Any MT Shoulder Season Updates?

[huntMT]

First things first, I'm not trying to spark another debate about whether the shoulder season should exits, how FWP should manage the elk, any politics, or anything of like that (There's already one thread that has been taken over by those topics). I'm just curious to see if anyone has had any luck and get some thoughts on how the hunt is going from the guys who have already tried their luck.

I'm planning on making a couple of trips up to the White Sulphur Springs area in the middle of January (once I figure out where I'm going) so I'm wondering if everyone and their brother are still hunting or if the number of hunters are starting to dwindle. I'm also kind of curious if there are allot of property owners giving access to hunters or if the average guy is limited to state land, that's been hunted to death already.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and input.

 

[striker3]

My hunting buddy has spent another 5 days or so up there in two different trips hunting Galts, Blair ranch and one other bma that I can't remember the name of. He has seen a few small herds on private non hunt able land and some in the national forest near where he is camping, but nothing he can take a shot at. He told me there was still a fair amount of hunters. He keeps trying to get me to go with him, but I won't try again until January sometime.

 

[Chris Sloan]

Might try the other MT shoulder season thread?

 

[huntMT]

Might try the other MT shoulder season thread?

I was going to but that has turned into more of a debate about the management and politics than of the actual hunt.

 

[squeekieslayer]

I still think your best bet is to call the hunt coordinator for that region. I know that a lot of people are very frustrated that the g&f and the hunt coordinators are not as helpful as they would like. But I truly think most people are expecting them to just say "show up here and shoot your elk." Its just not that easy. From what I hear, public land in the areas are completely void of anything living except hoards of hunters. Nearly every single landowner is so sick of their phones ringing off the hook that they are not answering any more. Many have recorded messages that say "if you are calling about the shoulder hunt.. contact the hunt coordinator."

Its a work in progress, it will take a few years to figure out how to work it and if they are going to keep doing it. But I honestly think that unless you have the "hook up" on one of the big chunks of land, your best bet is to work with the coordinator and keep a positive attitude about a frustrating system.

 

[alecvg]

From what I have seen in the White Sulphur area, is you really got to be a local to get anywhere worth a damn.

 

[striker3]

I think working with the hunt coordinator causes much of the frustration. Not through fault of the coordinator, they are doing a crappy job to the best of their abilities with the resources on hand. What is so bad is that there is a very small, finite amount of locations they can recommend. When you send 15 hunters to the same small piece of terrain, that just sucks for all involved. These shoulder seasons need to be designed to have better access. I am all for denying damage subsidies to any land owner that does not open up their land during the regular or extended seasons.

 

[Jaguigui]

To the OP, I shot my cow in the other thread. It was a finicky situation because I saw them on state, shot it on state, but had to get permission to retrieve it on private. I honestly just got lucky with finding the herd on state land before they were pushed to private land by other hunters. Anyone check out the castle mountain areas?

 

[2ski]

I could see about the end of January being a good time. People will forget about it if they go over and over and see nothing.

I don't see anyone really talking about 445. Is Seibens in that one? I think that's BM.

Looking at the regs, I can't tell if the north side of Holter is in 445 or 455, on the computer. Since this is the forum for hunters wanting to earn their meat and not just drive up and shoot an elk like most of the people participating in the shoulder season(don't get me wrong, I would love to get my dad, who's never shot an elk before, one like that. I don't want him to have to pack one out on his back.) I have a neighbor that will get boated in somewhere along the north shore around the Gates. Its a steep hike up, but there's noone back there pressuring the elk around. If that is in fact in 445, people might think about that. I'm thinking that whole area is BLM. I know its not forest service.

 

[belly-deep]

Holter is in a different unit.


I wonder if the landowners will reconsider their tolerance for elk after constantly being called/asked by hunters for an extra 3 months.

 

[mtnkid85]

I took a friend who still had a tag up to the White sulfur springs area, 446 & 452 over the weekend... What a shit show!
There are definitely a lot of elk in there and if you get on some of the private land and go in a few miles its a little less chaotic.
But after watching guys shooting from the highway or lobbing 18 plus shots into grouped up elk at ~900 yards, I left there sick.
I won't be going back for this hunt.

 

[huntMT]

I took a friend who still had a tag up to the White sulfur springs area, 446 & 452 over the weekend... What a shit show!
There are definitely a lot of elk in there and if you get on some of the private land and go in a few miles its a little less chaotic.
But after watching guys shooting from the highway or lobbing 18 plus shots into grouped up elk at ~900 yards, I left there sick.
I won't be going back for this hunt.

Thanks for the update! This unfortunately is pretty much what I was expecting.

 

[mt100gr.]

...too bad. I was hoping it wouldn't go this way. I wonder what FWP and the land owner's initial reaction/impression is at this point?

 

[mtnkid85]

...too bad. I was hoping it wouldn't go this way. I wonder what FWP and the land owner's initial reaction/impression is at this point?

I would like to know as well. There are definitely a lot of elk getting killed, so they should be happy about that. The business owners must be happy with all the traffic thats coming through too.
But the crap I was seeing in the field, I would like to know what FWP thinks about that.

 

[Jason Snyder]

I could see about the end of January being a good time. People will forget about it if they go over and over and see nothing.

I don't see anyone really talking about 445. Is Seibens in that one? I think that's BM.

Looking at the regs, I can't tell if the north side of Holter is in 445 or 455, on the computer. Since this is the forum for hunters wanting to earn their meat and not just drive up and shoot an elk like most of the people participating in the shoulder season(don't get me wrong, I would love to get my dad, who's never shot an elk before, one like that. I don't want him to have to pack one out on his back.) I have a neighbor that will get boated in somewhere along the north shore around the Gates. Its a steep hike up, but there's noone back there pressuring the elk around. If that is in fact in 445, people might think about that. I'm thinking that whole area is BLM. I know its not forest service.

Holter Lake does not border 445. It borders the Beartooth WMA and the Gates of the Mountains, HD 455 and 391 I believe. HD 445 is to the NE and over the mountains from HD 455. Your only access to the Seiben is up the Adel Road.

 

[huntMT]

...too bad. I was hoping it wouldn't go this way. I wonder what FWP and the land owner's initial reaction/impression is at this point?

FWP has put out their proposed changes for next year and allot of shoulder hunts in various units are on that list. I would think that the answer will be obvious depending on if the additional seasons are approved. With several other units in the SW being added to the shoulder hunts, it may relieve allot of the pressure put on just a couple of units, but who knows for sure.