After the Shot

[parrotheadkjc]

I have never bow hunted before this coming season. I have rifle hunted for over 39 years. After watching a lot of elk hunting videos, I understand why you wait after your shot on the elk/deer, but my question is why do you NOT go to the spot where your animal was standing to see if there is "good" blood there? That way it would help you know if you have a good shot or not? Thanks for the help.

 

[Elk Noob]

Depending on the location of the hit, your animal may have bedded down just out of sight. If the shot is questionable and you haven't heard a crash/deathmoan etc. I would wait and not let the animal know that anyone else is there. A spooked animal can go a long long long ways with an injury. Best to let them bed down and hopefully expire close to where you shot.


Many times after a shot the animal doesn't even have a clue what happened, they just know something happened and they are potentially not feeling good anymore.

 

[parrotheadkjc]

Elk Noob- Thanks for the info. That does make a lot of sense. All of the elk that I have taken with my rifle have either died on the spot or they only went about 50 to 100 feet and died, all within my view.
Thanks Again!

 

[ribo451]

Depending on the situation I sometimes do go there immediately and put flag tape where the elk was so I don't forget. If I am hunting in thick brush or heavy trees without discernible trails I will mark where I was standing at the shot and where the elk was when I shot and I will look around for blood or an arrow while standing where he was. Unless I see him go down I still wait for a half hour to track regardless of the sign but I will go look. 

 

[Jmcbowhunter82]

Most videos I see the guys usually do go to where the animal initially was when shot?

 

[Jadixon2]

Definitely situational judgment call there. If you feel you can go mark that spot and confident you won't spook the animal then go for it.

 

[kykid33]

I tell everyone that i help get started in bowhunting that they should try and put their brain in "record" mode just before the shot. Every little detail becomes invaluable after the shot. The animals initial reaction (Mule kick vs hump back), direction of departure (uphill or downhill), visibility of impact point (is arrow visible, blood spot), every sound after the shot (limbs snapping vs hard impact on large trees or dead log) Each little detail can give you direction on what to do next.


I have followed many difficult blood trails in the past and the little details after the shot can give you a huge amount of information and truly determine the final outcome of your hunt.

 

[Wyo67]

After you've assessed your shot and have waited, watched, and listened, I would mark where I took the shot from and then definitely go to where the elk was when the shot arrived.  As kykid mentioned, there's a lot of info that can be gleaned from that spot (blood, arrow itself, hoof prints etc...) to start your tracking.

 

[WW]

Elk Noob pretty much nailed it. After the shot it's time to break out a sandwich and take about a half hour or more to let things settle down.

 

[sjl2012]

The last few years I've began taking a picture with my cell phone of where the animal was standing, taking a photo of the last place I saw the animal and marking the spot on the photo while also marking the spot I am standing on gps.
  Most of the time it's not necessary but when you work all year for 1-3 shots each Fall I tend to err on the safe side.

 

[macrulz]

It's just safer to wait after the shot.  Put your flag or waypoint up where the shot was and sit.  Memorize where the animal was and where they went.  I shot my elk at 45 yrds this year and I didn't see my arrow hit.  He just started walking off.  I thought I missed and tried to get another arrow loaded.  He sensed me and ran.  I didn't hear anything else.  I thought I missed.  I walked over to where he was and found my arrow with blood on it and sat there for a little over an hour.  I saw about 2 drops of blood before I found him on the ground <50 yrds away.  It could have been much worse if he had really run off after I moved after the shot.  He would have just died <20 yrds away if I was just still and listened.  Depends on your surroundings too.  If you see him run 100 yrds off through the woods, your are probably OK to go look at where you shot him as most of the bow shots are relatively close.

 

[montanaelk31]

I am not going to the place the elk was standing for 1 hour unless I saw him tip over.  Even if I heard a crash.  I will mark the place I shot from with tape, then back off a hundred yards or so.  My thinking here is that if the animal bedded down just out of sight I don't want him smelling me and spooking. 
After an hour I will sneak up to where I shot from, sneak up to where the animal was standing, arrow knocked.  I save the high-fiving and hugging until I have my hands on the animal. 

 

[Ol Arky]

In my younger days I would always mark with my eyes where the critters was when I shot then set back a relax for a while enjoying the moment...
Still do enjoy the moment but since I'm older and slower to react I do pay a bit more attention to my surroundings in case another critter comes to investigate what just happened in his area....
As for tracking I've found a couple of things I can depend on for deer but someone can clue me in on elk since I haven't had the opportunity to track many...
If you make a good hit the critter will run basically a straight line angling downhill. If the shot is not so good their pattern varies a lot with more course direction changes... The length of how far the critters goes depends a lot more on the critter than the shot placement. In other words a deer running dead my go 20 yards or may go 200 yard depending on terrain... The same hold true for fatally injured deer except the distance can and will vary for very short to very long...