AzDiamondHeat Report post Posted December 7, 2016 Was up in 6b helping a young friend on his very first elk hunt (never even SEEN an elk before). Shot a cow at about 10 this morning. Felt it was a good hit but wasn't sure. Found her tracks and located a few speckles of blood. Followed the tracks for awhile with limited to no blood. After about 2 miles(yes 2 miles) blood speckles stopped, but I was still able to follow the tracks. After another mile and a half we lost the tracks over rocky outcropping up a very steep hill. searched a bit and picked them back up on the other side of the mountain. A couple hundred yards down the other side I found her. 3.6 mile track and recovery. just over 3 hours. Now the crazy part. He shot her perfect with a 168gr 308 Winchester(store bought). Double lung. The bullet never expanded. It was crazy. Crazy. 9 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hoghntr Report post Posted December 7, 2016 You sure one of her friends didn't carry her away and then just get tired and drop her? 😕 I have had the non expansion thing happen and it sucks! Good tracking and congrats on the recovery 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Allforelk Report post Posted December 7, 2016 We tracked a cow from the East side of Red Knoll to where she dropped off into Sycamore. She was shot by a dirtbag, who has never been invited back to our camp, on the last day of the hunt with 15 minutes remaining of legal shooting light. He pulled a 60 yard, offhand shot and nicked the femoral artery. We tracked until 4:30 in the morning when we lost sign. Went back to camp, ate hot dogs and slept until 6:30. When we went back to the spot where we quit, we followed the coyotes to where they had harassed her off of the edge. We had to rig ropes, semi repel down about 60 feet to the ledge where she had landed and discovered she was still alive. I handed this guy my 686 and he finally put an end to it. We had to trim down the brush to make a lane so the anchor on top, my father, could row the quarters up with us pushing from behind. A misplaced step by my uncle had him falling backwards onto a freshly cut 45 degree stump. A can of Copenhagen might have saved his life but left a wicked target shaped bruise. We used way points on the available GPS unit at the time and marked it against maps. Without accounting for the zig-zags she pulled, she traveled just under 12 miles. Edit: I should point out that this was a late cow hunt in Unit ?. My 686 was on my hip when I was younger and in the woods😎 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lancetkenyon Report post Posted December 7, 2016 Fantastic job on sticking with it and finding the cow. That is awesome. I have tracked for over 3 miles before too. It sucks having to go that far, but retrieving the animal is #1. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHT_MTNMAN Report post Posted December 7, 2016 I shot a bull at 7:45 am and spent all day tracking and put a finishing arrow in him at 6:30pm. Occasionally found blood but most was by his tracks...well over 4 miles and 4 or 5 roads, (bumped him one time, buddy kept getting the truck and bringing it closer..) Crazy thing is that it was one full lung and clipped the second lung. ( steep angle) I'll never doubt the toughness of elk... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dse Report post Posted December 7, 2016 I went a little over 5 miles one time helping a friend. Took around 7 hrs but recovered the elk. Lost the tracks once in a place where cows had trampled over the trail. Got back on track by checking under cedar trees and finally found one with a bed and fresh blood. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Allforelk Report post Posted December 7, 2016 I shot a bull at 7:45 am and spent all day tracking and put a finishing arrow in him at 6:30pm. Occasionally found blood but most was by his tracks...well over 4 miles and 4 or 5 roads, (bumped him one time, buddy kept getting the truck and bringing it closer..) Crazy thing is that it was one full lung and clipped the second lung. ( steep angle) I'll never doubt the toughness of elk... I agree on the toughness. The crappy shot resulted in her being 3 legged with a drag. I learned how to sift out tufted pine needles and pinpricks of blood on dry ground. I will say that a white gas lantern will be on every hunt I go on until we are robbed of the opportunity. It showed a weird level of detail I couldn't see in darkness with a propane lantern or 90's era flourecent lantern. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snapshot Report post Posted December 7, 2016 Never had an animal go more than 75 yards. Yep. I'm that good(lucky). Lol. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stanley Report post Posted December 7, 2016 My son made a poor shot on an elk on a Jr. hunt in New Mexico several years ago. (Amanda was actually on that hunt helping us..... Was super fun!) Anyway, in that instance he hit it forward in the chest/brisket. The elk was sick enough that it wanted to keep lying down, but was not bleeding enough to die quickly. We played cat/mouse with the bull for about 4 hours in heavy timber before my son finally got a chance at a finish-up shot! I remember my father's words many years ago; "You do NOT want to be trailing a wounded elk! They are VERY tough animals!" Those words kept ringing in my ears while we were trying to finish off the bull.... My father said that back in the 70s while hunting in unit 1, a buddy of his shot and wounded a bull close to Vernon on the NW side of Green's Peak. They finally ended-up killing the bull over on the flats close to Springerville two days later. Not sure how far that is to track an animal, but it was a long way! S. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AzDiamondHeat Report post Posted December 8, 2016 I thought my track was long but DAAAAAAANG. Some of you guys have way better stories about bad shooting than my story....lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest akaspecials Report post Posted December 8, 2016 I've never had an animal go farther than few hundred yards. But I respect your guy's determination to do the right thing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AzDiamondHeat Report post Posted December 8, 2016 I shot a bull at 7:45 am and spent all day tracking and put a finishing arrow in him at 6:30pm. Occasionally found blood but most was by his tracks...well over 4 miles and 4 or 5 roads, (bumped him one time, buddy kept getting the truck and bringing it closer..) Crazy thing is that it was one full lung and clipped the second lung. ( steep angle) I'll never doubt the toughness of elk... Not bad....for a dentist. lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ernesto C Report post Posted December 9, 2016 10 ft. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
muleybowhunter Report post Posted December 10, 2016 i heard about this from a guy up there, he was happy you guys recovered her, was the shooter shooting a ar platform? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AzDiamondHeat Report post Posted December 10, 2016 i heard about this from a guy up there, he was happy you guys recovered her, was the shooter shooting a ar platform? Yes he was. The whole time we thought he made a bad shot, but he aced it. The guy with the two kids gave me a ride back after I found her. I was beat and really appreciated it. Do you know if they were successful? They were nice guys. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
