Illinois Bowhuntin

Sounds about liek a single lunh hit.You should of waited before trailing it.So many people make marginal shots and dont wait.Unless you see that you hit it in the lungs or heart then you should of waited longer.Atleast 2 hours at minimum.I will venture to say that the elk lived.Especially if it was only a single lung.They have a pretty good chance of living with only one lung.I have had a buck turn on me while shooting fortunately for me I still made a good hit and it went only 30 yards before going down.Things happen.I would say the elk knew something was wrong and she was skittish and that is why she turned to leave.Prolly almost ducked your arrow in a matter of speaking.
Better luck next time.

aeroslinger

Like davidmil said, not very clear. I think everyone is assuming it wasn't a pass thru. You didn't really say. How far up the shaft was there blood? Assuming you knew it wasn't a good hit, no pass thru, and blood not too far up the shaft, waiting longer would have been the ticket. Sorry to hear. Good luck.

yajsab

Thanks for sharing. It was a pass-through. The blood stain was on the vanes' end of the shaft. The piles of blood were half bubbles and half blood. And this was the first time that I didn't recover. I also track it for a few minutes and then went on to help my friend track his, then back to tracking mine. So I would say I waited about at least two hours. I can take the preaching, but I just want to see what everyone think I might have hit. From the bubbles, I think I might have hit a lung too. Oh well...

BobCo19-65

Hate to see that kind of attitude. How much time did you spend looking? Did you search water sources or grid search?

Did you find your friends animal?

Bees

Study the picture David Mill posted for you. than show me where the heck the Broiler is.

rybohunter

BobCo
I agree completely.....it's the "oh well it happens" attitude that never forces people to be better, and try harder, and prepare more, and WAIT longer before tracking. Then the boards get littered with lost animal threads. And heaven forbid you take losing an animal seriously, then you become a high horse know it all.

Talondale

Yeah, I hate it when people don't put any effort into recovery too but I also hate it when people act as if loosing an animal is one of the 7 Deadly Sins. A person can be careful and a good shooter and still get a bad stick on an animal because it's a live target and there's many variables in the woods (unseen twig). I'm all for encouraging people to recover their kill as much as possible, the recovery thread is a great example, I just want people to do it in a kind spirit that encourages rather than condemns.

Mattiac

I agree, I think people dont take it seriously enough. Im not about to bash someone for losing an animal when I dont know all the circumstances.Ialso understand that know things dont always go perfectly. But I think many people force shots, and dont track properly or for as long as they should.

I believe its a lack of knowledge that causes this. I mean, honestly other than hunter ed classes, how many books and videos are dedicated to teaching proper tracking and shot placement? Hardly any. How often do we post about tracking or shot placement? Not very often, and mostly we only discuss it when someone has wounded one. There isnt enough emphasis put on this vital part of hunting before the fact. Tracking needs to be learned just the same as shooting your bow.

Last year I hit a buck in the shoulder blade as he turned, more than likely onlytaking one lung. I lostthe buck, but I can say I gave it my all to find that deer. 4 days of searching on hands and knees with hydrogen peroxide to tell the difference between blood and berry stains. Grid searched in the pouring rain on the fourth day after the trail was lost through thickets so thick we could only belly crawl. I finally gave up after the fourth day, due to sickness, and the fact if I even found it, it would have to be spoiled.

I really get sick when I hear people say; " I found blood and hair, and I tracked it for _______________ (insert a time less than 12 hrs) and couldnt find the deer...oh well."

"OH WELL" ?

BS! Give it your all!!!!

(this post is not necessarily directed atthe guy who posted this, but towards anyone who gives up so easily)

atlasman

That says it all right there.


Very poor attitude towards an animal you wounded. Have some respect for the game you hunt and do EVERYTHING in your power to recover the animal you shot.

"Oh well"???...............You gotta be friggin' kidding me.

Fieldmouse

You sounds like you hit the biggest organ "The Skin".

I guess the wolf's are liking your miss.