through the shoulder at about mid level. If you are to look at the anatomy of any elk the shoulder blade actually hooks back towards the front and form a pocket. Some time depending on how the elk is standing (leg forward, or leg back, behind the shoulder can put your shot in the guts or just one lung instead of two.) I shot a bull behind the shoulder last year, and it went about 450 yds, my step-father shot a bull through the pocket in the shoulder and it went 55 yds and fell over right in front of us. Both of us were shooting Identical bow/arrow/broadhead setups.
 
LAST EDITED ON Aug-28-07 AT 01:46PM (MST)[p] I double lung (high) a bull and he went .22 miles before dieing. left no blood at all after the first 100yards. Tough critters
 
Thanks for all the positive replies. I hope to go back this weekend...Obviously the meat is spoiled but maybe I can recover some arrows and get an idea exactly what the arrows did internally. Lots of vultures around here. Thanks
 
Sorry to hear that. I lost a really big buck once, will never get over it. I feel as long as we do ALL WE CAN to retrieve an animal, that's all we can do, but it still sucks. Hope you can at least locate her, as not knowing for sure what happened is the worst.

Jbo
 
I lost a nice Utah 6x7 that I shot with a Muzzleloader 3 years ago, same thing shot him standing broad side at about 100 yards, he didn't flinch when that slug hit him, he just bled and sprayed blood with every breath (red and orangeish bubbly blood), he trotted off about another 200 yrds, and then I watched him lay down, I thought I had him for sure!! The wind must have changed or something, he jumped up and just went into a trot. I fallowed him and the blood for about 1 and half miles and the blood just disappeared and he joined up with another small herd of elk and just disappeared? I get sick when I think about it, and honestly this is the first time I've ever talked about it since it happened!! It makes me sick!! I'm sure I hit him good enough it just didn't happen the way it's supposed to!! I thought I did everything right?? It's breaks my heart he's not on my wall, he was that kind of quality of a bull!! I havn't hunted with a muzzleloader since that day. I just don't trust myself!!

It amazes me just how tough they are!! 310 grain slug + 150 grains powder + right behind the shoulders = Dead Elk.........Not in this case!!!


Work to hunt!! Live to hunt!! And the rest spent keeping the wife happy!!
 
I read a report several years ago about how fast an Elk can make blood. I don't remember the numbers but it was a lot.
 
WOW, people on MM.com actually make mistakes and also have lost animals ? I figured the Holier then thou Crew around here would never mess up............

-Moosie

People, they thin' I don't know a Buttload of Crap About the Gosple, but I do. (Nacho Libre)
 

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