Over night?

[Elkhunttoo]

What is everyone's thoughts on leaving elk overnight on evening shots?

I know I always want to make that "perfect" shot but things do/can happen. 6-7 years ago I hit i bull a bit far back and we left him for the night. The meat all smelled fine and I ate that whole elk, but I always thought it kinda had a funny taste, didn't know if that was from the shot placement, how long the bull was alive after the shot, or hours until butchered... or a combination, in just wondering what others think on this topic, I'm hoping I never have to leave one again but things can happen

[otcWill]

I've left many overnight; usually because we weren't sure of the hit. I've never lost any meat or detected any difference in these bulls and have left them in temps up to 40 degrees. That said, there are several guys on here who's opinions I respect who will say just the opposite so I do believe there is no definite answer. If I think an elk is dead, I won't leave it but if it may need time on a marginal hit, its a no brainer and has never bit me.

[saddlesore]

Ask yourself if you would buy beef that a slaughter house killed the day before and let it lie on the ground to be butchered the next day?. I guarantee ,once you come upon sour meat , you will remember that smell and taste ( if you get that far) the rest of your life.
Once the elk hits the ground ,it is no longer a wild animal . It is meat ,and to have the best eating from that meat, you process it quickly,get it cooled out and take every step necessary to insure it's quality. Even with snow on the ground, the bottom of the elk that is on the ground can sour quickly ,especially the neck with all that mane.

If you can't do that perhaps a person needs to rethink their shooting/tracking ability late day.If it's dark when you find you kill, you need to have the right equipment to process it in the dark.

No matter what time of day, when I drop the hammer on an elk,I need to know that I have the highest confidence that it will be a quick killing shot.That should be true if you are using a center fire rifle, a muzzle loader or archery equipment.

[Tigger]

to me, dark shouldn't play a big role in the plan of recovery. If you shoot it, you can stay up late and find it is my motto. If you lose the trail because of darkness that is one thing, but to just decide to go get a good nights sleep at the risk of the meat spoiling is another (I know you weren't suggesting this).

Buy a decent headlamp and quartering them in the dark isn't a big deal. Just take your time and do the job right.

[Lefty]

Ask yourself if you would buy beef that a slaughter house killed the day before and let it lie on the ground to be butchered the next day?. I guarantee ,once you come upon sour meat , you will remember that smell and taste ( if you get that far) the rest of your life.
Once the elk hits the ground ,it is no longer a wild animal . It is meat ,and to have the best eating from that meat, you process it quickly,get it cooled out and take every step necessary to insure it's quality. Even with snow on the ground, the bottom of the elk that is on the ground can sour quickly ,especially the neck with all that mane.
If you can't do that perhaps a person needs to rethink their shooting/tracking ability late day.If it's dark when you find you kill, you need to have the right equipment to process it in the dark.
No matter what time of day, when I drop the hammer on an elk,I need to know that I have the highest confidence that it will be a quick killing shot.That should be true if you are using a center fire rifle, a muzzle loader or archery equipment.

Dead on

Unfortunately that lesson is all too often learned the hard way. My father in law insisted the meat would be fine on my daughters moose. temps were in the low 20's we found the bull at sunrise and soured 60lbs of meat ( made for great dog treats) .
My daughter doesnt even want to come in the house when were cooking moose, she can identify moose meat raw or cooked.

Get on it when possible, and get the hide off and the meat cooled.

The neighbor that has butchered our moose said everyone looses meat on a moose if they dont pull the hide

[Roosiebull]

I will avoid letting one sit all night at all cost. My bull last year was the only one for me, and I think he died after midnight by the quality of meat.

Elk are big and hold lots of heat, it's risky at best to leave one overnight. I have seen one left over night, and he lost about half of that bull.

I have had a few pack outs that didn't end until 6 or 7 the next morning, those ones are rough, but it was my choice to pull the trigger at last light, so it's my responsibility to get it out if the woods without spoilage

[Swede]

In September an elk that is killed in the evening, right before dark, will start to spoil by daybreak. You May be able to salvage the meat, but you need to get on it fast.
We kill most of our elk in the afternoon/evening. Twice we have not found them in the night and had to get help for a first light morning search. Both elk were butchered and taken in to the cooler. Both times the butcher could smell the decay, but it was not too bad. One elk was mine and the other belonged to a friend. My elk was still good, and I think the other was ok too, but he lost a little meat.
Another rifle hunting friend lost his elk that he shot in the snow. It too was hit in the evening and was found the next morning. I am not sure just how late in the morning it was recovered as I was not on that hunt. That elk was a total loss.
I was at the butcher shop when an elk was brought in that had been out all night and not butchered. The butcher would not let the bull be brought in. It was spoiled. It was about 10:00 AM when that critter showed up at the butcher shop. It was about 10:05 when it left.
The point is that leaving a whole elk out overnight is Risky! The quicker you can get on it the better.

[Elkhunttoo]

On this bull I told about, as I said, it was a poor shot ... all I got was liver... I shot him with an hour of shooting light left and over 2 miles from camp (believe me, I have spent countless hours coming out of the mountains in the dark. With my work schedule all I usually get is the evenings to hunt for the last 13 years and so I plan every time I go on coming out in the dark) if the shot would of been good, I had plenty of time. I stayed until dark listening for any sound but knew I had to give him time. The night was miserable, toss and turn all night reliving the shot over and over. We were back on the blood trail before daylight and he went over 800 yards...it took us until about 10 to find him the temperature that night was 27 degrees at 10 pm and I think he unfortunately lived several hours into the night and it would of done us no good to start any sooner....mainly I'm just wondering on meat taste for those that have had to leave one? (And just coming up with something for us to chat about )

As for making good shots before dark, I am very passive when it comes to pulling the trigger. A few years back I had a rifle tag and I watched a group of bulls for the last two hours (about 200 yards away, one decent bull in the group) of shooting light and never even though about shooting one because I was about 5 miles in and had to be at work at 6 the next morning

[Elkhunttoo]

We were typing at the same time Swede, I agree the quicker the better always...and for your information, this was from a tree stand

[ishy]

My first bull was shot right at dark, no clue on the shot placement and didn't find any blood or arrow that night. End of September with temps in the 70's during the day. He died quickly and it was in a River bottom so pretty cool and found around 7-8 after the sun was up. Every ounce was great. I am not promoting leaving anything over night if at all possible, but my bull was fine.
You have heard my talk about Blue Star before and this stuff is great at night. Some one on here just needs to buy some and try it on anything you've packed with before so I have a second testimony for good a tool this stuff is. Seriously, doesn't matter how long it's been or even if it has been washed-if it's touched blood it will light up. It has given me tons of confidence tracking after dark and even more in the rain!

[saddlesore]

Some of those older big stinky bulls taste so bad and are so
tough, it is hard to tell if it is just them or the meat is spoiled