Leaving a Bull overnight

[azgutpile]

I've seen in several videos lately where archery hunters have shot a bull right before dark and not followed up on their shot/ tracking until the next morning. I understand reasons behind this, but I would be concerned that the meat would spoil.

 

So my question is have any of you had any experience with their early archery hunts where the temps only drop down into the high 40s at night? If so, how was the meat and what were the conditions like?

 

Thanks,

[azpackhorse]

The bull I shot 2 years ago I processed it late into the nite and hung it in trees then came back the next morning to pack it out. The meat was fine

[COOSEFAN]

On the early elk hunts, leaving a bull over night usually doesn't result in much meat loss and if there is it's usually the neck and/or the side that is laying against the ground. It depends on how long the bull survived into the night and how fast you recover him in the morning too, so you never really know for sure. If you recover him late the next day and he's been laying in the sun, that's obviously not good and will for sure have meat loss. My philosophy has always been, "I'd rather lose some meat instead of the entire elk!" If the shot is anything less than good, or if you are unsure of the shot and it's close to dark, I'd leave till first light.

 

Also, the elk on the early hunts still have a summer coat and that helps with not losing meat as fast, regardless if it's 30 or 60 degrees at night. But, on the late hunts, when they have their winter coats the risk of meat loss is much greater and it doesn't even matter if the temps are below freezing! I've seen way more meat loss on late bulls left over night than I have on early bulls. I will make every attempt possible to NOT leave a bull overnight on a late hunt, unless I'm sure the chance is too high of bumping him and risking a loss.

[Swivelhead]

+1 COOSFAN, I beleive way too many people leave animals overnight. It"s a tough call but unless I'm ABSOLUTELY sure of a bad hit, I follow up within an hour or two. Succullent venison is the most important part of a harvest for me.

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[reganranch]

On the early elk hunts, leaving a bull over night usually doesn't result in much meat loss and if there is it's usually the neck and/or the side that is laying against the ground. It depends on how long the bull survived into the night and how fast you recover him in the morning too, so you never really know for sure. If you recover him late the next day and he's been laying in the sun, that's obviously not good and will for sure have meat loss. My philosophy has always been, "I'd rather lose some meat instead of the entire elk!" If the shot is anything less than good, or if you are unsure of the shot and it's close to dark, I'd leave till first light.

 

Also, the elk on the early hunts still have a summer coat and that helps with not losing meat as fast, regardless if it's 30 or 60 degrees at night. But, on the late hunts, when they have their winter coats the risk of meat loss is much greater and it doesn't even matter if the temps are below freezing! I've seen way more meat loss on late bulls left over night than I have on early bulls. I will make every attempt possible to NOT leave a bull overnight on a late hunt, unless I'm sure the chance is too high of bumping him and risking a loss.

 

Very good info!

[123456]

Exactly what coosefan said. I had my hunting partner make a marginal shot a few years back with his bow. We waited 2 hours in the dark and then went to recover the arrow where he was hit. I found about 20 inches of arrow and it had very little blood on it. This told us that he definetly hit bone, and 8.5" of arrow are still inside of the bull. Since he was able to watch this bull bed 4 times before he dissappered in the dark, we decided to make the very tough call and go back to camp. I don't think my partner ate dinner and I know he had a few cases of the dry heaves knowing he might have wounded a 350 class bull. First thing next morning we went looking for the bull and as luck would have it, we found him about 100 yards from where he last saw him. Made a marginal shot, but was able to cut a major artery right next to the heart. The bull was so stiff that it was hard to pose him for pictures. We knew he died pretty fast that night and in hindsight we could have probably found him at night if we would have pursued him. As Jim said tho, we were not going to roll the dice and lose a whole bull rather than a little meat. Well, we butchered him on the spot and there was 0 meat loss. I believe the highs on the hunt were in the 70's and the lows maybe were in the high 40's. We cut the bull up into small pieces of meat and quickly got them to cool down and it resulted in 0 meat loss. I always error on the side of not pushing an animal rather than pursueing.

