# Wounded Elk Help



## ARCHER11 (May 26, 2011)

Hey everyone, Well I was thinking i'd be posting some success pics on here but it hasn't ended the way I've been hoping. Saturday morning I hit my first elk, a nice little 5 point bull on the Wasatch front, but I still haven't found him. Ive looked for the past three days without any luck but wanted to see what you guys think... So it was a 45 yard broadside shot and my arrow passed completely through, I didn't see exactly where the arrow hit but it looked like it was right on target. I found my arrow completely covered in bright red blood so I know it wasn't a lung or gut shot and if it was a leg shot it seems like I would have hit bone, maybe not though. The blood trail was really easy to follow, not tons of blood but a consistent amount for about 150 yards until he bedded down. I waited for about 45 minutes before following the trail but I ended up bumping him from his bed. There wasn't a ton of blood where he bedded but there was some. After he jumped I waited more than 2 hours before following again and thats when it went down hill. After the blood in his bed I couldn't find any trace of blood. I was able to follow his tracks for about 50 yards but he got on a well used game trail and I lost his tracks. I think I hit him above the lungs and have heard of elk going for days with that kind of injury. What do you guys think? Anybody have a similar experience? Has anyone run into a dead or wounded bull up around the head of millcreek canyon or desolation lake area? Thanks for the help guys


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## pheaz (Feb 11, 2011)

Dude that sucks I havent personally had an experience like that. Best I can say is just keep spottin 4 him and look for magpies.


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## Theekillerbee (Jan 8, 2009)

Sounds like you need a friend with a blood tracking DD! If it happens again, you can get him to take the dog on a "walk" in the forest with you!


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## xxxxxxBirdDogger (Mar 7, 2008)

Dang! I'm having flashbacks. Four days tomorrow, the trail is getting pretty old, and it's been awfully warm outside. I hate to say it but you're just looking for antlers at this point. If the elk died he'll have been chewed on by coyotes by now I'm sure. Use your nose to find the stink and/or follow any circling birds you see.


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## Bowdacious (Sep 16, 2007)

BirdDogger said:


> Dang! I'm having flashbacks. Four days tomorrow, the trail is getting pretty old, and it's been awfully warm outside. I hate to say it but you're just looking for antlers at this point. If the elk died he'll have been chewed on by coyotes by now I'm sure. Use your nose to find the stink and/or follow any circling birds you see.


Good advice....however, it is also entirely possible that the elk is fine and will live to see another day. There is "no man's land" and it could be that your arrow passed through an area where there is actually NO vitals. If you did enter "no man's land", your bull could be alive and well. Good luck on the search.


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## ARCHER11 (May 26, 2011)

BirdDogger said:


> I hate to say it but you're just looking for antlers at this point.


Yeah I was hoping to be able to at least see birds out yesterday but didnt see anything other than some little tweety's. Although all I really wanted was meat, antlers would be good for closure sake. Im hoping I did hit somewhere in "no mans land" and that the bull is alive and well getting ready to spread his seed but its hard to tell. Hopefully he turns up somewhere


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## Anaconda Pintler (Oct 29, 2007)

Where was the blood in relation to how he laid in his bed? What I mean is all the elk I have tracked when guiding over the years you can tell how they were laying in the bed and then look at where the blood is located within the bed, was the blood dripping into a spot( if so it may be a "high" hit or at least above the break in the body as he is laying down, was the blood laid on or seeping directly into his bed? and you can generally tell by location of the blood left to right in the bed about where he is hit in the body! was he bleeding out both sides? You would be amazed how many critters I have found when the bleeding stopped by using a tracking stick or pace stick as well! But rest assured unless you gut shot him he is prolly fine, elk are tough, and generally do not go to far if mortally wounded and if you have been looking for 3 days he is either fine or he has crawled into a hole somewhere and died where you arent gonna find him anyways! Dont be to hard on yourself it happens to everyone all we can do is take the highest percentage shot and angle we can and the rest is up execution!


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## manysteps (Sep 28, 2009)

Can't speak to this with any experience, so all I can say is, DANG IT! I know this will haunt you for years to come, but allow me to give you my utmost respect for your perseverance! You are a hunter among hunters!


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## shaun larsen (Aug 5, 2011)

as much as i hate to say this, if he didnt fall over dead within 200 or so yards, its probably not a good enough hit that you will find him. if he does end up dying, he will cover enough ground in the time he does have left that you wont find him any time soon, if you do find him at all. it sucks. i know the feeling of losing an animal and its not fun. all you can do is learn from your mistakes (if there were even any) and move on and try again. losing an animal happens. archers, muzzy hunters and even rifle hunters lose animals. its gonna happen. if someone ever brags about not losing an animal, they simply havent hunted long enough. better luck next time. look at the bright side, the rut is just getting started and you still have an elk tag in your pocket!


