Hit Bull High

[Ross]

Arrow still in, high, bright red blood, limited penetration, and limited blood found speaks to some type of bone/shoulder hit. Something stopped the penetration and at that distance there should be a lot more without something solid being impacted. As you stated things happen so fast after the shot. Grid and take it slow.

 

[cnelk]

I also think you probably stuck the spine. The spine is lower than most think from the top of the back.

At that distance anything lower and that arrow woulda went through like butter.

 

[Billy Goat]

Just sounded like a normal shot honestly. Everything happened really fast lol

It can be hard in the moment to observe everything correctly, things are happening quickly, your adrenaline is through the roof.


If you hit in the lungs, I believe your arrow would have blown right through, assuming you didn't hit anything on the way there that caused a deflection.

Heavy bone, not scapula, would have stopped the arrow. If you are 7-8" down, you are likely in the spine. It's just not likely that your arrow would have stopped otherwise.


Now, if the arrow impacted something on the way there, struck partially sideways, that could have killed penetration. Might still give you a dead elk too, assuming it's around 12" down off the backline.

But the picture you posted with the dot is getting very close to vertebrae, just depends on exactly where it hit.

 

[Formidilosus]

Not saying he is alive or dead because I didn’t see the actual shot but it seems you didn’t get much penetration. Was it an uphill shot, level, downhill? What was the distance, arrow setup etc. What did the impact sound like?

That picture is not correct anatomically. As stated the scapula is incorrectly sized and located, and the spine is not remotely that high in the chest. The spinous processes are 7-10” long on an adult elk, then about 3’ish inches of spine below that.

 

[The Guide]

That picture is not correct anatomically. As stated the scapula is incorrectly sized and located, and the spine is not remotely that high in the chest. The spinous processes are 7-10” long on an adult elk, then about 3’ish inches of spine below that.

I've hit several elk in the spot he suggests on his initial post, with a rifle shot and every stinking time it hit the spine and ruined the best steaks! I swear if you hit an elk with in 12" of the top of their back you will hit bone. Irregardless of the construction of that bullet, hard spine bone tears up a jacketed bullet so I'm sure it would stop a broadhead.

I hope the OP got lucky and it went into the spine from underneath and he cut an artery that filled the body cavity with blood and you have to dry track him to his death bed. Good luck be with you!

Jay

 

[mtnbound]

That picture is not correct anatomically. As stated the scapula is incorrectly sized and located, and the spine is not remotely that high in the chest. The spinous processes are 7-10” long on an adult elk, then about 3’ish inches of spine below that.

I deleted my post because the internet illustration I used was inaccurate.

 

[TaperPin]

It’s nice to hear when someone gets down on hands and knees, marking tracks as he goes and putting old school grunt work into tracking an animal.

 

[11boo]

Get back in there and use your nose. Start downwind and zig zag in till you get a whiff of elk. Then just stay on it.

 

[Marble]

First guy that says hit the void needs to go sit in the corner and think about life. Bull is dead or dieing.
1. There is no void below the spine, where the Lungs sit in the cavity it is 100% occupied 100% of the time. That’s why the chest moves in and out, if there was a void the ribs wouldn’t need to expand when the animal breathes in. If you think there’s a void, start looking up animal surgeries and you will see 100% filled 100% of the time.

2. High lung shots take a while to bleed, remember the chest cavity and lungs need to fill
Before blood comes out the wounds,

3. 8-10” of penetration could be more, if your arrow broke and is missing that much most likely the broadhead is sitting in the offside ribs. Had a bull several years ago break of 6” of arrow, that 6” was stuck in the offside ribs and would have had 20”+ of penetration that the arrow didn’t show.

4. If you did only get 8-10” penetration you may have only gotten one lung, he’s not going to live especially when his chest cavity is filing with blood, his lungs will compress and he will suffocate.

Get back out there, punch your tag he’s dead, that’s always been my rule, you draw blood with a legit kill shot, punch your tag and search for that 1 animal. Call in tracking dogs even, but he deserves 100% of your effort


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There definitely is no void. But a wound below the spine and in the thoracic cavity can be survivable. The only reason I know this is that I killed a bull with a broken arrow inside of him. Broken rib on entry, stopped at the other side. Totally healed over. He was running around the mountain with a group of cows for days before I was able to kill him. It was located just below the spine 4-6 ribs in. My only explanations would be a dull (or dulled) broadhead pushing instead of cutting tissue or other tissue filling the hole. The second scenario is unlikely IMO.

