Here's the story:
Late season elk hunt. I'm out with another guy. We're driving up a road, when two bulls, a 6x6 and a spike, and two cows are spotted out the drivers side, heading across the road. We stop quickly and grab our rifles. My hunting partner gets off two shots, which he apparently missed since no animals fell, before I get off one. My first shot was at the big bull, which I knew missed because I was a split second too late before he got across the road. I chambered another round and took a shot at the spike, but wasn't sure if I hit him or not since he was across the road by then. I took off after the big bull up a hillside, and spotted him near the top and shot, which I was sure hit from how he reared up. I ran up to the spot, found blood and started tracking. I followed the trail for about two hours, before I lost it. The blood just disappeared. The trail made a big loop, nearly depositing me back the bottom of the road we were on. So I hiked it up the road, back to my partners truck. He was nowhere to be found. I walked around a bit, and found a blood trail in the snow. I followed it right to the spike, which stood up quickly upon seeing/hearing me and seemed prepared to bolt. I dispatched him immediately. I tagged the animal and set about the required business after the kill. Of course my assumption was that I had wounded him with my earlier shot.
My partner returned about an hour later and stated that he was also trailing the big bull behind me but had picked up the trail by the road, sure he had hit him with his shots and followed it to the spot where I thought I hit him up the hill, which I marked with my hat, and then on to where the trail was lost. He then contended that he also shot at the spike, and I should have discussed it with him before I tagged it. He was pretty upset about it, thinking he had a right to the animal. I disagreed on several points: one, if he thought he hit the big bull first, why did he shoot at the spike; two, there was no way to determine whether he actually did shoot at and hit the spike; and three, I found the blood trail and ultimately killed the animal.
Did I handle the situation correctly? What would you do?
Late season elk hunt. I'm out with another guy. We're driving up a road, when two bulls, a 6x6 and a spike, and two cows are spotted out the drivers side, heading across the road. We stop quickly and grab our rifles. My hunting partner gets off two shots, which he apparently missed since no animals fell, before I get off one. My first shot was at the big bull, which I knew missed because I was a split second too late before he got across the road. I chambered another round and took a shot at the spike, but wasn't sure if I hit him or not since he was across the road by then. I took off after the big bull up a hillside, and spotted him near the top and shot, which I was sure hit from how he reared up. I ran up to the spot, found blood and started tracking. I followed the trail for about two hours, before I lost it. The blood just disappeared. The trail made a big loop, nearly depositing me back the bottom of the road we were on. So I hiked it up the road, back to my partners truck. He was nowhere to be found. I walked around a bit, and found a blood trail in the snow. I followed it right to the spike, which stood up quickly upon seeing/hearing me and seemed prepared to bolt. I dispatched him immediately. I tagged the animal and set about the required business after the kill. Of course my assumption was that I had wounded him with my earlier shot.
My partner returned about an hour later and stated that he was also trailing the big bull behind me but had picked up the trail by the road, sure he had hit him with his shots and followed it to the spot where I thought I hit him up the hill, which I marked with my hat, and then on to where the trail was lost. He then contended that he also shot at the spike, and I should have discussed it with him before I tagged it. He was pretty upset about it, thinking he had a right to the animal. I disagreed on several points: one, if he thought he hit the big bull first, why did he shoot at the spike; two, there was no way to determine whether he actually did shoot at and hit the spike; and three, I found the blood trail and ultimately killed the animal.
Did I handle the situation correctly? What would you do?