First bow elk

[Blacktail Slayer]

Well this turned out to be a great season here in western Oregon for me. I passed up on a 3*3, a small 5pt or 6pt, had a 6pt herd bull in at 35 yds (vitals covered by small tree), and called in a 6pt herd bull to my partner at 60 yds (no shot) all in the first weekend of season. I was in elk the first 5 days of the season and then went a week with no sign of elk except a bull bugling 100yds from our truck after we walked out in the dark. This past saturday I was by my self and was doing several set ups and cow calls. I heard a bull bugle off in the distance and started closing the distance. I would move 100 yds and then cow call several times to let the bull know that he had cows coming into him. The last time I called I moved in 125yds and set up without any calling. The bull came out and I saw his rack and knew it was a shooter. I also saw that he was favoring his left front leg. I couldn't believe that this was the same bull I had a bad shot on last year. This bull was seen 2 years ago by a hunter and he had the injured front left leg and was a 7*7. I shot the bull last year when he was a 8*8 with crown pts, but I shot high and hit him in his back. I searched for 3 days with friends and never found him. Then this year he was only a 6*7. The injury may have affected his antlers because he had a totally different rack. I will post the pics when my friend gets back from eastern Oregon. All the pics are on his camera. Back to the story. I was by myself and the bull came out looking for the cows. The bull was in the open and I used my range finder to find the distance. I would have like to of had a little closer shot, but it was know or never. The bull was quartering away from me. I was shaking so bad I hit him in the back two hams. The arrow went threw both back legs. The bull slowly trotted off know with three bad legs and I felt awful. I followed the blood trail for about 100yds and then saw him still walking off. I got out of there to call my hunting partner to meet me and try and get a 2nd shot. Two hours later we both worked out way back to where I last saw him and he was only bedded down 50yds away. The bull got up and started to walk away again. My friend followed the blood trail while I tried to circle and cut off the bull. The bull got ahead of me so we went back to following the blood trail. We jumped him several times, but he would only go a short distance then stop. The bull went into so reprod and we decided to split up and try circle around him. It was easy to here the bull walking in the reprod. I know most people may have left the bull alone and come back later, but he had three bad legs, got blood trail, and he may have walked 2 miles away or lived for several days before dying. I decided to tuck my bow under my arm, duck my head and run right for him. I finally got the bull so tired he went back out to taller timber and let me walk right up to him. I had a 8yd broadside double lung shot. He ran 15 yds and bedded down and finally died. I know that there maybe people out there that not agree on how I handled the situation, but I did what I thought would work for me. I hope I don't make anyone upset because I have past several big bulls before because of ethics. I hope everyone can enjoy this story and I can't wait to post the pics of this non-typical rosie bull.

[waterfowlin101]

Sounds good to me. You shot him and hit him...and then used good tracking skills to stay on the animal and finish him off. That's what hunting is all about. Sounds like a whole lot of fun. Congrats

Jon

[Rauly]

Congrats and get the pics posted.

Rauly

[duckboy]

Congrats on a successful hunt.

Glad you were able to anchor him.

[nwsteelheader]

for you first bow elk you were sure picky. Passing up any animal with a good shot is hard to do.

congrats on the nice bull, can't wait to see pics. If he was limping bad it's likely the rifle hunters or mother nature would have got him anyway.

shawn

[Abalone]

Way to go Dude ! Don't feel bad I have similar stories shot from Ten yards and they never recovered the animal !

[ehunter]

First off I am glad you got the elk. I hope that you have learned a lesson from this that elk suffured a lot while you were running it around. I don't mean to lecture you but It makes me sad that bowhunting is going to 60 yards shots just for the reason you mentioned.

[Opportunist]

Live and learn. Decisions we make in the woods are ours to make, sometimes good, sometimes bad, no matter they are ours to make. Congrats on your first bow elk!

[fishinpox]

Hey you followed up on it, found him, now he's in the freezer. Live and learn. Congrats!!

