Southwest Montana Questions (300, 302, 328)

[Netherman]

Me and a buddy will be heading to Montana for a 7-day archery elk hunt this September. We are looking at units 300, 302, and 328 and are planning on biving out for 1-2 days and then returning to our truck base camp and moving to a new area or hopefully resupplying and planning on staying awhile. The plan is to have a new area/loop planned for each day and just keep moving until we find the elk.

I was wondering if anyone had experience in any of these units and could answer a few questions.

What is the water availability? Would a gravity filter work well in these areas or should we be considering a pump system? We could potentially carry 1-2 days’ worth of water but hopefully that is unnecessary.

What are the grizzly populations in that area like? I am guessing on the higher side being relatively close to Yellowstone. We plan on bringing bear spray, hanging our food, keeping a clean camp, ect, and I am considering a DIY bear fence but am not overly excited about the extra 3.5lbs. We have black bear in Michigan and I don't really worry about them much but grizzly are going to be new for me. I'm hoping to see one and really hoping that it's thru binos during daylight.

How crowded do these areas get during the archery season? It looks like there were around 1000 hunters on average in the three units I am looking at, but I can’t find a breakdown of archery vs rifle hunters.

Any other advice or insight would be greatly appreciated.

- Nick

 

[Queets30#]

There will be people, be very prepared for grizz!! Hunt hard ,, there are elk there , you just have to find them. Look to the head of drainages.good luck!! I can't wait till September!!

 

[Gumbo]

I wouldn't really be concerned about grizzlies in those districts at all. There just aren't that many in there now. BRING SPRAY FOR SURE but don't bring a fence, just hang food and follow the rules. A pistol is nice too have too, with tritium sights for in the tent at night.

There is a lot of hunting pressure, archery and rifle.

I carry 2-3 days worth of water unless I know I will have a good, pre-scouted source. Usually you can find decent water but I'd rather hunt elk than water. Pack a pump for sure.

Good luck