Unless he's found, this is all conjecture. But based on past experiences, it's a spine hit. After you figure in hair and everything above the spine, I would guess a good 8-10" between the top of the back (edge of hair) and the bottom of the spine.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[Coveyleader]

High hits are hard. If you hit plus or minus where that dot is, you’re flirting with blackstrap zone. Going to be a tough one. We had two high hits this year no exit. One found, one found by the birds a few days later. Both went a long long ways. High lung shots can go forever. They’re not much different than one lung hits, and they can survive.

 

[WCB]

My dad hit a bull in s similar spot...I called and stopped the bull again at 100yards and held him and another bull for about 20minuts. Small "stream of blood" down his side and tiny drops of blood where he stood =..watched him drop down and come up another ridge 300yards away. Then saw him the next day feeding with about 50 different elk.
Guess is you shot slightly higher than you think.

 

[MikeDeltaFoxtrot]

Tagged for the outcome. Hope you recover him.

 

[Texasbuckeye]

I bet you hit backstrap and the bull is not dead. Based on the longer spinous processes near the shoulder, a high shoulder shot that did what you describe is most likely on the backstrap.

 

[Mattman215]

Any update ?

 

[wyosam]

It’s nice to hear when someone gets down on hands and knees, marking tracks as he goes and putting old school grunt work into tracking an animal.

The fact that actually doing the blood trail work post shot is worthy of comment is a sad state of affairs for hunting. Too much reliance on tech.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Short Track]

I had a high hit. 0 blood. The blood went into the lungs, not outwards. I just got lucky that I stumbled across the animal 50 yards away.

 

[Fatcamp]

First guy that says hit the void needs to go sit in the corner and think about life. Bull is dead or dieing.
1. There is no void below the spine, where the Lungs sit in the cavity it is 100% occupied 100% of the time. That’s why the chest moves in and out, if there was a void the ribs wouldn’t need to expand when the animal breathes in. If you think there’s a void, start looking up animal surgeries and you will see 100% filled 100% of the time.

2. High lung shots take a while to bleed, remember the chest cavity and lungs need to fill
Before blood comes out the wounds,

3. 8-10” of penetration could be more, if your arrow broke and is missing that much most likely the broadhead is sitting in the offside ribs. Had a bull several years ago break of 6” of arrow, that 6” was stuck in the offside ribs and would have had 20”+ of penetration that the arrow didn’t show.

4. If you did only get 8-10” penetration you may have only gotten one lung, he’s not going to live especially when his chest cavity is filing with blood, his lungs will compress and he will suffocate.

Get back out there, punch your tag he’s dead, that’s always been my rule, you draw blood with a legit kill shot, punch your tag and search for that 1 animal. Call in tracking dogs even, but he deserves 100% of your effort


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I shot a mule deer with my muzzleloader last year in December that had an arrow right under its spine from being shot in September. Arrow went through right shoulder, under spine, and the broadhead was out the opposite side. He had rubbed the broadhead off. Rutting a doe when shot and running off other bucks.

It was a fluke I knew who shot him. Sent him a picture and he verified it was his arrow. Arrowed September 2nd, killed December 6th?.

 

[CMF]

I'm going with likely not dead
Sounds like it hit bone.
His behavior sounds like he wasn't hurt. My wife hit one high above the spine and like yours he ran out to 100-200yds and stopped looking back for cow. I thought I was going to call him back, but he eventually meandered off. Never recovered.
Like Marble, the bull I killed last year had a broken arrow in the top of the lung cavity. (pic below) He was going about his business as usual, feeding, bugling, etc. I also shot him within a few hours of opening morning and the broadhead was degraded, so I'm guessing from the season before.
And the guy that recovers with a dog probably has more recovery experience than 99% of hunters.
I'd still try and put a dog on it to be sure(just looked to see this is old thread, but dogs are the best recovery tool possible)

 

[Texasbuckeye]

A high chest wound that catches very few vessels and seals on both sides with fat or hide or whatever, is likely a surviveable hit. There has to be a lot of luck to prevent a sucking chest wound, and there has to be a lot of luck for the vessels to not bleed too much and cause a hemothorax (blood filled lungs).

If the fat layer or something closes the chest wound so it isnt sucking air with every inhalation, and bleeding is minimal, then a high chest wound will not “always” kill an animal. A wt deer with thin hide and very little fatty layer will likely not survive that kind of wound. But a big elk with heavier hide and some fat could. Obviously the stories above say they can. I would still say majority of double lunged elk die. But a super high shot in the chest is where the smallest vessels are so it is possible to hit there with little bleeding.