just rolled in from the kootenays bow season

[pupper]

well aug 31 terry and I headed off to moyie lake area to get a couple elk, we chose this area due to all the open species, any white tail, mule bucks, blacks, turkey, and any bull elk. on the way in I drew back on a doe and a black only to have them run off before i could release. but then on the other side of the valley we spotted a small herd of big bodied elk at 6000ft and got them worked up bugling. The next day we set up are packs and went for the 5 hour hike up the mountian only to find lots of sign but nothing that made the sign and no bugles.

day 3 started off nice with a stalk on the biggest dear I have ever seen in the wild. It was a huge 5x5 white tail, as i made my way through the crunchy slash it bedded down and only popped up in waist high scrub when i was 50 yds away and bolted. he always got within 70 yds and then ran a bit further. so what im trying to say is no big white tail. Later that day we both missed on a bear that was 50 yds, terry shot low and I shot just over his back. ON the road we spot a shooter black snapping his teeth and when my bow was ready he was 55 yds away on the other side of the ravine and as soon as I shot he lunged forward and got the arrow in his hind leg. Im sorry to say that this animal was not recovered and I feal horrible as we tracked the blood trail for 5 hours after letting sit for 45 mins. There was alot of blood, the biggest trail ive ever followed and then the trail stopped after 1km. we were hand and knees finding 1cm diameter drops and they just ended. we hiked 600yds in all directions looking for the bear cut could not recover it. I had a bad day.

the next day we saw a respectable 3x3 in velvet white tale. He was down a steep ravine and i guessed 30yds and my arrow went just over his back, then ran another bit and i shot 40 and again just over his back. when i range found the tree where he was it was 18yds and I was kicking myself for not taking the time to range find i was too excited and forgot to calculate the decline. we spent another few days stalking these 2 bucks with no close range oppertunitys and with seeing no more elk we decided to go closer to cranbrook where you could harvest antlerless elk. I also needed some arrows and bob from true flite gave me excellent service.

when we were driving around through some forestry road I nailed a doe
and brought it to ricks fine meets to get butchered.

the pressure was a little off now that we had some meat but still were in search of some elk. driving at night we located a herd of 20-30 in an alfalfa field (private land of course) so we planned an ambush to cut them off coming off the field onto the crown land. I started calling and I heard mews and cherps coming back we called for a bit and the herd walked by. I went over to where the sounds were and there was a big elk standing in front of me but it was just passed dusk and I couldnt see my pins and didnt know if it was legal shooting time and I didnt know if it was legal to shoot a cow in this area so i didnt shoot the elk that was dead still 40 yds from me. we played the game of trying to call the elk off private land for a few days and no luck, so we got permission to hunt the farmers land.

We scent proofed our laundry, put the elk scent wafers on, and got into position in the hilly treed area an I couldnt hear or see them anywhere so I called. way over on the other side they were mewing back so i made my way towards them and stopped when I had good coverage and to my surprise the herd was walking down the hill toward me. I hid behind a tree and got my bow ready as the calves led the cows down towards me calling and the spike bulls stood 90 yds at the top with no intent to come down. At this point being in the bush for 8 days and antlerless archery season coming to a halt I used my first elk tag to harvest the best and safest shot, a calf at 40 yds broadside. I found my calf at the top of the hill with no life left. As we deboned our meat right were a silvertip has been spotted and left some sign we were looking for eyes around us at night.

the next day we decided to get terry an animal in the same manner. Again the herd was out of sight and only a distant call would give us a glimmer of hope. Terry walked infront while i called and all the sudden we spot a cow b-lined for us in a full trot from 500yds away. when she was 200yds away she stopped and glassed the treed meadow with no sign of a calf and she ran off. I continued the calling and her calf came toward us. The cow was trying to call it back but it was to curious and when i rang found it at 38yds i told terry to take it at 40 who was just behind me and he shot a perfect arrow. The calf ran 50yds and dropped. A decent kill for terry's first bow kill ever! we then looked on the hill and saw a few turkeys walking up the hill but no sign of a beard on any of the turkeys we saw all week as a matter of fact.

So we headed home to abbotsford with some nice meat-2 calf elk and 1 wtd doe.

I will post pics tonight if someone can give me some guidance

[Bow Walker]

If you like..............email me the pics and I'll get them up for you.
Dan.

