# How many animals did you loose-Poll



## lunkerhunter2 (Nov 3, 2007)

Under the cover of anonimity, which of these best fits your hunt(s) this archery season?
I read another thread that went back and forth on how many animals get wounded with bows each year. I would like to know the actual numbers. I will do a similar poll for rifle and muzzy hunters too. I think the information will be valuable and serve as a wake up call to everyone.


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## travis madden (Sep 29, 2007)

Is this really necessary? Seems like opening up a can of worms. I think it would be better off left alone.


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## luv2fsh&hnt (Sep 22, 2007)

I don't bowhunt but talked to an aquaintance that said he shot four elk and found 1.


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## jahan (Sep 7, 2007)

luv2fsh&hnt said:


> I don't bowhunt but talked to an aquaintance that said he shot four elk and found 1.


That makes me sick when I hear this from fellow archery hunters. I will admit every now and again you may loose one, but three in one season means you need to put up your bow permanently until you practice enough to kill an animal ethically. Sorry this gets my blood boiling, there is no excuse for this in my not so humble opinion.

I haven't let an arrow fly for the last three years, but four years ago I shot at one deer and killed one deer. I have been fortunate to have never wounded an animal. I pass up multiple shots each year because I feel they are bad shots and IMO it is not worth taking a bad shot and wounding an animal.


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## luv2fsh&hnt (Sep 22, 2007)

jahan said:


> luv2fsh&hnt said:
> 
> 
> > I don't bowhunt but talked to an aquaintance that said he shot four elk and found 1.
> ...


Thats why I used the term acquaintance instead of friend. Every year I hear the same type of story from him only this is the first time there has been an actual recovery. Every year I have to make excuses to not hunt with him and he owns some primo grouse property.


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## lunkerhunter2 (Nov 3, 2007)

travis madden said:


> Is this really necessary? Seems like opening up a can of worms. I think it would be better off left alone.


What are you afraid of?


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## travis madden (Sep 29, 2007)

lunkerhunter2 said:


> travis madden said:
> 
> 
> > Is this really necessary? Seems like opening up a can of worms. I think it would be better off left alone.
> ...


I am not afraid of anything. As stated before it is never good when you hear someone say they shot an animal and didnt find it. I shot at 1 deer this year and put it right through the heart at 60 yds. He went 40 yds and tipped over. Not the point. It is frustrating to hear and it happens with all weapons.


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## wyoming2utah (Sep 12, 2007)

Read pages 25 and 26:
http://www.thearcher.com/depot/resource ... ngBook.pdf


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## DR_DEATH (Sep 10, 2007)

Lunker,

How is this information going to help? Maybe I have tunnel vision on this subject, but I can't see how this is going to help anyone but the anti's.

BTW I shot at One deer and One Elk and recovered both of them.


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

jahan said:


> luv2fsh&hnt said:
> 
> 
> > I don't bowhunt but talked to an aquaintance that said he shot four elk and found 1.
> ...


You're about due then. I don't care who you are or how careful you are, spend enough time in the woods and you'll sh*t shoot one and loose it. Kudos for being careful though...


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## Old Fudd (Nov 24, 2007)

47 yrs.Lost 2 deer. It happens to all bow hunters>Keep your broadheads sharp. keep your shots at short yardage,PRACTICE> PRACTICE> PRACTICE.----->. One more thing Make sure you remove your target tips!


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## lunkerhunter2 (Nov 3, 2007)

DR_DEATH said:


> Lunker,
> 
> How is this information going to help? Maybe I have tunnel vision on this subject, but I can't see how this is going to help anyone but the anti's.
> 
> BTW I shot at One deer and One Elk and recovered both of them.


F*&% the anti's. This is a **** hunting forum where we talk about hunting. If those f&%$#@! idiots want fuel for their fire they will find it no matter what. I started this thread to maybe shed some light on the subject of bad shot placement. I think everyone needs a wake-up call right now. There are like 25 threads of "lost bull on the..." on another forum. If someone doesn't say something this bs will keep happening.
Did you notice that there has only been 1 person that has claimed to have wounded an animal besides what they killed on the poll? So far there is a pretty good track record with the people actually voting(if it is all the truth)on UWN. Like the cat said, if it helps one person refrain from 1 bad shot it is worth it. 8)


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## jahan (Sep 7, 2007)

I know this is another subject, but this is why I think there should be a shooting test to archery hunt along with a class to educate some fools.


