good points, getting the animal cooled is a biggie....its really tough with elk. Every elk I've shot has tasted great, but the year before last one of my friends shot a 5x5 on the last day. I didn't see the bull in the field. I talked with him on the radio he was about 2 miles from me, further away from camp. I asked him if he though we could get the ATV's to the bull and he said yes. So I went back to camp, I told him to gut it and get it in the shade and then head back to camp.

We grabbed something to eat at camp and he said he was going to run out with the ATV and see if he could get there. He showed up about 4 hours later with the elk quartered out and bagged. I don't know the whole situation if he gutted it, got it in the shade, propped it open or what, but that elk tasted like crap. I've never had one that tasted like that and I've left one overnight, gutted and propped it open, it was cool enough and I was 3 miles down in a steep canyon. The dog got to eat alot of the meat that he gave me...lol, good thing I didn't get much of it....

dave

 

man, u sound like a pro bow shooter, lol
great pics. and nice stories.

 

Actually I used to staff shoot for both PSE and Diamond for 3D....thats why my distance guessing is on par. I actually shot a cow elk last year on the last day, last evening, at a tad over 80 yards, perfect shot, a few inches behind the crease half way up....she went 5 yards....was still standing there, I moved up to 55 yards and shot again and she was done...I had a bull in the herd bugling, but it was almost dark....never took a cow before, always bulls....cow meat is pretty good....I could have shot numerous bulls during the season, just didn't get a shot at one that i wanted...

 

It's funny how some meat can be so bad tasting. Did he say if the elk ran after it was shot? If so, for how long? I wonder if it had a lot of hormones running through it due to an adrenaline rush[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img] Also, what is the main food choice where your at? Where we hunt, they try to make it to the alfalfa field. Other wise, it's grass and the likes.

 

80 yards is some darn good shooting. We would practice out that far[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] My kills range from 28 yards to 51 yards[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] average is just over 40 yards.

 

80 yards was a long shot, my other elk I've shot at approx. 8, 18, 20, 33 and 45 yards....

I've taken some good deer from 30 - 55 yards...

a bunch of other animals, most shots are pretty close and normally I wouldn't take an 80 yard shot, but i was guessing the whole time because i thought the bull was going to step out....and it was the last night of season....

I haven't had a bad tasting elk, but my friend had one, but since I didn't see him shoot it, i'm not sure what happened after the shot or exactly where he shot it....

dave

 

80 yards is definately reaching out there and touching someone[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

on the range, my groups at 80 yards with 5 arrows is usually 5 inches or less....so I'm not uncomfortable shooting that distance if I am sure what the distance is....I do have a laser rangefinder, but rarely use it....

one other distadvantage to shooting at longer distances is that you lose penetration....I in most cases use mechanical heads, elk included....i've shot them with fixed blades before, but they lose even more energy at longer distances from my testing....but when you lose mechanicals, you not only have multiple blades, i use a 3 blade for most, they lose alittle opening and the chisel point loses alittle more....when I shot the cow at 80 yards, i hit her perfect behind the shoulder, the arrow didn't go all the way through, it hit the ribs on the opposite side and slowed it down, if I remember it poked through, but didn't pass through....when i shot her again at 55 yards, it was a complete pass thru...

alot of people say to use cut-to-the-tip broadheads for elk....sure, they work good and penetrate further and can punch through bone also better....but....they generally have a 1" cut path, where on something like the 100 grain spitfire, it puts 3 cuts out to 1.5".....the results are amazing....the animals go down fast ....

 

That's some nice grouping[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] When bow hunting, I think all bow hunters need to know their comfort zone when they shoot. That's the only way you can "ethically" shoot at game and know you are putting your best shot out there, first. In Oregon where we hunt, it's illegal to shoot mechanical broadheads. I shot Muzzy 100s. Been real happy with my results[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

I've used the muzzy's before, still have some here...but prefer the thunderheads when doing fixed blade....too bad you can't use mechanicals, the put an awesome wound channel....