Well, what I'm told is that you get something a little better, the HEART and at LEAST one lung!!! Where that shot would be placed, look at all the LARGE Arteries coming from the heart..... Consider this picture with his head up, and you've got to get 14-15" of penetration, but if you do, he's a DEAD animal!!!
i wouldn't take that shot not what im comfortable shooting at not a big fan for shooting big game quartering towards me
On a whitetail, I would not take that shot angle. But I have zero elk hunting experience, so I don't know if this is a bad shot or not. For all I know, this could be a very lethal shot on an elk. I would be curious to know how many that answered "no" have elk hunted.
No doubt Vito that expierence Is the best teacher and I am by no means a veteran elk hunter. I have never shot an elk, actually never even shot at an elk. I've had chances In the 6 years I've elk hunted but It just didn't work out or I chose to pass for whatever reasons. I base my decisions on elk with what I've learned from my dad and others I've elk hunted with and from what I've saw on the blood trails that I've been Involved with. I've saw more one lung hit elk get away then get recovered. My dad has always told me don't push It with these things. I'll take Is word of advise over most. If I was to take an Iffy shot I'd take It on a whitetail long before an elk. These elk are something else, strong SOB's they are. These beasts can cover a mile In a blink of an eye. I don't care what anyone here does. I'm just one of those bowhunters who doesn't like to push my chances. I'm pretty cautious.
Hoty 'n' it, From my experience, 99 times out of 100 an elk will not take that extra step. When I watched the video, I recognized an elk in the process of pulling up to assess a situation (he was stopping). A split second later the arrow hit him and he spun to flee. I seriously doubt the archer would have ever had a broadside shot, period (i'm guessing the elk saw movement). That was the best look the archer was going to get (yes, spectulation on my part, but I've been there too many times). Your assessment is spot on! Now, for my analysis...this archer is both LUUUUCCCCKY and an Idiot! There was absolutely no good reason for him to take that shot given that situation. He was greedy and greatly risked wounding an incredible animal. I would be ashamed....if I were him. Bruce and Ryan, both excellent comments. Vito....me! Like Ryan alluded to. They are hard enough to kill with a perfect shot! Stunt, can I ask, have you taken an archery hunter ed class? If not, there are plenty available for new hunters in our state. I would highly recommend that you do. You will gain all sorts of valuable info. I'll give you the $10 for the fee....PM me. Let me add Steve. I hit a bull perfectly broadside. The shot was right behind the shoulder and a complete pass through. As luck would have it, I was given a second shot (I've learned to take seconds when you get em). It was a long shot...80 yards, but I took it because of the things I've seen on similar blood trails. The second arrow hit the elk in the jugular. I marked the exact location of the shot with my GPS. When I found the elk, it was exactly 3/4 of a mile away from the shot-as the crow flys. That elk was bleeding from three holes, all involving major organs and veins. "Massively tough" would be an understatement!
I agree with you on this the size of the opening in the chest is big and it is a deadley shot from head on. In the video it looked like the elk was not head on which makes this shot bad. I would not have taken that shot and I did have a similar shot last year that I passed on before the bull busted out.
Just get a Rage 2 blade with a 13 inch cutting diameter, aim for it's neck, and chop it's darn head off!
Jeff, It appear he shot that arrow from about "10 O'Clock" to the animal's "12 O'Clock", and while I posted that I would consider a frontal, the shot that guy took is NOT one I would consider, if it is as far as it appears and at the angle it looks to be. The shot on that cow, is however one that I would take. Probably a better place to gather some thoughts on it is over on Bowsite in all honesty, as there are a LOT of HARDCORE elk hunters over there.
I think the thing a lot of people neglect, when they're hunting elk or anything else for that matter, is the fact that animals do not want to die! On the contrary, they do everything within their ability to survive...like move! And let's face it, an inch can quickly become a mile, a second can become a lifetime! An elk's body is diced with Achilles' heels. However, It's also loaded with a major major amount of bone, muscle, skin, and other non-lethal tissue. Are you really that confident as to what's where-beyond the brain, heart, and lungs-to bring one down? I'm saying I'm not and I've been hunting elk for 35 years. These are awesome creatures which demand our utmost respect-especially, if we wish to continue to hunt them ( the public is watching more so than ever)! You're squatting behind a tree and have a twenty yard upward shot through an elk's soft eye socket. You have the abilty to make the shot. Hell, you shoot Xs on paper all the time! You know, with your Rage broadhead, you can bisect the elk's nervous system, lickity split. Should you take it? If the elk moves, your arrow slices through his jaw...he dies from starvation. Where's the respect? We're not supposed to judge you for your stupidity? Why not? I think there's a fine line between confidence and stupidity. I'll push that line on paper, but I'm not going to risk it on an animal. I have too much respect for them.