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## mikevanwilder (Nov 11, 2008)

This year I haven't even pulled my bow back yet. I had 60 to 70 yard shots at a nice 28" 4 point and I have practiced that shot all year long but still didn't even draw my bow for fear of making a bad shot. I have yet to lose an animal and I know some say if you hunt long enough you will. I have hunted for 15 years now and we do everything I can to make sure I get a shot that I can make certian is going to bring the animal down. If I don't get it I'm not affraid to eat tag soup. 
I hope that I don't sound holier than thou. I just hate when an animal is injured. I have searched for friends animals for days after they have given up. It just my nature I guess. 
I know it happens and sometimes it can't be avoided those don't get me as bad as when people say they shot at a animal 70 yards away that have never shot that far before.


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## lunkerhunter2 (Nov 3, 2007)

Ditto Jahan. I had to take one in ID before i could buy an archery tag and it was as intense as hunters safety is here. I think any weapon should require some kind of competency test before hunting.
What's that........ Can you hear the swarm coming???? LMAO


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## DR_DEATH (Sep 10, 2007)

And Rifle and Muzzy hunters.

The difference between the 3 is that archery hunters know when they hit an animal.

Rifle and Muzzy hunters say that they missed because the animal didn't drop in it's tracks. NEWSFLASH just because the animal didn't drop in it's tracks doesn't mean that you missed.



jahan said:


> I know this is another subject, but this is why I think there should be a shooting test to archery hunt along with a class to educate some fools.


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## lunkerhunter2 (Nov 3, 2007)

mikevanwilder said:


> This year I haven't even pulled my bow back yet. I had 60 to 70 yard shots at a nice 28" 4 point and I have practiced that shot all year long but still didn't even draw my bow for fear of making a bad shot. I have yet to lose an animal and I know some say if you hunt long enough you will. I have hunted for 15 years now and we do everything I can to make sure I get a shot that I can make certian is going to bring the animal down. If I don't get it I'm not affraid to eat tag soup.
> I hope that I don't sound holier than thou. I just hate when an animal is injured. I have searched for friends animals for days after they have given up. It just my nature I guess.
> I know it happens and sometimes it can't be avoided those don't get me as bad as when people say they shot at a animal 70 yards away that have never shot that far before.


Good for you! That is the way it should be.
My fox hunting buddy and i have a mutual friend that has archery hunted for like 8 years. He brags about having a 90 yard pin and he can do a 3" group out there. Well, last year we had to help him look for his buck for a full day and he had hit it(or grazed it) on the top of the neck. We got lucky to find that one after 9 hours of tracking. So far this year he has wounded 2 bucks(big ones) and missed 4. I don't know anyone that thinks this is cool. I sure as hell lost a lot of respect for him after seeing this happen 2 years running. I personally don't think he should be allowed to hunt period!


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## lunkerhunter2 (Nov 3, 2007)

DR_DEATH said:


> And Rifle and Muzzy hunters.
> 
> The difference between the 3 is that archery hunters know when they hit an animal.
> 
> ...


This is why i said i would do one for rifle and muzzy hunters too. This isn't to single out archery hunters from the other guys. We will all get our turn. I know there is just as many who are incompitant with muzzies and rifles.


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## silentstalker (Feb 19, 2008)

1 shot, 1 bull elk down. 

It seems to me that this topic is very worth pursuing if the facts are truth full. That "other" thread is not scientific based numbers just a guy throwing numbers around out of his @#$. The truth is every year hunters wound and lose some animals. It is very unfortunate and should be avoided at all costs. A bunch of bowhunters wounded and lost bulls on their LE elk hunts. 

