NEVER...EVER shoot an elk... More Pics added

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in the scapula.

It's that time of year when every thought centers around elk hunting...and where to shoot them and what to avoid. Come on season!

Of course, we all are concerned about penetration, am I shooting "enough", quality of blood trails, etc. etc. You can pretty much pick your own problem to worry about.

In 2005 I had been concentrating on shooting a big mule deer and was into them everyday. There were some dandies and I had  misssssssseeeeeed one of the biggest bucks on the mountain.  Talk about heart break ! But that is a whole 'nother story.

I was distracted daily by the elk bugles that drifted up out of a tricky aspen pocket that I know holds some great bulls.  Elk are not always in there but when they are, the bulls tend to be larger than average.  One year I saw a bull that was pushing the magical 400 mark...but that too is another story.  Another 10-15 seconds of a steady wind and he could have been mine.  But that is why I think the smarter and older bulls hang up in there, seemingly constantly shifting winds.

Anyway I was committed to the bucks but I just had to stick my nose in that pocket one afternoon.  I had gotten back to the truck and had to have lunch...so it just made sense to peek into that pocket while eating my sandwich...right?

It didn't take long to see the owner of the bugles that I had been hearing for several days.  About as nice a six point one could want, nice balance, plenty beamy and long enough, perhaps about 330 ish.  Ah well, not to worry, I am a deer hunter this year.

Driving in Rifle, Colorado that evening I avoided places that sold elk tags and ended up at the local market.  I didn't make it out of there before I saw the sign...Hunting Licenses Sold Here.  I rolled over, spent the $500.00 and then looked at the price of gas, $3.29.  Darned expensive trip to town when I could have held out for another couple of days.

In the dark the next moring I am walking above the pocket trying to get into another little draw that I can follow down to the creek and hopefully get into the bottom of the pocket without getting caught by all the noses.

Crossing over the shale face I am making some noise but I think I can get away with it.  An aggressive bugle comes up from the bottom...did he think I was another bull coming in from the top?  While it was still dark enough I pushed pretty hard and fast because I didn't want to get caught out on that mostly bald knob.

Another bugle, this time closer...lots closer and he is pissed! Coming on hard and just growling like they some times do.  I haven't seen a bull that wired up for five years, maybe longer.  I finally make it into the top of the draw and he has been following/chasing me all the way there.

Its now light enough to shoot and I have a good set-up.  A soft cow call brings him right in and I get a quick look before he disappears...a very, very nice 5 point.

Then out of the cover bust a cow with him literally right on her tail.  She is ready to breed and he is only focused on getting the job done.

Immediately I lose all resolve to take the bigger bull I had seen and decide to take this one.  Easy pack, a "gimmie" and I can get back to deer hunting, yada, yada, yada.

My 550 gain arrow some how flys higher than I want...CRAP...right in the scapula! How did that happen?  The arrow rocks the bull but amazingly enough he stands there, nose glued to her butt and 5 seconds after the first arrow the second one takes him through both lungs and he piles up in 50 yards.  

Talk about a lucky, lucky guy and a very unlucky elk.

You can see from the photos I believe in cutting back the Wensel Woodsman.  You might get away with good penetration on edge of the bone but any where close to the center its just not going to happen.
 

 

 

So, other than the obvious lesson what do you think would have been the out come with a different broad head?

Has any one ever taken a mature elk and punched through the center of the scapula with any set-up?

Have a great bow season...and try to remember to aim for the top of the heart!

Bob

[dposalski]

Wow, great pic Bob.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Hey Bob,

Great story, and you are a lucky man to get a second shot like that...i'm new to trad myself so i can't speak from experience, but a bunch of guys pointed me towards Dr. Ashby's studies and reports. this guy has gone to great pains studying penetration of bones with different style broad heads...he's got his own sight here on trade gang down the list from Pow Wow on the main forum menu.....I would take the time to read everything he's written....i have, and its good stuff....i would ditch the 3 blade heads and go to a 2 blade with a heavy FOC...the average trad bow doesn't have the power to split the ribs of an elk with a 3 blade head. according to Ashby's reports to penetrate the scapula of an elk you would need some serious weight on that arrow along with a single edge, two blade broad head.....even then ....that's an iffy shot with any bow.....Good job on the elk!!!! a man need a little good luck sometimes....I'm going after elk this Saturday with my long bow on the coast....saw two today setting up camp..... Kirk

[smiley]

Great story I am going to use that tip of not hitting the shoulder I hope.Going to N.M.  in three weeks

[the Ferret]

Excellent Bob, congrats on the elk, and the really neat photos too!

Yep bones is tough..and you hit the "weak" part of that one.

Back in the wheel bow days a buddy shot one just like that with an 82# compound. Got the same amount of penetration. Don't think there is a combo out there that would shoot thru THAT bone on a mature bull elk.

