Lost an elk

[AaronMColeman]

Oh, and we have all done it. Hunting is not binary: pull trigger kill animal. Bad stuff happens. I shot the biggest bull I've encountered in the shoulder and he took off never to be seen again and I found 4" of blood on my arrow. I had an antelope jump right as I was pulling the trigger last week and guts everywhere. I've helped track elk for 8 hours through the night to find them laying in pain. It sucks, and it makes me sick, and it honestly, brings tears to my eyes. But it makes me thing what did I do wrong, what can I improve. And, at the end of the day that's hunting and if I'm not ok with that outcome sometimes I shouldnt' hunt....but I should also do EVERYTHING in my power to avoid that situation next time.

 

[bradyhunt]

FInd a safe space and be depressed for a while, get a prescription for anti-depressants, stop working- get on full disability, hunt more, profit!

Or do like most in arizona do and wound a few before you kill one and actually punch your tag.

 

[5MilesBack]

But how do you cope?

I shot a giant bull right in the shoulder knuckle from 17 yards eight years ago in a downpour. Even an inch further left and it would have most likely been a good kill shot. That one still haunts me. I saw him once more that season a week later with a bunch of cows and couldn't get a shot, then never saw him again. He's that one that got away, and will always be that one that got away, so it is what it is. Just keep hunting for another one. They will come.

 

[HODL]

Replay the series of events in your head and figure out what you'd do if you had that shot over. The decision when to shoot has just as much to do with success as the precision of the shot.
- Was the bull perfectly broadside or quartered?
- Was he stopped?
- How far was the shot and is there a chance he would have come closer?

Also shoulder blade can be up to 2" thick in some spots so people blaming your broadhead or draw weight are wrong. There's spots that even Ranch Fairy couldn't get an arrow through.

 

[cpalm9]

I really appreciate the responses. It’s always nice to know you aren’t alone.

The feeling is terrible and likely always will be. I don’t plan to stop though. I’ll be back next year and hopefully use this experience as a stepping block to a long and fulfilling lifetime of elk hunting

 

[HODL]

I know multiple guys who have found arrows in bulls they killed from years prior. One was a whole arrow healed over in the entire length of the backstrap. Another was a broadhead lodged 1/2" from the heart all healed over and wrapped with sinew. Your broadhead in the shoulder is unfortunate but shouldn't be a source of too much angst. Someone will dig that out in the next couple years and realize how lucky they are to harvest such a tough animal.

You've probably lost a couple nights of sleep by now. That's the nature of the chase. I guarantee that'll be in your mind every elk hunt for a while now and hopefully you'll be better for it.

 

[jog]

Not trying to start a fight, but why is it a certainty that all bowhunters will lose game and because its bowhunting?
It might happen, it might not. And nobody feels good about it. Everyone does their best too, but I do get sick of the "its normal it will happen to you sooner or later, so expect it" kind of messaging.
Think to yourself how you want, I don't care, but the day I start telling myself I am going to eventually lose game is the day I quit hunting. Yeah it might happen. But no way am I ever saying its going to happen.

 

[Dos Perros]

Not trying to start a fight, but why is it a certainty that all bowhunters will lose game and because its bowhunting?
It might happen, it might not. And nobody feels good about it. Everyone does their best too, but I do get sick of the "its normal it will happen to you sooner or later, so expect it" kind of messaging.
Think to yourself how you want, I don't care, but the day I start telling myself I am going to eventually lose game is the day I quit hunting. Yeah it might happen. But no way am I ever saying its going to happen.

I think of it more as admitting to myself when I loose an arrow I am taking a risk, and being able to at least somewhat quantify that risk, I am likely to evaluate it, and decide if it's a risk/shot worth taking. Dudes who can't admit to themselves they might wound an animal draw back and 'send it' at elk quartered to 70 yards away, "because they practice that shot all day every day."

 

[MallardSX2]

The shoulder blade hit has caused a many a sleepless nights for a lot of hunters. Most are non fatal shots. If you break through the shoulder that is another story.

 

[Gerbdog]

Not trying to start a fight, but why is it a certainty that all bowhunters will lose game and because its bowhunting?
It might happen, it might not. And nobody feels good about it. Everyone does their best too, but I do get sick of the "its normal it will happen to you sooner or later, so expect it" kind of messaging.
Think to yourself how you want, I don't care, but the day I start telling myself I am going to eventually lose game is the day I quit hunting. Yeah it might happen. But no way am I ever saying its going to happen.

