Wounded Bull....

J

JoeSchmo

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Shot a bull at 60 yards, broadside. Felt high and back. He spun and ran away like he was hurt.Waited 30 mins to go look. Found my arrow in the middle of the meadow where I hit him. 6 inches and broadhead broken off so still inside him but no trees there to break it off. Weird?No blood. He followed the herd through the timber to a field. Rounding up the troops to go look in the morning.... thoughts on if this bull is dead?
 
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That's tough man, that's not a fun feeling and I've been there. 6 inches isn't a lot of arrow for an elk, but with the broadhead still in him there's hope it did more damage. How far did you go looking for him? A wounded bull that's pushed will run for miles. If you took it easy, there's hope he bedded down not too far. Keep us posted.
 
I didn't go far because it is thorn brush and I couldn't tell which way down they went...
 
High shot will mean very little blood outside and bleeding internally. Horrible feeling for sure. Hopefully you aren't looking for birds in a week.
Just a question do you feel confident in shots that far? I have a friend who is but I'm not anywhere near confident at that range. Hope you'll find him laying not too far.
 
It could go either way. He may suffer a long time before dying, or he could recover quickly. We're only guessing where he was hit.

One thing I have to question. You say he went back with the herd? You couldn't track a herd of elk? They do a lot of damage to the ground and brush as they move.
 
Hopefully that 6 inches of arrow w/ broadhead did some additional cutting as he moved away and you'll find him. Good luck!
 
Been there , shot a bull with rifle one time that we looked for for 2 days and never found . 150 yd broadside shot saw bullet hit him in the guts was nervous excited and shaking and pulled bullet right through his guts . Pushed him thinking he went down and never found him . Worst hunting trip ever . I learned a lot from it
 
I know of one archery bull that went 8 miles after being hit in one lung. He was lost and wranglers found him later, while moving cattle. If it was not a lung, then the hope is that it was not a gut hit, causing him to die slowly. Hope you find him, but if you hunt, it happens eventually.
 
I think we all have been there in some way shape or form. You can really tell who are real sportsman vs. not by how they feel after a wounded animal. I have spent over an hour looking for a duck or pheasant that was hit and the dogs lost the trail. Been there last year mule deer hunting with rifle, thought I made a solid hit at 180 yds a pretty routine shot I have made many times. Thought I heard the hit, spent hours looking for tracks or blood and came up with nothing. Sure makes a guy think to himself about it though the rest of the hunt. It happens to everyone who hunts but if you try your best to recover the animal that is the best one can do.

Good luck on finding him, don't beat yourself up too much about it!

Jamen
 
what do you mean by 'felt' high and back. what did you see, if anything, of the hit that would help to know. what character of blood did you find on arrow fragment. Was there any brush/branches or other obstacles at play?

high and back could clip liver==dead bull. I did that once, but was a quick kill as I skewered the liver fully.

60 yards is a long poke. Not judging at all as some guys apparently nail that shot readily but it is a long distance and increases chance of non-optimal outcome.


I drilled an elk last week at 20 yards directly in the lungs where I aimed and 12 inches of arrow broke off and no blood trail. It died within 130 yards =/- I climbed adjacent ridge and glassed him to find a few hours after the shot. I knew he had to be dead shortly after the shot but was a little worried for a bit. If there is any elevated positiono nearby those horns can show a lot of refkection and stand out in afternoon sun.

Good luck! been there and it sucks.

Lost a bull with a very high shot but perfectly behind shoulder once and retrieved my broadhead and 2 inches of arrow 2 weeks later when a Rifle hunter shot him as he was rutting 6 miles away and I was helping field butcher. That was amazing luck to get such personal closure on a bad situatiion and shot.
 
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