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DAY 3

Monday Morning

The temps were still warm, but cooler this morning than the last two due to it being overcast. This was a welcome change. We were at the mountain again at dawn to start glassing but we couldn't find any big bulls, just a few spikes and one heavy five point that was borderline. As the sun came up we were joined by Rob, Wes' other guide who is with John, the other bowhunter. They have been hunting a crossing at the alfalfa field and this morning that same group of spikes along with the 5pt came by. John decided to kill that heavy five but as he pulled up his bow it was just too dark to see his pins in the blind. Rather than risk wounding the bull they let them walk. Five minutes later another group of spikes came by and they had plenty of light. That five minutes made all the difference. We spent the remainder of the morning up high glassing. We spotted one big bull on the opposite mountain and soon after that Rob spotted three different shooters. The wind is whipping hard right now and the elk are in a great position to work for the evening. We headed back for lunch and will start up again at 3 PM.

Monday Afternoon

It was hot again but the wind provided a lot of relief. We had gusts up to 40mph and that made the afternoon play possible. We know there are at least 4 shooters on the North end of the 2nd mountain and as long as the wind remains consistent, we have a great shot at getting close. We hiked up the valley to get into position, being careful to work the wind. As we closed the distance, the winds became more unstable, but manageable.

For the first time Wes tried some soft bugles

Wes and Rob monitored the wind for twenty minutes before deciding to play it safe and hang down the valley until the winds became more consistent as the sun began to set. Matt and I got comfortable between some pines and he was soon asleep. I just took in the moment, it was just beautiful up there on that hillside with the wind whistling through the pines. An hour later Wes gathered his gear and the hunt was on.

My 12 year old Cameraman enjoyed his first high mountain siesta. It won't be his last.

We hiked Northwest to the corner where we saw the elk. We needed to climb only about 500' of elevation and although the winds were still not as stable as they could have been, they should be good enough for our approach to that corner. At this point we weren't 100% certain we knew where the elk were, just a general idea.

Wes was in the lead and I was right behind him. His fist came up motioning for us to stop dead. I pulled up my binoculars and glassed an incredible bull, we guessed him over 300 inches. Behind him was a freak bull with three main beams and there were more elk coming. This was just perfect, we had at least four shooter bulls 300 yard away. We didn't have so much as a full minute to get excited before a stray wind gust hit the back of our necks and the bulls whipped their heads in our direction.

When the bulls whipped their heads we knew instantly - it was over

The look on Wes' face said it all. This was a great setup blown by the wind.

It was over. We watched as twelve mature bulls dashed down the hill. Wes was just sick. We had a headwind the entire time and once again the wind did a complete 180 degree switch. We were just sick. Someone was going to shoot a bull tonight.

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