Now stories are coming out of Bulls lost on the rifle hunt. There is also another story on the deep creeks of bulls being shot on the rifle hunt and left because they saw better bulls and shot them too. Undoubtedly, bulls are getting hit and lost on the muzzy. 

We are dealing with a new age of hunter who kills at all costs, shooting 100 yards+ with a bow and 500+ with a rifle. We have to kill the 380 bull so if we dump a bull that is 340 we walk away ashamed and upset. Somehow, someway we must reset ourselves. The pursuit of inches is hurting our sport.


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## DR_DEATH (Sep 10, 2007)

Thanks silentstalker for responding

The pursuit of inches is hurting our sport
and I would even add will be the downfall of hunting as we know it.

To me this is a better way of actually solving a problem instead of complaining about it and playing the blame game.



silentstalker said:


> 1 shot, 1 bull elk down.
> 
> Somehow, someway we must reset ourselves. The pursuit of inches is hurting our sport.


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## mikevanwilder (Nov 11, 2008)

silentstalker said:


> 1 shot, 1 bull elk down.
> 
> It seems to me that this topic is very worth pursuing if the facts are truth full. That "other" thread is not scientific based numbers just a guy throwing numbers around out of his @#$. The truth is every year hunters wound and lose some animals. It is very unfortunate and should be avoided at all costs. A bunch of bowhunters wounded and lost bulls on their LE elk hunts.
> 
> ...


+1000


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## mikevanwilder (Nov 11, 2008)

lunkerhunter2 said:


> mikevanwilder said:
> 
> 
> > This year I haven't even pulled my bow back yet. I had 60 to 70 yard shots at a nice 28" 4 point and I have practiced that shot all year long but still didn't even draw my bow for fear of making a bad shot. I have yet to lose an animal and I know some say if you hunt long enough you will. I have hunted for 15 years now and we do everything I can to make sure I get a shot that I can make certian is going to bring the animal down. If I don't get it I'm not affraid to eat tag soup.
> ...


I can see losing one in a year but 2 and then to keep hunting, come on that is terrible. I would politly ask him to stop hunting but he probably says its part of the game. :roll:


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## lifeisgood (Aug 31, 2010)

I think this is an interesting tread to me. I rifle hunted for years, but got sick of the crowds of decent hunters and more sick of the few idiots (utards?) hunting around me on public lands. So I switched to muzzy hunting spike elk and have loved it. I have seen them but I have been unsucessful as of yet to close the distance to make what I consider an ethical shot. However, trying to close the distances has been nothing short of a blast. 

This brings me to the archery hunt. If the muzzy hunt is this fun, then the archery hunt just has to be spectacular. It has always interested me, but the thought of wounding an animal and loosing it is a hard pill to take. So I searched several sites and watched many hours of bow hunting programs on TV and determined that if I practice a lot and become comfortable with my bow a well placed shot should do the trick and result in a humane kill. So I manned up and gave the archery deer hunt a try. It has been a blast and I think I am hooked. However, not having actually taken a shot yet, I still have that worry of loosing a wounded animal, so this is an interesting poll.

I actually think most hunters on this forum are very ethical and that is one of the reasons why I like to read it. Therefore, it will be nice to see how the results end up, since the pool being polled is made up of like minded hunters. Personally I would like to know my probablity of makeing that bad shot or the good shot on an animal that just goes without much of a blood trail. 

Put me down for hunting but not shooting (I got an arrow knocked but was totally busted by a doe walking in my blind before i could pull back on the buck 25 yards down hill).


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## DR_DEATH (Sep 10, 2007)

I think you need to re ask the question to this audience as it appears that the majority of people haven't even taken a shot yet.

How about for question # 1 

Have you hit an deer or Elk with you vehicle this year?


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## jahan (Sep 7, 2007)

DR_DEATH said:


> I think you need to re ask the question to this audience as it appears that the majority of people haven't even taken a shot yet.
> 
> How about for question # 1
> 
> Have you hit an deer or Elk with you vehicle this year?


