bubbles in blood

[WonkyWapiti]

My bull this past week was a double lung shot with a complete pass thru.  There was no blood for the first 30 yards and he was found keeled over DRT at 35 yards.  Maybe I misread your post but you guys probably should have let the elk be once you shot it instead of pushing it and just allowed it to lay down and die.  I would definitely be going back in the morning and and continue your search again.  

I know I'll also start a crap storm with this comment but 54 and 60 yards is quite a distance for chucking arrows at an elk UNLESS your buddy really practices and conditions are right.  Alot of my range practice this past year was as the 50 and 60 yard mark but conditions would have to be pretty darn good for me to still be confident enough to take a shot at that range even tho I know I am nuts on at those distances.  Alot can happen in that distance.

The other thing is don't let the cow tracks throw you off, I've seen many a bull take off say to hell with the herd and take of in a totally different direction than the cows.  Especially if this guys hit and you arent seeing his tracks with the cows, you may have passed him up. 

[usmc74]

I shot a big bull years ago.  Thought I had a good hit at 20 yds. (turned out I only got 1 lung).

Waited 1/2 hour, followed the tracks.  Almost no blood.  Heard labored breathing from trees ahead, so wait until it stopped and 5 minutes more.  Walked into trees and the bull blew out of there.  Was about a softball sized mound of foam blood.  No blood found the way he ran out.

Had to eventually get on all fours, and found small specks of blood.  Followed this way for about 1/2 mile.  Eventually found more quantity blood sign.  Found the bull 7 hours after I shot him.  7X6 bull.

[PolarBear]

the shots were broadside at 60yds and 54yds.

No wonder

[grousetracker]

the bull was stopped and had no idea we was there. he shot it in a clearcut that had no vegetation in it . i watched it run down the hill towards me and stand in the road for over a minute and then just walk 300yds into the timber as if unhit. when i say bubbles i mean 2or 3 bubbles in a quarter sized blood drop, not froth or alot of bubbles. ive seen him shoot paperplates at 60yds with no problem. any person who thinks they wouldnt shoot 60 after practicing that shot is not being rational.

[ICEMAN]

I am not a bowhunter, so pardon the question.

Aside from hitting a plate at 60 yards (yippee), how much force would the arrow deliver at that range?

[jackelope]

any person who thinks they wouldnt shoot 60 after practicing that shot is not being rational.

thats b.s. ... 60 yards is a long ways and a lot can happen in the time it takes an arrow to get that far.

[Buckmark]

I wouldn't shoot 60, and i practice at targets beyond that, i am pretty good but i like the get close and set my max distance at 40, that is my self imposed range not my effective range.
NO animal is worth wounding.
I had a really nice and i mean really nice whitetail buck year before last at 78yds opening day, i can make that distance on paper, but to be 100% sure on the animal no, let him walk, talked to a guy that said "see that buck, wow" and i said yeah had him at 78, he said what no 80yd pin, i said i'll take up rifle again at that range thanks..

[PolarBear]

ive seen him shoot paperplates at 60yds with no problem. any person who thinks they wouldnt shoot 60 after practicing that shot is not being rational.

I practice out to over 100 yards with my bow.  Hitting a paper plate at 60 yards and calling it good enough to shoot at an elk at 60 yds is just ridiculous!  I practice year round and can put 5 broadheads in a 2" target dot at 60 yards and still would not take that shot at an elk.  A paper plate is 9-10", that leaves a lot of room for error out at 60 yds. Plus the fact that the kinetic energy at that range is iffy at best on an animal as big and tough as an elk.  Sorry to be a dick but what your buddy did was irresponsible at best.  The fact that it went 800+ yards and you still didn't find it is proof that it was a bad shot to make and that you probably pushed it.  Sorry again, but I get so f-in fed up hearing year after year about folks losing animals because of bad and out of range shots.  Damn it people, take your time and only shoot if it is a good, safe shot!  I value my hunting and the animal I hunt far too much to take some low percentage pot shot at them.

[adam.WI]

That critter is dead 100% positive.

the lungs have multiple lobes in them and any animal doesn't need all of them to survive, if the wound closes up and air doesn't get in then it will never collapse the lungs.