[MooseTurd]

I'm glad you stuck with your animal and finally put it out of its misery - for that I commend you. That said, why would you take a 60 yard shot at an animal under those circumstances? Where the horns so big that you felt compelled to try a prayer shot? I hope you think carefully about what you did. That's the kind of stuff that gives bow-hunters a bad name.

I hope this thread gets pulled - I'm disgusted.

[MooseTurd]

BTW, feel free to flame me...

Gordon

[fishinpox]

I'm glad you stuck with your animal and finally put it out of its misery - for that I commend you. That said, why would you take a 60 yard shot at an animal under those circumstances? Where the horns so big that you felt compelled to try a prayer shot? I hope you think carefully about what you did. That's the kind of stuff that gives bow-hunters a bad name.

I hope this thread gets pulled - I'm disgusted.

Sheesh dude, like you've never done something in life that was questionable? Give me a break. I'm sure the guy will take the experience and learn from it.

[raptorschild]

I say good job. In order to judge this person, you would have to know him/her, and you never know, maybe blacktail slayer is ******* Robin hood, and is comfortable with the shot.

If anything he'll learn from this. 60 yards is a deep shot, but its becoming more and more common thanks to technology.

[MooseTurd]

Sheesh dude, like you've never done something in life that was questionable? Give me a break. I'm sure the guy will take the experience and learn from it.

Sure I've done things in my life that I am not proud of - everyone has. But that's not what is at issue here. The author's behavior is reprehensible from an ethical bow-hunting perspective and yet many responding to this thread are slapping him on the back and saying what a great job he's done. What lesson is he going to learn from that? What lessons would the non-hunting public take away from this thread if they saw it? The author should be reprimanded for his poor choices, not congratulated. What the h*ll is the matter with you guys?

[ehunter]

thanks your right on I can't beleive that you guys are saying yea even the author said it was questionable. I am glad he recouvered the animal but note he thinks this might be the one that was wounded last year...

[MooseTurd]

I say good job. In order to judge this person, you would have to know him/her, and you never know, maybe blacktail slayer is ******* Robin hood, and is comfortable with the shot.

That's BS and you should know it. The author clearly stated his misgivings after the fact. His conscious is obviously telling him he did something wrong - he knows himself better than any of us do. He took a high-risk shot because he saw big horns and let greed trump good judgment. We've all done it at one time or another, but we shouldn't be rewarded for it.

[thehunt]

Glad you got him buddy. Way to go

[raptorschild]

Well, I agree with you mooseturd, but i believe that the pros outweight the cons. I think he did the right thing given the animal was supposedly wounded. Like i said, you werent there so you don't know much about it.

For all you know he was 35 yrds out, and his story is greatly exagerated. I know hunters/fisherman never exagerate right while telling stories right????

The thing that gets me more than his success story is the fact that he stated he took a bad shot last year. This means he is not afraid to take shots that are not there. That is a problem, but again, i would have to be there to judge.

bottom line is that he harvested an animal that was wounded. He worked hard and didnt give up. Alotta guys would have given up tagged another animal, or possibly gone out and wounded another bull. It ended up good.

That being said: Blacktail slayer, take safe shots from here on out would ya. You got your big bull, now play it safe from now on.

[Land Shark]

Congrats on your Elk. I think you did well in recovering him and the tactics you used to try to end the hunt after the questionable shot. Learn from what you did and hopefully you make the right choice next time. Don't worry about the " holly than thou " attitude that was posted...... I have made my share of mistakes and have found that learning from them and making the right choice in a hunting situation is rewarded with a great feeling instead of that sinking sick feeling that goes along with making the wrong choice. May next year bring you wisdom and success.

[MooseTurd]

Raptor, I too am glad Blacktail hung in there and recovered his animal. I've witnessed some pretty lame attempts at recovery and that really chaps me also. As to whether he took a shot at 35 or 60 yards I have no choice but to take Blacktail's words at face value.

