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Lessons Learned. CO GMU 521 DIY
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<blockquote data-quote="slowrunning" data-source="post: 1355535" data-attributes="member: 45968"><p>I believe you made an honest attempt to find the animal; I can't see someone making a post about losing an animal if they didn't feel good about the effort they put in to find it. Unfortunate though. I lost a deer a few years ago after making what appeared to be a really solid shot so I know how it feels so don't take this the wrong way but here are a few observations after reading your post:</p><p></p><p>1. I'm gonna guess that the difference in 400-460 yards for your load is a little over 10 inches. That's a significant amount, potentially a total miss if holding bottom 1/3 of the chest. When shooting long range, we can't guess. Without a rangefinder you may have to be prepared to let something far away... walk away.</p><p></p><p>2. I'm curious if the cow had her head in the dirt after she went down? Or did she lay down but keep her head up? How closely did you watch her when you checked to see that she was down? If she had her head up I would have kept shooting. Never seen an animal lay down limp after being shot and get back up but I've seen a bull lay down and still be looking around, made me worry that he was gonna get back up. Think maybe he was in shock or could breathe enough to live but not walk/run, idk. After reading this I'll watch for a minute or two after an animal goes down, just to make sure. I suspect that your cow laid down but wasn't hit hard enough to bleed her out. Wound clotted and when she sensed you guys coming toward her a while later she found it in her to get up and run off. Very possible she's still alive.</p><p></p><p>3. Bigger gun. Everyones got their opinion on this and people love to say that a "well placed shot" blah blah blah. But not every shot is well placed and there are enough variables when hunting that are out of our control that I think we should capitalize on the factors that are. It sounds like there was a decent amount of blood, perhaps a bigger hole and a little bit more blood would have made the difference. This year has solidified my stance on using a big gun..... </p><p> We shot a bear this year that had been shot a few days prior with a 308 in the front right shoulder (we know because CPW released that bear the same week and was there when it was shot the first time), the 308 round hit that big shoulder bone and didn't make it past that, while skinning the thing it was pretty clear what happened, looked like the round glanced off the bone and went out the front of the chest. Chewed the front shoulder up real bad, it was disgusting, but the bears vitals were all perfectly intact. He would have certainly died from the wound and been wasted eventually. He spent a few days wandering around dragging his arm in misery before we shot him; kind of ******. I'll give credit to the first person that shot him, it was a decent shot, mid shoulder, but just by chance clipped that big arm bone. If the bear was a half step further along it would have likely missed bone and hit vitals. Now I would bet a paycheck that if it had been a 230gr bullet from a 300WM instead of the 150 from the 308win, that front shoulder bone would have got obliterated and the bear would have died the first time. Maybe half a paycheck, but no one can argue the odds wouldn't be better. Anyways, ballistics are a variable we can control, I think hunters should make the most of it. My opinion for long range elk hunting is that the heavier 7mm's are the minimum. </p><p></p><p> Didn't mean to get off track with the bear story but wanted to share an experience with a bad situation that was clearly a result of a little bad luck and a too small of a gun. It happens but can be mitigated. </p><p></p><p>Anyways, convince yourself she's still out there (probably on private land now)! And analyze the critical details of the hunt that may have led to failure and remember them.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="slowrunning, post: 1355535, member: 45968"] I believe you made an honest attempt to find the animal; I can't see someone making a post about losing an animal if they didn't feel good about the effort they put in to find it. Unfortunate though. I lost a deer a few years ago after making what appeared to be a really solid shot so I know how it feels so don't take this the wrong way but here are a few observations after reading your post: 1. I'm gonna guess that the difference in 400-460 yards for your load is a little over 10 inches. That's a significant amount, potentially a total miss if holding bottom 1/3 of the chest. When shooting long range, we can't guess. Without a rangefinder you may have to be prepared to let something far away... walk away. 2. I'm curious if the cow had her head in the dirt after she went down? Or did she lay down but keep her head up? How closely did you watch her when you checked to see that she was down? If she had her head up I would have kept shooting. Never seen an animal lay down limp after being shot and get back up but I've seen a bull lay down and still be looking around, made me worry that he was gonna get back up. Think maybe he was in shock or could breathe enough to live but not walk/run, idk. After reading this I'll watch for a minute or two after an animal goes down, just to make sure. I suspect that your cow laid down but wasn't hit hard enough to bleed her out. Wound clotted and when she sensed you guys coming toward her a while later she found it in her to get up and run off. Very possible she's still alive. 3. Bigger gun. Everyones got their opinion on this and people love to say that a "well placed shot" blah blah blah. But not every shot is well placed and there are enough variables when hunting that are out of our control that I think we should capitalize on the factors that are. It sounds like there was a decent amount of blood, perhaps a bigger hole and a little bit more blood would have made the difference. This year has solidified my stance on using a big gun..... We shot a bear this year that had been shot a few days prior with a 308 in the front right shoulder (we know because CPW released that bear the same week and was there when it was shot the first time), the 308 round hit that big shoulder bone and didn't make it past that, while skinning the thing it was pretty clear what happened, looked like the round glanced off the bone and went out the front of the chest. Chewed the front shoulder up real bad, it was disgusting, but the bears vitals were all perfectly intact. He would have certainly died from the wound and been wasted eventually. He spent a few days wandering around dragging his arm in misery before we shot him; kind of ******. I'll give credit to the first person that shot him, it was a decent shot, mid shoulder, but just by chance clipped that big arm bone. If the bear was a half step further along it would have likely missed bone and hit vitals. Now I would bet a paycheck that if it had been a 230gr bullet from a 300WM instead of the 150 from the 308win, that front shoulder bone would have got obliterated and the bear would have died the first time. Maybe half a paycheck, but no one can argue the odds wouldn't be better. Anyways, ballistics are a variable we can control, I think hunters should make the most of it. My opinion for long range elk hunting is that the heavier 7mm's are the minimum. Didn't mean to get off track with the bear story but wanted to share an experience with a bad situation that was clearly a result of a little bad luck and a too small of a gun. It happens but can be mitigated. Anyways, convince yourself she's still out there (probably on private land now)! And analyze the critical details of the hunt that may have led to failure and remember them. [/QUOTE]
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