missed opportunity elk hunting today

[muleyslayer]

So this morning I was hunting and i came across a legal elk, but he was on the run. I shouldered my rifle and did a cow call to try and stop him but he wouldn't stop. I shot three times at him on the run and on the thrid shot he completely changed direction from going up hill to down hill. I tracked but I never found any blood. It also started raining pretty hard so any blood might have washed away. I just hope I missed I would hate to wound something and not find it.

[Crunchy]

its no bueno to shoot at animals on the run.  But it happens.  Hopefully you will get another opportunity.

[muleyslayer]

Yea I kept thinking I should have tried something else to get him to stop.

[hornhunter1987]

its no bueno to shoot at animals on the run.  But it happens.  Hopefully you will get another opportunity.

I couldn't disagree more. If you practice and are confident I do not see a problem with it. My freezer would of had a lot less meat in it and a lot less trophy's on the wall if I never took a running shot.

[longrangehunter338]

how does one practice shooting at a moving target that can change direction at any given point of time when being shot at, in the woods with standing timber between the shooter and the animal? What kind of shot are you making on the animal when shooting at it when it is running? vitals, gut shot, wounding the animal where it dies and goes to waste.

[muleyslayer]

Well lets just say this is the thrid animal Ive shot at on the run and the other two were shots behind the shoulder but this one I hope was a complete miss.

[mfswallace]

its no bueno to shoot at animals on the run.  But it happens.  Hopefully you will get another opportunity.

I couldn't disagree more. If you practice and are confident I do not see a problem with it. My freezer would of had a lot less meat in it and a lot less trophy's on the wall if I never took a running shot.

 

[pianoman9701]

This should get good. Sorry you didn't get him.

[PlateauNDN]

  5......4......3.......2......I need popcorn!

[runamuk]

I need a drink to heck with popcorn, "I hope I missed" that really bothers me shooting and KILLING something on the run does not.

5......4......3.......2......I need popcorn!

This should get good. Sorry you didn't get him.

 

[elkoholic1]

I need a drink to heck with popcorn, "I hope I missed" that really bothers me shooting and KILLING something on the run does not.

5......4......3.......2......I need popcorn!

This should get good. Sorry you didn't get him.

 

              

[scottcrb]

 

[ldjbuff]

How many yards was the shot?  I don't think shooting on the run bothers me as much as people shooting from 700 yards and calling it hunting

[Curly]

Sometimes there is absolutely no blood.  The shot could be high enough to not allow blood to fall out onto the ground, or could be a gut shot where the bullet doesn't exit.

Lets hope it really was a clean miss. If you have a dog, you might take it for a walk on a leash in the area you "missed" the elk and see if the dog picks up some scent. (You probably will want to leave your gun in the truck when you take your dog for a walk though.)

[muleyslayer]

He was 80 yards away on a full sprint coming in and out of brush. I think I could have been more effective with a semi auto rifle