a horrible feeling. 10/24 found him.

[wawhitey]

well, today i had everything perfect to take both my first elk, and first archery kill. i completely screwed it up. the bull was so close i dont even shoot targets that close, because it seems ridiculous. listening to him breathe, smelling him, being that close for that long was incredible. he had me pinned down for at least an hour before he gave me a perfect shot opportunity. my entire right leg was numb, i was sore all over from staying motionless so long. i was using a homemade wooden longbow that draws 53# and wooden arrows weighing 528 grains topped with zwickeys. anyways, i completely screwed up this impossibly close easy shot, hit the bull much too high. the arrow only penetrated an inch or so past the broadhead. i cow called when the bull ran off. long story short he cut back around behind me trying to wind me, and started talking to me. i started talking back, and we cat and moused it up the hill quite some distance, nearly to the top. finally i got sight of him about 150 yards off, after he pretty much decided i wasnt somebody he wanted to talk to. at that time i was able to see that it was indeed the bull i shot, and the arrow was no longer sticking out of him. he seemed just fine, and he went up and over the ridge. i contemplated following him just to make sure he was okay, but i knew he was, and the last thing i wanted to do if i was able to catch up to him is shoot that longbow again. so i went back down to the scene of the crime and recovered my arrow, which is broken right below where the broadhead was. dont know if the broadhead is still in him, or if its worked out already. this has been an absolutely horrible learning experience. i will never shoot primitive gear at a live animal again. i guess i have to buy a compound bow now. in the meantime ill just take my rifle out for bear. i trust myself with the rifle

[easeup]

dang it.
I have seen elk live through much better hits than what you have described. but you never know. lets go look again tomorrow for jaybirds and crows just in case.

[Kleinpm]

I had a similar experience last year with a bull being so close it was unnerving. First encounter with a bull, first arrow released at an animal (deflected off a sapling). I shoot a 60 pound self bow with chert arrowheads on bamboo arrows. Anyway - don't blame the tackle. People make bad shots with all kinds of weapons. Learn from it and move on.

Patrick

[Rizzy]

He probably gets worse wounds from sparing. I'm shooting a 45# selfbow this season so I can somewhat relate. I have yet to fire an arrow at an animal though. If I could have thunk fast enough to give the nervous grunt while the Bull trotted between the trees at 12 yards the other day, things might have been different.

What would cause poor penetration like that? Bone?

[elk-n-walleye]

similar experience last year but with a cow on my first bow hunting experience. put an arrow into her shoulder blade. what started out as a 30 yd shot aimed at the center of the < and a little back towards the crease (ironically to avoid bone) turned into a 25 yd or less shot because I continued to move in as I was drawn and didn't think to adjust the spot I was aiming for or the pin I was on accordingly. You are right though... it is a horrible feeling that will haunt you but you will learn from it. I did.

So I agree with both the above posts: 1: that it is likely human error and you have to get right back out there. Don't let guilt, fear or any other emotion paralyze you. 2: as Easeup said, I spent the remainging few days of my hunt hunting the same area criss-crossing the area I last found blood looking for any indication there might be of a dead elk.

I know it sucks but Good Luck

[Stick]

Oh man, don't give up. I know that is how you feel right now but I'm sure you wouldn't have been out there in the first place if you weren't comfortable with your equipment. That rifle might miss fire!
Don't let YOUR FAILURE BE FINAL!!!

[wawhitey]

