Justin writes, "RC, Irv, and I met our freshmen year of college at the University of Wyoming. Immediately we became the best of friends, spending most our time raising hell and planning our next wild party. We all still get together several times a year to talk about old times and peruse the passion we share-hunting.

Irv and I were beside ourselves with excitement when we discovered we drew bull elk tags for the big horn mountains RC is accustom to guiding. Not only would we get to hunt with our good friend but also have the chance at a trophy bull with a bow.

The first morning of our hunt brought immediate success. After a 6 mile hike we called in a nice 6X6 and had him down by 10:00 in the morning. Irv stuck the bull at 62 yards right in the heart. In his first two hours of hunting, he bagged a bull that scored right at 300 and made a shot to tell the grandchildren about. It was an awesome experience I will never forget and I had the best seat in the house.

The next morning RC and I put our cammo back on and headed up the mountain while Irv went in with a pack string of horses. The morning was overcast, cold, and extremely windy with gusts blowing both up and down the mountain. RC suggested we climb up to a nearby peak and try to locate the elk. After a few minutes of glassing the beautiful terrain, I let out a short high-pitched bugle. Whatever it was that answered back was like nothing I had ever heard. An intense, long, deep grunt bellowed out of the valley below. It lasted for what seemed to be minutes and then faded into a short elk-like bugle. The two of us looked at each other in awe as if we both were thinking the same
thing, "what the hell is down there?"

About 45 minutes later we arrived at a small opening and I let out another loud, high-pitched bugle. Moments later a long bloodcurdling grunt bellowed out like a monster defending his lair. I turned to RC and whispered "that sounded prehistoric." He answered back, "I have never heard anything like it."

The creature was now within a quarter of a mile. Again we slowly started cutting distance and began working a cow call. This sent the animal into a furry. His roars now continually filled the air with brief pauses for the beast to catch his breath. At this point my legs were shaking, heart pounding, and head filled with his screams. I knew the chances the animal would smell me in these conditions were good. As we eased closer, I kept thinking to myself "I just want the opportunity to see him before he winds us". Suddenly he let out a deep groan that was within 150 yards. The air was filled with his musky odor. I knew he would be on top of us in minutes.

As I scrambled to find a spot to set up, RC dropped back 50 yards behind me. Just as I backed into a spruce, I caught a glimpse of a massive horn moving through the trees on the other side of the meadow. I instinctively pulled back my bow and at the same time RC began to cow call frantically. Moments later, the monster stepped out of the trees to reveal himself. There stood the biggest bull elk I had ever seen. In order to keep my composure, I slowly dropped my head so the brim of my hat covered his massive horns and focused on nothing but his vitals. He let out a defining roar and started trotting straight toward me. Again he stopped about 30 yards in front of me and let out another loud grunt/bulge. I didn’t have a shot and by now I had held my bow for a couple of minutes; every muscle in my body was shaking. RC let out a short cow call and he again started moving, this time angling away from my location. Suddenly he stopped broad side in front of me at 20 yards. I slowly squeezed my release…the arrow flew true. In a flash, the elk was gone.

We found the magnificent 6X7 bull 200 yards from where he had been hit. I turned to RC and said "I never heard a dinosaur, but I bet they sound like this guy." His G1’s and G2’s are all 20 inches long and as big a round as a beer can. His main beams are both 50 plus inches with 10 inch bases. He carries 9 inches of mass the entire length of his beam and green-scored right at 380.

In 22 hours we harvested two 300 class bulls on public land. I can now die a happy man. Special thanks to RC with Big Horn Adventures and the best outdoors man I have ever me, Justin Irvine for teaching me to bow hunt, my poor mom for all the night she spent worrying, and my beautiful wife Kara for everything."