Had the same thoughts and feeling til this year, and an unseen, micro-thingofa twig messed up a 30 yard chip shot for me. Sent the arrow straight into shoulder blade, arrow broke off a total of 1" penetration thanks to a micro twig standing off of a deadfall. Like Dos Perros said, you release the arrow and then there is risk in the universe. Did the elk catch the movement of the release or hear it and flinch? Did your shooting lane look clear and you missed a tiny twig (like me) ? Sure, lesson learned there, in the future i'll be on the lookout for the tiniest twig, but in that moment it sure looked like a good shot. Just glad it wasnt a gut shot and that elk will go on to be chased another day.

 

[CAElkhunter]

As long as hunters are taking ethical shots within their ability range I understand. It is where the people
have the attitude "if it ain't flyin it ain't dyin" that bothers me. Too many people will take a shot that is too
long or at the wrong angle because that is the only shot they will get and then are surprised at the negative outcome.

As long as people are practicing ethical shot limit it happens. That is why it is called hunting not shooting.

 

[jog]

I had an arrow deflect about 2 feet in front of an elk. It went under him though and not sideways into his gut, for example. So I know what can happen. And its right and appreciated a hunter feels shitty about a lost animal.
But some hunters don't really seem to be too upset by it.
So, when we read over and over, that its normal to wound and lose an animal. That sends a message. It is setting a low bar in my view that some will interpret as permission to lower their own accountability.
It is amazing how people choose avoiding a stand on an issue that you would think is fairly straightforward. We can't hold anyones feet to the fire, they feel bad enough already, right? Because? Well, that makes you an a-hole for saying we shouldn't be ok with the attitude its going to happen anyway.
It will happen to everyone because its bowhunting? OMG.
But its not cool to have an opinion that asks of anyone else to do more than have an opinion that is essentially meaningless-The big tent. A place where we all can be assured no one will ever question our decisions that affect others.

 

[Gerbdog]

I had an arrow deflect about 2 feet in front of an elk. It went under him though and not sideways into his gut, for example. So I know what can happen. And its right and appreciated a hunter feels shitty about a lost animal.
But some hunters don't really seem to be too upset by it.
So, when we read over and over, that its normal to wound and lose an animal. That sends a message. It is setting a low bar in my view that some will interpret as permission to lower their own accountability.
It is amazing how people choose avoiding a stand on an issue that you would think is fairly straightforward. We can't hold anyones feet to the fire, they feel bad enough already, right? Because? Well, that makes you an a-hole for saying we shouldn't be ok with the attitude its going to happen anyway.
It will happen to everyone because its bowhunting? OMG.
But its not cool to have an opinion that asks of anyone else to do more than have an opinion that is essentially meaningless-The big tent. A place we all can be assured no one will ever question our decisions that affect others.

Yea i get what your saying and i agree, a hunter shouldnt be taking a shot theyre not damn sure theyre gonna make. Does that mean theyre over confident? Could be, but if in the moment he/she is sure theyre gonna make the shot... im all about it. If you feel confident you can make a 70 yard frontal shot? I aint the one thats gonna tell you you wont.... i'll be laughing at you inside, but then i'd be proven wrong and have seen those shots made in real time by great archers ive hunted with. On a mule deer sized target even. Folks gotta know their limits and if your feeling "75%" ... dont take the shot.

 

[Dos Perros]

I'm not sure where you were going with that @jog, but I can certainly agree with a lot of it.

We know, there are dudes that shoot muzzleloaders into the woods because they heard some elk calls and saw a flash of white...I don't think we are talking about those dudes in this thread. I'm willing to give any Rokslider the benefit of the doubt, they hunt hard and ethically and make decisions that to them, in that moment, seemed like sound decisions or well calculated risks. I'm not going to berate someone here for wounding an animal, unless they give a specific reasons to. I would expect dudes to pause, reflect, and do what they can within their control to make sure it doesn't happen again. The feeling bad should drive action, but when action has been planned or taken, the feeling bad no longer serves any purpose. We gotta let that go and move on.

As Tom Skerritt's character Viper says to Maverick as he mourns the loss of his best friend Goose, who's death he undoubtedly contributed to: "You gotta let him go. You gotta let him go."

 

[Short Track]

You create bear food. Yote food, etc, etc. In the end, it all goes back to the worms.

 

[Cwillimon]

Had this happen last year on a Kansas whitetail. Bad shot resulted in the deer crossing onto the neighboring ranch and I could not find him. Punched my tag mentally and my season was over. This summer the neighbor found him while gathering cattle. It’s a feeling that I don’t like.