I NEED TRACKING HELP FAST!!!!
Elk
I've been bowhunting for over 25 years now and until this morning I have never lost an animal. I shot a good bull yesterday evening broadside at 30 yards. The shot looked a little high and a little back but like a solid double lung hit. The bull ran downhill but I never heard a crash. I ran down to grab my friends and my pack and give the bull some time. Within a half hour the sky went from clear to rain. Probably two hours passed and it is now dark. I went to the spot where the bull was standing when I shot him and found the broadhead half of the arrow. One blade was dinged and judging by the sound, I figured I hit a rib. A few steps later I found the fletching half of the arrow. Both pieces had nice red blood on them with some hardened bubbles and muscle tissue. I followed tracks for 30 or so yards and the found a few small blood spots. All and all I found 4 blood spots, that's it. We came back in the morning and I tried to follow the tracks but the rain made it very difficult to tell which ones were fresh. All morning and afternoon today, my friends and I have been searching but having no luck. I'm beginning to think it was a single lung hit.
Does anyone have any suggestions on finding this bull that does not involve pure luck. I feel like I am at a dead end, but I am grabbing my wife and my dog tomorrow and we are heading back out. I feel sick to my stomach about this. I never thought I would lose an animal but things are not looking good. Any suggestions on tracking a single lung hit bull?
Thank you, thank you, thank you for any help. Andy
I can't help you Andy .... but it is interesting you found BOTH halves.
I don't see how you didn't pass through the elk, is that what you're also thinking? Passthrough, broadhead end sticking out, he broke it running, and the other half came out of same exit hole ?
If you did that ... one lung would also mean likely a liver hit (a slight quarter away hit) ... a slight quarter to would have been double lung as would be dead broadside.
All you can do is keep looking
If you've been bow hunting for 25 years you probably know as well as anyone the situation you're looking at. A dog is your best bet after that it's just miles and looking for birds etc far as I can tell.
But who am I to say I've only been bow hunting 13 years!! So I'd be coming to you for help. Best of luck!
Bull elk are smelly critters. While you search be sure to keep your nose alert for the slightest wiff of elk scent. (your dog will help with that)
Be on the lookout for jays and crows, they are on dead elk fast.
Dying Elk can travel a long way sometimes. And then again, sometimes they come back to an area they are use to so keep in mind he may have come back from the direction he initially ran and be in the opposite direction.
Never hurts to check out nearby water sources. I wish you the best.
Andy, If you are very familure with the bedding areas check there as well. About 12 yrs ago I hit an elk back in the liver area, found him in the bedding area the next day, which by the way was the direction he had ran in the first place, just up hill a little from the game trail. Best of luck, and this will happen in ones life while hunting.
sounds like a one lung hit. I would look around any water especially downhill of where you last saw him. I too would watch for crows/buzzards.....good luck brother.
Thank you all for your help. I really appreciate it. I've scoured the streams, swamps and wallows. I've looked under every tree that will fit an elk and in every super thick tangle I can find.
Aspen Ghost it's funny that you mention smell. This was the smelliest bull I have ever smelled. I warned my friends that they would smell like elk piss for a year after touching this guy. It is also one of the things that made me nervous. You could smell him a couple hundred yards away, literally. Shortly after the shot there was no smell so he either got way up wind or went down, which I don't think he did.
I agree stealthycat- The fletching half of the fletching half had zero blood on it so I think the arrow made it most of the way through and was broken by a tree or branch. The arrow is my biggest clue that it wasn't a terrible hit, but I think I am just being optimistic.
I think a double lung would have been followed by a loud crash. Hard to say where you hit him but at least you are making good effort to recover. I hope you find him. Watch your dog as he may be able to catch a wiff and tip you off to which direction.Best of luck..
My guess, you hit top of spine, a fin, basically pinned him, the whole arrow sticking out. Arrow snaps In half, bh end has blood and fletch end doesn't and bull is just fine.
Other scenario, top of lungs, no external blood, a dead bull a long way off. No blood on back half of arrow tells me not a lot of penetration which would leave the bh inside the cavity if hit there, which leads me back to scenario 1.
Like others have said, listen for the birds.
Good luck
WapitiBob-I thought about scenario one, but wouldn't that impact break the spine? Maybe not, big bulls can handle some pretty serious abuse.
Above the vertibrae but into the node or fin that runs off it. It would sound like a rib getting hit. It's the fin the backstraps are up against.
I had a double lunged bull go over 500 yards one time... Never heard a crash. Where are you at? Might come help if your close!
