Please help bull lost!!

[Frank1949]

Thanks

[Backstraps]

Shawn, I sure hope you found that bull!

[NoBark]

OK wrangler, just to make you feel good,  rifle hunters never wound or loose an animal. they are such good shots and always use more than enough gun to do the job.  Heck, the bull always just falls where it's shot.  At least archers retrieve the arrow and check for sign. Most rifle guys just assume they miss and move on.
Of course the archery harvest is so low the game dept. doesn't even consider them a useful management tool.


Phewwww!  feel good now?


Here's my point. whether archery of gun, follow up and if it's a mortal shot and you know the animal will die whether you find it or not. EAT TAG!

[LongTatLaw]

Last year I shot my 5x5 bull twice in the boiler room... one half shaft penetration on barried to the knock...he dumped gallons and gallons of blood and still made it about 3 miles.

I looked sun up to down for 8 days... He finally was found but thats a different story! Stay after it buddy. Do the on ur knees crawl for a day...then do the grid walk for a day...then do the terrain analysis (guess what a dying elk would do).

Stay after it buddy...!

Rifle versus bow... different sport! stupid to debate! shot placement always important... follow up and dedication after the shot very important... that said...   I have no interest in hunting elk with a gun... just deer bear and anything else...elk are bow for life for me!

[Crunchy]

Ive had more luck following the elk's track than blood.  Of course blood is choice one, but they dont always bleed.  Ive tracked three elk some 50-60 yards each with just their tracks and found all three.  None of them bleed more than a few drops.

[saylean]

Any luck finding the elk? Just wanted to check.

Sorry to hear for bout the loss by the way.

[huntingnut]

I'm sorry to way that we never found the Elk. We searched for two more days hard and hunted the area for the remainder watching for any thing.I only hunted for this bull but still had hopes of getting my dad and brother on one. I have learned a lot from this lose. This was my first archery kill, and it has made me second quess everything about the shot. It was a broadside uphill shot. It may have been at the limit of my comfort zone but not beyond. It still makes me sick to know that I didn't recover the animal. Thanks for all of the support, sorry for the sad ending.

[nw_bowhunter]

Sorry to see you were not able to locate the bull. What a bummer for you first kill. Don't give up on archery, practice and stay with it. Tracking can be very difficult even with the best shot. Animals do their best to hide and not be found. My first year I lost an animal and punched my tag. I was frustrated but with some good support from the guy who introduced me I was able to learn from the experience.

[huntingnut]

I concider my tag punched, I'm going to try to up this weekend and see if maybe some birds will give me an area to look in. Maybe I can salvage the horns and give him some recognition for living that long.

[uncoolperson]

Even if he didn't end up on your plate, he fed lots of other things... still a good cause.

[NoBark]

Huntinnut,  my hat is off to you!  A lot of guys would simply figure they would go shoot another one. 

You have set high standards for yourself and, in my opinion, are an example to the bowhunting community.

[Wea300mag]

I'm with NoBark 110%, you are a "true" hunter for considering your tag notched. I am truely sorry you couldn't recover it.

[M_ray]

  I'll agree with others that this is something that most won't do! I liver shot a little buck one year in the Klickitat with tmike and after 6 hrs of searching I was NOT going to keep hunting! I told him I'm either finding this guy or I'm done for the year!!!! My story turned out a bit better as I found him but as others have said like longtat did, stay after it! it's easy to get discouraged and quit. It ended up that I had to think like the animal and look around and I asked myself "If I were hurt where would I go?" With to many fresh tracks and no blood to follow I just walked the path of least resistance through the woods and ended up walking right up to him suffering in his bed and I was able to put him out ... not trying to rub that in just giving you something else to think about, I too have a couple that turned out your way as well and thats how I came to think of this tactic as a last chance try ... I have also had a Buck jump the trail it was on get in a creek bed and double back on his back track and was found close to where he was shot! It's almost like he knew he was goning to send me out on this wild goose chase 300 to 400 yards in one direction and he would be safe back where it all started. Good luck!

[rosscrazyelk]

Sorry I did not read this earlier I could of helped. I was over that way .. I had no idea. Guess I need to look harder next time. I had a friend shoot a buck I was trying to get this weekend and He cant find it. makes me sick . My advise now is to look for crows.