[Fisher-Dude]

Later that day we both missed on a bear that was 50 yds, terry shot low and I shot just over his back. ON the road we spot a shooter black snapping his teeth and when my bow was ready he was 55 yds away on the other side of the ravine and as soon as I shot he lunged forward and got the arrow in his hind leg. Im sorry to say that this animal was not recovered and I feal horrible as we tracked the blood trail for 5 hours after letting sit for 45 mins. There was alot of blood, the biggest trail ive ever followed and then the trail stopped after 1km. we were hand and knees finding 1cm diameter drops and they just ended. we hiked 600yds in all directions looking for the bear cut could not recover it. I had a bad day.



I'm kinda shocked that someone would fling arrows at 50 yards + at a bear. I'm not a bowhunter, but shouldn't one limit their shot distance to something less than that?

[Bow Walker]

Finally. Here ya go lil' doggy................

[Bow Walker]

I'll post the other one very soon - I gotta talk to Marc first.

[Ddog]

i 100% agree with symon, i have been a bowhunter for 14 years and have never once taken an animal at more than the 30 yard mark, i have passed on countless numbers of big game in the 40 - 60 yard mark in hopes of a closer shot. to shoot at an animal in the 55 yard mark is not even an option for me. i shoot religiously all year long and although i can bulls-eye a target at 50 yards, in the field i will not take this shot to much can go wrong (as you found out ) I am happy your partner took his first bow kill animal this season but disappointed in the long shots a first timer was taking. i do hope a lesson has been learned.
my .o2 worth..
ddog

[Gateholio]

Maybe someone shoudl start a "Little Rant About Bow Hunters Taking Long Shots" thread...

8-) :lol: :lol: 8-)

[Rainwater]

Why when they rant about it themselves?

[sealevel]

I don`t agree with simon whats wrong with a 50 yard shot with a good bow at a bear. Is simon a bow hunter. I will bet i can shoot a tighter group with my bow than a good percent of rifle shooters can of hand with your scoped rifle. How many poor shots are made by hunters with rifles that can`t shoot offhand at close distances like 50 yards . Simon when you make a bad shot and you will are you going to admit it?

[Iron-Head]

You bet I will, But there is a Allot of contradiction with the ranges that a bow is affective, Im not saying a bow isnt affective at those ranges but....- And mind you the 50 yrd shot wasnt a good one, was it? It ended up being a loss of an animal. My point is only that you should not only feel comfortable with your shots but also be sure that you are Not going to end up wounding an animal. Why not wait for the animal came closer, Or let it walk without shooting at it, and go for it another day.
Its just my 2 cents, Wether you agree or not!
Symon

[GoatGuy]

Here we go. I've seen bow hunters who can shoot accurately and have killed past 100 yrds - most hunters limit themselves to 30 or 40 when they go out after game. Depends on the hunter/shooter.

I have a feeling this thread will get carried away.

[Iron-Head]

I am oging to delete my posts, Congrats to the man for harvesing some animals and that as far as Ill go. Sorry to start anything.

[Bow Walker]

Thanks little "puppy bro'"

[Onesock]

Symon- don't delete your posts, you are correct. Most guys with a compound can hit a target at 50 yards fairly regularly. The one hitch, targets don't move. Animals do. Your arrow can be on the way and looking good but in the time it takes your arrow to get there the animal can take a step and you have a wound. Bowhunting is a close range sport gentlemen, lets keep it that way. One more thing I just thought of- bowhunting isn't about how far one can shoot its about how close you can get. As for guys shooting a hundred yards with a bow--should never happen!!!

[Bow Walker]

I am oging to delete my posts, Congrats to the man for harvesing some animals and that as far as Ill go. Sorry to start anything.
That's what is called taking the high road. Good on ya. I may or may not agree with what transpired but that's another story. Again, good on ya!

[Iron-Head]

Too late....

[jessbennett]

as a bowhunter, i always try to get as close as i can to an animal. i know i can shoot a tight group out to 60 yds. i practice from 10 yards to 60 yards almost every day. the closest ive shot animals at 10 yards and i ve shot them out to 55 yards. i prefer to shoot around 25 to 40 yards. the most important thing is to make a clean ethical kill. bottom line. congradulations on the elk. spent a week at horseshoe lake at fort steel, seen tonnes of elk but all on private land. lots ofwhitails, a few grizz(which we wont discuss, a few wolverines, turkeys(none with beards). had our coolers full of food ripped off our first night there. busted my bow sight. oh well. had fun...

