tracking wounded game

Last fall was the first time I tried bowhunting elk (yep I'm adicted now), or anyting else for that matter. Colorado has over-the-counter either sex archery elk licenses and I looking for the first critter I could get close enough to. Well after a month of almosts and just abouts I had a opportunity at an elk, and a nice bull to boot. The sun was down and it was gettin dark fast when I took the shot. The bull was less than 20 yards, broadside and unaware. (this is where it gets bad) I heard my arrow hit a unseen branch, but also heard it hit the bull, he thew his head forward and let out a grunt and took off. He ran down to his cows and I heard I big sigh. Boy was I estactic!! I practically ran the mile back to the fourwheeler and sped home. I gathered reinforcements expecting a recovery mission. We picked up the trail where the bull jumped the fence. Long story short we decided to leave him for the night. Next morning tracking was easier, he had followed the cows across a small canyon bleeding buckets on both sides but kept going. About mile later he had crossed a couple of CRP field and laid down. The tracking had been getting real hard by this time. After he got back up I was only able to move the track about fifty feet more. Then the endless circles strated -nothing! I went back for two days (more time was spent later looking for crow in the area) and logged more than 68 miles (mostly on foot) on my gps. I never found a thing or heard of anyone else finding anything ( the county is broken farm ground spotted w/houses)

Now for the question. What is everyone elses definition of "reasonable attempt at recovery"? And does it depend on what you hit? I would like to think I would have spent as much time and effort if it had been a cow. ???

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a_bow_nut
I think that you made more than a resonable effort to recover that animal. I know how you feel it makes you sick when that happens. I had the same thing happen on a deer a couple of years ago and I still feel bad about it. Now when it's time to shoot I'm always second geussing myself trying to make sure this won't happen again. Any animal that you decide to harvest deserves the same effort of recovery from the biggest trophy of you life all the way down to just a simple old meat tag. It is your choice to harvest that animal and they all deserve the same respect.
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HighLander
I think you gave a great effort. 3+ days shows that you were dedicated in finding the animal. I did the same thing with a deer and after 1.5 days I gave up and felt that I had did my best, so you did a great job in attempting to locate him.


Side note.....what part of CO were yo in?
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Gossehunter Jr., my house is near Dove Creek, but I live and hunt in the mountains and canyons in the area :thumb
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HighLander
Good place to hunt...alot of animals down that way. Good luck this year!
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supersider34
Been there done that. Looked 2 1/2 days for a muley I hit 4 yrs ago. But got lucky and we found him alive 3 weeks after I lost him. Running with some doe's. He healed up just fine. I was very thankful.
You did right. Looked long enough.
Brother just told me a story of his friend that hit a bull twice with his rifle last year. With his rifle. Blood in the snow and when night fell it started raining hard and he backed out for the night and the rain melted the snow and he looked for 2 days and never did find it. Then the next day after that he ran home and ended up having to be life flighted to hospital because he lungs failed and he was on a lung machine for 7 days. They never did figure out why it happened.
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Utahbowhunter
dang girl that sucks!!!!!
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bowhunter 616
i think if you hunt long enough you are bound to lose one,it's not fun but it's fact.you did good by the bull,no one could ask more.it is not always positive in this sport that we love.we can only pray to do our best. [-o< [-o<
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I stopped hunting with a person I know over this topic. a couple years ago I was bowhunting with a "friend". I met him at the truck one night to find he had shot a nice buck. only thing was it was right at dark.so I told him lets find it in the morning. He said he couldn't so I asked him for location I went up in morning and looked all over I found blood and a broken arrow with what looked to be good lung blood. I searched till noon then went to town to call him to ask for help since it was his deer.What I got just pissed me off. he said he was not coming up after work as it was not worth it. long story short I spent another 2 days looking but with not knowing for sure which way he went or came from just made me madder. needless to say I don't hunt with him anymore.
You did right in spending that much time searching.And may your next bloodtrail have a happier ending.
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bigbuck92
i know what your talkin bout huntinggal those type of people bug me. there willing to kill an animal but not search for it.
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I posted the rather lenghty story of tracking wounded game some time back and just learned some new info on "my" bull. See the last place I found any blood was within about 800 yards from a couple of houses. Just last week the old boy who bought the one stopped by our place to say hello- he and his wife are retireies from Phoenix. Well come to find out he had seen the bull "standing with his head down, all byhimself lookin kind of sick" that morning. and "pretty soon two people, one on foot and one on a fourwheeler come over the hill like they are trackin something and the bull runs off"
AGHHHH!!! that was ME and my HUSBAND!!!
Why he did not come over and say "hey, I think he went that a way" I have no idea, I mean it wasn't like I wasn't very obviously looking for "something" the next two days.
Heck, I would have been happy if he had shot it.
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