Absolutely Sickening EDIT: Bull Was Found

[Limhangerslayer]

I agree with AK and radsav the instant blood is another key to it being more than likely too low.

[Pigfuz]

I would look until you feel you have put in your best effort and call it good.  If he is dead you can always remember that it wont go to waste because scavengers have to eat too.  even mice will eat the antlers.    On the other hand there is a good chance that he will survive it.  A friend of mine shot a buck twice broadside with a muzzleloader and somehow it got away.  Two months later he saw the same buck with two massive scars on its side.  He scouted it all year long and three days before the opener the following year it got hit by a car. 

[longstevo]

This site never fails to entertain, for better or worse.   

Silver, the more time we spend in the woods hunting and shooting at animals increases the chances of us losing one.  Unfortunately that's just the way it is.  And if anyone says that they've never lost one is either lying or incredibly lucky.  More power to them. 

I've lost two deer while muzzleloader hunting in fifteen years.  The first was a young forkie I shot as a kid.  I found him three days later, but the meat was bad.  The second was a small three point I shot a few years later.  There was gallons of blood all over the ground, but several hundred yards later the blood trail simply dried up.  What's a guy supposed to do?  Tear up the hillside looking but sometimes even that doesn't work out. 

Go back and look for him some more with some back up.  That's about all you can do. 

[Labs07]

Man Im sorry that happened!  Thats the breaks sometimes....by the way I have lost a buck after shooting it with a rifle.  It happens.  Go back and watch the ravens and use your nose...that is how I found that buck a week later.  As others have said that is why they call it hunting and not killing.

[rtspring]

Never lost an animal, had to really track a bear last year but we found it.  Do the best you can, it happens..

[judojudd]

I'd just like to say a hearty thank you to all who have offered useful responses to this. As Silverslinger's hunting buddy who spent 8 hours looking for that bull with him, we were both pretty desperate for answers. I'm glad this forum exists to help us all become better hunters.
I appreciate my buddy's candor in sharing this story. Most decent human beings who understand the strength of these animals can at the very least empathize with this sickening feeling.
Too often a site like this becomes a bragfest where everyone paints a rosy picture of their hunting exploits and shames anyone who would admit to anything resembling failure. I'm glad to see so many who are keeping this a place for real hunters to share info and become better hunters and human beings. Of course there will always be those who insist on taking things the opposite direction.
As for anyone questioning Silverslinger's shot choice or shot accuracy, my money would be on him every time to take this kind of shot. He is obsessive when it comes to shooting his bow. If you are out there and have never been in his shoes and think it could never happen to you, just hunt a few more years. It happens to the very best. Unless you never take a shot. In which case, you can take to lurking on hunting forums and judging those who are unable to find the animals they've worked hard for.

[ICEMAN]

Great post.

[Eli346]

Judo,
 Good post by both of you. You guys had a lot more composure than I would have had with certain replies on this post. As you said 'If it hasn't happened yet you haven't been hunting long enough'. I still think you guys might find him alive and well!

[Smossy]

This is why lots of us are here and this forum succeed's so well over all others. Were a one giant family.

[Bronson]

Great post mr judd. 

[deerhunter_98520]

 

[ShaneTyTrey]

Great post mr judd.

[coachcw]

yep the reality is it happens , thanks for being so fourth right . my guess is that arrow passed through the dead spot right above the lungs , those bulls are dam tough and I've heard of guys harvesting animals that har arrow wounds of that nature healed over . best of luck moving forward .

[bowhunterwa87]

So true...

[elkboy]

Out of the fourteen big game animals I have shot at, I have lost two (one with muzzle-loader, one with archery).  The feeling is indeed sickening, and I lost a lot of sleep over those lost animals.  But the following made the difference for me:
1) The realization that no predator, even modern 'Homo sapiens' with any weapon he can contrive, is 100% efficient.  All predators lose or wound prey at some point.  Deer are seen with mountain lion claw marks on their flanks.  Elk or moose with the scars of wolf teeth.  And so on.  You are not alone, not in the austere world of nature. 
2)  The loss of a game animal is a galvanizing moment.  You can walk away from the bow or gun forever, or you can use your feelings to motivate you to be the best hunter you can be in the future.  After losing those two animals, I hit the shooting range a LOT more.  And I studied the hunt even harder.  And hit the training trail harder.  Use this moment as a watershed moment for your hunting career. 
3) If your loss resulted in the death of the animal, you just made a difference, perhaps a vital difference, for organisms from soil insects to scavenging bears and ravens.  They are not regretting the death of that animal, and they are ensuring that nothing happens in vain out in the landscape we love, perhaps making the difference of a winter's survival.  Please let that temper your regret. 
4)  It is OK to grieve over this.  Any honest hunter will respect your remorse. 
5)  Let it motivate your conservation ethics.  Speak up for habitat conservation.  Join a hunter-conservationist organization, if you're not there already.  The realities of nature present a challenging deal to individual animals.  But fight for the species as a whole- and you can ensure that those individuals will be there to even take up the challenges of the deal in the first place. 

Sorry for the long missive.  My own experiences compelled me to write.