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4 miles on the trails w/ Tiny E- nice fall day w/ temps in the mid-40's

10 miles on a blustery day- just a little snow, but a lot of wind- not exactly a cozy day

Well bad news on the elk hunting front; yesterday left the house before 4, I hiked up to a high meadow where I was seeing some activity and made it to the very end of the meadow with about 15 minutes before shooting light

Just at shooting light I saw an elk walking and then a couple of more, one was a bull for sure (but you can kill a cow or bull here and I'm not picky); got down on my knee, rifle ready- about 8 cows/calves jogged through the opening (most of been a little updraft- had they stopped I would have drilled a cow), a lone bull was behind them about 75 yards or so, I willed him to stop and he did- roughly 250 yds, put the cross hairs on the center of the elk just behind the shoulder an touched the trigger. I could hear the bullet hit and he jumped a bit too; he was out of sight quickly due to a small rise, so no opportunity for a follow up shot.

I was elated and expected to see him piled up as I walked over the rise, he wasn't, but was convinced he wasn't far. I found his tracks but no blood- wtf? Followed them about 200 yds and then saw a few pin pricks of blood, not good. He started downhill and broke off from the cows. I gave him 20-25 minutes to settle down and started slowly tracking, a little blood here and there, but not much. He was angling downhill through some really thick stuff, I just kept a turtle's pace- stopping often to look/listen. Blood was very sporadic, but I had good tracking snow and was confident I'd get another shot at him. This continued for a mile or so; every so often there would be a bigger spot of blood, but he never bedded.

He stopped descending and starting side-hilling and then eventually started angling uphill. I figured he might want to get back with the cows. We hit a little creek, but didn't cross, turned parallel to the creek and headed up. At this juncture there was about a 100 yds of no blood whatsoever. I thought maybe he bumped me into another bull and I was possibly following the wrong one. I backtracked until a found a spot blood and then made sure there wasn't another bull that had broken off. At this point it started snowing, hard- straight down, no wind, more like a downpour. Tracks started to quickly fill in with snow. I was carefully brushing snow out looking for blood, but never saw another drop. There were now tracks going every which way and they all looked the same. I followed a couple of different sets, came back to the same spot and followed another set. The snow wasn't letting up and now there was no telling a fresh track from one two weeks old.

I made a pretty big circle in the general direction he was headed and then a couple of big figure 8's, hoping (just hope at that point) I'd bump him, but no such luck. There was a trail above me and I decided to walk it out a mile or so and then back to see if if anything had crossed. No luck and still the snow came down hard. I made a bigger circle yet, but was starting to run out of light and started the long haul back to my truck. I wept, not for me, but for the bull. It was one of the longest 3 mile walks of my life.

I was out early again this morning, hoping beyond hope that maybe he would be back in the meadow again. It had snowed more that night and appeared no elk had used the meadow, but was really impossible to say with certainty due to the snow. I went back to the last spot I knew he had been. Again I made a couple of loops, each bigger. I knew in my heart it was a lost cause.

I pray he ends up like other deer and elk that I've harvested, discovering an arrow or bullet from some time past.

I took this week off to hunt, but my tag is in now the trash.

I'll continue to pray for that elk.

Sorry for the long winded post, but felt like I had to get this off my chest- thanks.

Oh man. That's a horrible feeling- maybe the worst feeling in all of big-game hunting. So sorry to hear about it.

I had something somewhat similar happen many years ago. It had snowed, and I came upon a spot where two elk had bedded, a cow and a smaller animal. The smaller animal was bleeding. I surmised it was a spike someone had wounded. The way I found their bed was that they jumped up; so I started tracking them in the snow. The spike was bleeding quite a bit. I tracked/followed them for several miles, luckily they were headed more or less back toward my Jeep (I found the bed about 5-6 miles into a roadless Wilderness) because the weather was spooky and I don't think I'd have followed them AWAY from the rig. It was COLD, had got to minus 12 F the night before down at the bottom of the mountain and I was up near the top. Anyway my theory was they'd bed down again, and he'd stiffen up, so they'd let me get close enough for a shot.

They dropped down through a drainage and started up the other side, which was a north facing slope and had much denser vegetation... I was carrying a big bore lever gun and had the scope in QR mounts. I decided when it happened, it was gonna happen fast, so like a dork I took the scope off. I'm pretty decent with irons... or thought I was... sure enough they jumped up and sure enough it was a spike and momma and sure enough, I had a shot at about 75 yards. He was standing there looking at me over a log. Clean shot at his head. Shot right over him; I didn't put the bead in the buckhorn in the stress of the moment. Now he's moving (stiffly) through brush. I took two more shots through windows in the brush.

I must've hit him in the guts because now, added to the blood from his wound, was lots of watery diarrhea. Faaawk. Followed him just a few hundred yards when it started to SNOW and I mean snow. Ended up snowing about a foot that night and basically closed off the top of the mountain.

Not as excruciating as yours because at least I wasn't the one who wounded him FIRST and I guess for that matter I can't say conclusively I hit him in the guts....... but I'm pretty sure I did.

