Elk Hunting Montana Outfitters

[gwalsh8]

I'm looking to do an elk hunt in Montana this coming fall of 2021 and have been looking at outfitters and specifically, Elk Creek Outfitters. Upon more research, I've seen many people saying to stay away from NW Montana. Is that true? Their website seems to show they have taken trophy elk and other animals. Just looking for some input on Elk Creek and other recommendations.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Jaker_cc]

Montana trophy outfitters, Forrest is a hell of a good dude and runs a first class operation. I’ve hunted with him three times and will be back. You will be on elk and will be around great people.

Mttrophy.com

 

[Indian Summer]

Don’t hunt up there. Those pictures are mostly old. You’re a little late to be booking for 21. Better get your homework done.

 

[sneaky]

I have a friend of mine who hunted with them about 6 years ago. He had a good guide, but I think there was only one elk taken in camp that entire week, and it was a small bull. Rough, thick country.

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[strattonje2020]

ive hunted with elk creek two years in a row if you wanna call me sometime.

 

[dyllanmurray]

Ditch the outfitter and do it yourself.

 

[Ross]

Guy I met a few years ago bought northwest outfitters in trout creek he will give you an incredible Hunt....His name is Josh if you have questions about that country send me a message..,a few I’ve taken on my own....If you want a challenge that is the place

 

[strattonje2020]

Ya after I've done a bunch of research in this area the outfitter @Ross mentions is one of the most promising. I hunted with elk creek two years in a row and I'm just gonna eat a deposit on a 2 week hunt this year with them as I feel I would have better chances solo. I had reconstruction surgery on my ankle two years ago and that limited my hiking the first year. If you can walk 12 miles a day day after day in some of the nastiest country around then id say go for it. But that being said Elk creek has more clients a week than most of the other outfitters locally combined in that week. If you want better chances at a great guide Id go elsewhere.

 

[montanaoutfitters]

We offer a great horseback lodge hunt give us a call if you are still looking for a place to hunt. Very high opportunity
www.montanaoutfitters.com

 

[Jaker_cc]

Montana Trophy Outfitters is who I hunt with and will continue to hunt with. They kill some great bulls in a general area and have some absolutely great guys working for them. I’ve killed a great bull with them and hunted giants the other time I was there. They work hard for you and you will be in elk every day.

Give Forrest a call, tell him Jake sent you. They are some of the best people I’ve met, you won’t regret it.

Forrest Lewton

+1 (406) 498-5608

Mttrophy.com

 

[Preston]

Wayne Hill is a chain smoking Jack wagon, I would stay clear of him and northwest Montana. I would personally consider hunting a private ranch in central Montana if your wanting a good opportunity to kill a bull.

 

[cgasner1]

Guided trip will be awesome for you guys I’d have a hard time giving galt a penny of my cash check out that house bill 505 they tried pushing


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[buck_shot11]

Wayne Hill is a chain smoking Jack wagon, I would stay clear of him and northwest Montana. I would personally consider hunting a private ranch in central Montana if your wanting a good opportunity to kill a bull.

You must not have hunted with Wayne anytime in the last several years. His guides dedication are second to none. The ONLY down side to hunting in that region is, its tough county. I have hunted with Wayne’s outfit for the last three years in a row and would be going back this year, if not for a scheduling conflict. There are plenty of great elk in the area.

 

[KHNC]

You must not have hunted with Wayne anytime in the last several years. His guides dedication are second to none. The ONLY down side to hunting in that region is, its tough county. I have hunted with Wayne’s outfit for the last three years in a row and would be going back this year, if not for a scheduling conflict. There are plenty of great elk in the area.

The ONLY down side? How about the fact there is very little game to hunt? Wouldnt you think that would make a difference too? That area around Trout Creek is terrible on public for elk! Actually , i would rather go DIY in CO before i would ever hunt with an outfitter in NW Montana again.

 

[WRO]

Montana Trophy Outfitters is who I hunt with and will continue to hunt with. They kill some great bulls in a general area and have some absolutely great guys working for them. I’ve killed a great bull with them and hunted giants the other time I was there. They work hard for you and you will be in elk every day.

Give Forrest a call, tell him Jake sent you. They are some of the best people I’ve met, you won’t regret it.

Forrest Lewton

+1 (406) 498-5608

Mttrophy.com

John Lewton is a legend in the sheep world, I'm guessing the apple doesn't fall far from the tree..

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[Jaker_cc]

John Lewton is a legend in the sheep world, I'm guessing the apple doesn't fall far from the tree..

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I’ve known Forrest for about 10 years, and I’ve never met anyone who had anything legitimately bad to say about him. He and the guys he surrounds himself with up there make you feel like family. I call them all friends, and I’ll hunt with them every chance I get. They have some great ground to chase bulls on.

Never met John, but I’ve heard enough stories over the years to guess you’re probably right.

 

[Carr84]

Look into Charge Adventures

 

[171farm]

We went to Elk Creek Outfitters November 2021 and had a decent hunt. Boss and Tammy as well as all the guides and cooks were friendly and nice. We did a 3 on 2 and our two guides were great. They put in a lot of work but I just don't think there are a lot of animals in north west Montana. We hunted a lot of ground and did a lot of glassing and saw very few animals between the 3 of us. There were only 2 deer we would have considered shooting, 1 nice mule deer that I shot and 1 very big muley we couldn't get on. We didn't see any elk, our guide said he saw 3 as we walked in one day. The rest of the camp wasn't seeing much either from what I understood while overhearing talking during dinner and breakfast each day. Overall I was pleased since I was successful but not sure my brother or dad were as happy. They sure do pack in the hunters each week.

