Taking A 2nd Shot At An Elk!

[ElkNut1]

This was talked about not long ago. Check out this video clip & you'll see when the opportunity arises that Yes I will take a 2nd shot when presented!



ElkNut1

[welka]

Heck ya. All day Elk are way too tough to not put another arrow in if you get the chance and that includes from 50-70.

[WapitiTalk1]

Sweet footage Paul (was that Paul Jr. filming?). I was kind of hoping to see you clench a knife in your teeth, creep a bit closer to the edge of that rock outcropping, and dive onto that bull's back with a rebel yell! Yes sir I agree, a second arrow is always wise if you have the opportunity.

[Swede]

In 1994 I got back to camp one evening. A friend was already there, and was excited to tell me he had shot a nice bull. He had looked for it briefly before dark, but was not able to find it. To make a long story short, he had made what he thought was a good shot. The bull took a few steps and just stood there several minutes facing away from him. He decided another arrow was not necessary, and the bull would soon go down. The bull didn't go down. We looked for it for two days and never found hide nor hair.
That same year I killed a 5X5 bull that I shot twice. It still went over 200 yards with one arrow still in it. Two years later I shot one 5 times. It never moved after the first shot. Finally it fell over ruining all of the aluminum arrows still stuck in it. Every arrow was lethal, but I wanted the insurance. Keep shooting as long as the elk is standing and you have arrows. What I lost by shooting more than once is a lot less than I gained, and even more than I could have, if the elk was lost.

[welka]

Swede said it perfectly. My buddy and I shot two bulls within 2 minutes. Mine was lucky with only one arrow. We put 4 in my buddies. He put three in (two in vitals) and I finished him off - or so I thought. When we got up to it, it was still alive and then the guide ran up and stood on top of the bull and kept shoving the last arrow in and out. Three arrows in the vitals and still allive. Crazy ordeal. He called us the "most arrow flinging MFers he has ever seen". Had a dead bulls and laughed our tails off. Don't qut shooting until you can stick a stick in their eye to confirm. Good luck!

[WapitiTalk1]

I have one example of when launching a second arrow was not the best idea in a certain situation. To make a very long story, very short, I had told a newer elk hunter I took out to always put a second arrow in an elk if he got the opportunity. I called a bull right over the top of him and he shot once at 20 yards, broadside.. the bull bolted and I stopped him with a scream. My friend launched a second arrow, at a distance of around 35 yards, and smacked the bull right in his right butt cheek, a bit off to the right of his bee hole. Once the herd busted and all was quiet, I found out that my friend had hit a branch on his first shot and completely missed the bull (shot over his back). That second arrow should have never been launched and certainly, not at that spot on the bull. I "clarified" my second shot recommendations to my friend on that Washington hillside... The arrow fell out of the bull, intact, after about 75 yards and although sore as heck, I'm sure he lived on.