I figured this would get some grief, but thought the real animal/real shot info was worth swapping with real hunters. Of course we will differ and disagree, otherwise no point in rehashng it, but we may learn or see another angle on it. The young man has passed a good many shots he considered iffy, shots many bow hunters say they would have taken. He’s disciplined and can live with his decisions, though of course wishes he could bring this one back.
Yep, 55 is long for any bow. I limited myself to 30 yards most of the time when hunting with a recurve decades ago. Parrallel to the long rangers with rifles, bow hunters now have vastly superior technology, with attendant ethical decisons about how far to use it.
Re the elk’s move: could be that he never saw the arrow and most such misses IME were from an animal reacting to sound. He said this one locked his eyes on the incoming arrow and appeared to be dodging away from the arrow with the suck back flinch. Who knows.
FWIW I have killed one 6x6 bull elk with a healed over broadhead in its shoulder, plus an old buck with an arrowhead in its chops against its spine, long healed over and encased in gristle. I’d give high probability that this bull recovered. By the time they gave up tracking him late on day 2, he was feeding, had joined a small herd, would lie down and leave hardly a trace of blood in the bed, and get up and move on long before the trackers caught up. He got up on his own, not jumped from the bed. Cut, yes. Fatal, very unlikely.
Thanks for posting. If nothing else, your post stimulated some discussion. And I've got to say from reading your posts, if the grandson didn't "fall too far from the tree" I have no doubt he's an ethical hunter.