Pros:
-Price seemed to be inline with other mid range hunts in MT...I did see they just raised their rates a good bit for 2022
-Owners were talkative and either Boss or Tammy were around each night
-Guides at least our were very nice and put in the work
-Driver that picks you up from the hotel/airport is nice, talks a lot but was always on time
-Food was good
-We hunted a few days out of the cabins and a few days out of wall tents...both were decent
-Beautiful but thick hunting areas
-Seemed as though they had a plan of where they planned to hunt so guides were spread out nicely so we weren't on top of other hunters in the group

Cons:
-Very little game in the area they are in
-The terrain is super tough, thick and steep (but thats just the lay of the land). Going up a steep mountain of old burn/blow downs is not easy for a "flat lander"...cant blame them on my lack of being in shape but some of the land is flat out nasty
-Something that was really odd was no one from the guide side was really forth coming with how other hunters were doing. We spent several days in a remote camp. Our guide would check in with the base camp most nights and we always asked how other hunters were doing but they "didn't ask" or "don't know". We only knew when we asked other hunters when we were in the base camp. You would think when a hunter would be successful they would be more open and get you hyped up. They did have a head sitting out by the door if someone got something and if they did that with all the deer/elk that were shot, the week we were there only 1 elk and 3 deer were taken...maybe the lack of success if why they were so quite about it. There was some whiteboard that was supposed to track that and it didn't seem to be updated during the week.
-In my opinion the areas are over hunted due to the number of hunters in camp for the week. I believe there were 25 guys in camp for one week...was told at least twice when I asked the year leading up to the hunt that there were 15 signed up but when we showed up it was way more than that. I have no idea how many hunters are there each week but lets say on average there are 20x11 weeks of gun/rifle = 220 hunters...now every week might not have that many hunters but if so that's way too many hunters in my opinion hunting the same stands/locations week after week after week
-The last day there felt kind of weird...I guess everyone left at different times so they didnt really have a nice breakfast and everyone just seemed like they were ready for us to get out of there. Probably due to needing to get everything ready for the next week

Conclusion...I wont be hunting north west Montana again or at least not in the near future. Not so much to do with the guide or the hunt itself other than the number of hunters in camp. Animals are just not plentiful in that area.

 

[bsnedeker]

Man, I live in the flathead valley...the idea that people would pay good money to an outfitter to come up here hunting for elk is crazy to me! We do have some decent deer up here between WT's and MD but it's tough getting around and very little visibility due to the thickness and terrain.

Now if you want to come up here and pay to hunt bears, lions, and wolves I think you would get your money's worth, but definitely not elk.

 

[strattonje2020]

i have

We went to Elk Creek Outfitters November 2021 and had a decent hunt. Boss and Tammy as well as all the guides and cooks were friendly and nice. We did a 3 on 2 and our two guides were great. They put in a lot of work but I just don't think there are a lot of animals in north west Montana. We hunted a lot of ground and did a lot of glassing and saw very few animals between the 3 of us. There were only 2 deer we would have considered shooting, 1 nice mule deer that I shoot and 1 very big muley we couldn't get on. We didn't see any elk, our guide said he saw 3 as we walked in one day. The rest of the camp wasn't seeing much either from what I understood while overhearing talking during dinner and breakfast each day. Overall I was pleased since I was successful but not sure my brother or dad were as happy. They sure do pack in the hunters each week.

Pros:
-Price seemed to be inline with other mid range hunts in MT...I did see they just raised their rates a good bit for 2022
-Owners were talkative and either Boss or Tammy were around each night
-Guides at least our were very nice and put in the work
-Driver that picks you up from the hotel/airport is nice, talks a lot but was always on time
-Food was good
-We hunted a few days out of the cabins and a few days out of wall tents...both were decent
-Beautiful but thick hunting areas
-Seemed as though they had a plan of where they planned to hunt so guides were spread out nicely so we weren't on top of other hunters in the group

Cons:
-Very little game in the area they are in
-The terrain is super tough, thick and steep (but thats just the lay of the land). Going up a steep mountain of old burn/blow downs is not easy for a "flat lander"...cant blame them on my lack of being in shape but some of the land is flat out nasty
-Something that was really odd was no one from the guide side was really forth coming with how other hunters were doing. We spent several days in a remote camp. Our guide would check in with the base camp most nights and we always asked how other hunters were doing but they "didn't ask" or "don't know". We only knew when we asked other hunters when we were in the base camp. You would think when a hunter would be successful they would be more open and get you hyped up. They did have a head sitting out by the door if someone got something and if they did that with all the deer/elk that were shot, the week we were there only 1 elk and 3 deer were taken...maybe the lack of success if why they were so quite about it. There was some whiteboard that was supposed to track that and it didn't seem to be updated during the week.
-In my opinion the areas are over hunted due to the number of hunters in camp for the week. I believe there were 25 guys in camp for one week...was told at least twice when I asked the year leading up to the hunt that there were 15 signed up but when we showed up it was way more than that. I have no idea how many hunters are there each week but lets say on average there are 20x11 weeks of gun/rifle = 220 hunters...now every week might not have that many hunters but if so that's way too many hunters in my opinion hunting the same stands/locations week after week after week
-The last day there felt kind of weird...I guess everyone left at different times so they didnt really have a nice breakfast and everyone just seemed like they were ready for us to get out of there. Probably due to needing to get everything ready for the next week

Conclusion...I wont be hunting north west Montana again or at least not in the near future. Not so much to do with the guide or the hunt itself other than the number of hunters in camp. Animals are just not plentiful in that area.

i went two years in a row and decided to cancel my last year with conflicting info on the guide i requested. i hunted solo in Thompson river and had a blast.