.

[Bojangles21]

.

 

[eddielasvegas]

Man, that is one heck of a long shot and too bad you could not find him in spite of your best efforts.

Assuming your pack (or feet) is where you took your shot, where was the elk in the pix you posted?


Eddie

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

I'm sorry you lost the bull. Since you posted this, some folks (myself included) are going to question the decision you made. You only had 2 days to hunt, I get that, but that's no excuse to rush a shot, especially at that kind of range, on elk that were on the move. You spent a day and a half searching for the wounded elk, and that is comendable. However, in retrospect, you had the same amount of time to cross the massive ridge and maneuver for a higher percentage shot. I'm sure you're practiced and proficient shooting targets at 1,000 and beyond, but this wasn't paper and now the animal is either already bear poo or suffering somewhere. It's a tough lesson to learn, and again, I hate that you lost him.

 

[Billy Goat]

While watching him for 5 minutes, was he dead in his tracks or just down?

First you said dead in his tracks, but I assume that's not his condition?

How did you mark the spot he was down?

 

[kwackkillncrew]

wow, wouldnt have posted that, unless youre trolling or want to get thrown in the fire.

 

[doc holiday13]

*armchair monday morning quarterback hat on**

If you're shooting 1K yards, why wouldn't you just put another bullet in him? Seems like a $5ish bullet is cheap insurance.

*Hat off*

I got nothing other than stating the obvious that it happened and it sucks

 

[Montana Slim]

Sounds like you didn't hit him where you thought you hit him, or you didn't mark the right spot to look.

 

[yycyak]

This isn't going to go how you think it is...

To be blunt: You "smacked" a critter, and when you got to where he should be, no blood... No tracks... With snow on the ground...

My guess is you were looking in the wrong spot.

EDIT: To maybe add something constructive here:

Pro-Tip: Have a "Post-Shot Checklist" Not joking.

I made one after having a rodeo like OP's (it had a better ending.) Checklist involves basic things like physically flagging where you took the shot, making GPS pins, laser-ing last known target location, and simple stuff like that. For most of us, your brain is so hopped up on adrenaline after the trigger pull that you forget to do the simple things.

Errors compound from there.

It's surprisingly easy to screw up the post-shot tracking. And if you're bushwhacking 1km before even arriving in the target area.... Oh boy. I'll just say you need to have some damn good bush skills to make it work.

Checklist is a good idea.

 

[zrodwyo]

Sad part is he is probably laying dead exactly where he fell.

 

[Ucsdryder]

My guess is you made it 1000 yards and ended up in a different spot and he’s laying there dead. It’s amazing how much things change when you get from the shooting spot to POI.

 

[Huntinaz]

This isn't going to go how think it is...

To be blunt: You "smacked" a critter, and when you got to where he should be, no blood... No tracks... With snow on the ground...

My guess is you were looking in the wrong spot.

This was my thought as well

 

[Dennis]

Bummer! I would agree elk was probably right there. I looked for a deer I shot for hours then returned to where I shot from only to realize I was looking on the wrong bench. That shot was about 300 yards across a canyon, so I can only image 1000 yard error.

 

[KHNC]

dang, thats too bad.......

 

[OXN939]

Pretty sad weekend for me. First solo backcountry hunt in colorado this year, didn’t see nothing Saturday, but thanks to a local that gave me some pointers of the unit, I got into a heard Sunday morning, smacked a nice 6x6 at 1010 yards (before everyone freaks, it was the closest I could get without crossing a massive rock cliff, and they were on the move over the ridge line). Dropped the bull dead

Maybe the bull didn't go down because .300 Win Mag has less power by that distance than some peoples' EDC handguns

 

[Customweld]

No tracks, no blood, on frozen ground. It doesn't take long for a large, warm bodied elk to make a melt mark on the ground. I agree with others.... You were in the wrong spot.

 

[fishslap]

Bummer! I would agree elk was probably right there. I looked for a deer I shot for hours then returned to where I shot from only to realize I was looking on the wrong bench. That shot was about 300 yards across a canyon, so I can only image 1000 yard error.

My thoughts on this situation as well. Maybe I’ll go up tomorrow and watch for ravens since that spot is extremely recognizable. Get a nice dead head.

 

[LongWayAround]

So on your last day to hunt, you decided to send one over 1k across a massive rock cliff at an elk that was on the move?

That seems like a pretty poor decision.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

Rifle hunting, be it deer, elk, pig or other, I always wait at least 1/2 hour before setting out to find it. Bow hunting an hour. I kind of think, like mentioned, you were looking in area where you thought you hit it, but in reality you were off your mark.

 

[Gerbdog]

My guess is... since there were no tracks, no blood, on frozen ground... the good lord took him home. He simply floated away along with the tracks that got him to the location he was standing in when shot.

sorry for the tongue in cheek comment, i think maybe you were looking in the wrong spot also, 1000 yards across the terrain you just pointed out... thats my guess. Anymore to this story that got left out? Were you able to locate the tracks of them heading to the spot where he was shot? seems like a wide circle of the area should bring up tracks coming into said circle and out of said circle...

edited: props for going in backpacking solo, no easy task.

 

[tjmitchell]

I don’t know what to say except …What? A 1000 plus yards .Sad.