After a day and a half of hard hunting, the 6x6 trophy bull elk was finally spotted by a guide perched atop of a 20 foot tower blind.  As daylight was running out, the hunter and his guide approached the area and saw the bull elk within a rifle shot.  With only minutes left before it was too dark to see, the hunter puts the crosshairs of his 300 Win Mag rifle on the chest of the forward facing elk and squeezes the trigger.  The elk is rocked back by the force of the bullet's impact, but manages to stay on his feet and favoring his right leg, gingerly trots to the brush.   Without an opportunity to take another shot, the hunter and the guide observe where the elk settled and decide to ease out of the area and come back in the morning.  In the morning however, the worst fears were realized when the elk was nowhere to be found.  With no visible signs of a blood trail, blood hounds were called in for an assist.  After several hours of tracking, the dogs finally picked up the trail and with the guides and the hunter in hot pursuit, chased the large bull elk onto a ledge above a 30 foot cliff.  It was there that the brooding elk was finally put down with well-placed shots.