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## FSHCHSR (Aug 30, 2008)

Im not going to flame anyone but i wouldnt talk about wounding an animal and continuing to hunt. I would look for water a wounded animal often seeks out water and thick cover good luck. My .02 cents


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## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

I hit a bull high in the chest once and like yours it went plumb through him. The arrow was covered in bright red blood and I was sure I double lunged him. The blood trail for the first 100 yards was like a blood fountain, blood everywhere! On the ground, in the bushes, all over the trees, hell, there was blood spray on leaves and branches six feet off the ground! I thought shoot, he's dead! But as the tracking job wore on the blood thinned out. Eventually I found a place where he'd actually stood for several minutes and bled onto the ground in two spots on either side of his chest. There was also a fresh pile of elk crap still hot and steaming sitting there as well. It thought, well, if hes not dead yet, and he's got enough energy to stand here and take a dump, he's probably not as hurt as I had thought. I fallowed his blood trail for about a mile until it finally dried up, then I followed his tracks as far as I could till he eventually got in with another bunch of elk. I jumped that whole herd bedded in the timber and caught a glimpse of him as he was running away with the others. He wasn't hurt at all and was keeping up with the other elk just fine. My guess, I hit right below the spine and right above the lungs. All that blood was from all the muscle damage Id done and when that clotted up, he stopped bleeding all together. I'm almost 100% sure that bull lived through his ordeal and I'd be willing to bet yours will too. Sux to lose em man, but if you spend enough time hunting with a bow you will R.B.I one eventually. Better luck next time...


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## shaun larsen (Aug 5, 2011)

FSHCHSR said:


> Im not going to flame anyone but i wouldnt talk about wounding an animal and continuing to hunt. I would look for water a wounded animal often seeks out water and thick cover good luck. My .02 cents


 :roll: so is that his animal for the year? in your mind should he be done hunting cuz he shot one, but didnt find it? hes looked for 3 days. i think thats a pretty good reasonable effort to try and recover a shot animal. how long should one look for a wounded animal before they can consider it lost? im curious to hear your opinion, cuz i know most "ethical" hunters wouldnt look more then 2 days before they gave up.


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## FSHCHSR (Aug 30, 2008)

If you want to hear my opinion ill pm them to you but ive seen it here before and just giving him a heads up :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: i have that smilie too 


> look at the bright side, the rut is just getting started and you still have an elk tag in your pocket!


i guess i should say giving you a heads up


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## shaun larsen (Aug 5, 2011)

FSHCHSR said:


> If you want to hear my opinion ill pm them to you but ive seen it here before and just giving him a heads up :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: i have that smilie too


 i think you should share your opinion in public


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## FSHCHSR (Aug 30, 2008)

Like i said if you want to hear my opinion ill be glad to pm them to you.


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## shaun larsen (Aug 5, 2011)

whatever...... ARCHER11, in my opinion, you gave it a good effort and did everything in your power to find your animal. it sucks you lost the bull, but if you feel good about continuing your hunt and trying to fill your tag, you have my permission  best of luck to you!!


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## FSHCHSR (Aug 30, 2008)

He dosent need your or my permission. my comment wasnt directed at him note my edit. but either way i wasnt trying to pick a fight or preach to anyone. just giving a heads up


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

The great thing about archery hunters is that we know when we hit an animal. We do our best to recover that animal. Sometimes, things just don't work out.

On the other hand, rifle hunters take shots at at over 400 yards. Often times, they have no idea that they hit the animal, and thus they never even look for that wounded animal. Then they complain about how many animals archery hunters wound and lose.

The fact is, all types of hunting result in wounded / lost animals. Wounded animals are always factored into herd management and tag #'s granted by the DWR. It is part of hunting.

Archer11 -- sounds to me like you've done about all you can. You may have made some mistakes during your pursuit -- but who hasn't? That's how we learn, and learning is something that even the most experienced person should never stop doing. There may have been nothing you could have done differently. Sometimes things just plain don't work out. The hardest part is moving on and forgetting about that bull. You will always remember it and question what you could have done differently -- and that's a good thing! Take this experience as a positive thing, and realize that you've learned a lot from it. Better luck next time.


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## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

> You may have made some mistakes during your pursuit -- but who hasn't? That's how we learn, and learning is something that even the most experienced person should never stop doing.


Exactly. I think the main reason he posted was to see if he could get any more info from a large pool of hunters to help him find the bull. No shame in that. I might have done the same thing if I was under the same stress and needed advice. The Internet can be a great tool and source of info one might not have otherwise had. Weather or not he continues hunting is completely up to him.

And BTW folks, It's a proven FACT that rifle hunters wound and loose WAY more critters than bowhunters. For several reasons. First, there's more of em, Second, there are just as many idiots within the group who take ridiculously long shots and then don't fallow up. And last but certainly not least, the mortality rate on a deer wounded and lost with a rifle versus an arrow is much higher due to the peripheral damage a bullet inflicts on an animal. Every one just THINKS archers wound and lose more because bows aren't that _*powerful*_ and arrows sticking out of critters are a lot more incriminating that a bullet hole.


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## JuddCT (Sep 7, 2007)

shaun larsen said:


> cuz i know most "ethical" hunters wouldnt look more then 2 days before they gave up.


Sounds like you need to hang out with better people. :lol:

I'm pretty sure Utah still considers it illegal (I don't know why as I think it would help recover a lot of wounded game) but maybe you should take a long walk with a blood tracking dog without your bow in hand. Make sure he is on a leash.


