"If you shoot an elk in the rain, do you still wait before tracking?"

D

DTP

Administrator
Jun 13, 2017
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Someone asked on the Elk101 Facebook page and I figured it was a good discussion piece....




If it's raining out, are you still waiting before you track it?
Or is your normal routine going to change because of the rain.
 
That's a great question. I've never had the situation happen before but I think just like any tracking situation, a lot would have to do with the shot itself. Did I see the shot impact? Was it a good shot? Do I think I heard the elk go down?


I think most of the same standards would apply for me as far as how long I would wait based on what I know. Although finding blood might be a little more difficult if it's raining, rain should lead to softer ground, meaning tracking the elk should be a little easier.
 
I?ve never shot an elk, I have shot several deer in the rain. I?m gonna push a little faster if it?s raining. It?s almost always worked out for me but I?ve been pretty sure of the shot. I figure I would treat an elk the same way.
 
If I know it's  a good shot and it's not a hard rain I'll give it some time. If it start raining hard I'm going.
 
I would wait if I wasn't sure of the shot.

The bull I shot in 2016 came in and I shot while it was cloudy. I walked over and found blood right away. I went down to where the rest of my group was and we talked it over as it started to rain. We went back up and found the original blood I had already found. We started on the blood trail as it rained harder and harder. After less than 50 yards the trail was gone and it had been about 10 minutes since the shot. I walked up to a little hill to see if I could see the bull and he was laying dead 80 feet from the last blood. It didn't take the blood trail long to go away and there was a lot of it when I walked over and looked the first time.
 
I had just this type of decision to make this past fall.  Seconds after I watched my arrow bury to the fletching in a bulls chest, the skies opened up.  I mean impaired vision, pull the car to the side of the road type rain.  The shot was surely lethal and I made the decision within seconds to go directly after him knowing that he could be a needle in a haystack without blood sign.  I was on the trail within 2-3 min of shooting.  Blood was spectacular, huge piles 2 feet wide by 6 feet long of frothy bubble blood.  After about 40 yds in thick cover I jumped him.  This was maybe 5-7 min after the shot.  He was obviously hurt and slowed down after about a 50 yd trot/stumble.  I could have snuck another arrow into his hind quarter at the time before he walked slowly out of sight.  I opted, based on his condition, to mark the spot and come back in the AM.  Found him the next day not 40yds from where I last saw him.  I actually think he probably dropped dead right there when I bumped him but I think I made the right decision not shooting him again or pushing further that night.
 
This is reliving a nightmare for me. The only elk I've ever shot was in the rain. I put two arrows in him, both pass trough's and thought for sure he was done. The blood he left behind looked like a scene from Dexter. As the rain set in even harder, we decided to push on the tracking after we verified both arrows. I don't know if we bumped him or what, but we tracked for a few minutes and backed out to return the next morning. No recovery. We even went back several times throughout the spring and summer to look for a deadhead. No dice. Like I said, the rain for me is nightmare fuel.
 
My solution to this is NOT to hunt during the rain.


Ive found that elk just hunker down and so do I. But Ill be out there just as its stopping.
 
it's 90% lost anyways.

i would start immediately.  i hit a big doe in TX..as we sat down to wait, the skies dumped..we immediately started up..

no go..lost that thing.  still jams me up emotionally. 
 
I agree with Brad, hunker down, be careful of widowmakers and lighting, then get after it when it stops.
 
