Not trying to be an ass or anything but why did you only look "briefly" for your arrow this morning? I think the arrow search should be extensive until you are nearly certain the arrow is not there...So where I'm at, I looked last night my arrow after watching the biggest opening I have access too from FS. I briefly looked this morning for my arrow again on my way back to that. Replaying it for the millionth time, I think I hit him forward of the vitals in his front shoulder since I cant find my arrow and I didnt hear the "thump" of a vital hit.
This morning I saw a few elk over on the private but it was too dark to tell if any of them had blood or an arrow, none of them seemed injured. Since I can't find any blood, I'm grasping at directional straws. There was some fresh super runny elk crap along the trail where I caught up to them, think constancy of a cow but the size of an elk. When I've been circling out I found some more on a trail heading toward that private. It was 80 yesterday and close to it today. I'm gonna keep looking but I'm starting to loose hope.
I already spent quite a while right after I shot, before I started looking for blood and then last night. This morning was just one more time.Not trying to be an ass or anything but why did you only look "briefly" for your arrow this morning? I think the arrow search should be extensive until you are nearly certain the arrow is not there...
My guess is a clean miss and your arrow is lost in the under growth, hard to believe we can miss at 35 but it happens.I already spent quite a while right after I shot, before I started looking for blood and then last night. This morning was just one more time.