ELK FROM DAWN TO DUSK

With 15 minutes of legal shooting light remaining, the bull I’d been chasing all day finally emerged from the timber. I had initially spotted him at first light when he aggressively bugled at every call I threw out. Though the bull was quick to challenge my calls, he wouldn’t budge. However, even at 800 yards I could see he was a bull I wanted to target.

Due to the rugged canyons along the Snake River, it took me most of the day to reach him as I moved through multiple massive draws and around ridges. During the midday hike, temperatures climbed into the 70s, and two herds of elk worked their way into expansive, timbered valleys through which I advanced. I called and moved, moved and called. By late afternoon I’d called in five legal bulls, but decided each