“What makes elk hunting one of our finest American traditions is that that it force-feeds us great rich slices of life in short periods of time. The senses are bombarded with the sights, sounds, smell and feel of the mountains, and made keener than ever with an urgency of purpose and pure high-country air. Daily, perhaps hourly, hunters must Marshall their will and stamina and drive to kill an elk. Camp time is a social joust, a swirl of relaxation and intensity.”

“The rewards and demands of an elk hunt are physical, mental and spiritual. They are prolific and varied, exhausting and invigorating. Collectively they provide a windfall.”

McPhail was running late when he stopped to scan a meadow just before shooting light last week. Though he had another destination in mind, the veteran elk hunter stopped just long enough to send out a cow chirp.

“I thought I saw something moving in the meadow and realized it was an elk,” McPhail said. “I thought I could see five or six elk, but the light was so dim I couldn’t see a bull. One kept going back into the dark timber, but the rest just stared in my direction.”

Legal shooting time was 7:00, and suddenly a big bull burst out of the timber and started towards McPhail.

“I sat down, put my arms on my knees and shot,” said McPhail. “The bull ran towards me, so I squeezed off another shot and down he went.”

McPhail’s quest was over in a matter of 10 minutes on the second day of his hunt as the 5X5 bull fell victim to the master’s skill.

McPhail just completed his 30th elk hunt in Colorado last week and killed his 15th bull in the process. His success ratio for harvesting bull elk from public lands is an astonishing 50 percent. During his early years of hunting the bugling bulls his harvest ratio was even higher. but through the years he’s had a few issues which slowed him down just a bit. He’s guided countless numbers of hunters to their first bull in the process.

McPhail’s hunts were both spectacular and amazing and, in a sense, embodied the anonymous quote posted by an elk hunter at the famed Circle K Ranch in Delores, Colorado.

Due to aches and pains brought on by the normal aging process, this 30th elk hunt was to be the Master Hunter’s final hurrah.

“I started hunting at the Circle k Ranch in 1987 and instantly fell in love with hunting public land elk,” said McPhail. “Due to neuropathy in my feet I felt like this would be my final year to hunt the rugged public lands of Southwest Colorado, but a new pair of Cabela’s boots allowed me to hunt three days without any issues or falls.”

The vast and rugged mounts are filled with deadfalls and danger, and many hunters get injured. More than a few never made it out.

The Circle K Ranch is not a private elk hunting ranch but a ranch that provides hunters with a place to rest and recuperate while hunting in the rugged San Juan Mountains. It serves as a Christian youth camp during the summers, but is transformed into a hub of hunting activity during the fall elk seasons. Hunters can rest from the rigors and challenges of hunting the mountains and renew their strength with warm beds and hot meals.

McPhail treasures the memories made at the camp. The friends and characters he’s met during his time there are always a highlight and focus of his stories.

During one past hunt with Brad Woodall, McPhail killed his elk early and was guiding Woodall when they went into an area that McPhail said he had never been too.

“Are you sure you’ve never been here?” said Woodall. “Look at that tree over there with the name carved in it.” It said, Mark McPhail 9-10-94! Woodall got his elk on that trip too. Another irony McPhail encountered was a tree he discovered with the famous actor Lee Marvin’s name carved on it. Marvin had been featured on the Circle K’s hunting brochures years before and was known to hunt there.

McPhail was joined on this hunt by General Bill Freeman, Lou Wright, and Trey Freeman, his long-time hunting compadres of recent years. This talented group have all killed bulls on their hunts over the years. Joseph Holloman and his wife were also hunting in the area on this trip, and Holloman actually transported McPhail’s elk back home to Mississippi.

Tre Freeman got lost and had to stay on the mountain overnight during a prior hunt. When he didn’t make it down to pick him up, McPhail hitched a ride back to the camp. McPhail borrowed a radio, went to a high peak and made radio contact. The 10,000 feet difference in terrain made it too difficult to get to him at night, so Freeman spent the night by the fire and they got him the next morning. Freeman scored on a big bull a day later.

McPhail lost his camera in the mountains and never expected to see it again on another hunt. A few weeks later, the camera showed up in the mail from New York state. One of the guys who hunted and guided at the camp found the camera and developed the pictures after his season was over. He recognized McPhail in the pictures and sent them to him.

The list of Mississippi hunters who went to the mountains with McPhail is too long to list, but bear mention here as the Ole Master Elk Hunter spread his passion back home.

“My only suggestion for aspiring elk hunters is to go when you are young and can’t afford it,” said McPhail. “If you don’t it may be too late once you can afford it, because you may not be able, physically, by then.”

Call Mike Giles at 601-917-3898 or email mikegiles18@comast.net.