After the shot

C

cnelk

New member
Mar 23, 2017
5,542
Thinking back on the elk you have shot...

After the shot:

Did they run the same direction they were headed or turn around and go the way they came?
Upon finding the elk, were they laying on the side you shot them or opposite side?

I have noticed that most of my elk fell on the side that the bullet/arrow hit them.
I have also noticed that most turned and went back the way they just came from.
 
It really depends on the direction. Single animals seem to go back a lot, while those with a herd will try to follow the group which does not switch back. Yes the dirty rats try to fall over on the arrows so they are ruined.
 
mine ran in the direction he came from but had turned in that direction before i shot. he also fell on the opposite side i shot him. but he was on a steep hill so gravity played a part in that im sure. there was a herd where he went so he may have been heading towards them on purpose. it was a sattelite bull
 
Mine was faceing down stream and was 25yds away from the other 5. When I shot him he ran away from the others, downstream, and fell on the opposite side of the arrow.. I have found with whitetail deer if you shoot them as they come toward you they do a turn and head away and if you let them continue on and shoot them perpandicular to you or just past. They run on the way they were headed. I think the sound is what scares them and they go away from it.
 
I haven\'t noticed a pattern other than they run towards the easiest escape route.
 
Both ran back to the same area they came from. One fell and expired on the opposite side from where the arrow hit him.
Cant confirm the other.
 
Last one made a big loop to where I assumed he came from and fell on the opposite side. One ran straight away to stay with the herd and fell on opposite side.
 
For the most part, I have noticed that they will head back where they came from. I shot one out of a herd one time and the entire herd turned back around and bolted. It seems similar when an elk winds you, they turn right back around and are out of there.
 
The only elk I\'ve killed dropped in her tracks but I shot here with my .54 cal muzzleloader...
 
Excellent questions, cnelk. Having not gotten an elk yet, this is something I hadn\'t even thought to ask about. I\'m looking forward to all the responses...
 
Both elk I have shot turned and ran back the way they came from. I don\'t recall which side I found them on.
 
The reason I ask is that this could factor in if you can\'t find blood, chances are good the animal went back the way it came, at least according to these replies
 
My single archery elk back-tracked, and come to think of it, I can think of only a few whitetails that didn\'t back-track, too.
 
All but one of mine back tracked. The only one that didn\'t was a spike that was probably confused as to what the heck just bit him.
 
Most of my elk went the same direction they came. One exception stands out. I spinned a spike once, dropped like a tone of bricks.

Consensus seems to back. Why is that? Returning to safety?
 
\"JohnFitzgerald\" said:
Most of my elk went the same direction they came. One exception stands out. I spinned a spike once, dropped like a tone of bricks.

Consensus seems to back. Why is that? Returning to safety?
Click to expand...

That is my thoughts...no one shot at them where they just came from, so they are heading back to safety. If they run any other direction, they have no idea what\'s there.
 
I still say the easiest escape route.

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I don\'t think there are any hard and fast rules on direction of travel. In SH\'s videos, the first bull turned to the side, but did it continue that way? The other in dense cover went ahead a few yards and piled up. The only rule I ultimately go with is, leave two words out of your vocabulary when it come to wildlife. \"Always\" and \"Never\"
 
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