Here is how it looks to me. Blacktail is new to elk hunting and possibly bow-hunting. He passes up easier shots on numerous lesser animals because they aren’t up to his standards. Then when he finally finds his monster he knows it’s an iffy shot – he is shaking like a leaf and contemplating a long shot that is tough for even the most experienced bow-hunter. But his greed gets the best of him and he throws judgment to the wind and takes the Hail Mary shot. And, not surprisingly, he wounds the animal - and he wounds it in a horrific way. No doubt his conscious is telling him he did something he should not have done and he feels really bad about it. Then, to his credit, he does the right thing and sticks with it until he can put the thing out of its misery. And a miserable death it was - certainly not a death befitting of an animal like that.

Then he actually posts a graphic description of the whole ordeal and plainly states his misgivings about the ethics of his behavior. Well, if there is one thing I’ve learned in my years on this earth it that if your conscious is telling you you did something wrong, you’ve probably done something wrong. And it is plain to see from his story that yes, Blacktail did indeed do something very wrong. As to why he even posted such a thing is a mystery to me – but he did.

Now here’s the part that really bothers me. I can forgive Blacktail for what he did because he seems to have an inkling that his behavior is not something he should be proud of – hopefully he’ll learn from that lesson.

What I CANNOT forgive are those who responded to this thread with back-slapping and congratulations. I began bow-hunting 3 years ago and am appalled at the general tolerance for poor behavior by the ranks of my peers. In those 3 years I’ve witnessed tag-swapping, hunting without tags, incredibly high risk shots, hunting without any practice behind a bow what-so-ever, lame recovery attempts, road hunting from the back of pickups, hunting while drunk, thrashed camps, and on and on and on. And in most cases where I have confronted the behavior, no one seems to think it’s a big deal. Frankly it’s gotten to a point where I’m actually ashamed to admit that I am a bow hunter.

Well, I’m sick of it all. A lot of guys seem to think that bow-hunting is some sort of God-given right and we can act any way we please. Well guess what, the last time I read the Constitution I didn’t see any reference to bow-hunting. Bow-hunting is a PRIVILEGE that can be taken from us by a simple majority vote. And if we can’t or won’t police our own and clean up our act we WILL lose this privilege.

Enough said.

Gordon

[Fish Slayer]

Sheesh dude, like you've never done something in life that was questionable? Give me a break. I'm sure the guy will take the experience and learn from it.

I agree it may not have been the best shot but it sounds like the guy was shakin' pretty bad and that happens to everyone at one point or another. It happened to me with the first deer I ever shot. I took a 40 yard shot on a deer perfectly broadside and blew it and gut shot it. I never found it. I looked the rest of the night and jumped it 3 times and then looked the next day and never found it. I felt horrible about it and Im sure Blacktail Slayer feels the same. He was fortunate enough to track his down and recover it and for that I say bravo! And it also sounds like the bull was limping from a previous shot. If I found a bull limping at 60 yards I know I would take that shot. I also know I can make that shot every time. Hopefully he will learn from his mistakes like the rest of us do, but flamin' the guy is not going to help anything. That said, way to go on your first elk buddy! :grin:

[High Country]

Bow hunting for elk is not easy somtimes they just tip over sometimes they don't. I wonder how may bulls get hit and are never recovered from rifle hunters that don't want to walk over and check? Good job, I had a similar experience last year I know what you went through, all I can say excellent job on the recovery and enjoy the steaks.

[MooseTurd]

Yes Fish Slayer, we all shake to one degree or another. But if a guy is shaking really bad he is clearly not going to make a 60 yard shot with a bow, at least not without some kind of divine intervention. Under those circumstances an ethical bow-hunter is obliged to either pass up the shot or get close enough to where the result is not in question. Which brings up another issue with Blacktail. He states that he passed up several animals (and presumably easier shots) in order to bag a trophy. Well the only way I know to beat the shakes is to shot at animals within your ability and develop confidence. That's what Blacktail should be doing, and not worrying about how big the rack will look in his den.

As to your comment about limping, I don't see how a limping animal obviates one's responsibility to act ethically.

Maybe flamming the guy will help, maybe it won't. But I'm certain that congratulating him on his great "accomplishment" isn't going to help either Blacktail or the cause of Bow-hunting in general.

