Like they say, it's in the eye of the beholder. I only need an elk every other year to fulfill my meat requirements, combined with a couple deer and maybe the odd antelope. Since I don't need an elk every year to plump up my ego, I pass up lots of shots with my bow. I would rather take a cow than a raghorn bull, it's fun to bugle with the really big boys, and they don't get big if you kill them as spikes and raghorns. CO knows all about this fact, it is to elk what PA is to whitetails.

Last year, I passed a 270 class 6 pointer on the second day, and then never got an elk. I passed up five more shots at young bulls and cows trying for that elusive 350 bull. I don't regret for a minute that I passed up that early bull, even though he would probably have scored as my new personal record. Had I taken that bull, I'd never have had the heart-stopping close encounter with the 350 bull I later had. I'd never have gotten into the middle of that battle royale between two 300+ bulls, either. I didn't absolutely have to have the meat last year, although I could have used it. This season, I really need the elk meat, and I won't be quite so choosy.

For trophy standards, any 6 pointer is a trophy in virtually any over-the-counter hunt. If you draw out a premium tag, you'll want to start sweating mass, G-3 length, and things like that.