My mistake, lost my elk

[Marble]

Well, after 20 plus years and dozens of bulls and cows killed, I finally lost an animal. And it was all my fault.

Day 4 found me sneaking timber with my hunting partner, who had never hunted them in the timber. Took us 6 hours to sneak a mile of steep thick timber. At about 230, I found a cow bedded at 80 yards. Her butt was facing towards me, head up, looking slightly to the right. The top of her hindquarters were slightly past the crease in the shoulder. I felt trying for a shoulder shot was marginal without going through the hind quarter too. I sat down, rested my gun on my knee, and tried for the neck. Well, it didn't work. She jumped up, ran about 60 yards through the timber, and laid down. I couldn't see her, but my hunting partner could. He had two chances to shoot her again, but it didn't happen. Then she took off running.

We followed tracks and blood until dark. Bleeding out of both sides. Lost blood right before dark in thick grass and brush.

I had all the time in the world. She had no idea I was there. I've killed tons of animals out to 650 yards with lots of confidence. But I think I was a little overconfident at my chip shot and just rushed out and made a horrible shot.

Take an extra second to think, gentlemen. Years of success executing that shot led to some complacency.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[DiabeticKripple]

could you have circled somewhere to get a maybe longer, but better shot?

sucks to lose an animal, i have lost 1 WT buck due to inexperience and a cow elk due to a bad shot and a blizzard.

Made a shot, didnt see impact but knew i hit him. Went to the spot he was at and found blood, really good blood. I immediately started following and ended up bumping him about 150yds from where i hit him and never ended up getting back on him cause he went into bush so thick i couldnt even walk through it.

 

[Ucsdryder]

I saw 2 antelope shot in the neck this year. Neither died as fast as I figured they would! The neck can be a bang flop, or it can be a muscle wound. I used to be much more into the neck shots, now, not so much.

 

[sierracharlie338]

I’ve been there man. Everyone needs a humbling experience every once in a while to reset their ego. This will be one of those lesson you won’t soon forget, trust me!

 

[jimh406]

Thanks for posting. Too bad that you took the shot, but it sounds like you might have learned from it.

 

[Marble]

could you have circled somewhere to get a maybe longer, but better shot?

sucks to lose an animal, i have lost 1 WT buck due to inexperience and a cow elk due to a bad shot and a blizzard.

Made a shot, didnt see impact but knew i hit him. Went to the spot he was at and found blood, really good blood. I immediately started following and ended up bumping him about 150yds from where i hit him and never ended up getting back on him cause he went into bush so thick i couldnt even walk through it.

Maybe...she was in the sun and so was I. I couldn't go behind as she the view would have been obstructed. Any further forward would have very close to her view. ...it just sucks.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[silasbowhunter]

Right or wrong, that close to me I woulda put one through her ear hole.

That does suck though. We have all been there! Brush it off.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ucsdryder]

Right or wrong, that close to me I woulda put one through her ear hole.

That does suck though. We have all been there! Brush it off.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ear hole can turn into a shot off jaw in a hurry. I know, we’re all good shots and that wouldn’t happen.

 

[Dbaer282]

That’s tough luck ! Hunt long enough and it happens.. just have to chalk it up to experience and get back at it

 

[butcherboy]

I lost one when I was 14 yrs old and found it 3 days later. Fast forward 33 years and I lost an elk this year because I hit him in the neck muscle. My own dumb fault as well. I have been shooting my longbow for the past few years and was planning on taking it with me. Had an accident in July and couldn’t shoot for about a month. I pulled out the compound and shot fantastic the rest of the summer so I made the smart choice and took it. In crunch time I had a bull at 10 yds quartering to me. I’ve killed elk before with this shot sneaking an arrow right behind the front shoulder and above the brisket. It’s a dead ringer heart shot. Well, my brain reverted back to picking a spot a burning a whole through it. I didn’t even put my sight pin on where I wanted to hit. Arrow went high and into the neck muscle. Tracked him a long ways and he sprayed blood ten feet out in some spots. He quit bleeding and and I lost him. Searched for a very long time for him. Still sick over it but I’m going to start over shooting my compound and retrain my brain this next year. Plus, with my injury it makes it hard to shoot a stickbow so I’m done with that.

 

[Jaquomo]

Ear hole can turn into a shot off jaw in a hurry. I know, we’re all good shots and that wouldn’t happen.

I learned that lesson in 1973 on a bedded pronghorn. Ran off with its jaw swinging. I missed follow up shot at about 300 yards, with the animal running 60 mph. Somehow lucked in a killing shot at about 400 aftwr leading it by about 20 feet. The vision of that poor animal has haunted me for 50 years and convinced me to never try it again.

I also helped track a cow moose a guy shot in the head at 40 yards with a muzzleloader. Blew the jaw off. It was heartbreaking to see bloody evidence where she had tried to eat willows the next morning with no jaw. Never recovered her.

 

[Dust Rider]

It happens and it’s not a good feeling.
We found somebody’s cow today.

 

[Ross]

No one is perfect and those that hunt decades have a sad story we have to live with

 

[35WhelenAI]

Really sorry you had that experience, losing an animal is never fun for the hunter or the animal. With respect, are you saying choosing a neck shot was the defining factor in making it a horrible shot, as you called it, or is the message to not rush a shot in general? It was said she had no idea you were there and were able to get down and rest the rifle over your knee. What point in the process was rushed, as that is mentioned as the main point. Or are you saying, despite having plenty of time to take the shot, taking more time for a decidedly better angle would be the choice next time despite the potential to be made and end up not getting a shot?

 

[SonnyDay]

Sorry to hear that. It happens.

 

[JohnJohnson]

I learned that lesson in 1973 on a bedded pronghorn. Ran off with its jaw swinging. I missed follow up shot at about 300 yards, with the animal running 60 mph. Somehow lucked in a killing shot at about 400 aftwr leading it by about 20 feet. The vision of that poor animal has haunted me for 50 years and convinced me to never try it again.

I also helped track a cow moose a guy shot in the head at 40 yards with a muzzleloader. Blew the jaw off. It was heartbreaking to see bloody evidence where she had tried to eat willows the next morning with no jaw. Never recovered her.

I'm deathly paranoid of wounding an animal after seeing someone blow the lower jaw off a cow elk (kneeling shot at about 100 yards). It took 3-4 people spreading out and looking for it for hours before someone was able to kill it. One of the reasons I invested so heavily into my tripod setup is so I don't have to take marginal shots even if I can't get prone.

 

[Indian Summer]

What caliber and type of bullet?

 

[Jethro]

Where did you end up hitting it?

 

[35WhelenAI]

What caliber and type of bullet?

Where did you end up hitting it?

Curious as well?

 

[akcabin]

One of the fellows I was out hunting moose with took a 40 yd shot at a mid fiddy bull moose. He checked out his gun with a bore scope I have out at the cabin to. This would have been his first ak bull moose and he was very well prepared. He felt terrible about it. But when he got home he shot his rifle again n it was way off. Got knocked off in tough country
But you had the opportunity for a great hunt and got one so not bad