Any chance for this elk?

[Texasbuckeye]

Gotcha. I thought so, but wasnt sure if there was some other circumstance you hadnt mentioned.

Again, glad you found him. I would have worked hard to roll that guy over and see where the shot went just for my edification.

 

[Iowafarmer]

In a pinch don't forget that any dog (not even a trained tracker) has a better sniffer than any human. And they love smells. ALL the smells. Sure it might take a bit of time, but even with a labradoodle or mutt I'd say you're more likely to find a trail than just trying to use your own eyeballs. Good luck, pulling for you to track this one down!

Yep my bird dogs have taken down several wounded deer for me some that were shot by other's

 

[Thomasj1107]

Gotcha. I thought so, but wasnt sure if there was some other circumstance you hadnt mentioned.

Again, glad you found him. I would have worked hard to roll that guy over and see where the shot went just for my edification.

 

[BigE]

I'm sure you have had all those memories of the moment and aftermath running through your head non-stop. It's a learning experience and you'll grow from it. You aren't the only one that has had that happen.

 

[Texasbuckeye]

Is there any indication where the shot went in? Is it that spot in chest or was it tough to tell? I dont see anything in that pic which is an obvious entry and the lack of blood staining is bizarre.

 

[Thomasj1107]

This is the entry, there was no exit. The arrow hit and seemed to just seal the wound. I didn’t find the arrow near the kill site, so it must’ve broken off on a tree in the 270 yds he ran, so idk if at some point there was more of a blood trail or not, but unfortunately I did not find one.

I’ll never hunt elk again without having a dog tracker ready before hand that I’ve already reached out to and confirmed their contact and location. Lesson learned on that, but yeah it was great to find him. Crazy that when my wife and I went back to get the head and tag him, 10 days a no predators touched him, just birds

 

[CRJR45]

Shit happens , don't beat yourself up over it and don't let it spoil Elk hunting for you .

 

[TxxAgg]

Glad you found him. Thanks for updating us.

 

[cuerro viejo]

This is the entry, there was no exit. The arrow hit and seemed to just seal the wound. I didn’t find the arrow near the kill site, so it must’ve broken off on a tree in the 270 yds he ran, so idk if at some point there was more of a blood trail or not, but unfortunately I did not find one.

I’ll never hunt elk again without having a dog tracker ready before hand that I’ve already reached out to and confirmed their contact and location. Lesson learned on that, but yeah it was great to find him. Crazy that when my wife and I went back to get the head and tag him, 10 days a no predators touched him, just birds

I hit my bull in exact same spot, no exit, buried to fletching, zero blood. I got lucky and had a good bead on mine. Suxs, but closure is closure. Hopefully next year is a better story

 

[hobbes]

I would guess lung, liver, gut. I'm surprised there wasn't a bear on him yet.

 

[Texasbuckeye]

This is the entry, there was no exit. The arrow hit and seemed to just seal the wound. I didn’t find the arrow near the kill site, so it must’ve broken off on a tree in the 270 yds he ran, so idk if at some point there was more of a blood trail or not, but unfortunately I did not find one.

I’ll never hunt elk again without having a dog tracker ready before hand that I’ve already reached out to and confirmed their contact and location. Lesson learned on that, but yeah it was great to find him. Crazy that when my wife and I went back to get the head and tag him, 10 days a no predators touched him, just birds

Thats what i was thinking was the entry in my question above. It is crazy there wasn’t a blood soak from when he lied down and died. Esp since that was the down side, you wouod think some blood would have oozed out. So strange.

Based on entry, guessing you hit high and back lungs, probably hit a rib going in and slowed things, and probably some stomach/diaphragm maybe liver, so his gut could have filled up and/or come into the chest cavity and clogged the wound and made it so he didn’t have much blood come out the wound.

A necropsy would have been a really interesting thing to see exactly what you hit or didn’t. I think i may have opened that body up and looked just to satisfy my interest, and make me feel better if it truly was a good shot with just a poor blood trail in rough terrain to track.

 

[cuerro viejo]

Thats what i was thinking was the entry in my question above. It is crazy there wasn’t a blood soak from when he lied down and died. Esp since that was the down side, you wouod think some blood would have oozed out. So strange.

Based on entry, guessing you hit high and back lungs, probably hit a rib going in and slowed things, and probably some stomach/diaphragm maybe liver, so his gut could have filled up and/or come into the chest cavity and clogged the wound and made it so he didn’t have much blood come out the wound.

A necropsy would have been a really interesting thing to see exactly what you hit or didn’t. I think i may have opened that body up and looked just to satisfy my interest, and make me feel better if it truly was a good shot with just a poor blood trail in rough terrain to track.

mine did same, only a touch of blood where he died, none from mouth. Mine laid down and died, he didnt crash. almost exact same spot

 

[Aluminum Rain]

That looks like a great double lung hit to me. Maybe back half of lungs. But the lack of blood is odd.

 

[Thomasj1107]

Yup when I saw it I think I 100% got a piece of lung. On the approach he really didn’t smell that bad, wife agreed. When cutting the head off, not bad. When I pressed on that spot to see if the arrow broke off or completely ripped out, he off gassed out of the hole so bad I almost puked lol so no chance I was going in there to find out.

I’m at peace with it. It was much better to find him them to not. My first year elk hunting in Montana, too see as many bulls as I did, call in as many bulls as I did, have the experiences, and fill my tag despite the meat loss, I feel like it was a good accomplishment. Will only get better in the future.

Appreciate all the comments, suggestions, and support

 

[Texasbuckeye]

It sure sounds like you clipped the diaphragm then for sure. I wouldnt be shocked if the guts came up into the chest cavity as those lungs deflated and created a situation where the elk didnt die from blood loss as much as a tension pneumothorax…his lungs collapsed and he couldn’t breath due to his guts being all up in his chest. Prob hit some stomach to make that gas and smell so bad.

Glad you found him. Glad you figured out shot wasn’t terrible, glad you are at peace.

If we stop learning in life we are dead, so keep learning. I always try to take something from every kill i can use on future hunts.

 

[duckhuntr]

I've had similar happen where my arrow clipped a branch on 2 whitetails. Fortunately I found both before meat went bad, but the feeling of knowing you wounded something is the absolute worst. Glad you got some closure though. That shot doesnt even look terrible unless he was quartering too. Just stinks the lack of blood couldnt lead you to him sooner.