Hunting Washington Forum

Big Game Hunting => Elk Hunting => Topic started by: piledup on December 11, 2008, 10:10:46 AM

Title: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: piledup on December 11, 2008, 10:10:46 AM: I found this on Dec. 8th. Seems like a bowhunter shot it but couldn't track it. How long do you guys think it was dead?
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: BULLBLASTER on December 11, 2008, 10:21:51 AM: bad to shoot elk in the guts... they use hay bales for targets for a reason.
it happens... that thing could have covered a lot of ground with the arrow in there if pushed. what gmu is this?
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: saylean on December 11, 2008, 10:22:53 AM: crappy...hate to see that no matter who shot at it. I would say 2 weeks dead.
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: GoldTip on December 11, 2008, 10:26:40 AM: yes, thats a sad deal. Would probably be a hard animal to track from the looks of the entrance wound.
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: croix on December 11, 2008, 10:35:36 AM: December 15th is four days from now. Did you mean Nov. 15 or was this in '07?
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: broken-arrow on December 11, 2008, 10:38:40 AM: That is a sad site indeed! :'( This looks like it was likely shot towards the latter part of the early season providing you took the photo on November 15 and not December 15... ;)
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: buck470 on December 11, 2008, 10:43:05 AM: Ran across one just similar, 2 weeks ago, the carcass was pretty much intact, except for one hole the size of a tennis ball in it's gut.

It's a waste.
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: EastWaViking on December 11, 2008, 10:44:14 AM: Hate to see that. :'(
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: huntnphool on December 11, 2008, 10:47:12 AM: That sucks. White nock, green/orange fletching, who is it. HuntWa CSI :chuckle:
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: piledup on December 11, 2008, 10:58:10 AM: Quote from: broken-arrow on December 11, 2008, 10:38:40 AM
That is a sad site indeed! :'( This looks like it was likely shot towards the latter part of the early season providing you took the photo on November 15 and not December 15... ;)

Wrong date. It's supposed to be the 8th of December.
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: broken-arrow on December 11, 2008, 11:02:45 AM: What GMU did you find this?
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: roadhuntking on December 11, 2008, 12:08:13 PM: Well you can eliminate me, wrong side of elk, right colored fletching and wrong color knock. Sad deal.
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: rasbo on December 11, 2008, 12:19:12 PM: >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( :bash: >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(more and more people are bow hunting for the season not the sport.not that thats what happened..hope they tore up their tag
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: rougheye on December 11, 2008, 12:27:24 PM: You can say the same thing about rifle hunters . This year i came across 3 bucks in the swakane , 2 3- points and 1 4point and i know they werent there during shed season . Unfortunatly it is a sad part of hunting . All we can do is hope they tried like hell to find them but if you hunt long enough than you know chit happens .
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: saylean on December 11, 2008, 01:11:27 PM: I hunt both rifle and bow and I can say I have easily found more animals killed by rifle than those by bow, which were not recovered.
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: Bighorse on December 11, 2008, 01:36:24 PM: Where are the upper legs at? I don't see two hoofs. Were they scattered somewhere? Rear Femur? Front Scapula?

How did the hide look? Was it cut so the Backstap was removed?

Did someone just fill up a backpack and leave the rest? Hum?
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: fc2038 on December 11, 2008, 02:21:44 PM: yea I would guess two weeks. Could be less. I have see an animal pretty cleaned out in a couple days. Who knows for sure how long.
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: GWA Hunter on December 11, 2008, 04:53:26 PM: THat sucks! What GMU was that in?
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: huntnphool on December 11, 2008, 05:00:31 PM: Bighorse is right, it looks as though the front and rear quarters on the left side are gone.
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: WVT on December 11, 2008, 05:29:18 PM: sad for sure, it happens with all the weapons. I will say that the elk has more of a chance to survive a bad archery shot than a bad rifle shot.
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: huntnphool on December 11, 2008, 05:42:18 PM: Quote from: WVT on December 11, 2008, 05:29:18 PM
sad for sure, it happens with all the weapons. I will say that the elk has more of a chance to survive a bad archery shot than a bad rifle shot.

I was at Outitters house last week and one of his muzzy deer hunters had taken a nice whitetail. While skinning it out Joe found a broken arrow shaft between the backbone and vitals that had healed over, it had been there a year or two.
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: Antlershed on December 11, 2008, 05:43:23 PM: Quote from: huntnphool on December 11, 2008, 05:00:31 PM
Bighorse is right, it looks as though the front and rear quarters on the left side are gone.
Yep, the shoulder blade and everything is clean gone. :dunno:
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: piledup on December 11, 2008, 05:45:26 PM: Quote from: broken-arrow on December 11, 2008, 11:02:45 AM
What GMU did you find this?

