The sound came first.
The surviving coverage centers on cow and calf vocalizations—not noise for its own sake, but communication observed, practiced, and translated into a call hunters could learn to use.
MONTANA · EST. 1985 · USA
MT E.L.K., INC.
THE LEGACY
OF THE CALL
Founded in Montana in 1985. Carried Forward by T. Phillip Bowers. Heard Around the World.
45.6614° N110.5600° W
SCROLL TO BEGINCHAPTER I · GLOBAL RECORD
FROM MONTANA
TO THE WORLD
What began in Montana eventually reached hunters, distributors, retailers, guides, outdoor communities, and sporting traditions far beyond the American West.
01
US · Montana origin / 1985United StatesWhere the story began
↗02CA · Northern reach / archive openCanadaAcross the Northern Rockies
↗03DE · European chapter / records soughtGermanyA Montana sound crosses the Atlantic
↗04ES · European chapter / records soughtSpainMontana innovation meets European tradition
↗05AR · Southern chapter / records soughtArgentinaThe story moves south
↗06C.A. · Regional chapter / records soughtCentral AsiaAcross the mountains and steppe
↗THE ABSAROKA RANGE · MONTANA
CHAPTER II · ORIGIN
1985IT STARTED
IN MONTANA
Founded in Montana in 1985, MT E.L.K., Inc. grew from a deep understanding of animal communication, calling techniques, and hunting experience.
Innovative calling systems, instructional materials, videos, demonstrations, and field knowledge made the company part of a broader evolution in modern game calling.
THE EARLY RECORD · 1986
WHEN AN IDEA
LEFT THE FIELD
Two newspaper features published within days of each other capture MT E.L.K. at a consequential moment: a practical Montana hunting idea becoming a product, a teaching method, and a story traveling through the outdoor press.
ENTER THE 1986 EXHIBIT ↗The field tested the idea.
Early reporting collected hunter experiences and placed the call inside actual bow and rifle seasons. Those accounts helped turn a local invention into a subject for wider discussion.
Education traveled with it.
Books, seminars, demonstrations, recordings, and video soon surrounded the calls. The archive shows that instruction was not an accessory; it was part of the system.
The record became a network.
Writers, filmmakers, guides, retailers, dealers, and hunters carried the story into new publications and places. Each surviving object now reconnects part of that network.
A LIVING CHRONOLOGY
THE RECORD,
STILL UNFOLDING.
Company beginnings
MT E.L.K., Inc. is founded in Montana.
Cow Talk in the Independent Record
Mark Henckel profiles Don Laubach and the young company in Helena, Montana, documenting early production, dealers, and field response.
The method enters the outdoor press
Features and reviews by Jim Zumbo, Scott Morrison, Sports Afield, and others examine cow calling and ELK TALK.
Education on the public stage
The archive places Laubach at the Montana Outdoor Recreation Exposition and records books, video, seminars, and calling instruction.
Beyond Montana
Products and knowledge reach hunting communities outside the United States. Dates await source verification.
The next chapter
Under T. Phillip Bowers, the history is being preserved while relationships and education move forward.
CHAPTER III · PEOPLE
THE VOICES
BEHIND THE
LEGACY
Products can be copied. Knowledge has to be passed down.
Founder · Inventor · Author
RECORD ↗Don Laubach
The scanned record identifies Laubach as founder and president, inventor and patent holder, bowhunter, teacher, author, and the central figure behind Cow Talk and the early product system.
Filmmaker · Historical collaborator
RECORD ↗Gordon Eastman
A 1998 biographical sheet in the archive records Laubach’s involvement in videos with legendary filmmaker Gordon Eastman and later video work of his own.
Outdoor writer · Co-author
RECORD ↗Mark Henckel
Henckel reported the 1986 Independent Record feature and co-authored ELK TALK, helping place Laubach’s field knowledge into the published record.
Owner · Steward · Storyteller
RECORD ↗T. Phillip Bowers
The keeper of the products, relationships, knowledge, and history—and the person carrying the call forward.
MODERN PORTRAIT
ARCHIVE PLACEMENT
ARCHIVE PLACEMENT
CHAPTER IV · STEWARDSHIP
THE KEEPER
OF THE CALL
T. PHILLIP BOWERS
“A legacy survives when someone chooses to carry it forward.”
As owner, Phillip carries the responsibility of preserving MT E.L.K.’s products, knowledge, relationships, traditions, and history—while introducing the company to new generations and new places.
This documentary chapter is built to grow around verified interviews, field stories, mentors, milestones, photographs, and source documents.
