Elk Newbie looking for direction (Montana)

[Lopy95]

Hey fellow hunters,

This will be my 3rd season hunting elk (archery), specifically in Montana this year. My past 2 years I've hunted, it was in northern Idaho. Both times very unsuccesful ha. I don't have a mentor or anyone I have connections with to teach me how to hunt/learn elk. I am simply just going out to the field to learn. This year I drew the general tag in Montana. I've done a lot of homework on different units in the state as well as attending seminars and summits. I'm looking for any direction on where to look/find animals (no, I don't expect any specific areas). Some different areas I've done some research on are but not limited to:

SW Units: 300, 328, 362
Mid State area: 391, 392, 452, 454, 446

I am outfitted to back pack or spike out if you will. I do not plan on hiring an outfitter or horses/lamas for hunting. It will all be on foot with 1 hunting partner. If you have any experience (pressure, predators, success, etc) with these areas and are willing to share some information, please let me know. Again, I don't expect anything from this post, I'm simply asking for people's experiences. I understand how hard some people have worked over the years to find their hunting spots and I am not looking to mooch off of you.

Thanks!

Jeremy

 

[Rob5589]

Welcome to the forum! Never hunted MT, so no help here.

 

[Sammymusi]

Hey man new here as well going to mt this year . First elk hunt have been on ox e scouting trying to find areas where it looks like there would be maybe some burn areas / drainages things like that . If you haven't yet get on YouTube and start watching e scouting. Good luck !

 

[fatlander]

They’re all good and they all suck. It’s all what you make of it. I’d try to figure out what you were doing wrong the past two years and not do the same things again.


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[Will_m]

Is it just me or does it seem like more people are going to MT this year for elk? New thread every day asking about it, or so it seems.

To the OP, I don't know anything about those units, but if they are in grizzly country, I would certainly go in aware of the potential for an interaction with a bear. Also, I know it sounds trite but elk are where you find them. If you aren't seeing sign, keep moving.

 

[Wapiti1]

I would mark 362 off if you don't have horses or some sort of pack animal. It can be done, but it is rough country. Getting an elk out could be a chore there. That is also a stronghold for grizzlies. The other units listed don't really have bear issues to worry about.

All of the other units are a toss up. Some have access issues from private land (452, 391 and 446). Again, they are still huntable, but you need to know where you are. There is some BM in those as well you could take advantage of.

Jeremy

 

[Dos Perros]

Don't worry too much about the unit. It's what you do once you get there that matters.

 

[jmav58]

The Mid state units you mentioned have grizzlies. Have for a few years. One of the ranchers I work with just had a calf get killed by a grizzly. There were 3 more sightings last fall as well.

 

[Wapiti406]

391, and 392 are probably two of the best elk units in the state. They are so great that FWP reduced the B tags in 392 to 25 this year, and adjusted the regulations in 391 so that no cows may be harvested on Forest Service land during rifle season. I hunted these units when I was younger, and it is a little sad to see how dismal the elk populations are compared to the 2000s and early 2010s. Those units get hammered during rifle season. From what I have heard in the last few years, it sounds like half of the Helena valley is hunts over there, looking for the handful of 2.5 year old herd bulls. If you are not a local that knows where to find them, or if you don't know where they are for opening morning its probably going to be a difficult hunt.

I'm not saying to not hunt the Belts, but if you look at how the opportunities to hunt cows in 391 or 392 has changed in the past decade you will see that the elk herd has been kicked in the ass. If you want to hunt 446, call Bill at the Galt ranch every day during hunting season and see if he'll let you on to kill an elk. Apparently there are so many elk over there that we need a asinine 6 month hunting season.

 

[CJohnson]

I’m a new guy myself, so take this for what that’s worth.
Have you considered taking a summer scouting trip to any of those units? This was the biggest lesson I learned from my first hunt last year. Putting eyes on the units and just locating access areas, water holes, potential camp sites, etc saves a ton of time when it comes to actually hunting when the season rolls around. Maybe I’m doing it wrong, but I have a lot of trouble getting all of that info from e-scouting.

 

[Airborne1]

Is central MT your limit for travel? Have you looked to the west end? Did you just decide central MT is where you wanna try? I've hunted units around the Bitterroot Valley with good success. Lots of land without having to worry about access.

 

[MLemmens]

Don't worry too much about the unit. It's what you do once you get there that matters.

Could you expand on this?

 

[Dos Perros]

Could you expand on this?

So, compared to my peers here I'm still a rookie elk hunter. Only been 5 years / 7 tags / 60ish days in the field.

I've hunted CO OTC three times in three different general areas, a Montana draw tag that's pretty easy to draw, a Wyoming leftover unit, a Montana general in two areas, all archery. I've found elk and had opportunities in every single one. Aside from the first year where we really struggled to find them I should have killed elk every year. I superficially wounded two, and probably mortally wounded a third before I killed one.

Admittedly I've never hunted a premium or even a medium quality tag. Some of the areas I have hunted do have lots of elk and high success rates like premium tags, but were just easier tags to get because the state gives so many or the access is shit or something like that. I absolutely did pick my areas with purpose.

These were all easy to tags to be had, and I couldn't tell much of a quality difference between them. The one draw tag did have some big elk (Jay Scott looked at some Phone Skope video and judged a bull as 365"+ big, we were guessing 380"), but I've seen big elk 330"+ in most of the areas I've hunted, and 300"+ in all of them. Been close to killing big ones, elk that people would trade a lot of points for.

Based on all that, I think you can take the general biological data the states put out, the GoHunt reports, find any decent unit, and go have a fun hunt. I don't believe it's about "the unit" or "the spot." In fact I've been into a meatball one year in an area, went back to the same exact area on the same exact dates the next year and we wasted three days waiting for the elk to show up.

