Best place to shoot an elk??
05-09-2005, 11:42 PM
#31
Fork Horn
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: usa
Posts: 464
RE: Best place to shoot an elk??
admittedly i have never seen a lung shot animal run for miles, but i will say this.
a few years back i shot a 5by5 whitetail buck in the heart with a 30-06. didnt hit any bone. 45 minutes later that buck went down. creepy. i had a witness to this as well. honestly, if he hadnt run in a big circle i still may be out there looking for him, but honestly he was on his feet for 45 minutes after a heart shot.
still, he didnt go more than 400 yards all told, but im sure he could have
brad
a few years back i shot a 5by5 whitetail buck in the heart with a 30-06. didnt hit any bone. 45 minutes later that buck went down. creepy. i had a witness to this as well. honestly, if he hadnt run in a big circle i still may be out there looking for him, but honestly he was on his feet for 45 minutes after a heart shot.
still, he didnt go more than 400 yards all told, but im sure he could have
brad
05-10-2005, 12:52 AM
#32
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Crescent Valley, NV
Posts: 2,271
RE: Best place to shoot an elk??
The last few posts remind me also of an elk my uncle shot with a bow one time. It was a moderately sized cow. He shot it perfectly broadside. The arrow penetrated both lungs, and was still in the animal. I am not sure exactly how long it was before she died, but I remember my grandma telling me somthing like 15 or 20 minutes or something. I don't know that another arrow would have done any more damage or helped the situation. But the elk just stood there, and didn't really move for the entire time. Acted like she wasn't even hit. Maybe that arrow still being in there was keeping her from bleeding. Who knows how she stayed up that long. One thing I do know is elk are tough. PERIOD.
I wouldn't call NVMIKE's statements all crap, I think that is very possible. It is amazing what adrenaline will do to anything. PEOPLE have been known to have cevered spinal cords, and because of adrenaline, actually walk away from wrecks, only to die a little while later when the adrenaline rush subsides. Don't even try to call bull on this one manboy, it just happened to a deputy I work with only a few weeks ago, so I know it can happen.
Edit - that is it happened to a person on a wreck that my deputy went on, it didn't actually happen to the deputy.
I wouldn't call NVMIKE's statements all crap, I think that is very possible. It is amazing what adrenaline will do to anything. PEOPLE have been known to have cevered spinal cords, and because of adrenaline, actually walk away from wrecks, only to die a little while later when the adrenaline rush subsides. Don't even try to call bull on this one manboy, it just happened to a deputy I work with only a few weeks ago, so I know it can happen.
Edit - that is it happened to a person on a wreck that my deputy went on, it didn't actually happen to the deputy.
05-10-2005, 11:28 AM
#33
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location:
Posts: 659
RE: Best place to shoot an elk??
o.k. charlie u asked for it!
i know that your statement on the cow that stood there for 15-20 mins. is correct, last fall i to shot a elk with bow and the arrow went blazing on down the ridge! she just ran about 30 yards and stood there! 23 mins. later a whitetail spooked her and she walked down the hill. we found her within 100 yards of where i shot. i opened her up and sure enough the arrow passed threw both lungs.
after this i studied bow hunting alot! i didn't want to have an animal last that long after a bow shot. what i have found is inlike a gun, with an arrow u want to hit the heart! PERIOD! an arrow kills by what? loss of blood, the heart is what pumps the blood= no heart no pumping. so this year i will hit the heart or under shoot all my game.
i know that your statement on the cow that stood there for 15-20 mins. is correct, last fall i to shot a elk with bow and the arrow went blazing on down the ridge! she just ran about 30 yards and stood there! 23 mins. later a whitetail spooked her and she walked down the hill. we found her within 100 yards of where i shot. i opened her up and sure enough the arrow passed threw both lungs.
after this i studied bow hunting alot! i didn't want to have an animal last that long after a bow shot. what i have found is inlike a gun, with an arrow u want to hit the heart! PERIOD! an arrow kills by what? loss of blood, the heart is what pumps the blood= no heart no pumping. so this year i will hit the heart or under shoot all my game.
05-10-2005, 12:44 PM
#34
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Moccasin, Montana
Posts: 1,835
RE: Best place to shoot an elk??
You are right at one point manboy,bow and arrows kill by loss of blood but you don't have to hit them in the heart to doit.An arrow kills by causing sever hemriging.The lungs are full of capilaries that supply blood to the lungs to put fresh oxygen to the blood wich in turns supplies the heart and the brain.
The best thing an animal can do when shot thru the lungs is run,this in turn rasise it blood pressue and the brain supplies more blood to the lungs,this in turn make them bleed out faster,but if the animal just stands there it will take longer for that animal to die.