[MooseTurd]

Here's an example of what I'm talking about. Last week I meet a guy hunting from out-of-state. He is normally a rifle hunter but wanted to bow-hunt elk with his buddy who lives in Oregon. In camp he tells me that he has probably pulled the bow back no more than 20 times in the last 4 years. And not at all this year. And he seems proud of that fact! Sure enough that evening a bull walks 35 yards in front of his blind broadside. This guy takes the shot and thankfully he misses cleanly. That night in camp he is all excited and proceeds to tell everyone about his encounter. I'm disgusted and tell him that he shouldn't be hunting with a bow if he hasn't had the decency to practice with it before-hand. Everyone in camp thinks that's really funny and yucks it up. What is wrong with us?

[ehunter]

I agree the responsibilty is with the shooter to take the animal cleanly it is not enough to stick a elk. Some of these support comments worry me. I wonder how many other guys are taking these kind of shots. It is not good for our sport or the animal.

[High Country]

If you guys that think your so ethical can make all your shots and never wound or have to track an animal that has had a bad shot than I say right on. But if you cant guarantee your shots. Shut up nobody likes a know it all

[osulogger]

BTSlayer,

As soon as I read your post (no comments were made yet) I knew where this one was headed on the thread

I commend you for sharing your story with all of us. I am not one to judge for I have never taken a shot at an animal with a gun or a bow. I do know though, every time I shoot one with a camera, I shake like crazy in excitement and the thrill of seeing wildlife. Sometimes we get caught up in the moment and things happen. What matters in my book is you were smart enough to track your animal and harvest it. I've found more then my share of animals at work and wonder what their demise was, and luckily your shot did not become one of those.

I hope that the replies haven't discougraged you from posting your bull. I know that I would still like to see it, as well as many others here on the board. I also hope that you learn from what some members have posted, but don't take all of the replies to heart as well.

From the land of Big Sticks,

Osulogger

[NWRedside]

deleted by NWRedside

[MooseTurd]

High Country,

Sure, I've made bad shots, wounded animals and had to track them. Sh*t happens when you're elk hunting. What I'm saying is that an ethical hunter doesn't knowingly take low probability shots on the chance that he might stick something and that is what Blacktail Slayer did. And frankly that's what I see a lot of "bow-hunters" doing. Last year where I hunt I know of two guys that took 70 and 90 yard shots respectively. One wounded the animal and it was never recovered and the other missed. Now both of these guys are good shots at the range, but they had no business taking shots like that in a hunting situation.

Maybe you're one of those kind of guys...

[MooseTurd]

You guys are hopeless. I'm done.

[Blacktail Slayer]

I just wanted everyone to know that the bull had an injured leg from getting hit by a truck. The bull was hit over three years ago and had no muscle on his front left leg. The injury was not from any other hunter.

[fishinpox]

I'm sure there are plenty of rifle hunters out there as well who don't fire a shot before they go out in the woods. I'm sure there are bowhunters who do it as well. Pretty obvious that it happens. Hunting is hard. Things happen. Pretty tough to go through a lifetime of hunting without having something go wrong. If you can pull it off, my hats off to you.

As for you Mr. Mooseturd, next time you screw up in life, I hope there is a big pile of your namesake on the ground to catch your fall.

[gottafish]

Well, Mooseturd brought up some very good points. You want honesty. I to have taken a bull from a shot simialer and it wasn't my first elk as in this case. Im not proud of it and I did learn from it. When I started bow hunting I would take all kinds of crazy shots. Thought it was cool when I heart shot a cow at 98 yards. I have since learned it a whole lot easier to kill one from 40 yards and under. But then again Ive killed 43 deer and 15 elk with a bow. Out of all those I lost one and it was a deer shot at 20 yards. I think its some what a faze with most bow hunters to get one at all costs. I was one of those. for years I would brag about how I got a elk every year. Not proud of it these days but there was a time I was pretty a full of myself and my record.

That said!!!!

