As the title says, I shot a bull in the first archery season but was not able to recover it. However, I was able to find him about 27 hours after I shot him and he was still alive. I did not bring my bow as the initial blood trail led me to believe he was no longer alive and I also brought my friend's dog along for a walk. I took a video since that is all I could do at the moment. He was standing still with his face behind a tree as if he was hoping I would continue to walk by without noticing him. It freaked me out to find him the way I did so I began to shout at him "Hello?!" and things like that. I was not sure if he had died in an awkward position or if he was truly standing there behind the tree waiting for me to pass. I was about 7 yard away and it didnt take long for the dog to pick up its scent and charge him growling which sent him running downhill. As I stood there watching him I could see this was in fact the bull I shot and could clearly see his wound. Can someone with more experience look at this and give me your thoughts on it? It was my first time ever shooting an elk but to me it looks well within the "kill zone" drawn on 3D targets. Did I miss the lungs? For reference I shoot a 480 grain arrow at 70 lbs 265 fps. The shot was taken at about ~23 degrees below him at 35-38 yards since he was above me on a hill. I've been searching for about 4 days at this point and I cannot locate him which leads me to believe he either ran a completely different direction than what I thought or he healed and found his herd again. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