Also if you cut off blood supply instantaineious to the brain the animal will lose consenus(sp) and die from the shock.That why a good neck shot that severs the jugular will kill an animal fast.
I all reality the best place to shoot a elk(bow or gun) is in the vitals,1/4 up and behind the shoulder.This will sometimes drop them in their tracks or they may run.With a bow a slight 1/4 away shot behind the shoulder angle your arrow up and thru the heart and lung.I have taken neck shots on elk and they have all resulted in one shot kills right where they stood but it is not a very high % place to shoot,with what you lose in blood shot in the shoulder is very minimal to losing a WHOLE elk.Straight thru the shoulder are not the best either exspecialy if you are using a lighter caliber rifle,or thin sided bullets,and it would not be advisible to shot a elk with a bow dead on the shoulder either.The scapula on a elk is very thick and hard to penetrate.
Just my opion.
BBJ
The best thing an animal can do when shot thru the lungs is run,this in turn rasise it blood pressue and the brain supplies more blood to the lungs,this in turn make them bleed out faster,but if the animal just stands there it will take longer for that animal to die.
Also if you cut off blood supply instantaineious to the brain the animal will lose consenus(sp) and die from the shock.That why a good neck shot that severs the jugular will kill an animal fast.
I all reality the best place to shoot a elk(bow or gun) is in the vitals,1/4 up and behind the shoulder.This will sometimes drop them in their tracks or they may run.With a bow a slight 1/4 away shot behind the shoulder angle your arrow up and thru the heart and lung.I have taken neck shots on elk and they have all resulted in one shot kills right where they stood but it is not a very high % place to shoot,with what you lose in blood shot in the shoulder is very minimal to losing a WHOLE elk.Straight thru the shoulder are not the best either exspecialy if you are using a lighter caliber rifle,or thin sided bullets,and it would not be advisible to shot a elk with a bow dead on the shoulder either.The scapula on a elk is very thick and hard to penetrate.
Just my opion.
BBJ
05-10-2005, 01:31 PM
#35
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location:
Posts: 815
RE: Best place to shoot an elk??
manboy - how long do you think it takes an elk to cover a couple miles? It takes men less than 4 min. to run a mile. So if you think that a spooked elk cant do 2 miles in 6-7min your a fool. Maybe you've never seen an elk on a dead run, they all probably drop in their tracks when they hear that the mighty manboy is comming w/ your 17HMR.
05-10-2005, 10:30 PM
#38
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location:
Posts: 815
RE: Best place to shoot an elk??
mannboy - I think it rather odd you believe a guy shot a deer "in the heart" and it lived for 45 min. [
] a heart shot is a quicker killer than a lung shot. You claim a elk (w/ no lungs) lived for 23 min.(i assume you had a certified watch w/ you) [] then got up[] and lived for another ????? before expireing. Also charlie had an elk live for 15-20 min. [8D](true according to your infinite wisdom). Truth be known your just a peckerwood that likes to stir the sh$t, you know, get on the site just to argue and be rude. I do believe the other guys on this board w/ their stories also. Elk are god awfull tough.
] a heart shot is a quicker killer than a lung shot. You claim a elk (w/ no lungs) lived for 23 min.(i assume you had a certified watch w/ you) [] then got up[] and lived for another ????? before expireing. Also charlie had an elk live for 15-20 min. [8D](true according to your infinite wisdom). Truth be known your just a peckerwood that likes to stir the sh$t, you know, get on the site just to argue and be rude. I do believe the other guys on this board w/ their stories also. Elk are god awfull tough.
05-10-2005, 11:06 PM
#40
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Crescent Valley, NV
Posts: 2,271
RE: Best place to shoot an elk??
You know, that got me to thinking. I am going to call my uncle tomorrow and have him refresh my memory.
Also, what just came to mind was a mulie my dad shot a few years ago. It was kind of a raking shot with the deer facing him as it was coming down the hill. When we got to the deer, he was breathing, (he broke its leg when its fell, and then shot it in the head as it was lying there to put it out, though that didn't even do the trick for some reason) but was not moving, but was breathing through the wound in his chest. He still had one other lung that was still working. I have read of this happening on elk quite often where only one lung gets taken out and basically collapses, allowing the elk to cover some amount of ground before expiring.
Also, what just came to mind was a mulie my dad shot a few years ago. It was kind of a raking shot with the deer facing him as it was coming down the hill. When we got to the deer, he was breathing, (he broke its leg when its fell, and then shot it in the head as it was lying there to put it out, though that didn't even do the trick for some reason) but was not moving, but was breathing through the wound in his chest. He still had one other lung that was still working. I have read of this happening on elk quite often where only one lung gets taken out and basically collapses, allowing the elk to cover some amount of ground before expiring.