I know where blacktail hunter is comming from. and I am sure he'll learn from it as we all have. He got his first under his belt so the pressure of being sucsessful in a archery hunt is now come full circal. the next shot will be better than this one because of the lessons learned.

On a side note: what if he would have shot a little calf? How would this community have recieved a new member and a pic of this?

Now this is also a first time hunter from CO. It was his first elk and he was so Proud of it he posted it on hunting.net You would not believe how much crap he was given. Its just an example of how things happen when you want something so bad. some of us lose a little control and do thing we shouldn't. Is it right? No but thats being human. Id rather hear the truth than him comming on here saying it was a 20 yard heart shot when it wasn't. We are bowhunters. and we all had to get our first under our belt.

Blacktail slayer Welcome to the Ifish board. Good luck to you In your future hunts. and congradulations on your bull. And learn from what went wrong. some guys are hard on you here but I know Mooseturd is just trying to stress to you how serious your actions can be. and hes 100% right. I just wanted you to know I would have shot also 20 years ago on my first elk kill. Your not alone. I'm sure a lot of other would have two. Cheers Rich

[Lunkerlander]

Dude, First of all Blacktail never says how far the bull was. The only reference to sixty yards is that he called in one for his friend and there was no shot. It always sucks to wound an animal. I have been lucky and haven't ever lost one. But I have completly missed before, If I were a little closer It would have been a bad shot and may have not been recoverable. I practice all summer every year and I am dang good on paper by hunting season but with all the "Other" factor when you are in the woods it is not an exact science. That is just bowhunting man. You have very little time to make decisions when the shot presents itself. Everybody looks back on days in the field and decisions they made and wonders "why didn't I do that" or "I wish I just would of" especially new or inexperienced folks. It is the only way to gain experience. So congrats Blacktail on a nice bull. Hope it was a memorable and educating year.

[bullslayer]

BT, don't feel bad. i've hunted for many years with many people and all have made at least one bad shot or more. Were all human and thus make mistakes. Yes the bull you shot suffered, but i've known several hunters who made perfect shots on animals that lived a long time before they were either shot again or died. All we can do is do our best and sometimes that won't be the right choice. Good job on recovering your animal. Learn from your mistakes and you'll be just fine. I'm still trying for my first bow kill. I missed my first elk two weekends ago. I'm going all next week. My kris.

[younggun20]

That picture of that calf is unbelieveable! I cannot believe he has a smile on his face, that disgusts me. It is also very sad to hear how such a nice bull had to suffer such a terrible death. The only thing I can say is good thing you got him, but you made a lot of poor choices. As said, learn from them and don't do it again.

[FastAction]

I thought that when you tucked the bow under your arm and head down charged the animal you were going to jump on his back and wolverine the big bull. I loved that story
Reminds me of when my uncle shot that blacktail down hill right out of his truck and took out both back legs and grabbed a stick and whipped that deer in the rear as it climbed back up the hill to his truck.

[Hookset]

Reminds me of when my uncle shot that blacktail down hill right out of his truck and took out both back legs and grabbed a stick and whipped that deer in the rear as it climbed back up the hill to his truck.

Why are you posting this on a public message board? Ture or not, that's in very poor taste, very disrepectful to hunters and the animals they pursue.
Would you please edit your post and remove that sentence.

Thank you,

Gregg

[Limbhanger]

First of all, congratulations on your bull!! I am sure you have to be very happy.

The only thing I would like to add is, we as hunters and fisherman really need to be aware of our image. Especially on a public forum where many people lurk. Stories like this even though a reality can do more harm than good when viewed by the non hunting public. Even other hunters are looking at this in disgust and judge archery hunting based on these types of events. Yes, I agree that any one of us could have an errant shot that could result in a lost or difficult to recover animal. It is just better that is does not get publicized in a way that deems it as an acceptable or normal occurance.

