Bull shot... what happened??

[SwampMafia]

My dad shot a bull last night. Rut has been absolutely insane in 5bs. The bull was quartering slightly towards him and he placed a shot that I didn’t think could be any more perfect. Low Center of mass right behind the shoulder. I knew it was a dead elk the moment it hit. We watched him run off with the herd, heard a crash, and waited 45 minutes. We got up, walked to where he was shot, found immediate blood.... not a lot of it, and that was all we found. We had 4 guys looking all last night and this morning scouring miles and not one drop of blood last where he was shot.... and no sign of him. I am absolutely blown away.... so what happened??? Montec G5 broad head and arrow went 3/4 the way in. An update on myself.... I bugled this morning and the herd bull came flying over the hill grunting at me. He ran within 5 feet of me Right at me and I actually yelled at him to stop because I was terrified😂. He backed up 20 yards broadside and I squeezed off a shot that unfortunately was deflected by the twigs I was hiding behind. Crazy times. 

[creed_az_88]

Could you tell if the arrow passed through? Never found the arrow right? What kind of blood? 

[SwampMafia]

3 minutes ago, creed_az_88 said:

Could you tell if the arrow passed through? Never found the arrow right? What kind of blood? 

The arrow didn’t pass through. It stuck 3/4 the way into the bull. The blood was dark red in a 1 foot radius right where he was. No blood after that and we watched him run off. No blood the entire trail we followed him. 

[yotebuster]

If I had to guess he was likely quartering toward you more then you thought.  I’ve shot animals many times when I thought they were slightly toward or away from me and when I recovered them I found that it was more extreme then I thought.  Any quartering toward shot more then 5-10 degrees off from 90 degrees really requires an arrow to go through the shoulder to hit both lungs.  I would guess he caught the close lung and maybe even the very tail of the other lung.  One lung is always fatal but can take days to kill them.  The tail of the fat lung doesn’t help much either as the distal 10% of the lungs don’t have actual air space in them and they won’t collapse from a shot there which is what does the quick killing. The bull will eventually essentially drown in his own blood but you likely will have to just stumble on him to find him.  Keep looking as he’s definitely dead in there.  

[SwampMafia]

That makes a lot of sense. Any thought as to why there was zero blood to follow after the spot where he was shot?? 

[SwampMafia]

28 minutes ago, yotebuster said:

If I had to guess he was likely quartering toward you more then you thought.  I’ve shot animals many times when I thought they were slightly toward or away from me and when I recovered them I found that it was more extreme then I thought.  Any quartering toward shot more then 5-10 degrees off from 90 degrees really requires an arrow to go through the shoulder to hit both lungs.  I would guess he caught the close lung and maybe even the very tail of the other lung.  One lung is always fatal but can take days to kill them.  The tail of the fat lung doesn’t help much either as the distal 10% of the lungs don’t have actual air space in them and they won’t collapse from a shot there which is what does the quick killing. The bull will eventually essentially drown in his own blood but you likely will have to just stumble on him to find him.  Keep looking as he’s definitely dead in there.  

You would think we would have more than just a few initial drops right?? 

[Swivelhead]

Likely, the reason you have little blood to trail is the arrow apparently traveled through a large muscle mass prior to contacting vitals.  Dense muscle mass will contrict and limit external blood loss. Unfortunately, there was no exit wound to drop blood on the ground.  I suggest you & your group grid the thickest nastiest terrain in proximity to the shot.  Pay close attention to north and northeast facing slopes.  Use your gps to make sure you don't miss too much.  I agree 100% with Yotebuster concerning quartering shots and echo his experiences.  

Arrowed a buck in Colorado a number of years ago that was a quartering frontal shot at close range.  Arrow passed through the shoulder mass and split a rib perfectly on exit (1.5" two blade Magnus).  The split rib acutally stripped fletching off the arrow.  I knew it was a fatal shot.  Deer bled for 30 yards then nothing.  Area was choked with oakbrush and it took and hour of GPS gridding to find him, the deer traveled less than 200 yards.  The muscle mass contricted and the rib closed up causing minimal external blood loss.  It was a headscratching recovery.  GPS gridding is your best bet to find the animal you seek.

[CatfishKev]

I've seen many videos of people sharpening there g5 montecs because they don't come very sharp. Did he verify each one was razor sharp?  If not the blades will go through but I think the hide will stretch a bit instead of actually cutting a hole.  Think forcing your finger through one of those kids stetchy toys and when you pull it back out the hole closes up.  

[trphyhntr]

My thoughts, it’s an elk they’re tough. 

[oz31p]

I took a similar shot Friday afternoon 30 yards hard quartering to me  arrow went in low center forward all but 6inches with a grave digger. The bull went 50 and crashed never left our sight.

[MULEPACKHUNTER]

man that's a bummer, maybe next year.

[Titanium700]

I think it was quartering more than you expected. 
most likely only one lung and with the dark blood found possibly liver. 
you won’t find him nearby.....

[trphyhntr]

I saw a bull get wounded last night and then saw  another dude wound another this morning. Both were decent shots, one dude hit the shoulder looked like the other was back 

[AZLance]

this is the 3rd bull I've heard of shot by a Montec G5 and not recovered this year...

[SwampMafia]

24 minutes ago, AZLance said:

this is the 3rd bull I've heard of shot by a Montec G5 and not recovered this year...

My uncle wounded his bull last year with a G5 right in front of me. Never recovered that one either. Would a broad head really make that much of a difference? Montec G5 seems pretty standard classic fixed. Anyone got a recommendation??