Found this on the eastside in gmu 124.
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: heavy hauler on December 11, 2008, 08:33:15 PM: its a shame. i am not sure if someone removed some meat or not.it seems like if they did that they would have pulled there arrow also.who knows?
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: bucklucky on December 11, 2008, 08:58:11 PM: Maybee they used the gutless method. Was the hindquarter on the bottom boned out or did it still have the meat on it? Looks like a *censored*ty feild job possibly?? I dont know.
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: wastickslinger on December 11, 2008, 09:16:05 PM: Quote from: bucklucky on December 11, 2008, 08:58:11 PM
Maybee they used the gutless method. Was the hindquarter on the bottom boned out or did it still have the meat on it? Looks like a *censored*ty feild job possibly?? I dont know.

I wondered the same thing. Those backstraps look like they were entirely removed. But why leave the arrow if that was the case?
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: NWWABOWHNTR on December 12, 2008, 08:02:44 AM: Looks like it was boned out as said above, but why leave your arrow? If it was just not recovered I'd say at least a month and a half to decay and be eaten to that level.
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: archery288 on December 12, 2008, 08:04:42 AM: I don't think it was boned or quartered... I think it was never recovered and the victim of natural decay and critters eating it....
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: Old Mule on December 12, 2008, 12:34:50 PM: Dam, looks like my Arrow, but the only thing I got a shot at was a Turkey in Idaho. 12 Days and I only saw 4 Elk, The Neighbor took Pictures of 14 Wolves in the in the Canyon above Me.
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: Big10gauge on December 12, 2008, 12:49:17 PM: Ok I'm going to take a wild shot here but everyone is assuming that a bowhunter shot this elk and couldn't find it. I have seen several deer and elk laying down shot with an arrow to finish it off look at the angle of the shot. What stopped the arrow? Possibly the ground under the elk. If not IMO that arrow sure seemed to manage to stay in the animal in that thicket and not get dislodged or broken. How it stayed in that position with predators ripping and pulling on the elk also makes me question it. Like I said just my opinion but too many variables in that picture for me not to be suspicious of the common assumption.
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: Chesapeake on December 12, 2008, 04:37:10 PM: I'm guessing it has bean dead a few weeks. It doesnt look like a poor cleaning job to me. It looks like the animals drug off the two legs they could drag off. The front leg isnt attached by any bone and the hind leg would just require chewing the hip joint loose.

Were the ivories in it? I would guess even a sloppy hunter would have grabbed the ivories and the arrow.

I found a 5x5 bull elk during rifle season several years back that looked just like that. Actualy so very close to that its almost scary. The arrow in the elk I found had bean chewed on around the knock and fletching. It was a camo easton aluminum with a Muzzy broadhead. Still have it.
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: MIKEXRAY on December 13, 2008, 07:52:11 AM: I was hunting late season by Naches River and ran into a young indian who was driving around looking for crows. He said thats how he got his buck last year, by looking for the crows & finding another archers kill. I also found a fork horn mulie drilled in the fore head and left to rot, it was a three point area. That is a sadder situation than not finding game, shooting something not legal and leaving it.
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: bucklucky on December 13, 2008, 08:03:48 AM: :bash:
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: 1bowhunter1 on December 13, 2008, 08:09:11 AM: It looks like the elk was going the other way when shot (From behind) :dunno: To bad!
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: Hunterman on December 14, 2008, 10:46:25 AM: Well even nature gets a free meal every now and then.. Looks like the 'yote and birds had a good time.. Nothing goes to waste in the forest.

Hunterman(Tony)
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: robb92 on December 16, 2008, 05:02:01 PM: After looking at the picture it would seem to me that no one tried the gutless method or even took any of the meat. Looks like some yotes or cougar got ahold of it and cleaned it out. because it looks like the gut sack has not been moved but just openend. The bottom line is that it is a waste and to bad the "shooter" couldn't find it. Just hope he or she didn't figure that it was only nicked and went on hunting.
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: jae on December 22, 2008, 07:01:20 PM: Quote from: Bighorse on December 11, 2008, 01:36:24 PM
Where are the upper legs at? I don't see two hoofs. Were they scattered somewhere? Rear Femur? Front Scapula?

How did the hide look? Was it cut so the Backstap was removed?

Did someone just fill up a backpack and leave the rest? Hum?

+1
Title: Re: Did someone lose an elk?
Post by: Slow-1 on December 23, 2008, 08:37:17 AM: I would say it was not found. If it was found and only high graded they would have take their arrow .If the it had the gutless method used all the legs would be gone.Also it was not that bad of a shot with the forward angle it got one lung for sure and maybe caught the other one its hard to tell in the picture exactly.looks like a poor track job to me.