Alright well I am experiencing something strange as far as the recovery of my elk goes. I shot a cow yesterday evening and gave it an hour or so before I checked the area for blood, wouldn't have given longer but it was getting dark. Slowly I looked and found blood and it trailed back to the ridge below my car so i followed it slowly and then marked the last spot with a few ribbons and went up to my car, by this point i had traveled over 100 yards. I came back a few hours later with some serious flash light power and followed the trail for another 50 or so yards until my flash light was starting to dim, so I marked and went home. I came back early this morning and spent four hours going another 100 yards or so, no longer going sidehill but straight down the mountain, when it went through trees i could see a fair amount left on the branches but besides that it was tough going looking for little drops of blood every few feet with the occasional large group.

I have made a trail of ribbons from shot to my last spot before i called it quits for a break, I am getting ready to head back out with a buddy in a hour.

The shot was good, as far as i could tell, right back behind the shoulder, could see the fletching sticking out as it took off, didn't seem that scared, saw it walk over the next ridge and I continued to cow call to it.

Blood is just a reg red color, not light or dark, torwards the end it looked like it kinda was crusty on the leaf i found, kinda, don't know if that means anything after 12 hours.

Any advice? Insight? I am baffled by the length of the trail.