I have hit a cow elk this year, but she ran off. I was able to slow down enough that when I bumped her the only mark left on my vehicle looked like a skid mark, looked like I scared the **** out of her. :lol:


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## lunkerhunter2 (Nov 3, 2007)

DR DEATH, no but i have been close several times. Seen a hundred dead from Riverdale to Morgan though and some monster bucks.


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## mikevanwilder (Nov 11, 2008)

I've never hit any or even been close. Knock on wood.


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## lunkerhunter2 (Nov 3, 2007)

The reason i gave up bow hunting is due to the fact that i lost the largest deer i have ever shot at. I thought he would be dead within 20 yards of where i hit him based on what the shot looked like. 2 days after i spent the entire time looking for him i decided it was a lost cause and i sold my bow the following weekend.


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## Treehugnhuntr (Sep 7, 2007)

lunkerhunter2 said:


> *There are like 25 threads of "lost bull on the..." on another forum*.


1- There are not 25 threads, this is an exaggeration.

2- Out of how many tags issued?

I get a kick out of some of the neo-cons over there spouting off because a handful of people on their forum posted stuff like this. Suddenly, asking fellow sportsman to assist in finding a lost animal has turned into all archers maim animals. It's ridiculous and is by no means a useable example of any kind of ratio of wound/kill, yet bubba and the boys seem to let that one pass right _into_ their thick skulls.

The word I am grasping for is _fools_.

We should all strive to better ourselves and our choices in this regard and NO ONE is immune to losing an animal when hunting, regardless of weapon type.

This is just my observation, but I see much more discussion and concern about ethics amongst archers, but there will always be idiots out there who are either ignorant or disregard animal life altogether. Policing and teaching each other is the only viable answer other than loss of opportunity. That's how I see it.

Carry on.


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## lunkerhunter2 (Nov 3, 2007)

Treehugnhuntr said:


> lunkerhunter2 said:
> 
> 
> > *There are like 25 threads of "lost bull on the..." on another forum*.
> ...


Yes, You are correct on this. I did not count the exact number but between "that one" and a couple others collectively there are close to that many threads. Not just elk either. 
My intent was not to even have a discussion on this topic(although it was somewhat inevitable) It was to have people vote on the poll to get a feel for what really happens. Interestingly enough, this poll is showing that the majority on this forum have not taken part in this type of act. They have either passed shots or killed what they shot at. :O||:


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## Treehugnhuntr (Sep 7, 2007)

10/4


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## xxxxxxBirdDogger (Mar 7, 2008)

I don't really know how to vote. This year I shot a bull right in the chest at 35 yards, maybe two or three inches behind the front shoulder and dead center vertically. The arrow penetrated almost all the way to the fletchings. I don't really know how anyone could ask for a better shot...? The dang bull probably traveled over 600 yards after he was shot. He went up and down hills and through some of the thickest vegetation on the mountain. I wound up finding him in a direction that was completely opposite from where he ran. By the time I located him, the meat had spoiled. Did I lose the bull? I guess I'd say yes. I do have his horns in the garage, though. :? I'm going to mount the horns to remember just how quickly things can turn bad on a hunt. 
One thing I held true to was that I would not shoot another bull after putting an arrow into one. I didn't go looking for another bull at all. I just kept searching for the one I'd shot, convinced that I'd find him eventually. 

I guess I'm trying to say "Judge ye not". Losing an animal can happen, even when a good shot is made. I learned that the hard way this year.


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## lunkerhunter2 (Nov 3, 2007)

I think you did all you could and did the right things. You mad a shot that was by all intents a good one. You did recover the bull and didn't hunt for another one. Props to you. 
I shot a bull last year with a 30-06 at less than 80 yards and hit him 3 times. He buckled all 3 times. I never found that bull after a whole day of looking after i had lost all sign. I hung it up and came home the next day.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

BirdDogger said:


> I don't really know how to vote. This year I shot a bull right in the chest at 35 yards, maybe two or three inches behind the front shoulder and dead center vertically. The arrow penetrated almost all the way to the fletchings. I don't really know how anyone could ask for a better shot...? The dang bull probably traveled over 600 yards after he was shot. He went up and down hills and through some of the thickest vegetation on the mountain. I wound up finding him in a direction that was completely opposite from where he ran. By the time I located him, the meat had spoiled. Did I lose the bull? I guess I'd say yes. I do have his horns in the garage, though. :? I'm going to mount the horns to remember just how quickly things can turn bad on a hunt.
> One thing I held true to was that I would not shoot another bull after putting an arrow into one. I didn't go looking for another bull at all. I just kept searching for the one I'd shot, convinced that I'd find him eventually.
> 
> I guess I'm trying to say "Judge ye not". Losing an animal can happen, even when a good shot is made. I learned that the hard way this year.


