How often do you find unrecovered animals?

[sndmn11]

I ran across two elk carcasses today, both were in the wide open and visible from several hundred yards off.

How often do you find unrecovered animals?

 

[def90]

Never have..

 

[Ucsdryder]

Someone shot into a group of cows? That would be guess. Killed 2, panicked and left.

 

[WeiserBucks]

Someone shot into a group of cows? That would be guess. Killed 2, panicked and left.

More likely they killed 5 and only had 3 tags. Flock shooting elk is pretty common in my area when there's multiple cow tags in a Fudd brigade.

 

[Dos Perros]

Found a 6 point bull last year in Colorado archery season. Talked to folks camped close and they knew who shot it and let them know. Meat was junk at that point but could have kept the head.

Found a mule deer buck a few years ago in Kansas.

Found a cow elk in Montana archery in 2018. Game warden knew who killed it by the arrow.

So about every other year.

 

[amassi]

Man that cows got a big set of nuts on her… oh wait, keep walkin’


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[3Esski]

I find animals all the time...mine, yours, doesn't matter just gotta outrun the girls. Pro tip, push them to keep em bleeding, bonus if you shoot them in the leg it slows them down. ~AVB but friends call me leg reaper.

 

[sndmn11]

Someone shot into a group of cows? That would be guess. Killed 2, panicked and left.

I think the cow was shot a few days ago. The spike probably yesterday. 2.4 miles apart as the crow flies.

Where the spike is my guess is he didn't fall at the shot so nobody tracked, very close to the road.

The cow was where nobody would look for elk.

 

[Caseknife]

I have probably found half a dozen in 40 plus years of hunting, maybe more.

 

[ozyclint]

Somewhere, out there, there's a mule deer that's not as big as a BOAL

 

[NCTrees]

More or less ever year when I hunt elk. Raghorn this year, decent six last year. Pretty much the same for a fifteen year run we hunted Colorado. Have to wonder if folks never find an unrecovered animal are curious enough to walk up and see what the magpies are all over…..

 

[wyogoat]

I usually find one elk each season it seems like. Poor shot or poor follow up. I’d like to think people did what they should but we all know that isn’t always the case.

 

[Pony Soldier]

Found two archery losses in 60 seasons but then again I rarely even see human tracks

 

[fishslap]

Found a mule deer buck behind a bush the weekend after CO 4th rifle several years ago. There were small pieces of flagging tape tied to the top of grass in several locations within maybe 25 yards. Must have hit him well enough to kill him but not much of a blood trail. Birds shit on the poor old fellers head.

 

[Jethro]

Here in PA, I estimate it averages out to 1 deer per year I find.

Think I've only ever found 1 elk. 2022 NM I was quartering my bull and took the hind to a nice shade tree about 25 yards from the carcass. I hung it and turned around, and had a brief WTH moment. "That's not my elk". Laying 40 yards from my bull was a 6x6 that was shot in 1st archery and not recovered.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

Hunting pheasants with my dog I find unrecovered deer most times i go out. I've never found an unrecovered elk

 

[Zdub02]

Found a raghorn elk this year and a whitetail buck on one occasion. Few dead heads while shed hunting but I'm nothing of consistency. Funny thing was on the whitetail we couldn't find any wounds where it would have been shot.

 

[TreeDux]

I’ve never found an unrecovered animal on my western trips, however, around home I find at least one unrecovered Whitetail per year.

 

[TSAMP]

I find typically 2 whitetail bucks a year on public. Almost always post shotgun season here in Iowa.

 

[KenLee]

Back in the 80s and 90s when I hunted whitetail in a club with 14 others, I'd average finding 3 per year.