im letting my failure be final for the primitive gear. now i know its not really the gears fault per se, i was fully geeked, ill admit it, i think the main issues were that when he looked away and i started to draw, he was so close he heard my arrow against my bow, so he turned to look. i think that a: when that happened, i was making eye contact with him when i shot, instead of focusing on where i wanted the arrow to go, and b: i may have released before full draw, due to being afraid that he was about to bolt. (both of those diagnosis are tentative, i was running on an extremely long adrenaline rush and my memory of the shot is fuzzy at best) but that being said, i think using a compound bow, which is a bit more forgiving in many ways, that my fully geeked poor shot would have been a bit LESS poor, and more than likely would have still resulted in vitals being punctured. i just dont feel that i should continue to shoot such challenging equipment at live animals if all i did, with the easiest possible shot imaginable, was wound an animal, even tho it was an insignificant wound. what will happen when i try to take a shot that is slightly more challenging than "ridiculously simple"? could be a gut shot. i think i owe it to the elk to get a more serious weapon rather than recklessly continue wounding game just to try to prove something to myself. i have a rifle and a scope to sell that i dont use, that will pay for a compound bow. rifle season around here is out of the question, far too few elk around, very hard to find during rifle. ive spent the last few years hounding these elk in this area to figure out how to get a shot opportunity, only to blow it after all that time and effort. next time im making it count

[foxvalley]

I hate to hear you give up on your traditional gear, he would have heard you draw a compound at that close of range also, and besides, look on the bright side,you would have done much, much more damage to the animal with a compound. It's easy to miss big if you don't laser beam the spot you want to hit.I watched my bro in law miss a cow standing at 10 yds. broadside looking the other way,he forgot to pick a spot, and he shot a foot over her back.

[bowgy]

I know a couple guys who have done almost the exact same thing at point blank range with compounds. It sounds like you probably didn't do much damage to the bull, just get back out there and try again.

[Indian Summer]

Take a deep breath. There's nothing wrong with making the move to a compound. Get some elk under your belt and then maybe get back to the trad gear later.

It's nice to hear your thoughts about what the elk deserve. It's true they deserve the best we can offer to get it done right. Good man.

[wawhitey]

So I checked my bow and it was drawing way lower than it was supposed yo. I had it re strung about 1 year ago. Did the guy at the bow shop screw up or do strings on trad bows get loose? I don't keep it strung when I'm not shooting

[Kleinpm]

By drawing way lower, do you mean less poundage?

Has your bow taken any set?

There are a few things that can cause reduction in poundage on a self bow. Moisture content, set, poor tiller, and probably some things I am not thinking of right now. String length will affect brace height and brace height will affect arrow flight. Same with nock point adjustment. Lots of variables.

Patrick

[Rizzy]

The few board bows I have made ultimately lose about 7-8# of draw weight from final tiller to the 200th arrow or so. They are higher when first strung, and seem to lose a couple at the end of a practice session. I leave them strung all day while practicing to see where they will be at the end of the day while hunting. The bow I'm using now is a Hickory Mollegabet style that was 52# after final tiller and 100 grit sanding and 50# after final sanding and finish, and more shots. After shooting it in and getting my arrows tuned, it now goes between 47 and 45 pounds. It's 45 on a hot day after being strung all day and shot off and on. It's 47 for the first few shots even after being strung for a while. It feels stiffer in the mountains where it's colder, but I have not measured it to confirm. I attached a quiver to the grip the other day and it changed my point of impact a little. Some of my arrows hit way high. It took about 35 arrows to get used the weight difference in my bow hand. I'm finding out that with primitive trad gear and instinctual shooting the slightest change to my set up or form will put my arrow in a different place.

[wawhitey]

Checking cams today ive found him on two cams alive and well. He even seemed to have stolen a couple cows from the big boy.

[Fridaythe13th]

The bull is happy. Till next year. You have a bull with your name on him.

[Rizzy]

That's great! Game on next season

[twinkieman]

It's great that he made it! Also great to give you peace of mind.

[Z Barebow]

It was stated above. Hunters screw up, not the weapon. You can screw up with a compound also. So I am told

[wawhitey]

Looking at the pic on my cpu i think i was wrong about him stealing cows. Pic was oct 21st and he was hanging around what look like yearling cows. http://imgur.com/tEOzOLB

[ishy]

No doubt he's fine. The bear I took this year actually one of our group had hit high and back a few weeks earlier, he didn't show any signs of slowing down or being injured, but made a fatal mistake of coming back.
http://youtu.be/5Zau8PpRbTw