Same thing happened to me with a bull moose. I hit it in the chest at 15 yards. The arrow went completely through the animal. It was in a dense willow swamp with a group of 7 moose, tracks everywhere. No blood after 50 yards. 75° and sunny. I had to get help to look for it. My son-in-law found it 90° from where I "knew" it went. My GPS said it was only 496 feet from where I shot it. More than half of the meat was bone-soured, spoiled.

Since the mid-60s archery hunting I have:
Wounded and lost a small whitetail buck in a multiflora rose thicket. Found that one 2 1/2 days later, frozen solid.

Lost a gut-shot 5x5 bull elk. A year later I found the skeleton what I thought was the same elk. If it was the one, we should have went a 100 yards further in our search.

Shot a nice buck antelope that ran off wounded with a group of 25 pronghorns. Looked for 3 days, even had the Game and Fish man help me one day. Not much of a blood trail. Kept going back out there for weeks, looking for magpies or an eagle on a carcass. Maybe it made it, I hope so.

The older I get the more I struggle with killing big game animals...and the thought of having one run off wounded and not found.


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## c3hammer (Nov 1, 2009)

Birddogger, you seem to have had a tough one this year, but that is a great story. Don't be too hard on yourself. What else could you have done? That's why they call it hunting and not killing. Props to you for sticking it out and finding him, even when it was painfull not knowing what happened. I've had my share of pain on my hunts the last 4 or 5 years. This year it all came together and I watched my bull die in sight only 38 yards from where I shot him. Knowing you did what you could is more than enough to give peace of mind and knowledge that what goes around comes around. In your case, that's good things 

Cheers,
Pete


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## idiot with a bow (Sep 10, 2007)

Good news... I am still the only one that selected the last option!


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## HJB (May 22, 2008)

Archery hunting is tough. You can be the best shot in the world and still wound an animal. It takes an arrow a lot longer to get to it's destination, compared to a bullet. An animal has time to jump or jolt putting the arrow in a different location. 

On the other hand, there are tons of rifle hunters that never carry range finders and shoot at ridiculous distances. I know several rifle hunters that haven't sighted thier rifle for 10 years and still take it out for the hunt every year.

I think an ethical hunter will give up his tag when an animal is hit. If you have respect for that animal you will consider your hunt done. Yeah it sucks, but shooting more than one deer per tag is not right. 

I also echo the guy who said "How many rifle hunters hit an animal and don't know it". There are several guys that will "Herd Shoot" or take shots at an animal at a long distance and not be able to determine if it's hit or not. 

There are several circumstances to look at, and I don't think archery hunters are any better than the rifle guys. If we had guys that would respect the hunt and the animals they hunt, they would quit after wounding an animal. The fact is, people want to kill something. They don't want to go home empty handed and they will do anything to bring something home. 
This mentality will never change.


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## 200inchmuley (Jul 26, 2010)

Shouldn't the title of this post be "How many of you used the Epek broadhead this year?"

Couldn't resist....


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## Guest (Oct 6, 2010)

200inchmuley said:


> Shouldn't the title of this post be "How many of you used the Epek broadhead this year?"
> 
> Couldn't resist....


AHAHAHAHA!! +1 -_O- -_O- -_O- -_O-


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## Guest (Oct 6, 2010)

200inchmuley said:


> Shouldn't the title of this post be "How many of you used the Epek broadhead this year?"
> 
> Couldn't resist....


AHAHAHAHA!! +1 -_O- -_O- -_O- -_O-


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