Where is the best place to shoot an elk with a bow?

On a broadside or quartering-away elk, aim tight behind the front shoulder in the lower-middle third of the chest to drive the arrow through both lungs. Quartering-away is the preferred bow angle because it steers the arrow behind the heavy shoulder bone and opens both lungs.

Why avoid the elk shoulder?

An elk shoulder blade and leg bone are dense enough to stop or badly slow an arrow, preventing the pass-through you need for a blood trail. Keep your arrow behind the near shoulder, not on it.

How much draw weight and arrow do you need for elk?

Most guides want at least 50 lb of draw weight for elk, with 60–70 lb common, and a total arrow weight around 500–650 grains for the momentum to punch through heavier bone and hide. Elk are roughly five times a whitetail in body mass.

Where to Shoot an Elk with a Bow

An elk's vitals are the size of a basketball — a big, forgiving target — but they sit behind a shoulder heavy enough to stop an arrow. Here's exactly where to aim, which angle to wait for, and how to practice it free on any angle and distance.

Broadside elk: aim tight behind the front shoulder, lower-middle third of the chest — through both lungs, above the heart.

The quartering-away shot: the elk hunter's shot

More elk are killed cleanly quartering away than any other angle. With the bull angled away, the near-side ribs are thin and — critically — the arrow travels behind the heavy near shoulder toward the off-side front leg. Picture the exit point on the far shoulder and drive the arrow to it. That line opens both lungs, and even a shot a touch far back still catches the liver and one lung.

The steeper the angle, the smaller the window between the back hip and the front shoulder — an extreme quartering-away bull leaves little room for error. If the gap looks tight, wait for a step.

The broadside shot

Broadside is a clean shot too, with one caution elk hunters learn fast: stay behind the shoulder. Aim tight to the crease behind the front leg, in the lower-middle third of the chest. Creep forward onto the shoulder blade and a heavy bull can stop your arrow cold — no pass-through, no exit wound, no blood trail.

The shots to pass

Quartering-to and frontal shots point the arrow straight into the shoulder and brisket armor. On an animal this heavy, most setups won't reach the vitals. Let the bull turn — patience is free, and a wounded elk in the timber is the outcome nobody wants.

Bring enough arrow

Elk are roughly five times the body mass of a whitetail, with thicker hide and heavier bone. Most guides want 50 lb of draw weight minimum (60–70 is common) and a 500–650-grain arrow for the momentum to pass through. A heavy, well-tuned arrow that penetrates beats a fast, light one that stalls in bone. In the simulator you can set your exact arrow speed, weight, and build and see how it changes your holds and wind drift.

Practice it — free, at western distances

Elk shots are often longer than the treestand ranges deer hunters drill, and the terrain is rarely flat. Our free bow hunting simulator puts you on real elk scenarios — quartering away in dark timber, across a canyon uphill, in a mountain crosswind — and shows you exactly what the arrow hit. It runs in your browser, no download.

Practice elk shots free →

Keep reading

Where to shoot a deer with a bow — the whitetail version, with the dead zone and the shots to pass.
Shot placement by angle — broadside, quartering, frontal, and treestand, illustrated.
Outdoor Life — Where to Shoot an Elk with a Bow — angle-by-angle aim points from veteran elk hunters.
Elk101 — Shot Placement Feature — interactive elk anatomy and shot-angle breakdowns.