[Mike Orton]

Bob,

The memories of that adventure and that scapula bone are quite the trophy.  I'd be tempted to mount just that scapula on the wall and let people ask the inevitable...

[Shakes.602]

Aint  THAT  a Bummer? All the Elk was doing was Get Some, and  WHAMO!!  He Died with a Hard....Time!!  :rolleyes:   Makes ya wonder, doesnt it?  :D    

[Bill Carlsen]

Charlie Lamb posted a picture over on LW a while back of a moose scapula that was shattered (if I remeber correctly) with an aluminum arrow and Magnus head. Still have the pic, Charlie?

[wingnut]

I had a couple of situations like this over the years.  One exactly like that except he didn't hang around for the second arrow.  And one on a cow that I hit behind the shoulder on the near side and penetrated 3" out of the scapula on the far side.  It was with a heavy mechanical bow and a heavy arrow.  There is no way I could get it through with traditional equipment.

Mike

[Flesner]

Good job putting that second arrow where it need to go.
A guy tends to get rattled after a shot like the first one a blow the next one, (or two, or three).
Congrat's

[SlowBowinMO]

Good post!

I've had a few shoulder hits over the years, all but one had a happy ending although I try hard to avoid it.

I don't get to hunt elk, but if I do ever hit anything in the shoulder again I sure hope I've got a Grizzly on my arrow.

[BamBooBender]

NEVER...EVER shoot an elk... in the scapula.

Unless you're packin a .375 H&H.      

Congrats on the bull,good story and pics. Glad you got to put in a quick finisher.

[Reynold Greenleaf]

Great post, Bob!

Grant

[Plumbob]

That is lucky. That Scapula alone is a trophy..er reminder?

[6 POINT]

Just for grins I shot a grizzly 160 into a fresh ( killed the day before) bull elk scapula. Bow weight 55 lb Black Widow PSAV arrow Axis 340 total weight 590  gr. Went through the scapula and into 18" of wet clay before stopping. Did the same test with a 43lb Widow only went into the clay 8". From that I guess if you use enough bow and a good versus poor broadhead scapula penetration is no problem. Why you would want to shoot them there is another story. Frank

[sabas silva]

Hello Bob, this is a great post interesting readingthis story especially things gone wrong and ends up well in the outdoors.Thanks

[mobiltoy]

Great story.  I have put a magnus 2 blade through a scapula with a 65# brakenbury and a 575 gr woodie.  The shoot went through the chest to the off side shoulder and stuck out about 4 inches.  I wouldn't want to hit the shoulder but I think a 2 blade would work better with all things being equal.

[Sharpster]

Nobody intentionally shoots for the scapula.

Bob's photos should remind us all just how close to the vitals the scapula is. I think the photos show the bone upside down (correct me if I'm wrong).  Just a couple of inches difference in shot placement could have made a huge difference.

Again, not implying that Bob is a poor shot, just saying that arrows don't always hit precisely where we want them to and a couple inches high, low or back can make a relatively good shot bad.

Moral- Practice, Pratice, Practice, and as Bob points out himself-"Aim for the top of the heart". If you hit a little high you get both lungs, if you shoot a little low -clean miss.
Either is preferable to wounding and loosing an animal.

Good job with the follow up shot Bob.

-Sharps

[Mark U]

I've hit a few elk there, and the usual result is an elk taking off with the arrow waving around with little penetration, and if you find the arrow it will be minus the broadhead.

The one time I got through was back in the mid nineties.  I think I had about a 70# longbow and was using carbon arrows with a magnus 1 two blade, the real wide one.  It was a 5x5 bull that came running by while my son and I were eating lunch and I just had enough time to pick up the bow and shoot as he stopped for a second to look at us.  We watched him tear down the trail for 75 yards or so, then into the timber and out of sight.  Absolutely no blood on the trail.  When I found him, three YEARS later, the skeleton was piled up about 400 or 500 yards from where I shot him, and he was down in a deep hole in a brushy area.  The arrow had made it far enough to get one lung, I would guess, and had pretty much center punched the scapula, just off to the side of the ridge.

Now I try to keep the arrow low and behind the leg.  If you hit a little high, it's still lungs but behind the shoulder.  For the last five years I've used the WW's, and they seem to work just fine, especially for the shots around the edge of the vitals.  That would include two cows and three bulls.

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I think the photos show why I decided to take this elk. You can hunt long and hard to find a better one...and, frankly I am a sucker for any good bull  

 

 

Here is some thing to consider when hunting elk and moose...

Without a doubt you may get better penetration in BONE with a two blade head but does that automatically translate into better odds for animal recovery?

The good news is I am leaving Thursday to go elk hunting in a new spot!

Saw this ram...if I could only draw a tag!

 

Have a great season everyone!

Bob