Montana hunt

[Finefleisch]

Hey lurker here but I need to post 10 times to get access to the forums so I can buy some gear so I figured I ask around for some advice

I moved to Montana earlier this year around Eureka,MT and was planning a deer/elk hunting during rifle season in unit *** I’m not looking to trophy hunt more about spending some time with the boys and getting some meat in the freezer. Any advise for a first time elk hunter in northwest Montana?

I’ve heard it’s tough hunting. Tough terrain and lots of predators that may be affecting elk numbers. Looks like based on Montana fish and game numbers there was a decent harvest in the unit last year. I’m an army vet so I will be doing lots of miles (on foot) maybe next year I can afford a side by side lol

Thanks in advance also pm me if you have a nice hunting pack for sales

 

[TrailDog]

Welcome to the area! I work and play up in Lincoln County quite a bit, it is indeed some tough country to hunt. If you're willing to put in some miles and burn boot leather, there is great opportunity for adventure. There are lots of elk in the valley bottom around town, but you'll likely need private property access to hunt them. Otherwise, check out some of the low-lying fed/state/fwp lands around the valley. Lots of pressure for sure but there are some decent elk herds that roam around. Check out the Caribou fire scar from 2017 near Young Creek, plenty of game up in that area and to the border.

 

[Finefleisch]

Welcome to the area! I work and play up in Lincoln County quite a bit, it is indeed some tough country to hunt. If you're willing to put in some miles and burn boot leather, there is great opportunity for adventure. There are lots of elk in the valley bottom around town, but you'll likely need private property access to hunt them. Otherwise, check out some of the low-lying fed/state/fwp lands around the valley. Lots of pressure for sure but there are some decent elk herds that roam around. Check out the Caribou fire scar from 2017 near Young Creek, plenty of game up in that area and to the border.

Welcome to the area! I work and play up in Lincoln County quite a bit, it is indeed some tough country to hunt. If you're willing to put in some miles and burn boot leather, there is great opportunity for adventure. There are lots of elk in the valley bottom around town, but you'll likely need private property access to hunt them. Otherwise, check out some of the low-lying fed/state/fwp lands around the valley. Lots of pressure for sure but there are some decent elk herds that roam around. Check out the Caribou fire scar from 2017 near Young Creek, plenty of game up in that area and to the border.

Thanks for the info! I’ve heard from my Canadian neighbors driving through the valley puts you at a high likely hood to hit and elk with your car. but then common convention tells you elk like to hang up high in the mountains but it would make sense they would rather have the chance of getting hit with a car than chased by lions and wolves and hunters lol I have a deer, elk and bear tag so I’ll more than likely take your advice and head west of the river

 

[TradLife406]

Thanks for the info! I’ve heard from my Canadian neighbors driving through the valley puts you at a high likely hood to hit and elk with your car. but then common convention tells you elk like to hang up high in the mountains but it would make sense they would rather have the chance of getting hit with a car than chased by lions and wolves and hunters lol I have a deer, elk and bear tag so I’ll more than likely take your advice and head west of the river

Salvage tags for elk are free... don't ask me how I know. Honestly I've thought about getting a beater truck and just salvage tagging elk. Since they're no longer up high on the public. If the game changers you gotta adapt


My mom took Tylenol when she was pregnant with me, but only when she was hung over

 

[Finefleisch]

Appreciate all the help here wanted to follow up and let everyone know we had a great hunt got up into some thick stuff and bagged a nice bull!

 

[insanelupus]

Congrats! Tell us about the hunt.

 

[Finefleisch]

Congrats! Tell us about the hunt.

Sure let me Regale you a bit! Just to preface this a bit this was my first elk hunt and last year was my first mule deer hunt so I’ve not got a ton of experience hunting out west. With that said before I got bit with the hunting bug I was a pretty avid hiker/mountaineer so my fitness, pack and navigation has not been an issue for me yet. I picked up my buddies at the Kalispell airport and got everyone back to my house Sunday afternoon from there we had a good last meal and double checked our packs thinking we would spend 3-4 days in the backcountry. We take off a bit later than we would have hoped but make good time in the truck up to where we wanted to park but we are losing light fast. We made the decision to not do any hiking that evening and just focus on getting a good nights rest…and that paid off! When we woke up in the morning we had a few inches of snow on the ground but spirits were still burning hot. We crawled out of our bags and got geared up where we parked had some potential for glassing. But with the temps we decided to just go for a walk and stay warm. We did that for most of the morning walk in the snow for a few minutes the glass for a few minutes. We did a three mile loop where we started down an atv trail and eventually went off trail and bushwhacked our way back to the truck we saw a few white tail does But no elk. We get back to the truck and get some lunch regroup and drive to a different spot with more ‘potential’ a finger with a pretty steep initial climb we work our way up checking a draw on the left side and don’t see anything so we keep going up after about 400 feet we find a flat spot and spot movement up into a thick wooded area my buddy pulls out his binos and was trying to get a good look at it. He whispered “I think it’s a big muley” just then a small bull steps out of the brush for just a second wadded off into the brush then a bigger 6x6 stepped out into a sunny spot quartering away from us at 200 yards and just stood there for a minute gave me enough time to get my pack off and use it as a base to make a perfect heart shot on the bull the boys said it looked like a great hit we walked up to where he was standing and couldn’t find any blood so we combed the area for about half an hour crisscrossing and retracing steps eventually we found him by a big log just 40 yards from where he was standing! Spent the next 4 hours getting him down! Great first elk hunt

 

[TrailDog]

That is amazing! A lot of region 1 hunters spend decades looking for NWest Montana bulls, way to get after it on your first try. Congratulations, it probably won't come that easy next time!