new to the lows of elk hunting

[Bonedalien]

yesterday i shot a cow after work. there were more elk with her and they all blew out when i shot. it was a 95 yard shot in thick pinion and juniper,took the shot as she crossed my chosen lane.there was blood where she was hit ,but that was it. i had 6 different trails to follow,and i did follow them all looking for blood to see if i was on the right one untill dark. im hunting at 6200 feet and its damn warm for november.got to 65 degrees today. i found her at 3 in the afternoon,by the smell. she was bloated, 4 hooves in the air.I am so incredibly bummed. my partner tells me this happens to us all eventualy,and not to take it hard... just cant help it, this is hard.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

It happens, and it sucks, but nothing you can do now except learn from it. Where did you hit it? Did you back track it from where you found it to see if you missed anything from the initial blood trail?

 

[Bonedalien]

hit her just back from lungs. a bad shot that i know from finding her.yes i did back track her out ,right into the mad tangle of tracks that i lost her in.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

If the known trail doesn't tell you anything different it doesn't sound like you could have done much anything different then. Elk are tough critters, and can take a bit of punishment. Good luck on the next one.