OWNERSTEWARDSTORYTELLER
TWO STORIES · ONE FUTURE
THE COMPANY
& THE MAN
THE COMPANYTHE MAN
MT E.L.K. begins in Montana
Phillip’s early hunting experiences
Products gain recognition
Experience, mentors, and relationships
Instruction becomes part of the system
Knowledge gathered and shared
The call travels beyond the United States
Dealer and distributor connections grow
Ownership passes forward
T. Phillip Bowers becomes owner
A living Montana legacy
Preserving the past. Building what comes next.
CHAPTER V · THE PAPER TRAIL
FROM THE
ARCHIVES
Every article becomes an exhibit—connected to its people, products, country, era, and place in the larger story.
EXHIBIT 001The Independent Record · October 10, 1986
Cow Call Draws Elk Like Crazy
A Helena newspaper feature follows inventor and bowhunter Don Laubach, early Cow Talk production, dealer growth, and hunters’ field experiences.
EXHIBIT 002The Spokesman-Review / Spokane Chronicle · October 12, 1986
Big Bull Elk Are Attracted by ‘Cow Talk’
A preserved photograph of a Sunday outdoors page featuring a report on hunters using cow and calf sounds to attract bull elk.
EXHIBIT 003Company biographical sheet · July 30, 1998
Don Laubach: Founder, Inventor, Teacher
A biographical sheet and handwritten seminar notes inventory Laubach’s calls, books, videos, collaborations, and teaching plans.
EXHIBIT 004Montana Outdoor Recreation Exposition file · March 25–27, 1988
Elk Expert Talks at MORE Show
A show preview presents Laubach as a Montana bowhunter, call developer, author, speaker, and elk-calling judge.
EXHIBIT 005Publication to verify · Date to verify
Elk Hunting’s Newest Secret
Zumbo describes using cow and calf vocalizations as a field technique before, during, and after the rut.
EXHIBIT 006American Hunter · Date to verify
Cow Talk for Elk
A multi-page illustrated field feature explains how imitating the mews and chirps of cows and calves can bring bulls into range.
EXHIBIT 007Sports Afield · January 1988
ELK TALK Enters the Books Record
Sports Afield lists ELK TALK as a twelve-consecutive-year account of western elk hunting, calls, tactics, and field stories.
EXHIBIT 008Review clipping · Date to verify
Review: ELK TALK
A contemporary review frames cow calling as an innovation that met skepticism before field use and testimony widened acceptance.
EXHIBIT 009Idaho Outdoor Digest · November 1987
To Take a Bull, Talk Like a Cow
A regional outdoor feature explains the advantage of imitating cow and calf sounds and describes Laubach’s call and instructional video.
EXHIBIT 010Radio Outdoors clipping · Date to verify
Cow Talk
A radio-outdoors column examines elk communication and the practical use of the Cow Talk call.
EXHIBIT 011American Hunter · November 1988
Cow Talk For Elk
A three-page illustrated feature explains how imitating the mews and chirps of cows and calves can lure bulls before, during, and after the bugling season.
EXHIBIT 012Business correspondence · August 1993
The Retail Conversation
Letters from national and regional retail organizations preserve the practical work of representation, show planning, booth costs, and product presentation.
EXHIBIT 013Outdoor video review column · Fall 1988
Prime Time: A Video Record for Hunters
Comus reviews instructional hunting films, including Laubach’s sixty-minute calling presentation and Jim Zumbo’s elk-hunting film.
EXHIBIT 014The Billings Gazette · March 24, 1988
Montana Outdoor Recreation Exposition
A newspaper advertisement schedules Laubach’s elk-calling talks at the three-day MORE show in Billings.
ARCHIVE
DOCUMENT
PLACEMENTMT
E.L.K.Source scan / future exhibit
DOCUMENT
PLACEMENTMT
E.L.K.Source scan / future exhibit
CURATOR’S NOTE
WHY THIS
MATTERS
A historical object matters when we understand what it proves: the period it documents, the person it records, the product it places in the field, and the path by which knowledge traveled.
- PERIOD
- To be verified from source
- PRODUCT
- Linked to the historical catalog
- PEOPLE
- Indexed across every exhibit
- SIGNIFICANCE
- Editorial context, not just a download
CHAPTER VI · OBJECTS
THE CALLS THAT
BECAME PART OF
THE STORY
THE TOOLS EVOLVED. THE PURPOSE DIDN’T.
01
THEN · ARCHIVE PENDING
NOW
NOWArchive era to verify
02Power Bugle
A flagship voice in the continuing record.
THEN · ARCHIVE PENDING
NOW
NOWArchive era to verify
03Royal Bugle
Historical packaging and advertisements invited.
THEN · ARCHIVE PENDING
NOW
NOWArchive era to verify
04Cow Talk
A product story connected to instruction and field use.
THEN · ARCHIVE PENDING
NOW
NOWArchive era to verify
Deer Talk
One call within a broader game-calling system.
CHAPTER VII · DISTANCE
A MONTANA
SOUND TRAVELED
A LONG WAY
Six chapters. One point of origin. A global record waiting to be fully assembled.
