Help. How long after you shoot a bull can it go befor the meat spoils?

[wapiti hunter2]

I shot a bull tonight as it was getting dark.  Good solid shot (250 yards dead rest) but by the time I got to where he was standing it was to dark to see.  He acted hit, turned and ran into some real thick brush.  I am going back at first light to start the search,  but I was wondering how long in this weather till the meat will spoil beyond salvage? 

[Wild Bill]

Weather is cool. Find him in the am. Drink a shot for me, enjoy the fruits of ur labor. Hope the rain don't screw it for u.

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

This is a bad situation, an animal is around 101* F while he is alive and unless you open him up he begins to spoil.
I would take ashort nap, or whatever , grab some flashlights and lanterns, and go take care of him.
It wont be that bad because it isn't that warm out, but the hide and fat on an animal will keep the heat in which is what causes spoiling.

[Jamieb]

Get out there with some flashlights. It will be bloated before morning.

[singleshot12]

You should always carry a flashlight with you...if you gut shot him the meat will be ruined.

[carpsniperg2]

stiknstringbow is right. but if it was a good shot and no guts were opened you sould still be o.k. threw to tomarrow morning. i would not trust it past then. i would try tonight because of the chance of loosin blood if the ground is wet you might be able to follow tracks but be better if you could find blood. good luck

[AKBowman]

I would recommend getting out there just a bit before first light. I know some say you should be out there with a lantern and hunting damn near all night but I dont think that is the best thing you can do...the only thing that changes this is rain. If its raining then get out there all night. If it isnt raining you can track blood, if you fumble around in the dark you can miss something that may tip you to where your elk is. If its raining jsut get to him ASAP so go out in the dark.
 If you think you made a good hit on him (sounds like you did) he's dead within 300 yards. If you cant find him right away start walking circles (progressively getting larger) from the last sign or spot you saw him.

Congrats and good luck! Post pics of the critter after you find him.

Also remember wounded elk will most likely take the easiest route of travel or travel down hill.

[Axle]

It isn't a science. Contrary to extremely popular belief, bigger animals don't spoil as fast as small animals. Rest assured - smaller animals spoil faster which means your elk will be fine depending on where you shot it. To add to my credibility, I must say that I've worked in a slaughter house and have a rather high level of experience in this with wild and domestic animals.

If you didn't gut shoot it, it will be fine.

The other thing is, did you get it on the west side or the east side? Either way, get to it early and work it up quickly and process the meat asap and it will be just fine.

Don't get the meat wet. Wet meat will spoil faster. Don't cool it down with water. Just air cool it. When you find it in the AM, it will still be warm but don't worry, it will be fine.

Use my 'how to bone-out a deer tutorial with pictures' in the deer section. You will risk too much if you gut it out. Do your best regardless and you will have good meat.

[wapiti hunter2]

Thanks,  I have rounded up a friend and we will be at it at first light.  It is relatively flat ground, west side.  My feeling is we will find him pretty fast or It will be a long day.

[Axle]

One more thing: if you did gut shoot it, the animal will take longer to die, thus it will be a shorter time period from death till butcher time. Sad - but that is the way it happens sometimes.

And yes, as noted before by someone else, mortally wounded animals go downhill.

We wait for your story.

[bucklucky]

I would go now and look for him. I made a choice on a bull I wasnt sure of the shot on , well it was in the snow and very cold. I thought I could get away with leaving him over night. Guess what, all spoiled. Big animals take longer to cool. Simple math, big bones more meat . Takes longer to cool, there fore bone sour. You are taking a chance on this one. I had a friend kill a bull and gutted him and propped him open over night to cool, lost all the neck meat to bone sour. Good luck man. Hope it works out !

[bow4elk]

This is a bad situation, an animal is around 101* F while he is alive and unless you open him up he begins to spoil.
I would take ashort nap, or whatever , grab some flashlights and lanterns, and go take care of him.
It wont be that bad because it isn't that warm out, but the hide and fat on an animal will keep the heat in which is what causes spoiling.

Drink a ton of water on the drive back, and get back out there.  He will bone sour by morning, especially the side on the ground.   

[huntnphool]

Grab some light colored jeans to wear if you have them, bring dry cloths to change into after. The light color may pick up blood from bushes that you can't tell has blood on it.

I would get out there tonight though!!!!

[bow4elk]

Also, just an FYI for anyone interested - slight threadjack here, but related - you should check out Judd Cooney's interview on Bowcast.com.  He talks about how bacteria works up through the throat, etc.  Pretty interesting stuff.

[BLKBEARKLR]

I myself would be out there now, the rain can wash all your sign away, the one issue if it is gut shot may not be dead and you could jump it and never find it again. I have gone both ways on leaving it over night, one was a moose shot towards the last hours of the night and went into some thickets, we found it first thing the following morning and it was all good. had a buddy get an elk down and could not find it, We found it before first light with flashlights elk was dead for maybe 8 hours and the entire thing was bad, conditions were about the same as they are now. Wish you the best of luck on recovering that animal quickly and all turns out for the better on the meat..