Absolutely Sickening EDIT: Bull Was Found

[Turner89]

First off I would just ignore shrek. The pot stiring seems to be his m.o. As far as your elk I think you keep looking until your satisfied with what you have done to find him. And don't worry what others say. I do think there's a chance you might see him another day though. Good Luck, it happens to us all regardless of weapon choice. 

[Smossy]

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.

[Elkrunner]

Why don't you guys keep this to yourselves? I for one am tired of hearing about this. This is coming from a guy that has killed bucks and bulls with all 3 weapons, that's wh I don't archery hunt anymore.....

Your comment was most useful- a great contribution to the topic and helpful for all - thank you.



 

Really? Now tell me rifle hunters lose as many animals... Good one...

I have seen it man times from rifle hunters...

[Chainsaw11]

Every REAL hunter now matter what weapon you choose feels horrible about not finding your wounded game. I'm sorry that happened to you! I almost found myself in the same situation this year. I had a narrow shooting window and knew for sure I hit high. I gave it 30 min before I started tracking, with absolutely no blood trail. I started a grid like you, and found 3 drops of blood about 200 yards from where I hit him. There was absolutely no trail, it made me sick. I was fortunate to hear the bull take his last few deep breaths. And found him down a couple hundred yards from the only blood I ever saw.

With that being said, my high shot didn't bleed at all, so I'm guessing you might have hit low like some others have said.

[Hunterman]

Nope didn't earase nothin... Gonna bow hunt, get used to it... Catch and release that is...

Quit being such an Anthony....  Also, learn how to spell.

Ouch, what did I do ??

Silver, sorry on your let down. As has been said numerous times " it happens to HUNTERS". I too have killed many, many animals, with all 3 weapons. Yes I have lost a few with ALL 3 WEAPONS. You sir have done one HELL of a job looking for your elk. I just wish more so called hunter worked as hard as you and your buddy. My hats off to you sir, and may your next shot on this big boy hits pay dirt.

Hunterman(Tony)

[Sliverslinger]

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.

Thank you- those are wise insights and I'm certainly going to mull them over and chew on them a bit.

[BOWHUNTER45]

I am really surprised on how many bowhunters think they need heavier arrows and broadheads ,,, may have been the case before faster bows have came along .... I would lighten up a bit ...85 to 100 gr broadhead and let the speed do its thing ...

[splitshot]

  this is one reason why I  don't archery hunt anymore.  I am always hearing, well I got an arrow in it but couldn't find it , or the blood trail ran out.   also I am not real sneaky and don't have the patience.    mike w

[Sliverslinger]

I am really surprised on how many bowhunters think they need heavier arrows and broadheads ,,, may have been the case before faster bows have came along .... I would lighten up a bit ...85 to 100 gr broadhead and let the speed do its thing ...

Why not have both? 289 is pretty fast I think- and with very heavy arrows? But that might be for a different topic.

[Sliverslinger]

      I just want to thank everyone for the kind wishes, posts, PMs, and thoughts. We went down day before yesterday again and finally found my bull approximately 324 yards from where I shot him. He had run straight down the hill into a thick mess of small pines and huckbrush. It was 6 days later and I've never seen such a mess. One hind leg was completely missing and the other and been drug up between the antlers. Clearly a bear or two had been at work. There appeared to be a full on colony of bald faced hornets that had taken up residence in the body cavity which, in conjunction with the maggots and flies,  and also the smell prevented us from doing much research into what happened.
     While this is a horrible thing to have happened and I know there are some out there who say these thing shouldn't be posted, I do think it is important to recognize that not all hunting ends as ideally as we as hunters would hope and strive for. The fact of the matter is, I can now rest assured that there is no way we would have found that bull, but we definitely did everything possible based on the info available. The foliage was thick as it was, but that bull crawled into a little hole where we wouldn't have seen him without stepping on him. The bees and flies were so loud that I heard them from 25 yards away, otherwise I probably wouldn't have found him that day either. We went back again yesterday, but  it's going to be another couple weeks at least before I can start trying to make sense of what happened, where I hit, and to get the antlers. I plan on going back up at the end of the month or beginning of October.   
     Of course, this has certainly been a learning experience. Some have suggested in PMs that I practice more, others that I considered giving up archery hunting altogether. Many of you have offered encouraging words while others apparently have found the urge to kick a downed man before he has a chance to regain his footing as irresistable.  Here's my thoughts on the subject - I prepared so continuously and meticulously that I cannot imagine improving there. I was OCD about tuning my bow and practicing almost daily for months. I had a good shot, but a tough one, and I elected to take it. I still have no concrete idea on what went wrong. Regardless, I've come to accept that there are things that happen some times. I took the shot and did everything I possibly could to recover the animal before the meat went to waste and then we hiked for hours to locate the bull and gain closure after the fact, knowing the meat was bad.  Still, there has been a lot of learning that has taken place as well. Both from reading many of the PMs and also the replies to this thread I feel as though I acquired a great deal of tips and information which, in combination with the process of locating my bull, has definitely made me a better hunter when it comes to what happens after the shot. Hopefully, the knowledge gained throughout this experience will help prevent it from happening again.
     Once again, I'm thankful for this forum and the many of you who chose to provide valuable tips and input.

[turkeyfeather]

Good for you.    Remember every crowd has at least one jerk in it.

[bobcat]

Glad to hear you found it.
I don't suppose it was possible to get pictures?

[lokidog]

Glad to hear you found him.  Too bad on the loss of the meat.  I am glad to hear you did not head the advice of some to keep hunting.  You would have felt much worse, I think, had you shot another animal and then found this one.  I have notched a tag after having what I thought was a fatal hit and not recovered the animal.  I did see a bull one time that I hit in the shoulder blade early season when I was out scouting during the late season, that was a good feeling though.

[cld40]

IMO,

i think you are a stand up guy for talking openly about this and your diligence in finding the animal
i would have handled same situation the same way
you found him
congratulations, im sure you will get some sleep for the first time since shooting him, you did the bull proud with your persistence and bowhunters like myself proud as well
great job.

disregard any negative comments you may receive, you dont deserve them....

i would hunt by your side anytime...

[trophyhunt]

Glad to hear you found it.
I don't suppose it was possible to get pictures?