The next morning, Tom Giles, guide and ranch foreman, told me that he wanted us to climb up into the mountains, above timberline, and catch the elk coming up out of the valley to spend their day in the thick aspens. Accordingly, we made our way up into cloud country only to find that the full moon was working against us; by the light of the moon, the elk were feeding all night long and then heading up high well before dawn. The occasional bugling that we heard was below us in the thickest timber. It became clear that the only thing to do was to go down into the thick timber and get amongst them.

Okay, I thought, that's just what we'll do. After all, I was armed with a proven brush caliber and a fast lever-action rifle. Besides, working close for the shot is the way I like to hunt trophy game. For me, it's a test of hunting skills as well as fast-shooting marksmanship.

From our first stand on the edge of a thick forest of aspens, we could hear a herd bull bugling. He was clearly upset at some smaller bulls that were circling his herd of cows. In just a moment, we saw three young bulls sneaking through the aspen timber, trying to circle around the bull and entice one of his cows off.

Slowly, we moved downhill and farther into the aspens, finally taking up a stand on a little bench. Although we couldn't see him, the big herd bull was within 100 yards of us, still doing his best to discourage the young fellows. At this point, Giles went to work on his cow elk call in an attempt to stir things up even further. The thick aspens hampered our visibility, but they also gave us plenty of cover to wait out the game. In response to Giles's call, a young bull wandered up to within some 15 yards of us, close enough for us to see that he wasn't the trophy we'd come for. He departed with our blessings and encouragement to hurry and grow bigger.

Finally, at about 70 to 80 yards, through the aspens, we began to see some elk cows that had wandered in, seemingly with the idea to lie down and enjoy a noontime nap. Turning my Leupold scope down to 2X, I sat down and rested the .444 Marlin on my knees so as to have the most solid rest possible. The bull came ghosting through the aspens, a shoulder here, a piece of an antler there, keeping a close eye on his herd of cows.

Between a couple of trees, I could see a portion of the bull's left shoulder and a bit of his rib cage. The range was approximately 70 yards, and I really didn't figure I'd ever have a better chance than the one that now presented itself. At my shot, the aspens were suddenly full of running elk. I could no longer see the bull, but my impression was that my bullet had flown true and that the bull had run to my left. Looking that way, I saw the bull step partially into the open. Having worked the lever and chambered another .444 LeverEvolution round, I made a quick shot at the bull's left shoulder, hoping to center it. With this second shot, the bull flipped sideways and hit on his back with such authority that I knew my hunt was over.