[ready2hunt]

Very good info. Pack it out if you can if not, hang it up and wait until morning. Use a game bag if possible but if not hanging raw meat does not hurt it much. People have done it for thousands of years...not much has changed. Find shade and do your best to process the animal in a timely manner. Good luck to you!

[trophyhnter]

Great info. COOSEFAN!

[azgutpile]

Guys thanks for the feedback.

 

Hopefully, I won't have a situation were I have to wait until the morning, but at least I know now that there is hope in salvaging all the meet.

[ThomC]

How do you know if the meat is bad?

[COOSEFAN]

The #1 thing to worry about is not giving the bull enough time to die. This all depends on the shot placement and arrow penetration. I'm not afraid to track at night and typically do it a time or two every year, but it's only if I feel it's a good shot. The bulls I let go all night, or have all day, are the ones where the shot placement is bad or unknown. If I know a bull is shot far back or low or high, I'll have no problem backing out and giving him at least 8 hours. Another thing to pay attention to during the early elk hunts is rain. If storms are a possibility, I'll wait close by or at the start of the track and if I think it's going to rain I'll get on the track early. If I have to start on a track early, I'll take it very slow and glass ahead methodically as I go. Not being able to glass ahead or read the sign as well is why I usually don't track at night on marginal hits. On any blood trail, especially if you are going after a poorly hit bull or an uncertain shot, it's always best to have 2 guys. 1 guy is responsible for taking it drop by drop, followed by the 2nd guy who should be glassing or looking ahead of the first guy while marking the last drop of blood found. Slow and very attentive to every detail of the track is key!

 

Worrying about the meat loss is always secondary to me, recovering the animal is first and foremost. If the shot is good and there is good sign at the start, give him a full hour. If you are not sure but think it's good, give him 3-5 hours. If you know it's bad, give him 8!

 

I unfortunately have experienced more losses than I care to recount and that's the reason why I'm always very careful to not push any wounded animal. As an example, i've sat and watched a gut shot bull for 11 hours before finally deciding to send the hunter in for a finishing shot. Unfortunately that hunter made an even worse 2nd shot and the bull was never recovered! Hindsight, since I had a visual on the bull, I should've continued watching him instead of risking the second stalk. Every situation is different, the one I just described isn't common, but never rush, always be patient and cautious and give the animal plenty of time. Don't worry about losing some meat, it won't matter if you lose the entire elk!

[COOSEFAN]

How do you know if the meat is bad?

 

If it's bad, it'll smell bad or have a green tint to it. Sometimes it'll seem fine but then the butcher may decide it's not good later. I will always take the meat, even if it's questionable and keep it separated from the meat I know is good, and let the butcher decide.

[COOSEFAN]

Also, the first thing I do when I first walk up to a bull and regardless if he laid there for 1 hour or 8, I take a knife and make a cut from the back of the skull all the way to his tail. I cut the neck meat down to the bone and then along both sides of the spine and pull back the back straps to the side so you can cut under them as well. This will allow these thick areas to cool while you are taking your pictures and if done correctly you won't notice the cuts in your trophy pics. Lots of folks are afraid to make that cut down the back of the neck, but it's fine as long as you keep it straight and centered on the back of the neck. Also, make sure you or the hunter don't want the backskin rug before you do this, otherwise you'll have two halves! JIM>

[bonecollector]

A lot of great Info, thanks Coosefan.

[azhuntnut]

Years ago I was at Casey's in Flagstaff dropping off some bulls when a guy drove up with a bull in the back of his truck. He told Casey he had shot the bull the night before and had retrieved it at daybreak. Right away Casey told him the meat was probably already bad and proceeded to stick a long bladed knife into the neck meat and made a quick ten inch cut. The rotten smell instantly hit everyone that was standing in the area. He made it pretty clear that it is important to do your best to try and retrieve elk if at all possible.

I carry several flashlights and a UV light for tracking blood at night. The blood you find close to the shot should determine if tracking should be immediate or not. David