A rarity

[Pony Soldier]

As we completed a 14 mile loop in our search for elk, we approached our vehicle only to find a game warden parked behind it. He is a nice guy and friendly but was under the assumption that horses meant you killed something and were in the process of retrieving your kill. He admitted that in his career he had only run into one other individual that hunted on horseback. He was amazed that we existed.

He examined our tack with great interest - especially the saddle mounted electric saw as he liked to ride horses with his daughter.

As it stands I am coming up on the mid-point of the season , having spent 16 days in the saddle so far. I'm still about 1 day behind the elk as they move 6-7 miles per day in all types of rough as hell terrain and near verticle jungles. I's so comforting knowing that I'm unique and horses are only used to retrieve your kill.

 

[Robster]

Keep the tradition alive!!!

 

[5MilesBack]

He is a nice guy and friendly but was under the assumption that horses meant you killed something and were in the process of retrieving your kill. He admitted that in his career he had only run into one other individual that hunted on horseback.

He must have a very short career so far. Heck, we used to have a warden come through the backcountry every year on his horse where we hunted on horseback in CO. For archery they'd be more of a pain in the butt while hunting, because I'm normally deep in the thick timber. But they'd still be great for getting to and from a lot of areas "to" hunt.

 

[WCB]

Wait...you are in MT and the game warden doesn't know that people hunt off of horses?

 

[Wolf_trapper]

Hardest part for me on years like this is getting the horse trailer close enough to the parking spot to justify using them. Sketchy enough driving the pickup on steep icy 2 tracks.

Got my wife out and she shot a little bull 6mi back. I didn't even break a sweat getting it back to the truck. Love my horses.

 

[rayporter]

good luck

 

[Pony Soldier]

I hunt roughly 60 miles of forest between two towns. Other than the cowboys chasing their lost cows I have cut but one set of pony tracks while hunting in 59 years.

Met a friend yesterday on the way out. We had covered 14 miles and gained and lost 4000 ft of elevation. He told me how nuts I am to ride horses. Today we covered 15 miles and saw a herd of 17 elk. I'm guessing I will be doing this instead of checking into a rest home. We will be packing meat tomorrow.