elk shoulderblade shot ???

[huntbow]

   first time on this site and the reason im here is to ask a question about hitting an elk in the shoulderblade with an arrow.

   Saturday 9-18-10 i hit a 4X4 bull in the shoulderblade in west wa. he was bedded in the timber, i spotted him while i was walking through the timber and snuck in as close as i dared get which was also my max range.  i waited till he stood up, drew my bow while he was getting up and then shot once he was broadside standing there. it looked like a good hit, but when he ran i saw the arrow was sticking out his side a little far.  my cousin was watching the whole thing behind me farther back in the woods and when i got back to him he said it was a good hit.  after a while i went to where he had been and found my arrow 20 yards farther.  i examined the arrow and had gotten 12 1/4 in penetration, but was missing the last five or six inches. we found the first blood 40 yards farther then followed it straight downhill about 400 yards till the blood trail ended but we could still see his tracks in the dirt so we fallowed those down to a creek bottom where they just disappeared. we looked around for the rest of the afternoon then came back in the morning and looked all over the place again doing circles around where we last new he had been. we never found another sign of him.
   i think i hit part of the soulderblade or something that's why my arrow didn't go in very far, i shoot a bowtech tribute 31.5in draw set at 80#draw weight. with an arrow tipped with a montec g5
  have any of you done something like this, did you find the elk or not? 
  i know the meat is spoiled by now and i feel like crap.  but if i go back this weekend what are the chances i could find the bull, by watching for ravens or buzzards? iv heard they can live on one lung, is that true?

[brianb231]

How far was the shot? I shot the Spike in the little naches this year on the 12th, but he was at 15yards. I shot through the shoulderblade and into the heart (luckily). I was using the Carbon express f-15 broad heads. I also had about 6 inches of arrow that was sticking out. But we found him 65 yards away.

[vandeman17]

Do you mean that it went in 12 and a quarter inches? If so, I would imagine that it hit some kind of organs but can't say for sure. I have heard of guys making good shots but having the arrow just not do "lethal" damage inside due to narrowly missing the lungs or other organs.  

[backyard bucks]

i hit a cow from a treestand long time ago.. 15 yards away using a 97 pound martin firecat with 2315 arrows and 125 grain thunderheads.. my arrow hit her so hard it took  her to the ground.. when she got up i notice my arrow hanging from her shoulder.. she got up regained her balance and took off.. i found my arrow with only about 3 inches of blood and the broad head snapped off..
we followed her up hill, down and uphill again until we couldn't follow tracks anymore cuz she joined another group of animals. we covered alot of ground and very little blood for the first part.. but blood stopped and we were able to follow her tracks still as she continued up hill.. that was my first guess she was going to be fine..

one lesson i learned from that right away is STAY AWAY FROM THE SHOULDER IF AT ALL POSSIBLE.. they aren't like deer where you can punch thru.

[yajsab]

A friend shot one couple years ago at 20 yards.  We never found the elk.

When you hit the shoulderblade, you can tell and hear the impact. 

[coachcw]

too many guys aim to close to the shoulder . maybe its the 3d targets that promote that or converted rifle hunters . I always hold six to eight inches behind the shoulder that way even if you pull it a bit your stil in the lungs the cows we got this year went 80 and 42 yards with both lungs flat . my other thaught on that shot was it looked quartering towards you that gives you a small window and things can go wrong fast. I'm glad you harvested your elk no doubt but not a recomended shot. kinda like a texas heart shot can go wrong when slightly off the mark.

[carpsniperg2]

i will always try to keep the arrow away from the shoulder. you can get both lungs just fine and stay away from the shoulder on most shots. if you do hit the shoulder blade most times you can get threw. but if you hit the knuckel or the leg bone, most times you will not get threw very well and maybe luck out and get a lung. but blood trails are very hard to follow if the arrow only goes in a few inches and stays in the hole. best to avoid it, but it can still kill elk.