[JIMBOUY]

Way to stick with it. Only you know if it is right or wrong. Sounds rightto me. Can not wait for the picture :lurk: :lurk:

[duckintheblood]

that pic of the calf is disgusting. what did that guy do shoot it while the cow was giving birth, come on grow a pair and show some restraint, that thing ain't bigger than my black lab. I also want to make clear that this year was my first year of bow hunting and I couldn't have been more excited, I had many opprotunites to take young fawns but i didn't, i truley don't think that this kind of behavior cannot be excepted by the hunting community. I love bagging game from the field just as much as anybody but hunting isn't just about killing, you can't just take the first shot that you have because it is there, this is true even more so when a you only have what looks to me like a 40 LB calf, that guy should be ashamed to have killed that calf.

[Got Fish?]

What people do in situations depends on the person. My first elk I shot was broadside at 10 yards. I drilled her and she dropped right there. I was totally prepared for the worst situation but when she just dropped I thought sweet I need to get out of here.

But even with a double lung and clipped heart she managed to get up and start to walk off. At that point I freaked and nailed her twice more. She went about 50 feet keeled over and died.

Needless to say I didn't need the other shots but I hit her a few more times and made her suffer more and I felt bad.

This bowhunting is still fairly new to me but it seems that after the first arrow is shot all bets are off on what is going to happen next. Good job on getting your animal next time drill em where it counts.

[Blue Tip Spinner]

what are you guys talking about in refrence to the calf? who are you to judge? are you all "calf huggers"? i'm sorry, but all i see is an elk and a very proud hunter! tastiest meat right there boys! i would be smiling just as much as he is! i guess most of you hunters don't eat the meat like the rest of us who will shoot ANY elk that gets close! shooting an elk with a bow is an accomplishment in itself! i shot my COW this year and i can't tell you how much i LOVE THAT MEAT!!! MMMM, elk! :tongue: (i wish there was a graemlin for ...!)

[Irish Pennant]

There are do's and dont's that are learned the hard way and sometimes you can learn from others mistakes.

DO go out and hunt
DO have fun

DON'T post your stories, leave that to the experts.

[in 'em]

Moose Turd, quit being a moose turd!

sorry, had to say it

This thread sure got outa hand! Here's my on the issues...

HE NEVER SAID HOW FAR THE SHOT WAS!!! Maybe it was 30 yards...quartering away...that's a good shot and easy to hit one in the butt...don't jump to conclusions fellas.

Slayer, congrats on the elk...dang, I had to edit this part cause I reread your post and you never said how far the shot was! Quartering away is a great shot inside 40 yards...how far was he? If he was over 40 and you were shakin', well...anyways, learn from it. You won't find the animal every time. Wait 'til you get one closer or at least broadside with perfect conditions. A lot of the enjoyment you get from a hunt will be from telling the stories to friends and family and quite frankly, a long shot at one, hitting it in the butt and chasing it forever isn't a great story to tell and it doesn't say as much about the skill needed to take big game animals...which we hunters take pride in. We hunters need to represent our sport as best we can.

As for the calf elk, I wouldn't shoot one, but who's to flame a guy who killed a perfectly legal elk?!?! Lay off boys, it's not about the size of the antlers to everyone. In fact, I'm interested in why taking a calf is bad? Why? Can't be any worse than taking a cow can it? What are the issues with this? Maybe I'm not seeing something.

[ehunter]

Irish maybe you should only tell part of the story, I got a elk and then only tell the goulish part to close friends

As to the calf it was a legal animal his first he did nothing wrong would I shoot a calf no but that was a legal and his ethical choice.

[raptorschild]

This is the last time i'll post on this, but for all of you that are complaining about making animals suffer. Then quit hunting. I understand respecting animals and trying to limit suffering out of respect, but when you fire any projectile at something from any distance there is a chance it will suffer dearly.

All this boohooing over the elk suffering is an oxymoron. The thing has been suffering for a long time (possibly years), and he ended it in minutes. Good for him.

Also, the fact that he pointed out the bull had a serious injury stemming from a car, proves the point that you have to be there to judge the person. From just reading the initial story the injury seemed a bit less significant.

In my worthless opinion, if you can punch your tag, and harvest an already wounded Bull, then by all means, you should be willing to take a slightly larger risk then shooting at a perfectly healthy animal. If you disagree that is fine.

