To me there is no difference in losing a cow or bull, you have still lost a big game animal and each one is a gift. This has been a hard one for my as I have been at this game for 60 years now, and a lot of elk has made it into the freezer. My first loss was a bull 4 or five years ago. An easy shot 200 yards and I was in a solid position using my pack as a rest. He was standing looking a me, when I hit him in the chest he immediately fell down. Than as about 40 other elk came out of the timber running by, he gained his legs and ran with them. I searched for him until dark, then again the next morning, to no avail. Last year I shot a cow elk twice, broadside with a muzzleloader ( 50 cal) at about 40 yards, while she stood there looking at the ground. While maneuvering for a third shot, I could see the blood on her side from the first two shots, she composed herself and once again ran over a ridge. The ground vegetation was so heavy that no blood was visible. I gridded for well over and hour as well as the next morning. As a group there have been a couple of more, one late in the evening that went the opposite way the shooter had thought and was found the next morning. Probably a couple more but they escape my recollection.We all practice several months a year and are very good, calm shooters.
