Let me preface this by saying that I've been hunting elk for about 40 days over 6 years.....this one I got 15 minutes into the season and it was my first. I'm calling it the "gift elk" I was glassing straight down and to my left (about 4 sq miles of hillside). After about 15 minutes I set my glasses down and turned to my right. There was the bull standing about 175 yards away and looking right at me. This time it was easy but I've put a lot of time in! The best part was the horses. I gutted/skinned etc the elk and had to leave it on the hill for the night. The next day we rode up for about two hours, quartered and loaded and led the horses down for another two hours.