[Irish Pennant]

ehunter,
Keep it simple.

[Ni!]

HE NEVER SAID HOW FAR THE SHOT WAS!!!

Yes he did. Before he edited the post he said the shot was 60 yards. There's a reason most archers won't shoot that far. For me, this thread reinforces that point.

Ni!

[in 'em]

oh...makes sense

maybe a better lesson would have been learned had he not found the elk. If you shoot one with a questionsbal shot and end up getting it, it kinda makes you think you can do it again...but that doesn't happen often does it? I can't speak like I'm an expert cause I've never wounded or killed one before. Just speakin' from other knowledge I've been passed.

[Fish Slayer]

When I first saw this post I was thinking alright! Now look where this thread has gone This guy got his first bow elk and possibly bow kill. When I read the post, I was thinking that it may not have been the prettiest kill, but mistakes happen. He did the right thing by tracking it down and killing it. He stuck with it and didn't give up. He decided to tell the truth and the reality is that this kinda stuff does happen, and try as we might, it still happens. I seriously doubt that anyone who bowhunts hasn't taken a risky shot at one time or another and if you haven't that's awesome, but flaming this guy is not going to help anything. It sure won't change what happened. Im sure Blacktail Slayer will learn from this experiance like anyone of us would. I think every bow hunter has at one point choked somehow. Maybe you missed completely or maimed it like many others have. Nobody tries to shoot one in the guts or hams on purpose, but it happens, and if you cant handle that, then you shouldn't hunt. Blacktail Slayer, don't listen to these guys flaming you. Everyone makes a bad shot at one time or another. I have and it sucked, but I learned from it and did my best to prevent it. Im sure you will too, and congrats on your first elk. Im still trying to accomplish that goal myself.

And a side note on that calf, how is that disgusting? It was a legal kill, and it was his first. I say way to go! And how is shooting a calf or fawn any different than eating lamb chops or veal? If you wouldn't shoot a calf, that's great, but flaming this guy for doing so does nothing. I think it's cool that these guys told the truth because I like honesty and I think it stinks that they get flamed for it. Like I said many times before, stuff happens and we all learn from it and do our best to prevent it from happening again. And Blacktail Slayer, I can't wait to see the picture. Way to go!

[hawg boss]

HE NEVER SAID HOW FAR THE SHOT WAS!!! Maybe it was 30 yards...quartering away...that's a good shot and easy to hit one in the butt...don't jump to conclusions fellas.

I will not give any opinions, but in fairness, the original post (before it was edited) did give the distance, and said that it was "an unethical shot".

We hunters need to represent our sport as best we can.

I appriciate bs being honest with his original story. It is interesting seeing all of the diferent opinions on this issue.

This kind of story in my opinion probably should not have been made public. Fuel for the antihunting community is what this could be. If many of your fellow hunters are upset with this story, think what non hunters may think.

The pic of the calf- If that is what makes the guy happy, and he would rather have a small basket of meat instead of a freezerful fine. But show the pic to your friends, not the world. Do you guys remember any of the anti traping campaigns, the ones with the dog or baby bobcat in the trap. How about the anti cougar hunting campaigns, just this last winter I saw flyers posted around with pics of some guy 50 years ago with a pile of cougar heads, and next to it a pic of 3 cougar kittens and the words incinuating that the kittens mother was in the pile and the kittens were going to starve to death!

If they get this calf pic they may not use it for 10, or 50 years but they will use it when the time is rite for them.

[crabbait]

I love long shots. I love to watch the flight on an arrow when the range is over 80 yards. I spent a couple years in North Dakota and we had a great time trying to hit jackrabbits at insane ranges with 80lb Quadraflex bows with 40% letoff. We used broadheads and when we connected it didn't make much difference where they were hit...

When it comes to long rage shots on big game, they are best avoided. Here is why:

Let's say you are a really good shot. I used to be and I have a couple boxes of trophies to prove it. Seriously, lets suppose you are very able to hit you hat at 100yds on a very regular basis. Let's also assume that you're shooting state of the art equipment. To keep the math simple, your arrows are coming off the bow at 300fps and don't slow at all!

