Elk hunting the Bob Marshall wilderness

[MTHokie]

I graduated high school in Montana in the early 1990's. The Bob was the place then.

Based on Mthokie's excel file, I'd say it will probably never be the place again.

I am afraid you're right. Sucks, too. The combination of decent backpacking weather and rifle hunting made for a fun adventure. By the time general rifle season rolls around, if you want to pack in somewhere, you're stuck dealing with snow or at least having to be prepared for snow -- I can't quite handle that if I'm 10+ miles from the truck.

 

[Jack321]

I hunt back there horseback every year. I do it because I love the country. That being said I think it's criminal outfitters are operating back there still. It's worse than used car salesmen. Not good for the few elk left back there and not good for the clients being dupped. There are easier and more honest ways to make a living then selling hunts back there.

I hunted GMU 280 with an outfitter there in Sept 2021 and got suckered into the, "Hunt the Sept rut with a rifle!" mantra and it was a poor decision. I also think my own expectations and watching too much Western Hunter TV shows played into it.

Like 406flyfish & MTHokie said is 100% accurate. And like 406flyfish, I spent a week back there & also didn't see an elk.

I wish I had this thread to read prior because I would have went elsewhere.

I saved for 3+ years, took my dad, brother, cousin & best buddy. Went with an outfitter who was more of a camping guide 1st & elk outfit 2nd. (It was a poor decision.)

I could have done a cow hunt for 1/3 the price of this Wilderness hunt and seen elk & gotten to take meat home.

Now I'm gun shy about other outfits & spend my days looking at other states & outfits not knowing if I should book with them or not cuz I'm not sure what to believe. In my MT GMU 280 hunt, I even called previous hunters & though I did my homework only to be disappointed. Left a sour taste in my mouth.

While I know it's hunting with free ranging live/wild animals, not a high fence hunt & I knew the harvest data, I had expectations that I'd SEE an elk. My expectations was that the guide would increase my chances and know where elk at least WERE! But that was incredibly false. When I asked my the owner the night of our "orientation" where they're seeing elk his response was "I don't know I haven't been back in there since the summer." My thoughts sank like the Titanic.

Like Wolf_trapper says, I felt suckered into a shoddy outfit operation & spent 3 years of saving $$ on a camping trip with a gun.

And yes it's "beautiful country" but all elk County is beautiful, but the Rocky mountains in Montana looked the same as in Colorado & the same as Nevada when I've been there.

 

[Indian Summer]

Rifle hunting the rut! Hell yeah! Sounds great!

Never were these words more accurate: If something sounds too good to be true it usually isn’t.

One thing all those areas have in common is they are tough rugged and remote. They are wilderness areas. Marginal habitat usually means it’s not a high numbers area. But worse it most likely means wolves. Another example is the Selway. In the Bob you can add grizzlies to the problem. With as long as those apex predators have been doing there thing it’s pretty common to hear guys come back and say… We hoped to see elk and maybe even hear some bulges but never saw a single animal. Beautiful country. Great places for summer back country camping. Hunting not so much.

 

[mtwarden]

I have the luxury of hunting the early rifle season as I live pretty close, but definitely a low percentage hunt. Still I enjoy to get out when the weather's nice and walk my rifle

I have had a couple of buddies that have killed elk there in the last five years, so it's not there are no elk- just not many elk.

As a non-resident hunter looking for a once in a lifetime elk hunt, definitely not the place to pin your hopes. Summer stock trip for cutthroat and bull trout- perfect!

 

[Shadow Illude]

I hiked 21 trail miles into the Bob and had a grand adventure. Learned a ton. Really hoping the OP posts his results.

Saw one moose, four bears, a small whitetail buck, and learned where I would go next time if I ever go back. Caught a ton of fish too. Unfortunately, I didn’t figure out where I needed to be until the day before I had to start floating out. I never did see an elk, but had one squeak back to me.

 

[QuackAttack]

What raft is that?

 

[Shadow Illude]

What raft is that?