Not unless the elk has a surgeon nearby. If there were pink bubbles in the blood than it was a lung hit. If it was a lung hit than the animal is dead or going to die relatively quickly which is not to say that if pushed it wont be able to go miles. Most likely if you dont push an animal that is lung hit they will go downhill and lay down as soon as they can. If they dont get jumped out of their bed there lungs WILL fill with blood and they will die in their bed.

In the future I would recommend waiting an hour (maybe you did) than flagging the blood trail so you can see direction of travel. If the animal is traveling up hill for a substantial amount of time than he may not be mortally wounded (or recoverable) if he keeps heading downhill take your time, flag the trail and give him time to die. The animal you mentioned with the pink blood is definitely lung hit and surely dead now.

You should go back and attempt to recover it. It sucks but it happens, best of luck.

Go tell that to the surgeons that treat my friends and I over seas, unless you hit puncture enough of a whole for the animal to fill it's lungs with blood, it may not die. All that has to happen is a flap of skin covers the whole and then there is no sucking chest wound. With out air coming in from the outside it will not necessarily collapse the lungs. So no it is not 100% dead.
It probably is dead and I would agree waiting is beneficial, and I would never move on an animal with out waiting at least 30-45 mins, but again, not 100% dead.

[NW-GSP]

this is my first year archery hunting and I can shoot pretty good at farther distances but I would not even try anything over thirty yards

[jrebel]

First: 60 yards in the right conditions with the right equipment is very leathal.  IFFFF you practice and the CONDITIONS are RIGHT. 

Second:  What type of broadhead? and cutting diameter?   Rough math???  It takes a whole 2/3rd the diameter of the trachea for adequate air to enter the wound and cause an imbalance in pressure wich then would cause a catastrophic pneumothorax (collapsed lung/sucking chest wound).  Otherwise it will take time for the lung to stop working and fill with blood, thus causing death by inadequate oxygen to the organs.  Lungs do not spontaneously heal themselves and if the outside wound is clotted or sealed by "FAT" "SKIN" or whatever people have suggested then the thoracic cavity would then fill with blood/air causing a tension hemo/pneumo that would also lead to a rapid death. 

Moral of the story, if you hit lung the animal will die.  Unfortunately lung shots don't always bleed a lot.  I double lunged a cow with a broadside through and through shot two years ago.  Sat and ate an early lunch.  Two hours later tracked her and only found 3-4 drops of blood with the biggest being appox 2" diameter.  She died 50 yards from point of impact.  Go out and give it a good hard day of looking and you can probably find that elk.  Good Luck.

[beav1980]

So if a guy shoots an elk from 30 yds and hits it but cant find it that justifies it?? Some people that shoot alot can shoot better @ 60 yds than most can @ 30.  At 50-60 yds an arrow has plenty of velocity for a comple pass through.  I have shot deer with a rifle @ 100 yrds that were never recovered.  It hunting it happens no matter what the weapon is.  I know guys that shoot over 150 yds with muzzle loaders.  It is not ur job to tell people how far they can shoot just like it is not their job to tell u how. To parent ur kids.  I killed one at 63 yds last year double lunged it and it traveled 70 yds and piled up.  Oh and by the way that shot was a complete pass through so i believe that could answer the question.  I have been in alot of discissions on this topic and i feel yardage to shoot varies with each hunter. 

[jackelope]

I have been in alot of discissions on this topic and i feel yardage to shoot varies with each hunter

targets don't move or spook or take a step or anything. they just sit there...it takes a long time for an arrow to travel 70 yards. an animal can completely screw your shot in the time it takes for that arrow to travel that distance. how much a guy practices at those yards has nothing...zero, zilch, nada...to do with how an elk or deer or bear or grouse or anything is going to move the slightest bit in that time....remember that.

[EastWaViking]

targets don't move or spook or take a step or anything. they just sit there...it takes a long time for an arrow to travel 70 yards. an animal can completely screw your shot in the time it takes for that arrow to travel that distance. how much a guy practices at those yards has nothing...zero, zilch, nada...to do with how an elk or deer or bear or grouse or anything is going to move the slightest bit in that time....remember that.

 

[Buckmark]

targets don't move or spook or take a step or anything. they just sit there...it takes a long time for an arrow to travel 70 yards. an animal can completely screw your shot in the time it takes for that arrow to travel that distance. how much a guy practices at those yards has nothing...zero, zilch, nada...to do with how an elk or deer or bear or grouse or anything is going to move the slightest bit in that time....remember that.

 

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