First off I would like to say that God truly blessed my buddy and me on this hunt. Through the week we had talked to multiple tag holders that hadn't even seen elk in multiple days hunting. We were blessed to see at least one bull every day.
Hunt starts opening morning with a deep and dark hike that had us pushing a nice 6x6 out of the canyon without the opportunity for a shot. That evening we were glassing an area and see a decent 5x5 about 1000 yards across the canyon. We talked about chasing after him but decided we would hold out for a bigger bull as it was only the first day (a decision we were second guessing come Thursday morning). Tuesday and Wednesday we saw bulls but didn't get any opportunities for shots.
Thursday morning comes after a nice cozy night and a hot shower at the in-laws place. We take off towards the hills and prepare for another long hike to find the bull(s) we are looking for. After a long morning hike, fresh elk and bear sign and a run in with a little buck, we make the decision to head back to camp and do an easier hike around camp. We get back to camp, eat some lunch, and discuss that we will be attending to nice big steak and jalapeno mashed potatoes for dinner. In discussing our strategy for the afternoon hike, my buddy, exhausted from all the hiking as I am, says "I'm really losing motivation for another hike tonight". I think about it for a second and respond with "ok..just go out to the blind and I'll push for you..it should only take an hour and then we can partake in our steak dinner tonight!" He agrees and heads up to the stand, radios me and I head off to the next canyon over. Trying to be loud but not excessively loud I make my way down the finger all the while thinking about that tasty steak (I know..lots of thoughts about steak..but at this point it was keeping me moving and motivated). About halfway down the finger I hear an elk get up and take off. I let my buddy know that elk are coming...and..then it hits me..we pushed elk out of the same area 5 years ago when my buddy had a muzzle loader cow tag and instead of going into the next canyon over (towards where my buddy was positioned) they went down the finger and crossed in front of us and headed up the next hill. With that in the back of my mind I move out of the timber to a spot where I would be able to see them if they did the same thing as the elk 5 years ago. And sure enough no sooner than I step out I see the butt of an elk going over a little knoll. I then realize if there is a bull with them I'm going to have only a few seconds to take a shot. As this thought is going through my mind, I see horns coming from below the hill… on the same path as elk before him. I pull up, see the sweet spot and boom..he disappears. I run down the hill close to where I saw him go over the knoll and position myself so that I could get a shot as they headed up the other side if I had missed him or not gotten off the best shot. I watch a as a cow..and then a calf make their way up the opposite hill and about a quarter of the way up they stop and look back..I get on the radio and let my buddy know..I might have a bull down..don't know if I hit him..give me a few minutes..My mind is racing..I'm think maybe he went down the draw..maybe I did hit him...as I'm watching the cow and calf crest the other hill..I take a deep breath and decide to wait it out for a few minutes in case I had hit him. After about 3 minutes, to my disbelief, here he comes back up the knoll about 30 yards away from me. He's oblivious to the fact that I’m there. I notice him dragging his back leg and all I could think is "dang it..I ruined his back quarters". Calming down...I wait until he clears a bush, put the crosshairs on the sweet spot behind the shoulder and boom..he jumps a little and starts to pick up the pace, one more well placed shot and he goes another 10 feet and goes down..I get back on the radio and scream "Bull Down"! As this was our hunt, I wait until my buddy comes down with the packs and knives to go see how big the bull truly is (I didn't see how big he was as I hadn't looked at his horns since I saw a glimpse of them the first time right before I took the shot and since he landed in a bush, I couldn't wasn’t able to see him). We go down together and take a look at the bull for the first time. I had been blessed with an awesome 6x6 and lots of meat!
One down...One to go
Now it's my buddies turn. Seeing that I shot a nice bull and hearing where a large group of elk had been located, my buddy was chomping at the bit to get his elk!! Friday comes after a long night of packing my elk out and sure enough..it's foggy. We didn't even get a chance to chase the elk. I know it was hard on him, because we knew where they were and we couldn't do anything. We reassure ourselves that we will see bulls on Saturday as we have the last 6 out of 7 years. We had confidence that the next day had a bull in his future we just had to be patient.
Saturday comes, we get settled in our blind, shooting hours come along and so does the rain and it's really grumpy and coming down hard. We see a few cows moving through the area and then 8:30 comes and I say "Nice Bull..Nice Bull". I can see the rack of a nice 6x6 just standing at the bottom of the draw. I see him looking around and I tell my buddy to get ready. Then just as he appeared...he turns to his right and walks out of our life...We talk about going after him as we know where he is going to pop out, or at least have a good idea, but we decide to wait and see what comes. It ended up being a good decision as 2 minutes later 3 cows came between us and him and we know they would have bumped him out. I can see the disappointment in his eyes, knowing a nice bull had just walked out and the uncertainty of what the rest of the morning would bring. After about 15 more cows had come and gone, we see a line of cows coming up the draw from our right. He says "there has to be a bull in that group". As the 13th cow comes up the ridge, there he is, a bull and a nice bull. All he has to do is follow the cows and my buddy will have about a 100 yard shot and a bull down. But...the bull has other ideas. He trails below the cows and doesn't provide a shot. He says "we're going after this one..let's go"! I watch him climb up the hill trying to get in front of the bull. I'm trailing behind him trying to figure out where they are going to pop out. Then I look up the hill towards my buddy, he's now found a nice rest against a tree and then I hear the sound we have both been waited for "BOOM". He loads another round into the chamber and "BOOM" goes his gun. I see smoke making its way out of the barrel as he's yelling "Bull Down"!! He waits for me to get up to where he was and I'm welcomed by a high five and a big smile!! I look at the bull as the cows are slowly filtering out of the canyon. It's definitely a nice bull. We make our way down the hill, thanking God for his many blessings, and find a nice 6x6 bull taking a dirt nap.
Second bull down, tags and freezers filled, and the knowledge that we had just experienced an amazing hunt and made some great memories!
Here are a few pics of our bulls -
