I said the whole time leading up that I really wanted a big 350 or at least 330 bull and if that meant not getting one I was OK with that. Opening morning found us sitting in the dark on the Ridge I had been dreaming of walking down for the last 4 years. This place can not be seen from anywhere but in the shed or maybe from an airplane. The bulls had been in there in 07 and I had a game plan. Wait for that first little bit of glow to the east and then start slowly making my way down the ridgeline to my glassing spot. We were there hrs early with the excitement of the first day eating a candy bar and freezing to death waiting for magic hr when a light comes up the trail. A group of hunters proceed past me and start working down the same ridge that I have been planning on Hunting down. Tell myself theres lots of country maybe they will take another side ridge down. 30 minutes later more hunters come down the trail and I just cant take it anymore so I move out a little early but still OK and proceed down the main ridge to where my side ridge breaks down. We ease out into position and get set up on the timber edge waiting for day to break so we can start hunting down when another group of hunters comes right down 30' in front of us and heads on down the ridge that I am hunting down. To far down to turn around I am questioning my decision to let the guys walk right past us into the area I was planning to hunt without staying ahead of them but bumping elk in the dark does no one any good so we wait. As day breaks we spot some cows and a rag 5 in the open below us, we carefully move past them looking for the big guy. On down the ridge the other hunters are way ahead and not even looking down the ridges for elk so I figure were safe as long as nothing is right on the hog back. We spot a couple other bulls but nothing worth to hard of a look and as we slid into the vantage point where I'd killed my bull in 07. Then off in the timber on a chaparral thicket there he was, the one I was after. With my 10x ELs I know hes big. I ranged him at 515 and made a plan to cut the distance to 350-400. As we started down the bull fed having no idea we were in the area. We slid down somewhere near the 400 yard mark and I grab the spotter for a little close inspection and after something "not looking right" my heart sank when I realized... This big 6x6, bull probably 350+ and 400 yards away had a broken main about the G5 on the right side. It was hard to see off hand in the brush but there it was plain as day in my spotter. 8am 1st day. My buddy thought I was crazy but I just couldn't shoot that beautiful bull with a broken main. Wasn't fair to me or the bull. After 30 minutes of my buddy telling me how crazy I was the bull fed off in timber and we hiked back up the ridge to continue hunting. I kept reassuring him, (and myself) the season was far from over...