[greybark]

:sad: Hey Pupper , Your partner and you had FIVE misses(one wounded) in two days .Two of the 30-40 yd ones every bowhunters nightmare. To miss and wound at 50-55 yds is just plan shooting beyond your capabilities . Participating in 3-d`s will help (providing you are honest with yourself) , However teach little about the effects of wind and heat mirage on the lighter arrows used by the modern compound bow .
:) I believe you are new to bowhunting and now have a base line to work from . We all start somewhere and make mistakes , But must realise our shortcomings , practise and apply personal discipline .

REMEMBER -- Keep Your Fingertab On --

[pupper]

well i can accuractely shoot the corner marks at a 4" group at 60 yds so i thought 50 would be no prob, especially since a bear is much bigger.
I thought I had a good shot, but mistakes happen and some people can be honest about them and others dont like to talk about it.
I have no problem in admitting the truth, and I like to tell the whole story.

the elk calf i shot was @40yds and a perfect one at that, if bow walker loads the elk that i shot you can see it the broadhead penetration.

[pupper]

i 100% agree with symon, i have been a bowhunter for 14 years and have never once taken an animal at more than the 30 yard mark, i have passed on countless numbers of big game in the 40 - 60 yard mark in hopes of a closer shot. to shoot at an animal in the 55 yard mark is not even an option for me. i shoot religiously all year long and although i can bulls-eye a target at 50 yards, in the field i will not take this shot to much can go wrong (as you found out ) I am happy your partner took his first bow kill animal this season but disappointed in the long shots a first timer was taking. i do hope a lesson has been learned.
my .o2 worth..
ddog

im shocked that you think 40 yds is a long shot.
it should be the the individuals choice and comfort level.

people even miss with rifles at short ranges so i dont think it is fair to set a standard yardage mark. but 40 yds is a pretty managable shot, I personally feel very comfortable.

[mapguy]

anyone can shoot from a distance .I've allways thought that the idea was to see how welll you could stalk and not get busted.

[Ddog]

pupper: Did i say that 40 yards is a long shot? i think not. 40 yards is a very managable shot , all i said was i have passed on them in hopes of a better shot, you are obviously new to bowhunting or at least your partner is, 55 yards is to far for a first time bowhunter to be flinging arrows at an animal, i shoot all year long and always have i can bulls-eye a target at 50 and 60 yards, this does not mean that it is ok to shoot at animals at that distance and if you continue you will lose far more game than you recover. you feel very comfortable taking these shots? i hope you have lots of money for arrows , as you already stated, in the first couple of days hunting you needed to go and buy more. So perhaps you should step back, relax and take the time for the animal to come closer or pass on the longer shots.
..............ddog

[bighornbob]

I read somewhere that an animal cant jump the string when its under 35m. Meaning that the arrow will already be in the kill zone when the animal hears the noise your bow makes when you let the arrow fly. The animal will react but it will be already too late. At 55m the animal has alot of time to move or flinch when it hear the bow shoot.

You may have a perfect shot but the animal has a chance to move becuase of the noise of the bow. As somebody has said hitting targets out to 60 it easy as they cant jump the string.

BHB

[greybark]

8-) Hey Pupper , No one here doubts your shooting skills at 55-60 yds on the range as you stated .
Target Description- Flat land
- No wind
- Paper target
- Shot many times (Mind adjusts)
Live Big Game - unknown distance
- Deceptive ground
- Deceptive foliage
- Wind unknown
- Heat mirage unknown
- Excitment
- Live Animal (only has to move 18"to wound)
8) Lots of critical differances .


REMEMBER -- Keep Your Fingertab On --

[Hank Hunter]

I think there is a difference between comfortable and competent

[Bow Walker]

DON'T TURN THIS INTO A "BASH PUPPER THREAD"........advice, opinions, options - yes, but in a friendly manner. In keeping with the ideology of this site.

[Hank Hunter]

DON'T TURN THIS INTO A "BASH PUPPER THREAD"........advice, opinions, options - yes, but in a friendly manner. In keeping with the ideology of this site.