I wrote off hunting in the rain after loosing a moose I shot in a downpour.  After searching for answers during long nights not sleeping for months that followed I found Blue Star.  It is spray that law enforcement uses on crime scenes.  They make a cheap version for hunters now.  It is a spray lights up blood in the dark.  I tested it on a pack frame I had packed with months earlier and had washed with copious amounts of water and it lit up.  I also tried it on a deer trail that we found the deer right away, but wanted to give it a try.  We used it on the trail and found that we could see particulates smaller with blue star than with a 200 lumen light knowing they were there.  It only works in the dark- like no moon is best.  My pack frame was tested on a full moon an it was still very visible.  Rain will actually make tracking easier as it will spread out the hemoglobin and it is always dark.  Everyone that reads this just needs to try it out-really you will be amazed.  You can try it on anything that has had blood on it-even it has been washed it will still work.  I don't carry it in my pack, but will always have it in base camp after seeing it work. 
 
lang said:
I wrote off hunting in the rain after loosing a moose I shot in a downpour.  After searching for answers during long nights not sleeping for months that followed I found Blue Star.  It is spray that law enforcement uses on crime scenes.  They make a cheap version for hunters now.  It is a spray lights up blood in the dark.  I tested it on a pack frame I had packed with months earlier and had washed with copious amounts of water and it lit up.  I also tried it on a deer trail that we found the deer right away, but wanted to give it a try.  We used it on the trail and found that we could see particulates smaller with blue star than with a 200 lumen light knowing they were there.  It only works in the dark- like no moon is best.  My pack frame was tested on a full moon an it was still very visible.  Rain will actually make tracking easier as it will spread out the hemoglobin and it is always dark.  Everyone that reads this just needs to try it out-really you will be amazed.  You can try it on anything that has had blood on it-even it has been washed it will still work.  I don't carry it in my pack, but will always have it in base camp after seeing it work.
Click to expand...






Hmmm.... this sounds very interesting. Definitely going to be researching it! Might be nifty to have in camp for those worse case scenarios.
 
One of the best days of elk hunting was during a rain. The elk were going nuts and everyone except me was sitting in camp playing cards. I had the whole mountain to myself.

But one thing is for sure. You better be sure of your shot and put them down in a hurry.
 
I arrowed my first bull and as it took off  giant flakes started coming down. I thought the shot was good but never even saw the arrow upon impact.  I chose to go after him immediately. Within 5 minutes, there was a good 1/2 ? of new snow on the ground. I had to actually blow( with my mouth) the top snow covering off to find blood. It all ended well as I double lunged him and found him after about 125 yards. There was a feeling of urgency for sure. Ever since then, I don?t hunt in a hard rain. Definitely immediately after though!
 
Boom said:
If the drops are further apart, then what. You just coat the forest?
Click to expand...
Doesn't fix no blood or bad shots that don't finish the job.  It is just another tool to use when you run out of other options and can give you confidence to still hunt in the rain.  I have had some of my best days in questionable weather.
 
lang said:
Boom said:
If the drops are further apart, then what. You just coat the forest?
Click to expand...
Doesn't fix no blood or bad shots that don't finish the job.  It is just another tool to use when you run out of other options and can give you confidence to still hunt in the rain.  I have had some of my best days in questionable weather.
Click to expand...

i get it.  makes sense.

i've done some EPIC blood tracking..crawling on my knees with a partner..one guy finds blood, stays put while the other guy orbits looking for the next spot.  outcomes have gone both ways.  highfives and the opposite..spiking cap on the ground, fist pumping the sky crying..:)

that spray seems like a great idea, just dont know how to use something like that..if you see a blood splat.you wont need to spray it..if the trail goes cold..what then?  you just start radially orbiting spraying?  tracking in rain is soul crushing..i hate it.
 
Tracking in rain is where this product is a total game changer.  When blood is washed away and not visible the hemoglobin residue is still there and will light up.  I had quit hunting in the rain when it use to be may favorite until I saw this stuff work.
 
It happened to me last year as it was raining and after hunting 2 weeks solo, it was my first shot opportunity.  It was a 15 yd frontal shot and I was certain of the shot.  I immediately decided I would track it very slowly as i was afraid the rain would cover up any sign if I waited an hour.  I could easily see his dry tracks in the wet soil but didn't see blood.  I thought I heard him crash and so I proceeded very slowly and found him 60 yards from the shot.  Not fun cleaning an elk in the rain all nite but it was worth it!
 
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