I've had a couple long tracking jobs on deer, but always found the deer... but it is NOT fun when you know you hit them solid but you can't find them.

Anyway buddy it's the SHÏTS when it happens and you have my empathy and sympathy.

What bullet were you using?

thanks Jeff

it's a bullet I've used a lot- 150 grain Accubond (fully loaded ammo by Nosler) in a .308; my best guess is it wasn't a "solid" hit- possibly low (sternum?), possibly high (upper shoulder)

I've lost two deer in 40+ years of hunting (and I grieved those as well); first elk- hopefully my last

Mike-
I had a similar instance a few years ago. Spotted about 30 elk on the edge of a steep draw just below a ridge. Took about an hour and a half to get up to where they were. I crawled up to a log where I figured they would be and sure enough, there they were less than 200 yards away.
I lay over log a took aim on a big cow. Squeezed the trigger and she dropped like she’d been hit by lightning.

It was very steep and icy and I watched her slide down the draw, gaining speed as she went. She was headed for a shale cliff that was about a 30 foot drop off.
Over the cliff she went, sailing down the draw toward the bottom.

I lost sight of her as my hunting buddy and I carefully made our way down, following her track. MicroSpikes and Trekking poles were all that kept us upright.

As we went down, her track sailed off another cliff. This one about 25’ high. I commented to my buddy that even if she hadn’t been shot, the cliff falls would have done her in.

We finally made it to the bottom and there she was, piled up in a tangle of alders. We were about 50 yards away at this point and like a fool, I didn’t have my rifle in my hands due to the crazy climb down.
I took one more step towards her and she exploded up to her feet and took off up the other side. It was dog-hair thick lodgepole and I never got a shot off.
There were only a few small drops of blood and in a short time, her tracks become obliterated by other elk tracks.
We circled and circled but didn’t see any sign of blood or an animal moving awkwardly. Kept looking until dark and spent half a day looking the next. Never found her or any sign.

I played this over and over in my head and my theory is that I over shot the lungs but was close enough to the spine that the shock of impact knocked her off her feet. If the lungs had just been exhaled at the time of the shot, it’s possible that I threaded the needle, so to speak.
This was the only elk I have ever lost out of the 30+ I have shot.
I can still play this video loop in my mind.

I hate to hear that but don't be too hard on yourself. If you hunt long enough, it will happen to you. If it doesn't, you're not trying hard enough.

The first buck I killed this year, the one I "spined", still haunts me a bit. He looked me right in the eye when I came up on him but there wasn't [bleep] he could do; he was paralyzed. Courageous animal though. It leaves a dent.

thanks guys, I really appreciate it

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Tiny and I hit some snowy trails for 4 miles, building our appetite

Back atcha!

Gonna go on a walk today, first since I horked my Achilles. Probably bank about a mile <grin> but it's a start. I can step almost normally now.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! I can't believe you make that poor dog break trail for you......

The killing part of hunting is usually ugly. Still you pulled the trigger for the rush. The way it works.

^^ yep! ^^

Walked 1.1 miles. 21 feet elevation gain. Epic.



(Was able to walk normally the first .7 miles but then had to limp... but it's progress!)

I have never pulled the trigger for the “rush”.
Pulling the trigger is using a tool to put meat in my freezer.

I understand....

Addition: Yet there is no such thing as a clean kill....killing game is controlled destruction at best....


Never? Even in your younger years?

The 2nd buck I killed this year was about as clean as it gets. He fell where he was standing. Took the top of his heart off. But I hear what you're saying.

I am the opposite of a detached harvester using a tool to gather food. The adrenaline rush is insane. It's a good thing I shot so much from my hind feet as a kid; I'm pretty good at grabbing the shot as it goes by, so to speak, meaning as I'm wobbling.... , but as far as coolly holding perfectly still, calmly doing whatever.... no. Killing big animals is a very intense thing for me.

Exceptions are when it happens so fast there's no time to get overrun by hormones, or when it takes so long that it runs its physiological course. The nice high desert mulie I killed some years ago at just over 600 yards was the latter. It took so long to set the shot up that I was kind of a zombie by the time I pressed the trigger.

I understand....

For myself, there is an emotional attachment to the killing. Makes no difference, big game or small. Been that way from the beginning. The fire goes out, or you watch it go out and if one doesn’t have an emotion, then they exist in a different realm than I. I get that also.

Yet there is no clean killing. Quick is a goal, however there is little about it that is clean. Essential physiological elements of life are quickly destroyed. A goal, however clean is a dishonest definition. Little different than having ones own life taken from something quickly traumatic. Clean? I don’t think so.

Anyway, off the track of the fitness forum. I only brought it up due to Mtwardens obvious emotional response with regards his hunt. Good man....

Perhaps some should hunt more Upland Birds, where one often must finish their work with the hands....
Had one Birddog that brought nothing back alive. He finished it with one clean bite. He was exceptional in more ways than his scenting skills.

I am, however, a cold-blooded fish assassin.

You should cut off a fresh Deer ham, jump in the water
and fish for Sharks. 😀