Tracking dogs near Grand County, CO?

[Thegreatwapiti]

I shot a cow elk this morning at 22yds. I found the arrow 200 yds away covered in blood. Been tracking for 3 hours and no blood sign or direction of travel. Anybody know a good tracking dog??

[RanchoSueno]

Start gridding down hill and towards water. Get OnX tracker going and grid tight. Hopefully you guys find her

[Swede]

An elk tries to follow the herd as long as possible then will often go upslope. I have never had one go to water. A mortally wounded animal tries to escape until it feels secure or can go no farther.

[Thegreatwapiti]

She definitely ran uphill. Still not a drop of blood
since the arrow.? I have a call into a dog team. I have no idea what to do next? She's dead.....I just can't find her.

[Swede]

You know the elk went at least 200 yards. So where did you hit it and at what angle? How long did you wait to go after her? I know of no absolute sure way to find her, but I would focus my search close by where you found the arrow if you made a lethal hit. There is a good chance she has fallen in a place where it will be hard to see her. Do not be reluctant to go higher than conventional wisdom would lead you to believe. Elk have amazing stamina and can go even when hit hard.

[Swede]

It is possible your elk has doubled back some. Don't overlook that possibility.

[Thegreatwapiti]

No luck! I'll try again in the morning! 22yds broadside. Right behind the shoulder. Maybe top half of body.

[WapitiTalk1]

An elk tries to follow the herd as long as possible then will often go upslope. I have never had one go to water. A mortally wounded animal tries to escape until it feels secure or can go no farther.

Yes, after wounded an elk will try to keep up with the herd/escape as long as it can 90% of the time until it gets too sick to continue (agree with Swede). At that point, they will bed down in most situations, and yes sometimes because of their physical state... they'll start moving downhill in between beds as they get weaker. Did you come across any bloody beds during the track today? What was the blood like, how much? Sounds like you may have hit the elk high in the lung(s) from what you explain. If that was the case, your elk could cover a good amount of real estate until she collapsed. You'll get her in the morning. Start at the last point you found blood and start tracking. Don't forget to follow the tracks as much as you follow the blood, particularly when the blood gets scarce (often times you can determine when a wounded elk is stumbling, having difficulty walking by the tracks, that will separate their tracks from others). When blood tracking, make sure you’re looking high and low (top and underneath vegetation). Good luck in the morn TGW, go get that elk!

[RanchoSueno]

An elk tries to follow the herd as long as possible then will often go upslope. I have never had one go to water. A mortally wounded animal tries to escape until it feels secure or can go no farther.

My brother shot a cow in 2020 that was liver/lung. She looped up towards the herd and double backed across her blood trail down the drainage. Liver hit animals get a fever very very quick which is why I mentioned water.

[Swede]

I believe there is no higher purpose or value in a forum like this than to try to help and encourage fellow hunters. We write our thoughts and advice based on different things. I appreciate most what fellow hunters have learned. We start off learning through reading solid material from fellow hunters, personal conversations then finally through our own experience. I try to share what I have observed. I have been a prolific reader, so I have gathered some from magazine articles and books. Ultimately, I usually fall back on my own experience and just write about that. There are two words I rarely use when it comes writing or talking about hunting. These two words are "Never" and "Always".
Rancho, I can't say Greatwapiti's elk did not go downslope to get a drink. Based on what I know, I can't even say that the drinking place for the elk would have been downslope. What I was trying to point out is that based on my experience there is no reason to think the elk went that way.
I do not know much about the situation Greatwapiti is dealing with. He has told us very little. He has followed up his first post by telling us that the arrow hit high right behind the shoulder. Based on that I would say we do not need to discuss the effects of a liver shot. It has been my experience that a liver hit elk will bed down close by and stay there if left for a couple or three hours. If you push them too soon recovery will be difficult at best.
Was the cow alone or with a herd? Did the cow have a calf? How long did the hunter wait before chasing after the elk? Is the area full of fresh elk tracks or very few? How high up was the blood splattered branch. Was it close to where the cow was located when she was hit? It would be odd if it was spraying out later.