MONTANACanadaGermanySpainArgentinaCentral Asia
01 / 06US
INTERNATIONAL RECORD
United States
Where the story began
The documented origin: Montana, field knowledge, product development, education, publications, hunters, guides, retailers, and the relationships from which the wider story grew.
ENTER THE FULL CHAPTER ↗02 / 06CA
INTERNATIONAL RECORD
Canada
Across the Northern Rockies
This chapter is ready for verified articles, advertisements, dealers, guides, photographs, translated materials, events, and firsthand accounts from this region.
ENTER THE FULL CHAPTER ↗03 / 06DE
INTERNATIONAL RECORD
Germany
A Montana sound crosses the Atlantic
This chapter is ready for verified articles, advertisements, dealers, guides, photographs, translated materials, events, and firsthand accounts from this region.
ENTER THE FULL CHAPTER ↗04 / 06ES
INTERNATIONAL RECORD
Spain
Montana innovation meets European tradition
This chapter is ready for verified articles, advertisements, dealers, guides, photographs, translated materials, events, and firsthand accounts from this region.
ENTER THE FULL CHAPTER ↗05 / 06AR
INTERNATIONAL RECORD
Argentina
The story moves south
This chapter is ready for verified articles, advertisements, dealers, guides, photographs, translated materials, events, and firsthand accounts from this region.
ENTER THE FULL CHAPTER ↗06 / 06C.A.
INTERNATIONAL RECORD
Central Asia
Across the mountains and steppe
This chapter is ready for verified articles, advertisements, dealers, guides, photographs, translated materials, events, and firsthand accounts from this region.
ENTER THE FULL CHAPTER ↗THEN · DATE TO VERIFY
ARCHIVAL MATERIAL
ARCHIVAL MATERIALNOW · THE LIVING COMPANYCONTINUING PRODUCT
CONTINUING PRODUCTCHAPTER VIII · CONTINUITY
THEN
& NOW
Old package to current product. Print instruction to digital education. Historic relationship to modern expansion.
CHAPTER IX · EDUCATION
KNOWLEDGE WAS
ALWAYS PART OF
THE PRODUCT
Calling demonstrations, books, recordings, DVDs, guides, band-replacement tutorials, and field education belong to the same story: a tool matters more when the knowledge travels with it.
VISIT THE CURRENT LIBRARY ↗▶VIDEO INTERVIEW / ARCHIVE PLACEMENT
What should the next generation know?
THE LIVING PRODUCT LINE
FROM THE ARCHIVE
TO THE FIELD.
The history explains where the calls came from. The store carries that knowledge forward with calls, complete packages, replacement parts, books, and field education.
CHAPTER X · THE COMPANY
ABOUT
MT E.L.K., INC.
Founded in Montana in 1985, MT E.L.K., Inc. grew from a deep understanding of animal communication, calling techniques, and hunting experience.
Through innovative calling systems, instructional materials, videos, demonstrations, and decades of field knowledge, the company became part of a broader evolution in modern game calling.
Over time, MT E.L.K. products and knowledge traveled beyond Montana and into hunting communities across the United States and internationally.
Today, under the ownership of T. Phillip Bowers, the company continues to preserve that history while introducing its products, knowledge, and traditions to another generation.
CHAPTER XI · TODAY
CARRYING THE
STORY FORWARD
Leadership. Product preservation. Dealer development. International expansion. Education. Relationships. Future generations.
- 01What does MT E.L.K. mean to you?
- 02Who taught you the most?
- 03Which hunt changed your life?
- 04What stories should never be forgotten?
THE DIGITAL MUSEUM
EXPLORE THE
MT E.L.K. ARCHIVE
Enter ten curated collections built from the original articles, advertisements, correspondence, photographs, and product records preserved in the archive.
Enter the museum ↗- 01Magazine Articles9 indexed records↗
- 02Historical Advertisements1 indexed record↗
- 03Product Literature3 indexed records↗
- 04Instructional Guides6 indexed records↗
- 05Photographs1 indexed record↗
- 06Videos2 indexed records↗
- 07International FeaturesResearch open↗
- 08Dealer Materials1 indexed record↗
- 09CatalogsResearch open↗
- 10InterviewsResearch open↗
THE FIELD JOURNAL
HISTORY, FIELDCRAFT
& THE CALL.
Stories drawn from the archive, practical product knowledge, and the people carrying Montana calling tradition forward.
Read the latest stories ↗1985 · MONTANA · TODAY
THE STORY IS STILL
BEING WRITTEN.
The history of MT E.L.K. is not simply a collection of products. It is a collection of people, hunts, lessons, relationships, innovations, mistakes, victories, stories, and generations of knowledge passed from one hunter to another.AND THE CALL CONTINUES.