I haven't looked up the laws yet, but assuming you're in Colorado and it's legal I would enlist the aid of a blood tracking dog. Look at Deersearch Inc. and United Blood Trackers for a list of local trackers in your area. Many of these dogs are trained to follow tracks and not necessarily blood, and can track trails over 24 hours old. Best of luck to you. Hope you find him!
-Cheryl
Andy, just got your VM and will give you a call. Had something nearly identical happen three years ago. High double lung, found both halves of the arrow, virtually no blood trail. He went in a straight line down the mountain and up a trail on the other side into thick timber and died about 15 yards off the trail. Total distance traveled was about 800 yards. I found him by following tendencies from past experience.
Now, if you'd only used a single bevel broadhead and an 800 grain arrow, he surely would have dropped in his tracks, according to the experts bickering on the argument threads.
Wondered about WB's #1 scenario.
Wishing you well, and luck, Andy.
Many times our animals aren't hit were we thought, and it's often higher than we thought.
Also, anytime you poke an animal with a sharp stick things don't always follow the laws of averages.
Not sure "get a trained dog" is good advice, if it's not legal in Colorado.
And there are no minimums or, within reason, maximums when it comes to wounded big game.
High hits usually leave very sparse blood trails. They can be followed if you're very meticulous about it, but I would imagine the rain did away with most of the tiny drops that bull probably left behind. Might be dog time.
I'm thinking maybe a high liver hit. He will be dead but how far can a bull run full tilt for 20-30 seconds ? I'm figuring 600-800 yards. You said he ran downhill which is good. With a high liver hit he will probably keep the blood inside, especially going downhill it will pool up towards the front of the rib cage leaving virtually no blood trail. Try looking for dirt (or mud) kicked up in front of a track. It means he's dragging his steps. If you can find prints with kicked up dirt try following it. Good luck to you Andy.
Too heavy an arrow maybe? ;-)
Hope your successful in recovering him. One thing you need to be aware of...it is illegal to use a tracking dog in Colorado.
If you hit it above the spine then there wouldn't be bubbles on the arrow. With a high hit, the animal will bleed internally and not leave much of a blood trail. Keep after it is all you can do.
Thanks again guys. I'm really anxious about what tomorrow will bring.
trkytrack-I'm just taking my dogs out for a walk.
I hope for the best outcome Andy. I know the rain didnt help the tracking/smelling conditions. As you know elk are tough tough animals. If your efforts dont come up with the elk, there is always a chance the hit wasnt fatal.
Keep us posted
Do you know anyone with a tracking dog? That's what you need.
Good luck, only thing i would say is maybe go up! Maybe he beds above where you shot him?? Had a friend Shoot a moose last year, it went up?
Good Luck!!!!
Good luck....keep us posted.....
Sorry to hear about your elk. I hope you find him.
I too have arrowed an elk only to be heartbroken and distraught when I couldnt find him (He was huge and we looked for 8 days). I still have nightmares over this bull.
This is a subject we bowhunters don't like to talk about but happens more than we'd like to admit.
Jaquomo nailed it. I have been apart of a search party where the exact thing happend. We found him down hill and he was headed back up the other side of the canyon. Total distance 500 yards. We had one guy on the team that was one part blood hound. Bull is definitely dead. I really hope you find that bull.
I'm thinking that bull is dead. Since you can't follow a blood trail, follow your bowhunting instincts/intuition. Good luck and keep us posted!
Jaq is right. There is a lot of hair to go through before the blood starts to drip, otherwise its all spray and spray is hard to find. Plus the rain... Find some hounds if you want to recover this bull.
ditto on what Jaq says. straight line corridor search on the way he was last seen heading. then look for heavy cover areas on the north slope along that corridor
I spoke with Andy last night, and based on the shot placement and the bull's behavior after the shot, we're pretty sure it was a high double-lung. The arrow was poking out both sides and broke in half when one half (probably the broadhead end) hit a tree as he was running away.
He's on it this morning, but may have gotten snow last night, making for a tough and sloppy job.
Unfortunately in this case, tracking dogs are illegal in CO. Plus, he's in a wilderness area in the middle of nowhere (with cell and internet service... I know, seems weird...) Andy is a good hunter and woodsman. He'll give it his best.
That's all you can do. Thanks for helping him.
very best of luck to him in the search. tough deal and makes ya sick to your stomach.
Good luck Andy. I shot my deer with a high double lung this year. It took him over an hour and a half to die and he traveled about 1000 yards total distance (watched him through the spotting scope)
I hope you find him!
Best of luck & skill Andy!
Froth and pink like bubbles are sure signs of lung hit but just a few bubble in the blood are not.