Based on what we have read, I believe Greatwapiti would get very little blood to follow. The elk will bleed out inside. Arrows kill by causing massive hemorrhaging. With a high hit as described, the hunter should have waited two or three hours to let the elk bed down and die. The farther the arrow hits from the heart or a large artery, the longer it takes for the critter to die. The Greatwapiti's hit will be fatal if it was where we were told, but death probably took a while. If the elk was pushed too soon it would likely, try to escape making recovery very difficult.
I have known of hunters thinking they had a great hit on their elk, but in fact they completely missed. We take things we read like this situation with a little salt as hunter's can be honestly mistaken. I will share what I know or believe on that same basis. Take it with a little salt. I could be mistaken. What I am sharing is what I have observed. Best wishes to Thegreatwapiti.

[Thegreatwapiti]

I gave up on my search!
The cow came in to a field with a raghorn bull following close behind. ...it was 6:30am. I couldn't tell if the bull was legal (needs 4 points on 1 side) so I decided to take "the bird in the hand." She walked into an opening at 22 yds and I let fly. As I said, I thought the arrow hit her behind the shoulder and slightly above mid body. She turned back and ran about 100yds through the field and then took a hard left.....uphill and away from the water. I made a mental note of what tree she exited the field near and made a mental note of the time....it was 6:37.
I was so confident in my shot that I texted my 84 year old dad back in the Midwest and relayed that I just shot a cow (lesson learned!).
I waited in my stand for 45 minutes and at 7:20 I went to "retrieve my arrow." To my surprise, I couldn't find my arrow? I double checked my shooting line, looked again for my arrow and decided to just "follow the blood." Again, I was shocked to not see any blood so I thought I will just follow her path through the tall grass until I find blood....nothing! I walked the 150 yds the elk had covered and not a drop? I was totally baffled! I went to the tree I saw her run past and there was a clear trail leaving the field. I walked up that trail another 50yds and there was my arrow, laying on the forest floor! It was a total fluke that I found the arrow at all! I shot her on the right side of her body and the arrow was on the left side of the trail. I believe it was clear that the arrow passed through. That picture with blood on the branch is at the arrow site and could easily be transfer from the arrow falling out.
From that point forward, I found nothing. No blood. No evidence of travel direction. Nothing. I spent 8 hours looking for her. I got out OnX and gridded the mountainside. I used pink tape to mark the location of the arrow and line up with likely trails. I crawled on the forest floor for hours with my magnifying glasses. I called and reported my kill to a national bloodhound organization to attempt to hire a tracker. I have shed tears and been over every "what if scenario. " The forest is covered with blowdown and she could literally be anywhere!
This happened on my 11th day of hunting and a total of 14 days sleeping in a tent. I left camp by 4:45 every morning and went to the same location. I didn't see an animal for 10 consecutive mornings but still got up and gave it hell on morning #11. I have no regrets! I gave it 100% for as long as I could. I believe that elk is dead. I believe I made a good shot. I believe I worked really hard. No regrets!

[Swede]

I believe I worked really hard. No regrets!

No regrets are needed about all of your efforts. You did all you could do. I have been down the same road you just traveled. Unfortunately, I have experience there too.

[WapitiTalk1]

It happens Todd. ALL of us have been there and you did your best to recover the elk. I think you hit that elk high which may explain a lot. Next time remember that the “<“ or the “>” as an ultimate aiming point, depending on the facing direction of the Wapiti, and you can’t go wrong. Best of luck with the rest of your season.

[>>>---WW---->]

Sounds like a high hit and she will bleed out internally. Thus, the reason for no blood trail. I had the same thing happen to me on a 5x6 bull a few years ago. A few weeks later during the first rifle season another hunter stumbled on to my bull and took me to it. All that was left was a bunch of scattered bones, lots of hair, and my arrow. The birds, bears, and coyotes had a feast. Nothing goes to waste in nature.

Sorry for your loss and better luck next time. Things just happen to all of us at one time or another.