Frontal shot on elk, situation ethics and other musings

[Torrent50]

This is definitely not from personal experience as I have yet to successfully harvest an elk, but from things I have read about frontal shots and a couple videos I recently watched it has been suggested that you search uphill on those shots, which goes against what I was always told about a wounded animal's most likely path.  The theory is that since there really isn't a place for much blood to escape it collects in the body cavity and if they try to go down hill it fills the chest cavity and starts to suffocate them.  Going uphill relieves that pressure.

Anyone else have that experience or hear that theory? 

[brew]

my issue i have with this is he said in the second paragraph that we would limit his shots to "broadside at 40 yards" yet he goes on to say he arrowed 2 bulls and neither of them fit this criteria.  yes i can understand that shooting at a quartering away bull because of the likelehood of a kill but at 40 yards aiming for the off shoulder you would be shooting over 2 feet left to hit him in the ass where he said he did.  Then he goes on to say that the second bull he aimed for the "bulge in the neck where the trachea is"...where is that in comparison to a broadside bull's heart/lung area ?  hey if all you want to do is fling arrows in the hopes of hitting something lethal just say so...about 10 years ago i drew an any elk archery tag in the manastash unit and killed a bull that had a 3 blade muzzey that had been festering in his neck/spine for a couple years...kinda felt bad for the elk.  not saying i haven't made a bad shot on an animal but i have passed up many shots i knew weren't lethal. 

[DaveMonti]

(watching)

[KFhunter]

(watching)

me too

[Naches Sportsman]

This thread may help explain why I find deadheads with arrows nearby.

[highside74]

Well first off the meat is only spoiled if he's dead. So with 4 days left you should have looked the next day. And a bull shot in the throat and maybe one lung can go miles if he is going up hill or flat. Soon as he goes down hill he will suffocate. It is very possible you shot to high. If you did that and missed the trachea you would have most likely missed anything lethal in a timely fashion.

[pd]

I'll never turn down a frontal shot within my own personal comfort zone for hitting that spot.   You gave it hell buddy, hold your head high!  Wish I could have made it down to help out.

And not for the first time, I agree with this guy.

[Magnum_Willys]

Most Everyone I know spending much time in the woods has found dead lost game with arrows nearby or lost ones they’ve shot at.     Not what we want but it just happens all a guy can do is our best to minimize it.

[huntingfool7]

This is definitely not from personal experience as I have yet to successfully harvest an elk, but from things I have read about frontal shots and a couple videos I recently watched it has been suggested that you search uphill on those shots, which goes against what I was always told about a wounded animal's most likely path.  The theory is that since there really isn't a place for much blood to escape it collects in the body cavity and if they try to go down hill it fills the chest cavity and starts to suffocate them.  Going uphill relieves that pressure.

Anyone else have that experience or hear that theory? 

@Torrent50  That doesn't make sense from an anatomy standpoint (even though it's repeated in a post below yours).  A shot through the lungs will fill the lungs regardless of the elks orientation.  Fluid in the body cavity wouldn't create the pressure to collapse the lungs assuming they are not perforated.

[Rainier10]

Sorry you didn't retrieve your elk.  Stuff happens and that is just the way it goes some times.

There are lots of dead elk in the woods.  Some die from arrows, which you can see at the site.  Others die from muzzy bullets and modern firearm bullets, you probably don't find those bullets at the seen.  And of course others die of natural causes or by predators.

Hopefully this can stay on track and not be a user group versus a user group thing.

[Gringo31]

Couldn't be easy to share this story.....

[Karl Blanchard]

Most Everyone I know spending much time in the woods has found dead lost game with arrows nearby or lost ones they’ve shot at.     Not what we want but it just happens all a guy can do is our best to minimize it.

  I am in the woods 90-100 days a year between fall hunts, scouting, and spring turkey and I've never found a single one.  I've found lots of arrows over the years but never a single skeleton with an obvious arrow laying there.

[cbond3318]

There is a huge lesson in this.....get out there and enjoy every second you can. You never know when life circumstances will get in the way and we won’t be able to do it like we want.

Hats off to you for pushing the edges still and putting boots to ground. From what I’ve gathered over the years here you have had a storied career in the outdoors and what you’ve shared here on this thread must have been a hard pill to swallow, but atlas Good men share, learn and move on. Good job good sir. 

[elkinrutdrivemenuts]

 Shortly after I hear wet cough, followed seconds later by a crash.

The wet cough tells me that this bull is dead.  In my experience, when I hear that, the bull is dying shortly.  As big as a bull elk is, they can disappear when they go down in brush.  Sorry you were unable to find him, at least you gave it your best. 

Side note...  it would be very hard for me to watch a bull with my arrow stuck in his ass and a rifle close by.  I would have shot him and paid the price rather than let him run around like that. 

[Jonathan_S]

I wish I knew half of what DOUBLELUNG has forgotten about game. This thread has one of the most valuable members to the site, a real asset and a wealth of applicable knowledge who elected to tell a harsh reality.