Help hunting mt

[eric.goodwin.376]

If anyone could give me some good late season spots to look around for elk or just tips in general 20 years old and a buddy and I are going to tackle a diy rifle hunt dream hunt for both and can't afford outfitter but would love a good hunt


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[eric.goodwin.376]

Anyone help?


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[Jjamesdean]

Best way to do it, is the way everyone else has to do it. Find one yourself.

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[KurtR]

start reading every thing you need is on here.

 

[PantherCity]

No one is going to tell you where to go hunt. If we told every Joe Blow where our spots were they wouldn't be good spot anymore.

Not to be harsh but finding spots is the hardest part of DIY hunting.

 

[Triple D Elkhunters]

We were in the same boat you are 4 years ago. There are three of us. We are in our 50's. Couldn't afford an outfitter. We have taken one bull 3 out of 4 years. In a unit that requires 4 pts on one side. We are from the east and only dreamed about elk hunting before we left. So how did we do it? Like what was posted above....read.....read...read. I did not know of this forum when we started but it has some good info on it. You just have to dig.

Go on the state wildlife website for the state you want to hunt. We hunt in Colorado and they have a great site with lots of info. Use their atlas. You can call a hunt planner and they will teach you how to use the site so you can pick your own place to hunt.

Good luck and do your research. That's what we did. Not saying we are experts but I am happy with our results.

 

[goodgrouper]

Here's a good book that explains a lot about the state.
Elk Hunting Montana: Finding Success on the Best Public Lands: Jack Ballard: 9781599211541: Amazon.com: Books
Mt fwp website has good resources for planning a hunt.
This site and Google Earth are your friends also

 

[eric.goodwin.376]

Thank you guys I guess elk hunting is a different animal compared to deer and waterfowl as I will share everything with others as I hope they get the same excitement that I had when successful. Don't need honey holes just areas and just helpful tips I've tried reading up as much as I can just hoping for a couple more tips, I try to learn at least one thing from everything I read and try it. Thanks for your time


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[KurtR]

After my first trip last year. My first tip would be in really good shape. Second would be the elk are where you find them

 

[Texas longshot]

The best advice I can give you is, if your 20 years old and in great shape hunt the drainages that no one else can or will. Find an area that doesn't allow motorized vehicles and get 5 plus miles in. Look for spots that are at least five miles from the nearest asses point in any direction. Elk and people don't mix and most hunter's will be less then 2 miles from their truck. In a scenario like this your youth is actually your strength. Just remember when you kill one like this it comes with two solid days of hard work to follow getting him out.

 

[Btaylor]

Elk are entirely different. My hunt this year is an example. Got a tip on a particular spot from a local. Hiked into that spot and sure enough there was a lot of sign but all of it was several days to a week old. Ran into that guy later that evening and the first thing he said was I hope you saw some but bet you didn't cause he had talked to a friend of his while we were out that told him that herd was seen moving into a different area. I had a friend who was hunting the area where the elk moved to and he killed a bull.

So you can get great tips but at the end of the day like was said above the elk are where YOU find them. Plan to hunt multiple areas and map study them well. I had 3 areas picked and e-scouted. One was really crowded with people, one was where we got the tip to check out and there had been elk there recently but they were not there when we were and the third had elk and no people.

 

[ChrisS]

"honey hole" is the worst phrase most commonly used on hunting forums.

Every year, a hundred posts are made by guys looking for information. Tip: do your research first, figure out a few places you are interested in (for whatever reasons) and then ask for help on specific questions, preferably with responses in a PM. Information shared openly on the internet sticks around for a good long while, and for every guy who is actively part of a thread, there are a hundred other guys reading it.

 

[Thunder head]

Welcome to elk hunting. Unless you get a hard to draw tag, actual locations will be hard to come buy. Not only that any info you get wont help much anyway. Elk are not deer. If there pressured to much they just get up and amble over to the next drainage. Poof !!!! there's all kinds of sign but no elk. You have gotten some good advise above. I went thru Colorado's hunt planner. Did my homework. We glassed up elk 9 out of 12 days on our first hunt there.

Ill add a couple of tips:
1.GET IN SAHPE !!!!!!
2. GET IN BETTER SHAPE !!!!
seriously if you cant put 75 lbs. in a pack and hump it up and down hill for an hour. You will not be able to get an elk out of some hell hole, should you kill one. On top of that if your a flatlander like me the altitude will kick your butt period. On my first two DIY hunts this defiantly limited what elk we could hunt. We spotted two different herds that we never went after because I knew we couldn't pack one out of there.

3. Elk really are were you find them. Develop plan A, B, C, & D. If I were to glass a morning and evening without seeing an elk. I am headed somewhere else.

 

[brettkoenecke]

You've gotten a lot of hard comments here, and there's value in them. Here's some advice. Worth what you pay for it, which is nothing.
1. Pick a state. I would not suggest MT for a first timer, because you add grizz and wolves to the mix, and you don't need that additional variable. Plus the season is late and long, and in my opinion these things make it tougher on first timers. Maybe think Colorado or Wyoming instead.
2. Pick three areas/units in that state. Lots of people drive right on by lots of elk in their haste to get further out in the boonies, YMMV.
3. Get some maps, look at google earth, make some post season phone calls and actually talk to the rangers, the conservation officers, the biologists etc. Some places have dieoffs due to disease or hard winters etc. You need real info obtained yourself (DIY) and not some post on an internet forum.
4. Use the info to narrow down your areas, looking at logistics, seasons, etc. until you find the one that is right for you.

 

[eric.goodwin.376]

I tried asking on places tobacco roots and snowcrest I have in mind


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[eric.goodwin.376]

Thanks all


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[danarnold]

The best advice I can give you is, if your 20 years old and in great shape hunt the drainages that no one else can or will. Find an area that doesn't allow motorized vehicles and get 5 plus miles in. Look for spots that are at least five miles from the nearest asses point in any direction. Elk and people don't mix and most hunter's will be less then 2 miles from their truck. In a scenario like this your youth is actually your strength. Just remember when you kill one like this it comes with two solid days of hard work to follow getting him out.

sometimes the best advice you have isn't any good____

I've never been 5+ miles in one direction away from any road or trails, I've been fortunate with taking elk 75% of the times I've hunted, mostly between .25 to 3 miles from the road/trail, DIY public land.
find fresh sign and try to get on them, harsh terrain helps but isn't always the case...good luck

 

[grossklw]

I tried asking on places tobacco roots and snowcrest I have in mind


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You're talking about pretty big areas. I've had good luck with getting PM's and further information if I have an idea where I'm planning on going first/familiar with an area before I ask. If you were to come on here and state I've got some spots picked out in the Tobacco roots range and I just want to pick someone's brain with where I'm planning on going so I can get an idea about the amount of pressure etc. you will have substantially better luck. Someone may even let you know where they've had success in the past. But saying hey where's your good spots in Montana is going to get you harsh but very honest answers such as this. Someone telling you their good public land spots is a bullet that's only fired once, once it's out there....It's out there.

 

[bmart2622]

I agree with danarnold. Intentionally packing in 5 miles as elk hunting rookies would be a bad idea. It's no doubt that good hunting can be had deep into areas away from roads and hunters but it is also undeniable that great hunting can be had a lot closer to roads as well. I agree with getting away from pressure and road traffic and I try and do that as well; there a ton of elk killed within a coupe miles of roads.

 

[brettkoenecke]

I've hunted the Snowcrests. Huge country, remote, with grizzlies and wolves and a moderate amount of pressure. I didn't see many huge elk racks around, didn't see a lot of elk either but they were around. I think you've got your work cut out for you, but go for it.