Wow, I skimmed through some of the comments on that one. Easily 15+ people messaging the guy to see if it was their bull. That means there’s 15 guys that think that bull looks close enough to the one they hit but didn't recover. It's like a twisted Cinderella story with a bunch of grown men trying to match an arrow..
Now those people have a picture of a dead elk to show off saying I thought it was this bull. He was about this big when it was probably about 40” smaller
I went through a bad spell a couple years ago. Target panic or just being a chity hunter or whatever you want to call it. When I was younger I would pull back and had 100% confidence the deer/elk was dead if I settled a pin on them. I definitely got humbled later in my archery hunting experience and had to really take a hard look at the shots I was taking. Nothing worse than hitting an elk and spending multiple days/multiple weekends trying to make a bad shot right. Anymore, I try and compensate by getting close and taking really high probability shots. Had a nice 6 pt at 40 yards this last Saturday. Bumped him in his bed and cow called to hold him up. 40-45 yards but alert. I would've taken that shot all day 3-4 years ago but my recent experience made me hesitate and not take a rushed shot. Oh well, he's fine and I get to keep hunting. There's always another bull to chase so if it's not right I don't shoot.
Agreed. No way this poll is representative. I don't believe it. I've known lots of bow hunters and every single one of them has lost animals. Most have taken less than 10 animals.
How was the hike back to the truck?
1. I'm glad it's not just me. But regarding the bold section, my response is "for some". That's never the case in WA, and for NRs we have like a 1-2 weeks, at best, somewhere with decent elk hunting, so while there may still be tomorrow, there may not be. I'm not trying to make excuses (irony because I am), but it's hard to avoid the stress and pressure of an out-of-state hunt that you've looked forward to for many years (or maybe just all summer), doing enough right to create an opportunity and then not trying to make the most of it. For me, being the shittiest of archery hunters (while my practice shooting is pretty good, and my hunting is pretty good right up until the moment of truth), that stress and the adrenaline of the moment were always too strong for rational thought and execution. As a person who values doing hard things, making difficult choices, and constantly pushing for personal growth, it was a real bitter pill to give up on archery, but the elk don't deserve the brunt of my continued failures as I pushed to be a better hunter in that final moment of truth.
