Question about tracking a hit ELK

[hunterrcc]

I am an experienced hunter and tracker, killed and tracked many deer and elk, etc but not this one.  My buddy called me two nights ago because he hit a bull and wanted help tracking it.  He said on his release it quartered more towards him.  He said it was super load whack and he spun around and ran.  he waited 20 minutes and looked for his arrow and blood. no arrow and little bit of blood then he backed out waited til I got there about 2 hours later and we when after it about 9:30pm.  We started with small drops at first then about 50yards away it was spraying the ground and brush and it got pretty good for about 2 miles up hill through reprod, clearcuts, old grow etc... Not once did it show any signs of laying down or bedding all the blood was dry except for the more heavy areas of brush where it rubbed the grass or brush.  But it didn't sit down until about 4.5-5 miles on the GPS.  It was pretty easy to follow until it laid down in the dry pine needles and moss/dirt.  Then the blood became chunks of wet/blood dirt which was super hard to follow.  It was no blood for 50 yards then a little tiny bit on a dirt chunk. then we totally had no blood we followed the general trail it was on and the direction it was headed.   The blood was clean red blood, not any sign of lung hit, no bone, no arrow that we saw, there were chunks of bloody slime like the kind between the front shoulder but that was it.  the blood was darker clean red blood.  I figured it got the dirt on the wound and it clotted it up and walked it off or it ran out of blood and ran on adrenline and its dead somewhere close to the last blood.  more on the side of the second but don't know.  We didn't get out of there til 4:15am and then he looked all the next day and grid searched for it and nothing.  the wierd thing was it was close to water and didn't go to the water it went up hill away from the water.  Any ideas or thoughts.  I really hate to lose an animal and with that good of a trail to follow bugs me alot.     

[bobcat]

I wonder if he hit it square in the shoulder and didn't get enough penetration to puncture a lung?

[vandeman17]

I wonder if he hit it square in the shoulder and didn't get enough penetration to puncture a lung?

I was thinking the same thing. It sounds to me like you guys have done everything right so far. I would keep after it at least one more day and see what you can come up with. 

[hunterrcc]

I wish you could use a dog in this state cuz I have a feeling it is down just sucks for him... I feel bad cause I would have bet thousands on it after the a 1/2 mile that we would be finding him that night with the amount of blood but at about 3.5 miles I was thinking in my head man this thing should have lay down by now!!! 

[Buckmark]

Who says you cant take your dog out for a walk, say around or along a certain trail, maybe with a shotgun looking for grouse?? Just sayin...

[MuleDeerCrazy]

If he went 5 miles he wasn't hit in the lungs... probably wasn't even hit as hard as it may have appeared?  They're tough, but not that tough!

[hunterrcc]

If I had more time yesterday I may have took my dog for a walk since I didn't shoot it and see if I could find any big grouse.lol

[TopOfTheFoodChain]

Buddy whacked one in the shoulder blade a few years ago. Same LOUD whack sound- lake a wood bat hitting another wood bat. We waited a couple hours. Found the arrow minus broadhead 40 yards into tracking. Had blood about like yours but not as far. Tracked until about 5AM. I went into town and called in sick to work. Went back and grid searched for 12 hours. Nothing.

A friend of his got it later during modern. Wound was almost completely healed. The almost still useable broadhead was still in the shoulder. The guy who shot it said the bull wasn't even limping. It was just a standard 4 X 4 raghorn.

They're pretty tough. Sorry you lost it but you did the right thing spending time really searching for it.

[GoldTip]

hunterrrc, that bull is alive and very sore to the shoulder and no more right now.  No way does a bull thats going to die from a wound go 5 miles by GPS.  He smacked the shoulder blade or lower leg bone square on and did nothing but meat damage to the bull.  I'd bet money on it.  Now, that doesn't mean you couldn't find him all stove up and sore, but unless he egts found and killed by wolves, this bull is going to live.

[hunterrcc]

Glad to hear you think he will live from this.  He is hunting hard still today trying to find it die or alive but its on the west side in the thick brush and clearcuts so it makes it hard.  I haven't done much bow hunting so wasn't sure much on the damage it may have done.  I usually hunt muzzleloader or rifle so thank you all for your comments.  I will forward it on to him.  Have a good night and hopefully I will have a picture of this bull from my trail cameras to confirm its alive still.

[Button Nubbs]

I only got 1 lung on my bull this year. We jumped him twice in 7 hrs. Both times we jumped him he would go less than 100 yards and lay down again. I think if it was sick it wouldn't go that far. But I'm not an expert.

[carpsniperg2]

Don't think he got enough into him to hit a long. Probably just hit a vein and that's the blood you were seeing. If it does not get infection he should live.

[jeepasaurusrex]

Just talked to a sales rep who came in yesterday that I see every week. One of the guys who works for him, that used to work for me went elk hunting last week down south. He arrowed a nice 5x5 just before dark. They tracked it they best they could, working to almost midnight until their batteries went dead and still did not find him. They were out at first light in the morning trying to locate him with no luck. Finally around noon some other hunters in the area found him. He had actually went up hill in a zig zag pattern and expired in a small bowl above where he was shot. He had already started to bloat but they tried to save the meat. But it had been too long. He tagged it anyway. No meat but a nice mount. 

[Band]

I'm impressed that you were able to track it that far in the dark.  Really bright flashlight or??

[TheHunt]

The five miles by GPS sure makes think he is not that sick.  But on the other hand he was heading to water then left.  It could have been something down there to keep him from going to water. 

The grid pattern is a great idea as I have found animals that way.  But I think you are right that the hit was a shoulder hit.   What was the blood spray that you were talking about?  You think it was a high hit and hit a vein? 

I feel for the hunter as that is a terrible emotion to work through.  Good luck to him and you if you continue to help him.