Aaaaand *thwack*

[Bean Counter]

Ok guys. The four of us spent most of the day looking for the bull and never came up with a drop of blood. Maybe my shot was too low and hit the brisket(?). A few think he's going to live. Anyway they are unanimous that I should continue hunting (other bulls). Meanwhile I'm sitting in front of the fire and considering adding my bow to it.

      

[KFhunter]

wish I was there to help you, I'll be putting in for AZ in a year or two.   

[pd]

It is not my place to state an opinion, so take this for what it is worth.

My money says the bull is still alive (i.e. not dying anytime soon).  Therefore, your choices are to either keep hunting (the same bull or a different animal), or burn your tag (that is, consider your hunt over for this season).  Personally, I would decided "bull survived" and keep hunting, but that is me.  Others have different thoughts, and they might be right.

[DIYARCHERYJUNKIE]

Do what you can to put eyes on him today.  Then after you've tried all the stops go find a 350 and fill tht tag.

[boneaddict]

I absolutely understand Bean.   Good luck with whatever you decide.   

[RadSav]

Six inches behind the heart and low is a tough one.  Add the angle back toward the hind leg and it can get dang hard.  Even at a level even with the heart at that angle is can be difficult to recover a mature bull with that shot.  At that angle it's a tough recovery with a rifle too!  Sent you a PM with some information.

Hope that bow stays out of the fire!  Whether you try at another bull or keep looking is your deal.  I have nothing to say one way or the other about it.  But, I do think you can hold your head high knowing you and your friends gave your absolute best at recovering him.

Given time just about everyone who gets regular opportunities will have a shot they wish they could have back.  I know in the last 32 years I've had more than one.  Important thing is to use it as fuel to learn and become better.  Burning the bow won't make the sick feeling go away.  But making your next opportunity count will make the nightmares come less often

[Olydog09]

First off if you havent lost an animal you havent been bow hunting very long. It sounds like you should keep hunting the same area. You may come across the bull again if it is alive or keep an eye to the sky for circling birds. By the description of the shot it sounds like it was a fairly hard quartering to shot that would cause an arrow hitting 6 inches back of the heart and low to be very far back. As long as it didnt hit any major blood vessels and it didnt slice his junk off he shoudl be okay. However it may have hit him low in the guts. If that happened look for the nearest water. He could have lived a long time with a wound like that and if found there is an outside chance the meat would still be good.

[bearpaw]

BC - You gave it your best but it sounds like your bull likely survived, I think you need to move on. Don't quit, keep hunting and good luck, hope you get a good one. 

[Bean Counter]

Update--0.4 miles away we found 3 dudes field dressing a tagged bull. Not sure if it was the same one or not. I didn't see my arrow laying on the ground and told them what I was looking around for. I didn't want to ask any insulting or accusatory questions but  In an odd sort of way I kind of hope it was the  bull I shot. I decided to come home and lick my wounds for a bit and be back at it in a few days. They give archers two weeks here. So for now we have rescued my bow from the fireplace. Thanks for the admonitions and encouragement 

[Bean Counter]

Congrats Bean!! Sounds good. Looking forward to pictures. Is today day 1?? I think 2 hours is good.

Did you have any pictures of him on the cameras?

I don't think so. After all the adventure of chasing him for 2.5 hours I was pretty well determined to take a shot as long as he wasn't some spike or rag. Man it was so fun getting to know his "voice". At 04:15 that morning I first chose to pursue him because it sounded like he was lip ball bugling. Dude must think he's top dog around here.  So I would chase and occasionally throw a locator bugle out there to see where he was, and he would scream his distinct call. Other times there were other bulls calling and I could pin his direction and distance again. We continued this dance in a northwest direction until at one point I bumped his cows (didn't know until then that he was cowed up) and I realized he was blowing regathering bugles and moving his herd off. I decided to call less and just wait for him to react to other bulls in the area. In fact at the very end I thought they got away and I Was fixing to give up and there were two other bulls I started moving towards when I heard his call again and realized i finally got ahead of him.. Then out stepped one of his cows, and then him behind her at 51 yards...

I'm pretty sure I saw the Hajj below on opening day around 3:00pm, but he didn't give more than his rear end for a shot. I tried calling him and he just slowly walked off. The 6x7 was down in the honey hole where the cams were on the second day, but at 80 yards and myriad branches in the way 

KFHunter, you have no idea what you're in for...

[boneaddict]

    Those are some nice targets to be after

[Bean Counter]

This guy taken in the same unit, on public land. hence me calling mine a dink. Such is life in the Elk Factory..

[Bronson]

Keep at it Bean.  Good luck man!

[TheHunt]

What unit is Bean hunting in?  If it is a unit that I have lots of knowledge of I can give him some pointers.

[Bean Counter]

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