BowWalker, I am not intending to bash anyone, I for one know the difference in sitting at the range shooting targets be it with rifle or bow and being out there trying to keep it together when looking at a fine animal. It is something only experience brings. We all make mistakes and do things we regret. So relax I am entitled to an opinion just like all on this forum.

[yote]

So we got back from our Kootenay trip and managed a nice Cow elk and a whitetail. We had a great time, made many friends and saw some beautiful country. We got our elk within the first 1/2 hour of the hunt and saw many many others throughout the week that we were there, just couldn't connect with another one. We had many great stalks, there's nothing that gets the heart pumping more than when you put a stalk on an animal when bow hunting. In the buck dept, we saw two nice whitetail deer three points and a real nice tall three point muley buck that we stalked on three different occasions, he won those rounds for this year.

The 30 degree weather took it's toll, as did re roofing the rancher's house where we stayed. Hunt till 10:30 roof till 3:30, chill till 5 and get out and hunt again. I lost about ten pounds bat had a great trip. I think we are in for many more years to come, he appreciated the help on his ranch.

[Bow Walker]

Hank Hunter? Don't get your shorts in a knot.........the comment wasn't directed at you personally, but to everyone in general.

I to, know the differences you mentioned - both with firearms and bows. I agree that those differences are immense and distracting when "in the bush".

PUPPER'S PICS
I had to post them in my gallery because it seems that I have to delete one picture in order to post another:?.

So to view them - go to BowWalker's picture gallery and look for the pics labelled "Pupper's Pics":arrow:

Sorry Justin....I'll figure it out pretty soon. I haven't given up yet.:wink:

[4blade]

sounds like some good ,open ,honest discussion,i was distressed to see in a national bowhunting magazine a vane company promoting their product with a fellow who regularly claims to kill caribou with his bow at the 100 yd mark.way to far for me ,i get the shakes too bad at any distance,elk fever i guess,i wonder if theres a cure

[sealevel]

why couldn`t it have been congrates pupper. but the first reply was to tell him how wrong it was to take the shot.----- why would you want to post your story and pic. someone will tell you the shot was to long for a 243--- or the fish wasn`t 14 lbs it was only 11---- or its not a mulie its a whitetail pupper took the shots he is happy with them and was happy with his hunt. all he want`t to do is tell about his hunt.

[shoot to kill]

Nice calf Timbit, i mean terry:lol:

[BCLongshot]

Wow !This is good dialogue. As adults we don't need to be so sensitive. We do make mistakes.As an old geezer I realize that 1. Someone should be there to teach and help new hunters and 2. The new hunter should listen from experience.They will listen usually if it's delivered properly.Confidence is needed when hunting for a good kill. It's the right thing to do.Your not going to be happy if you do get charged by a grizzly or a pissed off Bull and you can't make a good shot, rifle or bow.It is very serious business when your out there. We have an amazing province to hunt in but it can be dangerous too.I know pupper and when he says he felt bad I beleive'em and I know he learned from the experience and that is what matters. His lil' bro's and cousins will benefit from this.

[Bow Walker]

Good post BCL.........well said.

[Vader]

I learn from something I did every year.. If you never learn anything then it's time to take up cards. After 30 odd years of hunting I don't claim to know it all but I have a considerable book on what not to do. Long shots I never did mostly because of 3d experience that taught me my limit of 40 yards.
Fortunately they learned their limit without too much collateral damage. BTW I know several hunters that can and do harvest to 55 yards.. and one that won't shoot beyond 25 yards. All comfort zone stuff.
I passed on a nice 6 at 55 yards..broadside...standing..ohhh I wanted to.. but knew my limit. I would rather let 'em walk away and try again another day. I also screwed up on a 6 point at 10 yards.. I tracked him in my sights as he came over a rise and he picked up on the movement, stopping behind the only tree large enough to hide the kill zone. Had I moved when he was behind the tree he would have stopped on the same trail I was on at 8 yards. Needless to say I learned something. That's hunting.
Good onya for harvesting with your bow.. There are lots out there that got absolutely nothing..either by choice or design..and thats all part of the game isn't it...

[rocksteady]

One thing to say...Way to go pupper...:lol: