What happened?

[Wentzler1425]

Seeking ideas on what happened after a recent elk I shot with my bow.

November elk in AZ, I spotted a smaller 4x5, and snuck in on him. He was bedded and at about 30 yards away, no idea I was there. He eventually got up and took 2 steps out of his bed, where I stopped and shot him. Shot was approximately 30 yards, he was ever so slightly quartering away (maybe 15-20*). My bow setup is shooting a 450grn arrow at 301fps, with a QAD exodus 125grn head.

When I shot, he didn't react heavily like he'd been hit hard, he ran maybe 5 yards down the hill, the looped up and stood about 60 yards away staring at me. (With the way it happened, I wasn't absolutely positive I hit him, and my shot would have been sketchy, and it was getting close to dark, so I felt I'm either I had hit him really well, or missed for some reason and didn't want to take a sketchy shot and risk wounding him.)

I stood motionless with him 60-70 yards above me, and after about 30 mins he had walked a few yards out if sight but I knew he was still close. I moved far enough to pick up blood and found my arrow snapped off, having gotten 24-26" of penetration. My initial reaction with what went down was to let him lay for a while. I went back to camp to grab gear and a bite to eat, and about 2hrs after the shot went back up. Blood trail was on the light side, no odd colors, just bright red no bubbles. I followed where I last saw him, and happened to look up and he was bedded 20 yards from me with his head up. I backed out and let him lay over night (feeling awful it wasn't a quick kill.)

The next morning I glassed him on that hillside at very very first light, feeding like nothing was wrong, only odd thing was he moved less than 30 yards from the night before. I went up prepared to sneak in and put another shot in him, the blood had completely cleared up from his bed over night, so I was only following tracks in the dirt. I followed a small loop he made over about 80 yards, where I found him dead (for clarity, no second shot). Shot wound up being exactly on where I aimed, about 2-3" behind the front shoulder, dead center halfway up, and the brodhead was lodged in the other side shoulder bone.

I had some circling fears of meat spoilage, so I didn't get an oppertunity to gut him and find out what I hit exactly.

Amy ideas what might have happened here? Should I have moved my shot placement? Thanks.

 

[Beendare]

It's always tough gauging from these descriptions without photos and knowing the exact angle of the shot what happened with the shot.

A couple general comments; Yeah, shoot a little further back, collapse both lungs especially with a pass through and they die in 15 seconds or under. ...usually under. They go as far as they can go on one last breath.

If you were 20y from the bedded bull and he didn't blow out of there, he was Done. Did you have a pistol you could have put him down...or another arrow? I helped a buddy get another arrow in an elk at night at close range- we both had headlamps.

The good news is you were persistent, good job.

 

[S.Clancy]

Weird shit happens with archery equipment. That's about all I got

 

[Wentzler1425]

completelt understood, wish i had gotten some more pictures. This is the closest angle I could find, shot location indicated with the red X.



That was my thought on him not moving when I was 20y from him with a bright light on him, but he did indeed seem to be on his feet the next morning. I say seem because he was the only elk on the hill the night before and the morning after, but I didn't look close enough to absolutely confirm it was the same bull. Proximity tells me it was most likely the same bull.



I will certainly be practicing night shots with the bow for the future, being solo I didn't feel confident in that option. I did have a pistol with me but don't believe you can put him down legally in AZ. Although I would have absolutely preferred to do that.

 

[Geewhiz]

Weird shit happens with archery equipment.

There's never been a truer statement.

 

[cnelk]

Based on that pic and the angle I think you only got one lung.

You aimed for the entrance and should’ve aimed for the exit

 

[Wentzler1425]

Are there any diagrams of vitals that you reccomend as most accurate? I've seen alot of conflicting info and haven't shot enough elk to confirm myself. I was operating under the assumption the lungs are basically centered right behind the shoulder, but a single lung hit seems alot more probable given the way he acted.

 

[Murphy]

My thought if that was indeed where you hit that the elk you saw feeding had to be a different bull. You may have not got complete good cutting action on both lungs but an elk hit there couldn't be feeding the next morning, course I'm wrong a lot. I'll go with arrows do strange stuff opinion.

 

[Geewhiz]

Based on that pic and the angle I think you only got one lung.

You aimed for the entrance and should’ve aimed for the exit

Please, any elk shot right there should be toast

 

[cnelk]

Please, any elk shot right there should be toast

Well, obviously it wasn’t

 

[huntnful]

Sounds like you glassed a different bull in AM honestly. I doubt the bull lived for 12 hours and then mysteriously died just an hour or so after you glassed him when he was feeding nonchalantly.

I bet you put a lethal shot on him that night and did the right thing by backing out.

 

[Geewhiz]

Well, obviously it wasn’t

I cant argue with that, and I've had some crazy mysterious things happen with archery equipment myself, but assuming he got enough penetration, I would have a hard time being convinced that an arrow with that trajectory would not hit the far lung.

 

[Jethro]

Any pics at all?

I also think you glassed a different bull in the morning

 

[Cyril]

I would almost bet, as others have stated the elk you saw in the morning was a different elk. But like cnelk said that shot placement is a little far forward. All it would take is a single step and minimal whirl for that arrow to hit one lung, maybe just clip the second. That would explain him being head up a couple hours later. If you double lung any ungulate, they are dead quickly and rarely travel far. Most deer I shoot, double lung go less than 70 yards. I have had several jump and stand there then die with in 5' of impact. This is in contrast to heart shot deer that almost always run over 70 and had one run 227 yards and die in the parking lot of an adjacent distribution center.

 

[elkliver]

'2-3" behind the front shoulder" for a quartering away shot, that is too far forward or at least it might be ... Easy to say coulda woulda shoulda after the fact but my thought is that you hit him too far forward and didnt get good vitals on him. still bled out but took awhile . Meat was likley still good so i hope you harvested

 

[fmyth]

It's always tough gauging from these descriptions without photos and knowing the exact angle of the shot what happened with the shot.

A couple general comments; Yeah, shoot a little further back, collapse both lungs especially with a pass through and they die in 15 seconds or under. ...usually under. They go as far as they can go on one last breath.

If you were 20y from the bedded bull and he didn't blow out of there, he was Done. Did you have a pistol you could have put him down...or another arrow? I helped a buddy get another arrow in an elk at night at close range- we both had headlamps.

The good news is you were persistent, good job.

You can't legally use a pistol to "put one down" during archery season in AZ.

 

[Wentzler1425]

Thanks for all the replies. Certainly alot learned here. My own opinions - obviously the shot wasn't right for some reason, he was closer to broadside than quartering away (ie 45* angle), but I just can't imagine I hit both lungs and he was still head up 2hrs later that night. (Need to find a better representation of lung location). I'm 50/50 as to whether it was the same elm. On one hand, given the location, elk density, and similarities (I knew "both" bulls were relatively small 4-5pts), and being 30 yards from where he was bedded, just seems unrealistic to think it wasn't him. My own hypothesis on that - perhaps with how very little he ran/moved, a single lung would take even longer to become lethal, and the morning movement accelerated that.

On the other hand, He did seem a little gassy skinning him(A few little "pshhh" noises, did not hit stomach), and it does seem odd he would just happen to die in the 45 mins between glassing him and making it up the hill.

 

[Wentzler1425]

Also - yes I did harvest all the meat, and all appears in great condition.

Every deer I've shot with the bow has been exceptionally quick. I hate that the animal had to go through that for at least several hours. First elk with the bow.

 

[Timberline001]

Sounds like you glassed a different bull in AM honestly. I doubt the bull lived for 12 hours and then mysteriously died just an hour or so after you glassed him when he was feeding nonchalantly.

I bet you put a lethal shot on him that night and did the right thing by backing out.

I agree. I was flabbergasted reading that going from live elk feeding to dead elk.

 

[mike.adams.467]

It's always tough gauging from these descriptions without photos and knowing the exact angle of the shot what happened with the shot.

A couple general comments; Yeah, shoot a little further back, collapse both lungs especially with a pass through and they die in 15 seconds or under. ...usually under. They go as far as they can go on one last breath.

If you were 20y from the bedded bull and he didn't blow out of there, he was Done. Did you have a pistol you could have put him down...or another arrow? I helped a buddy get another arrow in an elk at night at close range- we both had headlamps.

The good news is you were persistent, good job.

Putting down an animal with a gun in Idaho archery season could get you in serious trouble.