With all due respect, Will......whether or not "I" pass judgement on someone else's shot or not, starts and ends at "Were you 100% confident you could make the kill shot"? There are people who pick up archery that become WAY more proficient than I. And, maybe they do that in 35 WEEKS (v. years). They're no less - proficient. I won't disagree with you about taking the shot depicted. I wou;dn't. You wouldn't. But, like I said earlier......it is NOT fair for us (hunters) to cite our own limitations/shortcomings (whether real or self-imposed) to establish the moral standard for others. Actually.....this holds true for a LOT of areas in hunting. You, of all people, should know this. Did this hunter get "lucky"? I don't know. I'd have to ask him the question, above. If he looked me in the eye and said "Yes", then I'd say the remainder of the video just proves his confidence was validated. If he said "I was pretty sure I could make the shot".......I'd call him a F-ing idiot.
Jeff, The purpose of an open mind is to let in all the data..I understand that. I also understand the public is watching, and there's very little wiggle room for error. This is especially the case pertaining to elk living in Colorado (being as highly sought after and valued as they are). The fact that we are judged-everyday-gives me great concern when I see shots taken like the one presented (never mind my hunter ed instructor status). The Red Baron wasn't a great pilot per se (over 80 kills to his credit). He stood out because he picked battles he could confidently win-100% no questions asked. Shouldn't that be the approach we take when were hunting? Sidenote: I know you're answering "yes" right now. Why risk death when you know you can live to hunt another day? Should one be so arrogant as to jeopardize hunting for the rest of us? I'm surely not going to be that guy and I have all the confidence in the world! Let's man up here. Each of us knows when and where our fellow bow hunters will cut slack (Stunt had doubt, but he knew something was wrong. His thread, and the answers he's receiving, I hope solidify his position). The same can be said for the non-hunting public. You screw up taking a broadside shot under 40 yards....well that's part of hunting. You screw up taking a head shot at 20 yards...you're an "F-ing idiot". If you don't know the difference between right and wrong, then take the proper class-especially if you're going to use the internet as your stage! I'll bet you an elk hunt that archer, who took that shoot, killed his very first elk. The impetus for doing so was to capitalize on making a gutless skinning video...His confidence stopped at," I can pull my bow". It's good to have smart friends like you Jeff. I mean that.
I don't think its our own morals and limitations that we need to base it on. It is about a "moral and ethical standard". Kind of like why its illeagal to shoot roosted turkeys in most states. We as hunters have to have a right and wrong. The opinions of the non-hunting public depend on us and our actions and thier opinions can affect whether or not I get to hunt
Multiple problems with that shot imo: 1. Quartering toward angle with a huge shoulder in the way. 2. The distance means he's losing energy quickly and lot's of time for animal to move. 3. Animal alert looking in his direction. Even if the angle wasn't as hard as it looks in the video it's still hard to slip that by the shoulder into the lungs and for the record he wasn't even close to doing that if that's what he was trying. I'm not really sure what he was aiming for there. So no, having had time to review it multiple times and evaluate the situation, no I wouldn't take that shot. Having said all of that I would hate for my worst shots or bad decisions to be viewed and critiqued by all. In the field you don't get the luxury of the in depth analysis all of the time(not making excuses, just saying). He could have been caught up in the moment and let his emotions override his better judgement, I've done it. I've also made a bad shot and luckily recovered the animal (which seems to have happened here). I have lost an animal or two unfortunately, the root causes have always been my fault either in just making a bad shot or even worse "taking" a bad shot. We live, we hunt, we hopefully learn from our mistakes. Those mistakes get burned into our memory to make us a little more patient, a little more humble, a lot more careful but I'm not foolish enough to believe that a bad situation couldn't happen again. He was successful but I hope he is his own biggest critic(I know I would be), l hope when he watches that clip over again he says "I really should have held off on that one" despite the outcome.
