Elk Tactics 101 - Scenario #3

[WapitiTalk1]

Date/Time: 13 SEPT/5:30 PM
Location: Somewhere in the elk woods
Hunt Pressure Status: Not too bad; a few small camps in the area you’re hunting
Terrain: Mostly timbered with some 5-7 year old clear-cuts mixed in                                       
Tag: Archery season; branched bull (3 point or better) or cow   

Almost at the exact time you arrive at the edge of an old NE facing clear-cut, walking slowly along the fire break trail, you hear a bit of cow chatter up the slope to your left and realize there are elk up and moving!  A quick check of the wind confirms you have the advantage where you stand.  A very quick set up puts you just off the trail in what you think is a good position to have a shot opportunity if the elk continue on the game trail that leads out of the clear cut.  A few quick range finder checks reveal that the rotten stump just off the trail is 37 yards from your position.  Sweet!  You hear them moving through the tightly spaced fir and within a minute or two, the first cow appears and slowly moves out into the fire break trail.  At full draw now, you touch off an arrow.  At the EXACT MOMENT you squeeze the arrow off, the cow takes a step forward and you see and hear your arrow bury itself into the cow’s paunch.  She wheels around and disappears back into the thickness of the old clear-cut and you hear the rest of the elk bust and move away.  It sucks but it happens.

What do you do here to maximize an opportunity to recover the cow? What's the next move?

[Camp David]

Next move is don't move. Listen for movement and mentally mark what you heard any movement. The cow will most likely hang with the herd until it beds down from the pain. After 30 minutes. look at the area where she was at the shot and determine if it was truly a gut shot. Wait a few hours prior to tracking.

[Karl Blanchard]

I'm assuming that the cow followed the herd.  They are very herd driven animals.  Like CD said, sit and listen.  Make note of the direction the herd ran.  Find my arrow or any sign of blood in the immediate area.  Give it a few and then start the search

[High Climber]

Mark the trail she was on. Leave, cuss yourself, worry she won't be recovered, come back in five hours and recover her within 200yds of where she was initially shot most likely.

[Shawn Ryan]

This scenario sucks.  I agree with BLRman and CD. 

The picture is from almost exactly this scenario, except the bull was stopped, head down drinking from the wallow. Why he stepped forward with the near, front leg still haunts me.

[Karl Blanchard]

This is where those fresh, razor sharp blades can come in handy.  A good clean cut will speed up the process of that cow or bull expiring.  I change blades on my two "go to" arrows every couple days.  Rad has made me a believer on his aspect of killing with arrows.

[Shawn Ryan]

Agreed. On that particular bull, the arrow passed through.  The herd of about 45 elk bedded 100-150 yards beyond his bed in the photo.  A few hours later they all got up, left, and headed well down into a canyon of blowdowns.  He left with them and his blood trail never exited a pinch point where they all single-filed across a steep face.  Hours of scouring, moaning, kicking myself revealed no more blood. The area was heavily trafficked by elk in soft dirt on a very steep hill.  Trails and tracks everywhere.  I then spent hours in the blowdown patch where I heard the bigger, herd bull bugling, but, again, found nothing, other than my dejection.  When I've hunted that blowdown patch, I still look for his bones.

[WapitiTalk1]

I shot a cow in exactly this same scenario years ago on the WA peninsula right before dark.  I backed out, came back at the crack of dawn to start tracking and found her bedded down within 1/4 mile of where I shot her, and, she was alive!   She had tried to follow the herd but eventually bedded down as she was obviously, very very sick.  I put a finishing arrow in her at 15 yards and she actually had the strength to jump out of her bed and bale over the side of a draw.  She died within minutes but they are extremely tough animals and with this type of shot, should not be pushed.   

[buglebrush]

Use flagging ribbon and carefully mark exactly where you and the elk were.  Set a waypoint, and quietly sneak out.  Come back at first light the next morning, and she most likely will be laying within a couple hundred yards.  Push her any sooner than that, and IME you will almost certainly never recover her. 

[coachcw]

Tough call if I think my arrow found the rear hip pocket or the liver I'd mark the spot and back out for two hours . In the heat of sept waiting till morning will most likely  cause a waste of meat . I'd rather chance jumping her than finding her in the morning bone soured 200 yards from the shot.

[buglebrush]

Tough call if I think my arrow found the rear hip pocket or the liver I'd mark the spot and back out for two hours . In the heat of sept waiting till morning will most likely  cause a waste of meat . I'd rather chance jumping her than finding her in the morning bone soured 200 yards from the shot.

Definitely a tough call for sure.  Most of my bad experiences have involved pushing them too soon.  However, my area is super thick so sneaking up on a bedded elk is almost impossible and it is usually pretty cold overnight.  Would sure be nice to have the shot on camera as that would completely answer the question. 

[3dvapor]

8 hours minimum.

[coachcw]

Very difficult to do but only taking ultra safe shots near dark would be a good rule of thumb to follow ......more bad happens right before nightfall .

[coachcw]

I just saw again and saw that you said arrow buried her paunch. after a few minutes Id look quietly for the arrow ( a few soft mews may keep them close ) If I knew that arrow was buried in her working on the off side rear hip id most likley give her 1.5 to 2 hours and slip in after her . If that arrow went clear through the guts id wait over night . if there was solid dark red liver blood on my arrow I would not wait till morning . we always see on tv how these guys wait till morning then go recover a stiffy then pose it for pictures . we arnt getting the whole story there , my bet is more often than not there is bone sour . the ground side of a September elk left over night is less than ideal . So I guess blood trail at all id say follow it and if it looks like rain defiantly follow it . I hit a cow once right at dark . We waited about a half hour and followed found the arrow and about a 1.5 circle of clumped up blood . she jumped up and crashed into a thicket maybe a hundred yards away . we pulled out under the stars to wait till morning . well it rained like hell that am . we found little sign of blood and I searched with two guys for 8-10 hours on our hands and knees no elk . two weeks later I drove by the top of the draw and could smell death ....these times suck but lesson learned .