1. Pick a good unit based on YOUR criteria
2. Do all your research, e-scouting, and on the ground scouting if you can
3. Get away from the people when you get there
4. Work hard, and keep working

You do those and you'll have a good hunt (in my limited experience, of course).

All of the above is why I roll my eyes when people publicly ask for places to go. Even if you got direct answers it'd be tough to trust what they are saying is true, it might not matter if the meatball was there last year doesn't mean i'll be there this year, and there are thousands of lurkers reading the same thing that will take action on what they read. It's just a waste of everyone's time, including the OP.

 

[jmez]

Good post Dos. Pretty well sums it up. If there are tags available there are hunt-able numbers of elk in the unit. You just have to find them.

There is nothing easy about elk hunting. The country they live in is huge, it is literally looking for a needle in a haystack. They know the country far better then you and when they decide to hide it can be pretty tough to find them.

 

[MTSasquatch]

Like others said, every hunting district here that is open to bulls or either sex hunting is loaded with elk. They’re also loaded with hunters. Lots of them. What they nearly all lack are hunters willing to put in the work needed to kill those elk. Some of the best elk hunting is in grizzly country. Why? Fewer people willing to accept they aren’t at the top of the food chain, so they go elsewhere. Enjoy the hunt!

 

[MLemmens]

So, compared to my peers here I'm still a rookie elk hunter. Only been 5 years / 7 tags / 60ish days in the field.

I've hunted CO OTC three times in three different general areas, a Montana draw tag that's pretty easy to draw, a Wyoming leftover unit, a Montana general in two areas, all archery. I've found elk and had opportunities in every single one. Aside from the first year where we really struggled to find them I should have killed elk every year. I superficially wounded two, and probably mortally wounded a third before I killed one.

Admittedly I've never hunted a premium or even a medium quality tag. Some of the areas I have hunted do have lots of elk and high success rates like premium tags, but were just easier tags to get because the state gives so many or the access is shit or something like that. I absolutely did pick my areas with purpose.

These were all easy to tags to be had, and I couldn't tell much of a quality difference between them. The one draw tag did have some big elk (Jay Scott looked at some Phone Skope video and judged a bull as 365"+ big, we were guessing 380"), but I've seen big elk 330"+ in most of the areas I've hunted, and 300"+ in all of them. Been close to killing big ones, elk that people would trade a lot of points for.

Based on all that, I think you can take the general biological data the states put out, the GoHunt reports, find any decent unit, and go have a fun hunt. I don't believe it's about "the unit" or "the spot." In fact I've been into a meatball one year in an area, went back to the same exact area on the same exact dates the next year and we wasted three days waiting for the elk to show up.

1. Pick a good unit based on YOUR criteria
2. Do all your research, e-scouting, and on the ground scouting if you can
3. Get away from the people when you get there
4. Work hard, and keep working

You do those and you'll have a good hunt (in my limited experience, of course).

All of the above is why I roll my eyes when people publicly ask for places to go. Even if you got direct answers it'd be tough to trust what they are saying is true, it might not matter if the meatball was there last year doesn't mean i'll be there this year, and there are thousands of lurkers reading the same thing that will take action on what they read. It's just a waste of everyone's time, including the OP.

Thank you for that. I myself only have a couple hunts under my belt, and this year is the first one without a guide or a more knowledgeable partner leading the way. I have intentionally not asked the "Whats a good place" questions because despite the urge, I know even my own family wouldn't give up the goods to me on a spot they intend to hunt themselves, much less announce it to the internet. And if you try to research a unit in online forums you are bound to find 50% of the posts claiming private land, bears, wolves and hunting pressure have ruined that location for generations to come. At the same time, as an "out of stater" who has to pay the $1,000 for a tag, and drive 20+ hours just to get to a unit, the temptation is there to find any sort of validation or shred of confidence you can that you aren't headed to elk free grounds. Of course all of that mental anxiety, and questioning yourself goes out the window when you reach your destination and its time to hunt.

 

[BadEarth]

Lots of great advice! I moved to MT four years ago and have been fortunate enough to kill a couple bulls in central Montana since then. I read a ton on forums and learned as much as I could from those and maps. Once you have what you think is a good area to try, reach out to the area biologist. The ones I’ve worked with have been a huge help. They get a lot of generic questions, and giving them specific questions is much appreciated by them, and they’ve always helped out a ton. Also, summer scouting trips. 2018 I went to the area we had narrowed it down to a couple times, and really learned it. Found where elk were using, and previous year rut sign. And when we did our archery hunt we both had tagged out with bulls by day 2. Saw a lot of vehicles but once we left the pickup we never saw another person. Good luck!

 

[SHoug07]

I am still fairly inexperienced with hunting but drew a Montana tag.

For what it is worth my plan is having enough places marked for a new area each day if needed. I am going to have a minimal camp for easy mobility with the capability of spike camping if needed. Still planning and putting together questions I have for biologists and forest service, in regards to access and bear density for planned areas.

In my opinion dont be dedicated to a set spot. If they aren't there keep moving until you locate them.

 

[Chrisward828]

Another new one to MT here in 2020. Hunted CO last year on first OTC DIY and called 8-9 bulls in to within 50 yards and a couple to within 15 but not shots. Traditional archery. Looking at a few of the units on your list and can’t wait. Thanks for posting.

 

[TradLife406]

Be ready for griz in those mid state districts! Regardless of what fwp says. Found griz crap in one of those places two weekends ago. First time since I started hunting there a few years ago. And after hundreds of miles through there.

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