Archery guys, Still got your first kill arrow?

[Camp David]

Mine first was a nice whitetail buck. Ended up in 2 peices. Still have it and most of the others.

[bowNarrow]

I used mine the next year to see if i could get another with the same arrow. I missed and it was in pieces

[washelkhunter]

Yep!

[hillbillyhunting]

I got my first archery kill on a cow elk this year... i still have the arrow, but couldnt retrieve my animal    Might be the most disappointing thing to ever happen to me.  Would have been my first archery kill and first elk.  I think I should get rid of the arrow... it might be bad juju 

[lokidog]

No.

[dreamingbig]

I got my first archery kill on a cow elk this year... i still have the arrow, but couldnt retrieve my animal    Might be the most disappointing thing to ever happen to me.  Would have been my first archery kill and first elk.  I think I should get rid of the arrow... it might be bad juju 

How do you know you killed her?  Just curious.  More than one elk have survived an arrow before.

[hillbillyhunting]

I got my first archery kill on a cow elk this year... i still have the arrow, but couldnt retrieve my animal    Might be the most disappointing thing to ever happen to me.  Would have been my first archery kill and first elk.  I think I should get rid of the arrow... it might be bad juju 

How do you know you killed her?  Just curious.  More than one elk have survived an arrow before.

All but 3"- 4" of the arrow penetrated then broke off about 5" below the fletchings, bright red frothy blood, and big piles of blood where she stopped... We thought she wouldnt be more than 100yards away at one point about 10 min into tracking her because of all the blood, but we followed her for hours and hours and hours. The blood trail would let up then be heavy agin and went back and forth.  Followed her for more than 6 hours and we even let her sit for more than 2 hrs after I shot her because the veteran archer I was with was not very confident in my shot. But like I said, when he saw the blood trail he gave me a high five and said we are going to have a dead elk within 100 yards.  Im pretty sure I only hit one lung and she never laid down but I dont think she could have lived.

[Button Nubbs]

Reminds me of my bull this year, got 1 lung and liver and the fuc/)r would not die. Found him 24hrs later, meat was still good.

Archery hunting can bring the highest of highs and lowest of lows multiple times in the same day.

[hillbillyhunting]

Reminds me of my bull this year, got 1 lung and liver and the fuc/)r would not die. Found him 24hrs later, meat was still good.

Archery hunting can bring the highest of highs and lowest of lows multiple times in the same day.

Ya I saw that... first I have possibly the most adreneline I have felt hunting having that elk below my tree stand and waiting for the shot, then my buddy says "what did you do"  and I was on a low for the 2+ hrs we were waiting, then the whole tracking experience was ups and downs until the final depression...

[Jellymon]

I ended up reusing it and forgot which one it was! Maybe it ended up being the same one I got my first elk with!

[dreamingbig]

But like I said, when he saw the blood trail he gave me a high five and said we are going to have a dead elk within 100 yards.  Im pretty sure I only hit one lung and she never laid down but I dont think she could have lived.

They can live on one lung for a long time; sometimes even until the following season or two.  As long as you put everything you had into tracking her,  I wouldn't beat yourself up.  These things can happen with archery.  Not often but they can.

[whitetailslyr]

Yep, i still have mine. It's on the wall with its kill.

[NRA4LIFE]

Yup, me too.  An old aluminum one, all bent to *&^% still with the dried blood and schmang still on it.  Never even cleaned it.

[Blacktail Sniper]

Yup, still have mine along with the tag.  Blacktail doe, late archery, I believe it is from 1983.  Also have the .45/70 shell casing from my first/last bear...first bear, 1996 last time to legally bait.

[bear hunter]

I got my first archery kill on a cow elk this year... i still have the arrow, but couldn't retrieve my animal    Might be the most disappointing thing to ever happen to me.  Would have been my first archery kill and first elk.  I think I should get rid of the arrow... it might be bad juju 

How do you know you killed her?  Just curious.  More than one elk have survived an arrow before.

All but 3"- 4" of the arrow penetrated then broke off about 5" below the fletchings, bright red frothy blood, and big piles of blood where she stopped... We thought she wouldn't be more than 100yards away at one point about 10 min into tracking her because of all the blood, but we followed her for hours and hours and hours. The blood trail would let up then be heavy again and went back and forth.  Followed her for more than 6 hours and we even let her sit for more than 2 hrs after I shot her because the veteran archer I was with was not very confident in my shot. But like I said, when he saw the blood trail he gave me a high five and said we are going to have a dead elk within 100 yards.  I'm pretty sure I only hit one lung and she never laid down but I don't think she could have lived.

  WOW that sounds just like my first archery season. I have a 6" end I found from my first Elk. We tracked her for 6+ hours last her in a swamp. Their were just tomany fresh tracks ever where and just lost her westside by packwood. I shot her at 40 yards down hill hit high. Lots of blood and nothing then more blood. I do have my first arrow from my blktail shot the same season.