the next morning, the 17th, i was back in where i missed the cow and was into a lot of elk, and other hunters. the 2 biggest herds in the basin had met up and it was a circus of elk, hunters, bugles, fake bugles, and everything else. i got close to many elk but the bulls eluded me. i left the basin again frustrated, there seemed to be nowhere to go that other hunters werent always in the way.
that night i tried the spot where the big 5 point had winded me a couple nights before. a bull was bugling as i was hiking in, and i made a play for him. got to the edge of the big park, and from his bugles decided exactly where he was going to push the herd out. sneaking in, i had a feeling that id get a shot, but it would be the lead cow. honestly, that didnt bother me too bad, i think id passed approximately 60 shots at cows, calves, and spikes before i missed that other cow, and with everyone going home i was gonna take what i could get.........