Shake up any sightly viscus fluid and you will make bubbles. High velocity impacts and blood coming off through the air at high speed can also cause bubbles to show up on blood on the ground or vegetation. Don't believe me just take a little milk in a glass and throw it in the sink. Look at all the bubbles!
However, you got to keep looking not matter what! Good luck!
I found that my dog (lab) was really good at tracking when the blood was fresh - once it dried up it was like he wasn't interested in the trail. I was actually surprised by how quickly he took after the trail the night of the shot - but the next morning he seemed indifferent.
If I had to make an internet guess, I'd go with WB's assessment of high spine. High dbl lung with no blood on the fletch it would only have 8 or 10" max sticking out to break?
To drop em with a spine shot you actually have to damage the spinal cord, not an easy thing to do on an elk, high in the "fins" normally ain't gonna do it and the spine is lower than most realize.
Another factor that happens a great deal.... even a high rib shot, the arrow can hit rib in what looks to be high dbl lung and slide up and over the spine into the fins. It's why some many think it isn't possible they hit there because where they saw the hit was much lower, the fletching that catches your eye lower yet. And they are absolutely correct with what they saw. But unfortunately the business end slid up and over. Game of inches.....
Good luck Andy, I know you'll give it 110%.... it's just who elk hunters are. Have a nice walk with the dog.... =D
Just in case..... I think there is a guy headed to MT soon that has a few jars of tracking spiders on him ya might be able to borrow....
I believe the spiders left for MT a few days ago. With the snow and cold they got last night where he's going, TBM likely has the spiders deep in his underwear to keep them warm!
I shot an elk with a rifle about where you described - it took out the upper-back of both lungs, some of the stomach and produced no blood on the ground. High lung shots with a bow would probably be less likely to produce blood than a rifle shot.
Andy- what was the outcome????? Hope you were successful.
DJ
And so it starts again...I hope you find him.
Andy- what's the deal everyone is wanting to hear if you recovered your bull.
DJ
I just got back home after what I would consider completing my search. The day after I started this thread I headed back out in search for this bull with my wife, she was more than happy to help on her birthday. I'm a lucky guy. We also took the dogs along for a walk. After a full day, dawn to dusk, we just about broke the dogs with all the deadfall and we didn't find ANYTHING. I mean nothing. I kept an eye out for birds and didn't see any. Oddly enough I don't think I saw one bird the whole day. I kept my GPS on track so I could see where we covered and we combed the area very well.
As we drove home I figured since I couldn't find him as a dead bull, I would hunt him as a live one. Sunday I spent all my time pouring over bing maps to try to locate spots a bull that has been shot might try to hide. I would like to think I am so good as to be able to predict this, but I am not.
I just got back about an hour ago (I headed out Monday morning) and I have covered the area well, but I have no bull to show for it. I called in several bulls, but none were my bull. I heard a few others but none had the same bugle. I always kept an eye out for birds and I never saw any. If I just got the chance to see him again and know that he was alright I would be as happy as if I recovered him. This whole experience has been a major drag on what I was planning on being a great season. It has been very humbling to say the least. Hopefully, he made it and got the education he needs to make it through rifle season and to live to see another year. I won't hold my breath, but with any luck we'll meet again next year. I've already got punched tag with his name on it.
Thanks for all your help guys. Your advice, guidance and support is very much appreciated.
Thanks, Andy
Andy,
I've been where you're at and it sucks. Kudos to you for having the determination and humility to stick with it and handle it as you have.
I'm proud to have people like you represent us as bowhunters.
wow. You have my respect.
Much respect. We've all been there.
Hang in there. Hunting has its ups and downs, but it sounds to me like you sure did the right thing. And big kudos to your wife for going along and being one who "gets it".
Andy- thanks for following up with the report, it happens to all of us. Here's looking to next year.
DJ
As said by the others, you have earned the utmost respect as an ethical hunter. None of us ever want to lose an animal, but as hard as we try it will sometimes happen. The time you put in to do absolutely everything possible is a model for all of us to follow if and when we find ourselves walking in your shoes.
Well done! Hold your head high, and I hope the next one goes much better for you.
You're a good man Andy. I'm sorry you didn't find your bull, hopefully you get another crack at him next year.
Sorry to hear the results, but thanks for sharing and know that you did everything you could.
Definitely went way beyond the call of duty.
I suspect the bull will live to fight another day.
Shake it off, and become even a better man for it. Sharing your story has helped me and I'm sure it has helped others as well.
Carl
You tried your best and came up empty, what more could you ask of yourself or we of you? Carry on sir.
