Shot bull. Having a hard time finding him.

I would start hunting a new bull , or punch the tag , imo it’s probably not a legitimate lethal shot , my neighbor arrowed a massive white tail and even with dogs couldn’t find it, a month later I spotted the deer chasing does and called the neighbor who came with a rifle and killed it.
one lung and lots of infection and maggots and he was still running around strong,
animals have a strong recovery system by nature, a high iffy shot does have a % risk of not being lethal or recovered if so
 
The bottom line is if you hit lungs he’s not far but if you didn’t he lived. You would be surprised how easy it is to walk within 20 yards of a dead elk and not know it. If you really believe in your shot he is there. Look down hill. Look near water. Look on the other side of dead trees and pikes of blowdowns. I’ve been there.
 
Nothing wrong with punching your tag if you feel that conviction, but don’t do it out of a sense that an unrecovered animal will go to waste. It’ll feed everything from bears to wolves to coyotes to foxes to birds to bugs. Maybe another elk lives because a wolf pack eats this one. The rest will decompose and fertilize the soil. Zero waste in nature.
 
T-town said:
Was the bull still visible to you at the location you found the blood? Many times I have seen a non-vital hit animal (deer mostly) run off 20-50 yards an d stop to look around like “what just happened” giving a little time for blood to pool up under them before they move off again. Usually though there’s not an arrow still skewered through their chest or back. Surprised you didn’t get a pass through the ribs at 12 yards.
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I'd bet anything you are right about him stopping to look around.
 
I'm guessing it was a non fatal hit and you ended up bumping him quite a ways. If he had no idea what happened he probably wouldn't go super far in thick country before bedding. He could be miles away at this point. I'd give it the rest of today then go after another one. If you notice birds, go get the rack and punch your tag.
 
Marble said:
I don't know if I would really call it a void. My experience was gutting a bull I had killed with rifle. As I was gutting it, I noticed what I thought was a stick laying close to the spine (bull was on its back). I grabbed it and felt it was attached (by soft tissue) and realized it was an arrow. I pulled it loose and found about 9-12" of arrow with a 3 blade broadhead like a G5. The broadhead was covered in scar tissue. Entrance was 4-6 ribs from the back, and it broke a rib going in and then stopped against a rib on the other side. The bull was young, a 4 point, and was running a herd of a dozen cows. I hunted him off and on for 2-3 days. He was completely fine.

I've probably cleaned and quartered 100+ elk over the years, and I, for the life of me, cannot explain it. There is a huge artery against the spine, and the lungs go right up against that.

My only guess is the broadhead was really dull and whatever tissue it came into contact with as it went through the bull didn't get cut.

I saw another picture last week of a similar hit, but it was really far forward. At the very front of the thoracic cavity. Which makes even less sense.



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I've found the same thing in 2 bulls I've taken in AZ. 8-10" of broken arrow shaft with grislled up broadheads high in the chest cavity. These were completely healed up and looked like both bulls lived a long time.
 
Amincey34 said:
Back out again this morning beating feet. No birds in the sky or smells in the air other bulls are screaming… I think I’m gonna punch my tag regardless. Gonna give it until dark today before I lose hope. For the guy that asked about my draw length I’m at 70lbs at 29 1/2 inch draw and yes I did touch them up from factory …. They were shaving hairs. This was my first bull and first archery animal after training for 3 years .. the first 2 years of archery I refused to hunt due to inexperience and lack of confidence in shooting ability to wound an animal.


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Lost my bull this year. Hit mine a bit back. No doubt he died. But it dumped rain all night after my shot. Washed away all blood and tracks. Feel your pain! Archery is hard.
 
jpmulk said:
Not sure what the right answer is on punching a tag when you don’t find the animal. Think it depends on the person and situation. I punched mine because I had no doubt the bull was dead. If I thought he may have lived, I wouldn’t punch it.
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I agree with this. If you made a poor lethal shot and never recovered the animal, I think you punch your tag. Nothing pisses me off more than guys running around wounding or mortally wounding multiple animals. I also think this approach makes you prepare better and put some thought into shots you take.
 
Final update as the sun sets on me on this hillside I will not physically knock this tag yet, I plan on coming out here to look for this bull alive or dead a few more times before the season ends. I WILL not take another bull except this one assuming he’s walking, I find him dead the tag is notched obviously. While the tag isn’t physically notched it is to me for this bull. until I run out of season or find him I will continue to look. Morally I owe it to this bull to continue to hunt him. I will refuse to take another bull had one on me this evening at 25 yards and didn’t even think about it


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Amincey34 said:
Final update as the sun sets on me on this hillside I will not physically knock this tag yet, I plan on coming out here to look for this bull alive or dead a few more times before the season ends. I WILL not take another bull except this one assuming he’s walking, I find him dead the tag is notched obviously. While the tag isn’t physically notched it is to me for this bull. until I run out of season or find him I will continue to look. Morally I owe it to this bull to continue to hunt him. I will refuse to take another bull had one on me this evening at 25 yards and didn’t even think about it


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Birds and smell should start to show up tomorrow.
 
Amincey34 said:
Final update as the sun sets on me on this hillside I will not physically knock this tag yet, I plan on coming out here to look for this bull alive or dead a few more times before the season ends. I WILL not take another bull except this one assuming he’s walking, I find him dead the tag is notched obviously. While the tag isn’t physically notched it is to me for this bull. until I run out of season or find him I will continue to look. Morally I owe it to this bull to continue to hunt him. I will refuse to take another bull had one on me this evening at 25 yards and didn’t even think about it


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I love it man - I respect this!
 
Buddys wife hit one quartering 2 and got 1 lunng. The found the bull 8 days after she shot it. It went about 1200 yards from where she hit it.

The ENTIRE animal was 100% eaten except for her pink arrow and the horns…..

I couldn’t believe it. The whole damn thing was eaten. Those bears worked on it hard.
 
Question regarding birds. Would you guys get on top of a high point and look for birds? Get down in the thick of it? Sorry if it’s dumb but never thought I’d be in a position using birds to find an elk


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Birds coming and going from a specific area, that's what you're looking for. Whether it's high or low isn't necessarily the most important. It's where you can see the most territory the elk may be in.
 
35WhelenAI said:
Birds coming and going from a specific area, that's what you're looking for. Whether it's high or low isn't necessarily the most important. It's where you can see the most territory the elk may be in.
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Birds meaning crows and robber jays. You should be able to see and hear crows from a mile away.
 
Dead bull.

Keep looking.

If you shot him through the body as you described, he’s dead.
 
Amincey34 said:
Final update as the sun sets on me on this hillside I will not physically knock this tag yet, I plan on coming out here to look for this bull alive or dead a few more times before the season ends. I WILL not take another bull except this one assuming he’s walking, I find him dead the tag is notched obviously. While the tag isn’t physically notched it is to me for this bull. until I run out of season or find him I will continue to look. Morally I owe it to this bull to continue to hunt him. I will refuse to take another bull had one on me this evening at 25 yards and didn’t even think about it


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Click to expand...
Perfect way to handle the situation, I wish more people would be as ethical as you.
 
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