Now let's consider a 60yd shot, again just to keep the math simple. That is 180ft. That means that your never-slows arrow will still take six-tenths of a second to get there. "One-thousa.." wham. If that big bull just starts to take a step after you decide touch it off, your perfect shot just missed the vitals by 10-18"...PLOOP!

Another factor: Suppose that somewhere along the arrows flight it picks up an undetected crosswind of 10mph. That converts to 14.6fps. That means that in the ,6 second that you arrow is in flight, an otherwise perfect shot will travel 7.3' sideways. Let's say the wind is only 3-5mph, are you holding three feet off target in order to compensate for the wind?

One more factor, this time a personal story, and I will let it go: I had an elk broadside and immobile at dusk, standing on a landing. I was in the clearcut, hiding behind a christmas-tree sized. The elk had no notion that I was on the planet and the rangefinder read 50yds. I tucked my 50yd pin low on the crease in the shoulder and dropped string. The arrows flight was perfect and I watched the 2315 rise above the elk at mid-flight, then start the drop in perfect trajectory. An instant before impact I hear a distinct "click" followed immediately by "ploop", almost one sound.

When I got to the landing (after a 30 min wait), I found a dead alder cut clean off about 3' above the ground at the edge of the landing. Across the landing I found my arrow coated in green gut material. The alder was close to where the elk was standing so instead of deflecting clear of the elk, its flight was just altered about a foot to the rear. I found the elk bedded the next day and had to dispatch with a second shot.

My point is that the bow, even the most modern bow, is a short-range weapon. If the only shot I have is at 60yds then I am just not done hunting yet! There are just too many variables outside my control to take a shot beyond 40yds and I prefer between 20 and 30yd shots.

Congratulations on a fine bull. Glad you got him!

[Opportunist]

Killin' aint pretty! You try to do it the quickest you can but sometimes it gets messy. I think some of the post flamers have watched too many Primos videos and watched the elk run off and die a peaceful death. In the real world animals jump the string, an unseen twig deflects your arrow, and yes people get excited and miss even close shots.

Live and learn Blacktail Slayer and beware the ifish experts.

[nitrobass]

Its great how people have figured out how bowhunting should be after a year or three or ten. How animals should be killed. How stories should be told. How far shots are deemed 'ethical'. How big an elk has to be for a hunter to shoot it and be proud of it. Its hypocrisy 101...

Let the guy enjoy his friggin elk. Go enjoy your own elk your own way.

[Fish Wheels]

This whole post, those in favor and against BTS are not good for bow hunting at all. I don't bow hunt and after all the "stuff happens when bowhunting" statements I won't ever. Give me a 3000 FPS round unloading at least 1000 ft lbs of energy on an animal any day. I know rifle hunters wound animals also sometimes, but from the posts on this thread, it has to be about 10% of the amount it happens when bowhunting...

[nitrobass]

I have to chuckle at that one...

:lurk:

Now lets see a picture of that sucker!

[uhmw]

If you ask mr elk what he prefered you hunt him with. Im pretty sure he would much prefer being hunted by bow.

While the high power fire arm is much more conveint for you- the elk hate them and would prefer you didnt..

[Opportunist]

I would like to change my above post statement;

Killin' aint pretty with a rifle, bow, or muzzleloader. I enjoy all three in no particular order. I prefer fewer bowhunters so please don't start!

Now back to the regular flaming!

[Fish Wheels]

I wasn't flaming bowhunters at all, just posting my thoughts on what I saw in this thread. I got the impression from a lot of posts that if you make a bad shot, so what, no big deal, you'll learn from the mistake etc... That is what I thought was not good for bow hunting in general.... Also all the different variables that could make the shot bad even if it appears to be a good one, thus possible leading to a wounded and not recovered animal. I just meant I don't want any of that "myself". I've got the variables pretty well down and controllable with my rifle.

Good day ...