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## Bowdacious (Sep 16, 2007)

JuddCT said:


> shaun larsen said:
> 
> 
> > cuz i know most "ethical" hunters wouldnt look more then 2 days before they gave up.
> ...


As per the guide book:* "Use of dogs
Utah Code § 23-20-3 and Utah Admin. Rule R657-5-15
Dogs may not be used to take, chase, harm or harass big game."*

It doesn't say anything about tracking wounded game...in fact I think this has been discussed on this forum and I think it is perfectly legal to use dogs to track wounded game.


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## JuddCT (Sep 7, 2007)

Bowdacious said:


> JuddCT said:
> 
> 
> > shaun larsen said:
> ...


That would be good news, I guess I never interpreted it that way and just assumed it could be misunderstood as "harassing".

Thanks


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## xxxxxxBirdDogger (Mar 7, 2008)

Grouse hunting is perfectly legal and in season right now. Sometimes a grouse hunter's dog finds dead animals in the woods. That's all I have to say about that.


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## ARCHER11 (May 26, 2011)

Wow, thanks for all the feedback guys! I really appreciate it! I don't know where to start... basically, Its been a rough few days thinking about this elk and i'm sure its something that will haunt me for a very long time but like has been said it has been a great learning experience, sucky, but great. Hindsight is always 20/20! As for whether or not im still going to hunt, I don't know. This isn't something i've had happen before and have not yet developed a personal opinion on it but I think for now ill focus on the mulies.


TEX-O-BOB said:


> And BTW folks, It's a proven FACT that rifle hunters wound and loose WAY more critters than bowhunters. For several reasons. First, there's more of em, Second, there are just as many idiots within the group who take ridiculously long shots and then don't fallow up. And last but certainly not least, the mortality rate on a deer wounded and lost with a rifle versus an arrow is much higher due to the peripheral damage a bullet inflicts on an animal. Every one just THINKS archers wound and lose more because bows aren't that powerful and arrows sticking out of critters are a lot more incriminating that a bullet hole.


I talked to the wildlife biologist today in charge of most of the area from salt lake down to about nephi I believe, he said that less than 10% of animals wounded by bowhunters that go unrecovered end up dying. Interesting statistic... Ive also heard that something like 43% of statistics are made up so who knows.

I have considered the dog thing but not only am worried about the already stated "law" but its in a watershed area as well so it just seemed i might be digging myself a hole. What is it with this watershed stuff anyway? What does a dog, horse, etc. do to the water that a coyote, deer,elk, or moose doesnt? I can't make sense of it

Anyway, thanks again for all the help guys! This is something I have learned a lot from and you all have helped in that learning! Much appreciated!


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## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

> What does a dog, horse, etc. do to the water that a coyote, deer,elk, or moose doesnt? I can't make sense of it


Nobody can dude. it's just one of those retarded laws we all have to live by... :?


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## Bowdacious (Sep 16, 2007)

TEX-O-BOB said:


> > What does a dog, horse, etc. do to the water that a coyote, deer,elk, or moose doesnt? I can't make sense of it
> 
> 
> Nobody can dude. it's just one of those retarded laws we all have to live by... :?


WHAT!? Did you just use the "R" word?! Wow!!!!


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## zrider2 (Nov 6, 2010)

Refreshing to hear that from a fellow hunter. I lost a buck back in 2007. I felt so sick about the whole thing I didnt even consider taking another buck. Just not something I would do, thats not to say that it would be wrong to shoot another one. Its just not in me to put arrows through multiple animals in a year. I respect the animals that I hunt too much. I was actually remorseful, but also angry at myself even though I put in over 4 days looking. Anyways that is my personal feeling on the situation, but you have to do what feels right to you. good luck buddy!!


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

Bowdacious said:


> As per the guide book:* "Use of dogs
> Utah Code § 23-20-3 and Utah Admin. Rule R657-5-15
> Dogs may not be used to take, chase, harm or harass big game."*
> 
> It doesn't say anything about tracking wounded game...in fact I think this has been discussed on this forum and I think it is perfectly legal to use dogs to track wounded game.


How do you define "take?" I can certainly see where a CO could interpret that and nail you. I would not have my bow with me if I am out there with my dog, that would definitely be illegal, but with just the dog you could make it. I would call the local DWR office and discuss and get that person's name for reference that they said it would be ok to try and track...


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## FSHCHSR (Aug 30, 2008)

I feel for ya man i lost a deer some years back haunt is a good word for it. Good luck with the mulies


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## wyoming2utah (Sep 12, 2007)

It sounds a lot like a buck I shot and never recovered...I thought I lunged him because he panted once he was hit. When I recovered my arrow, it was covered with bright red blood, and the blood trail was good and easy to follow for a couple hundred yards before the deer bedded down. When I bumped him, the blood trail stayed strong for about another couple hundred yards before slowly disappearing. I have since believed that my shot was in the zone below the spine and above the vitals. That deer was later seen alive and seemingly not much worse for the wear!

I would bet that your elk is still alive and probably holed up trying to recover from its wound....


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