1st elk hunt/I need a psychiatrist

[Wind Gypsy]

That's a heartbreaker man. Anyone who is looking to do their first elk trip reading this, let this be a lesson and just save yourself the $ and heartache.

Seriously though, don't be so hard on yourself. Shit happens as long as you took reasonable steps and were reasonably prepared (all signs point to this being the case), no need to beat up on yourself. It will make the success that much sweeter when it does happen!

 

[JLS]

@clharr couple of questions.

1) I’m willing to bet you can call your shot. Did it feel 100%?

2) can you post a photo of an elk with your point of aim?

Reason I say this is I just helped a guy recover a bull be shot. Broadside, 120 yards. He described it as right behind the shoulder, and he has a lot of hunting experience. In reality it was about 8” back and 4” high from ideal. Some lung and maybe a little liver. We found the bull 500 yards from where the wound bed was.

 

[HuntTalk Freak]

I'm so sorry to hear about you losing your elk! I know it's too late for your trip, but there are a lot of people following your thread, so hopefully it will help someone else...if you lose blood, call for a tracking dog before grid searching. Don't save using a tracking dog as the LAST resort! There are a lot of good tracking dogs in Colorado; however, if you grid search first, the chance of a dog recovering your elk/deer drops drastically, as the scent gets spread everywhere. If you DO grid search, save your track on a GPS/OnX so you can show the tracker exactly where you searched. To find a dog in Colorado, go to https://www.unitedbloodtrackers.org/find-a-tracker/ and find a tracker in your area. You can also join the Rocky Mountain Big Game Recovery Facebook group. We are a network of trackers in the Rocky Mountain region who try our best to find the hunter a tracker in their area! https://www.facebook.com/groups/344223976211356
Good luck to all you hunters!!!!

Thanks for the info as I was told that the use of tracking dogs was illegal in CO and I didn’t follow up on it. Huge mistake on my part.

 

[HuntTalk Freak]

@clharr couple of questions.

1) I’m willing to bet you can call your shot. Did it feel 100%?

2) can you post a photo of an elk with your point of aim?

Reason I say this is I just helped a guy recover a bull be shot. Broadside, 120 yards. He described it as right behind the shoulder, and he has a lot of hunting experience. In reality it was about 8” back and 4” high from ideal. Some lung and maybe a little liver. We found the bull 500 yards from where the wound bed was.

At the time I felt 100% especially when he fell. Now not so much. I aimed center of shoulder as I wanted to break him down right there.

I’ve been going over it in my head every day and something hit me like a ton of bricks this morning. I had been shooting all summer with 150gr ammo, then zeroed right before the trip with the 165gr that I wanted to hunt with. Obviously I never confirmed the velocity and shot that ammo past 100yds. So my shot was either high or low.
I know better yet it still skipped my mind until this morning. I’m not going to mess with the rifle until I can get out to my place and shoot that exact yardage again with that ammo, curious to see the results and it will surely answer some questions.

I did a lot of things right only to mess up the most important parts. I’ve had a lot of time to think about it. Next trip I’m taking it way easy the first few days and blocking off more time before and after the season for acclimation and rest.

 

[Irrelevant]

I did a lot of things right only to mess up the most important parts.

Don't feel alone. I know this sums up my season pretty well too. Doesn't make me feel better either though.

 

[JLS]

I aimed center of shoulder as I wanted to break him down right there.

So like here?

 

[millerkiller77]

So like here?

View attachment 246919

What reticle is that?

 

[JLS]

What reticle is that?

Firecross.

 

[Irrelevant]

rustic red.

 

[Irrelevant]

rustic red.

 

[HuntTalk Freak]

So like here?

View attachment 246919

That’s pretty much it. He was quartering to me for a while and I waited for him to turn almost perfectly broadside.

 

[JLS]

That’s pretty much it. He was quartering to me for a while and I waited for him to turn almost perfectly broadside.

If you’re dead center there, that will do it. Based on what you described I would suspect you hit slightly high, which is going to miss the heavy duty vitals.

 

[Irrelevant]

If you’re dead center there, that will do it. Based on what you described I would suspect you hit slightly high, which is going to miss the heavy duty vitals.

I once shot a deer almost right at your cross; 30-30 with corelok. Didn't get through the first shoulder, didn't even break the bone. Totally surficial wound. Unfortunately for the buck, he stumbled, on a steep slope, lost his footing, rolled and broke his back...

 

[JLS]

I once shot a deer almost right at your cross; 30-30 with corelok. Didn't get through the first shoulder, didn't even break the bone. Totally surficial wound. Unfortunately for the buck, he stumbled, on a steep slope, lost his footing, rolled and broke his back...

I shot a big bull right in that exact location once. I was using a 338–06, with 185 grain Batnes bullets. He dropped like a ton of bricks, but when I got to him, he was still very much alive, and I had to put another round into him.

 

[HuntTalk Freak]

If you’re dead center there, that will do it. Based on what you described I would suspect you hit slightly high, which is going to miss the heavy duty vitals.

That’s what I’m thinking, I hit high and hopefully he’s out there living life. He damn sure wasn’t on that ridge.

 

[HuntTalk Freak]

On a related note, I set my tent up yesterday to clean and dry it better and we might hang out in it this weekend since I’m off all this week (took off to hunt 2nd rifle OTC if I hadn’t drawn 1st rifle.)

Well the storm flap that my pipe burnt has three big holes in it. I duct taped it up yesterday and it’s pouring rain today….. nice big puddle of water in my tent

Gonna have to figure out another fix. Maybe cut a piece of tarp and sew it on to the flap.

 

[JLS]

it’s pretty easy to patch those holes. Go to a tent shop and get a scrap of canvas, get yourself a stitching awl, and some rubber contact cement. Put the patch on there, stitch it up, and then seal all the edges with the rubber contact cement.

 

[kimbertracks]

Thanks for the info as I was told that the use of tracking dogs was illegal in CO and I didn’t follow up on it. Huge mistake on my part.

So many hunters still think it's illegal! I think there are only 4 states now where tracking with a dog is illegal - AZ, CA, NV, and OR. WA just legalized it this year. Each state has different rules, and some states require the tracker to have a permit (CO requires a permit). That's why I'm here...just trying to raise awareness of the availability of tracking dogs so more game is recovered!!

 

[2ski]

I hope you've come off the feeling of failing your family and everything else you mentioned. If you killed that elk, the coyotes that found it don't think you failed them. Seriously though, it sucks to take the life of something and not find it. I'm not saying not to feel bad over that. I would too. But stop short of saying you failed everyone. You can say the f word around a kid and I'd get a whole lot more mad if you told them they failed at something. I hate that word.

I think it's a bad habit to shoot at bone. Taking a shot on a shoulder on an elk is a recipe for something like this.

 

[ElDudarino]

Shooting bone is unpredictable from what I’ve seen. Bullets do weird stuff sometimes when they hit them. If they are broadside, they don’t go far with no lungs.

Making that trip, staying in the woods and returning solo is an accomplishment of its own. You did real well for your first time.