Dumb interesting elk question? 🤔

[Trigger50]

Kind of a dumb weird elk question that crossed my mind lately in my endless daydreaming. Most elk I've seen hit w an arrow run off almost immediately. Yet most bull elk I've seen hit with a rifle stand there stubbornly absorbing 1 or more bullets before tipping over. I wonder why the difference in reaction ? Any thoughts? Just a dumb question to ponder.

 

[madtom]

I would say most animals shot with an arrow don’t realize they’ve been shot. They just hear a noise and maybe a pinch that spooks them. Conversely, I’d have to imagine taking a 300 wm through the ribs would make you feel bad pretty quickly.

 

[Doublecluck]

An elk that gets shot with a rifle doesn’t always know where the danger is coming from or which direction to run from what. Elk hit with a arrow usually pinpoints quickly what direction It came from due to sound and the hunter being a close distance away. Also gunshot animals absorb extreme amounts of kinetic energy which likely has a disabling effect from shock alone. Just speculation. Personally I’ve never shot a elk with a rifle that just stood there, all of them collapsed on the spot.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Bow shots happen at 35 yards rifle at 200.

I’ve shot three elk with a rifle at under 100 yards... none of them stayed put.

 

[375H&H]

Bow shots happen at 35 yards rifle at 200.

I’ve shot three elk with a rifle at under 100 yards... none of them stayed put.

The largest bull I have shot was at 30yds with my 375H&H. First shot he stood there then turned and trotted 10 yards and stopped to look at me. I shot him a second time and he trotted 20 yards and dropped.

First ever bull I shot at 40 yards with my 25.06. He ran 30 yards after that shot and died.

First cow I shot was at 40 yards with my 25.06 and she ran away and died in about 50 yards.

This is an interesting question but does seem totally random at least from my experience. The large bull I got certainly knew I was there just before the first shot as he was feeding and when I steadied for the shot I could see his eye get big and then he lifted his head to watch me shoot him.

 

[jvanhoy]

An elk that gets shot with a rifle doesn’t always know where the danger is coming from or which direction to run from what. Elk hit with a arrow usually pinpoints quickly what direction It came from due to sound and the hunter being a close distance away. Also gunshot animals absorb extreme amounts of kinetic energy which likely has a disabling effect from shock alone. Just speculation. Personally I’ve never shot a elk with a rifle that just stood there, all of them collapsed on the spot.

I think you are on to it with your first sentence . All the elk I have taken with a bow I’ve called in and stopped most with a cow call. They are on alert looking for the cow then hear the bow go off. Most long rifle shots they just hear a bang and might not know what happened till they hit the ground.

 

[Coop]

Shock. The huge impact from a bullet travelling at high speed and taking out everything in its path is much different than an arrow which will typically make a clean cut through the animal.

 

[Rzrbck918]

I think it has a much to do with the hydrostatic shock, or the absorption of energy, as anything. There is probably some truth to the animal being unable to determine location of danger as well. Ive seen mule deer and elk both not run when a rifle was fired looking everywhere around.

 

[Jape]

I think that distance probably has the largest impact. If I am walking in the woods and someone says "hey" 30 yards away vs. 200 yards away my reaction will be very different. Caveat: humans are different than animals.

Having said that, I have seen elk do some really interesting things after shots that are the same distance. I have seen them bolt immediately, stand stock still, or drop in their tracks. The shots in those situations were all in the boiler room too. I don't know.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

The shots in those situations were all in the boiler room too. I don't know.

I've never done a necropsy, but I would imagine heart v. lungs would make a difference. The only time I've hit an animal and had it instantly die is with a spine or neck shot.

 

[WyoDoug]

I once shot a buck in Area 107 in Colorado and the doe he was trailing looked back at him. Since I had a doe tag too, I reloaded and tagged out. Rifle shots don’t always scare game until they know what it is.

 

[Tony Trietch]

Half of the archery bulls I have killed have stood around long enough to catch another arrow. Maybe it has something to do with them hearing the shot or not? I think the closer shots tended to be situations where they took off for a short jog before we did introductions.

 

[Doublecluck]

I've never done a necropsy, but I would imagine heart v. lungs would make a difference. The only time I've hit an animal and had it instantly die is with a spine or neck shot.

Bullet type, bonded core bullets that pass thru an animal take that energy with them. Bullets like vld’s transfer their energy in to the animal. I have shot plenty of deer with rem corelokt/accubonds that were perfect lung/heart shots that ran 15-100 yards. Every animal we have ever shot with a vld just drops.

 

[Jape]

Bullet type, bonded core bullets that pass thru an animal take that energy with them. Bullets like vld’s transfer their energy in to the animal. I have shot plenty of deer with rem corelokt/accubonds that were perfect lung/heart shots that ran 15-100 yards. Every animal we have ever shot with a vld just drops.

That's interesting. I agree with wllm1313 that heart shots are faster, in general, but some elk just seem to go a surprisingly long distance for having a hole in their heart.

I'm gonna have to think about different bullet compositions and see if I can see a pattern over the past 10 years.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Bullet type, bonded core bullets that pass thru an animal take that energy with them. Bullets like vld’s transfer their energy in to the animal. I have shot plenty of deer with rem corelokt/accubonds that were perfect lung/heart shots that ran 15-100 yards. Every animal we have ever shot with a vld just drops.

Fair point... I'm not sure I have enough "data" to be able to make any accurate statements about bullet type v. animal reaction.

 

[WyoDoug]

I quite using Corelokts because way too many shots penetrated all the way through but unless I hit a vital didn't stop the animal and I lost too many deer and antelope that way or it took hours to trail and track down.

 

[belshawelk]

Thank you all for making my points on Energy Vs. Speed. Always chuckle with who think speed kills. its only a factor. I have made this argument on here many times. Big Buills take alot of energy espicially depending on the mood they are in.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Thank you all for making my points on Energy Vs. Speed. Always chuckle with who think speed kills. its only a factor. I have made this argument on here many times. Big Buills take alot of energy espicially depending on the mood they are in.

Oh boy...

 

[Kearnsie14]

That's interesting. I agree with wllm1313 that heart shots are faster, in general, but some elk just seem to go a surprisingly long distance for having a hole in their heart.

I'm gonna have to think about different bullet compositions and see if I can see a pattern over the past 10 years.

I shot a whitetail buck one time that ran 100 yards after the shot before tilting over and when I opened him up I saw that half his heart was blown away. I couldn't believe that he could run 100 yards with half a heart.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

I shot a whitetail buck one time that ran 100 yards after the shot before tilting over and when I opened him up I saw that half his heart was blown away. I couldn't believe that he could run 100 yards with half a heart.

Yeah, sorry if my comment was unclear... I think that if you hit an animal in the heart it will run like crazy. A double lung seems to keep them from going as far.