Elk bleed after shot with a gun?

[williaada]

Got my first elk a cow. I shot the elk with a rifle and the cow walked about 30 yards and tipped over. I could not find any blood anywhere. Is this normal for an elk shot with a rifle?

 

[PablitoPescador]

Did the bullet exit?

 

[williaada]

Did the bullet exit?

Yes, complete pass through on it.

 

[williaada]

Post picture of the internal damage

 

[Dust Rider]

I have had a few bullets pass through animals with minimal or no visible signs of blood, until field dressing and cavity is full. If late season and cold with snow you can see it frozen on hide and a few little splatters in the snow.

 

[Next Ridge]

I dont know if I would say it is normal but it is not uncommon. A lot of well hit animals do not leave a blood trail.

 

[stonewall]

There’s an elk hunting vid I have from the early 90s. The guy shoots a bull mid body (maybe liver area) and blood pours out. But I’m thinking that was with a muzzleloader

 

[Jd259]

I shot a bull last weekend three times and I only found one tiny spot of blood and that was after he ran 100 yards and he was dead 30 yards past that little spot of blood so it does happen none of my shots were pass through’s tho...

 

[GueroUlt]

Shot my bull last year in the heart. The bullet went through the chest cavity and lodged in the opposite front quarter. Luckily he dropped there since there was no blood. Once I opened him up, his internal cavity was filled and it all began to pour out

 

[backcountry_hunter]

bull last year was a little over 100yds double lung.... saunter off for 20yds and tipped. No blood. I expect mediocre at best blood trails with gun or even worse with a muzzleloader.

 

[JMF]

None of the six elk I have shot with a rifle left a blood trail, 4 of the 6 were shot twice and none of them made it more than 50 yards. The insides will be mush but very little blood actually makes it out of the cavity.

 

[11boo]

That huge chest cavity will hold a lot of blood before it starts leaking out.

 

[CAElkhunter]

It all depends on the shot placement, bullet type, caliber, how far the shot was and the animal. Elk are tough sons bitches...

 

[brsnow]

I have limited elk experience but with a .308 and 150 gr, I have never had to trail one. They seem to die quick, not much on blood trails when they drop quickly. I hope the same pattern continues.

 

[Customweld]

Not uncommon at all. As mentioned above, that chest cavity has a large storage capacity. I've seen tissue get blown through an exit hole and actually plug it off.

 

[DAOutfitters208]

Yes, it is normal. It happens with bows and muzzy's as well. The higher you hit up the chest cavity, the harder it is for the blood to escape.

 

[Wapiti1]

Blood trails are funny things. Why would an animal bleed all over? It takes pressure to expel blood, so unless you hit a pressurized vessel or artery, why would it bleed right away?

Sucking chest wounds don't bleed due to the vacuum created by the lungs trying to fill. A shot through the chest is a sucking chest wound whether it be a bow or rifle. It takes a bit of time to get any blood to push out.

Jeremy

 

[magtech]

Shot an elk at 50 yards with a 270. It sprayed blood all over the ground an trees until it ceased to live. No different than a deer if you double lung and heart shoot it.