PR-49 Packraft: HD Package w/Floor Insert

Packraft Alaskana (PR-49) designed for Alaskan adventures. This lightweight raft features a floor insert for added abrasion protection.

pristineventures.com

 

[Wolf_trapper]

Did you get your gear packed in and float out or carry all that stuff in on your back for 21mi?

 

[Shadow Illude]

Did you get your gear packed in and float out or carry all that stuff in on your back for 21mi?

Carried it all in, then floated out. Shoulda seen the look on the outfitters face when he passed me with his pack string about 17 miles in.

 

[Jon Boy]

Carried it all in, then floated out. Shoulda seen the look on the outfitters face when he passed me with his pack string about 17 miles in.

If you ever want to do it again, let me know. Always wanted to do that hunt. And have fairly decent intel on where some elk hang near the river.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[FlareBlitz91]

Agree on all points. Not sure why you had so much trouble on your mulie hunt though. My wife and I drove through on 80 last week and saw 3 mulie bucks including one huge shooter standing on the railroad tracks just outside pine bluff. Should be easy if you can see them from the interstate, right?

I’ve seen some absolute bruisers standing in the middle of the road between north of Lusk, never seen one of them during daylight though

 

[t_carlson]

Carried it all in, then floated out. Shoulda seen the look on the outfitters face when he passed me with his pack string about 17 miles in.

Where did you go in from? I’d love to float through and fish. Luckily, the wolves haven’t figured out how to eat cutthroats yet.

 

[t_carlson]

Really hoping the OP posts his results.

I mean, I’m no Nostradamus, but, I can tell you how it turned out…

 

[ATangsGearHunter]

Sorry it’s taken so long for me to get back on here. The trip to the Bob was an absolute adventure in every sense. We got to the trailhead a little late on a Wednesday and decided to spend the night at the trailhead. The next day we woke up and it was soaking wet outside. We honestly weren’t prepared for the literal 24 hour long rain shower and didn’t feel like hiking in the rain because of that so we headed to Missoula for the day and came back to the trailhead and spent another night there. Woke up the next morning and hiked in got our camp set up and got some rest so we could hunt hard the coming days. Woke up in the morning and got a cool surprise when I stepped out of the tent and had a good looking mule deer buck 10 yards away from me. There were also a few does nearby as well. This made me pretty hopeful for the rest of the trip that we were in a good spot. As we got going hiking we also spotted some mountain goats up in some cliffs which was super cool to me! We glassed the basin closest to camp the first night and didn’t see anything at all other than a few more mule deer does. The next day we hiked to the next basin and same result (we did find some older sign though it was a couple weeks old). We continued this plan until the hunt was over and we hadn’t seen a single elk. It was a tough hunt from a physical perspective made my leg muscles pretty tired hiking in with a pack full of gear for a 8-9 day hunt. We also saw one set of wolf tracks and I saw a Grizzly roughly 70 yards away running away from me which was a neat experience as well. It was a great learning experience and a fun experience to go to a legendary wilderness but I don’t think I’ll ever do it again other than if I just want to do a summer hiking/fishing trip. I was able to catch a few rainbows out of a little lake we were camped by and I’m not a good fisherman so that was cool for me haha anyhow, I’ll post a few pictures of the adventure here too. I hope you all enjoy the story! Btw I highly recommend some Rainers waiting for you at the trailhead for when you get back to the truck!

 

[ATangsGearHunter]

A few more photos

 

[mtwarden]

Good deal; definitely not a place one regrets spending time

 

[Indian Summer]

Good deal; definitely not a place one regrets spending time

Unless you want elk meat….

 

[mtwarden]

Unless you want elk meat….

well yeah, there's that

 

[ATangsGearHunter]

Good deal; definitely not a place one regrets spending time

Yup I had a great time. Just wished I could have had an opportunity lol

 

[ATangsGearHunter]

Unless you want elk meat….

Yes haha I’d consider going on a backpack fishing trip there again but definitely not gonna do an elk hunt there again. I’d consider a mule deer hunt but probably would go somewhere else for that too.