Finally a great guided hunt

[tntrker]

I manned up and went on a hunt in NW Mt with Waypoint Outfitters Inc in Trout Creek MT, and glad I did. It was a week of grueling weather and hiking but I had a blast. I was never able to catch a legal bull under 1,500 yrds, due to weather, terrain, or time, but I had a blast.
Monday, the fog was supposed to lift around noon. The plan was to sit at point A and glass until fog lifted then move to point B where we should glass up some elk and work on a stalk. Fog never lifted and we sat at point A all day. Went back at dark and had a great meal.

 

[tntrker]

Day 2 started out the same, fog was to lift and sunny by midday. We hiked another mountain to check the backside of where we were to hunt Monday (site B) to see if the elk were still there as thought. We saw a small mule deer earlier, 3 whitetail bucks fighting @1500 yrds at the bottom of the mountain. At about 2pm the elk started filing out (1700 yrds) we watched 6-7 cows, 2 spikes, and two legal bulls with the largest being a 5x5. The plan was to put them to bed and set up where they were the next day. Back to supper..

 

[tntrker]

Day 3 started a grueling walk in fresh snow 6-8 miles back. When we arrived, we couldn’t get into a descent glassing position without fear of bumping them, so we sat up best we could, built a fire and waited. Nothing…instead of leaving the way we came, old logging road and skid trail winding up the mountain, we dropped off the mountain thru the snow covered deadfall. That saved us a few hrs but MAN was it rough…great dinner back at the lodge..

 

[tntrker]

Day 4, After 3 grueling long hikes, my guide took it “easy” on me. Snow was now knee deep but we only had to walk 1/2-3/4 miles to a lookout point. There we could watch 2 sides of a mountain divided by a ridge. We could take off right or left after whatever we saw. Wind was brutal on the peak but we had plenty of firewood and hunkered down to glass. The sun came out for the 1st day and we could see pretty clear. We saw a huge whitetail with a massive rack at 2,000 yrds but he was headed up and over on a mission. No chance to put a play on him. Supper time again…

 

[tntrker]

Day 5 and I had to leave the hunt by 3pm to get back to lodge, then airport, to leave on a red eye flight back to SC. After walking past a bedded mule deer, we went maybe 2 miles in and saw 3 cows crossing a ridge. We set up and waited. All day cows kept feeding out. We hardly ever put our Binos down cause just as we would, another would feed past an opening into the timber. There were 3 small opening before it opened into a larger opening. About 1pm we spotted an nice bull on the top. He never stayed visible long or showed his head gear long enough to see if he was legal or not. So the excitement was still being extended. Finally, the bulls started filing out after 20 or so cows. Some spikes and a 2x2. 5 bulls total. All within 650 yrds all morning feeding. They were starting to feed back to the bed when we had to leave, never seeing the big bull we saw earlier. What a great time!!

 

[wyosteve]

Nice to read a write up of someone who understands what a hunt is about and had a great time without filling a tag!

 

[The10%]

Damn 6-8 mile hike in that snow is no joke! Good to see you positive without filling your tag, wish I was better at that.

 

[tntrker]

Damn 6-8 mile hike in that snow is no joke! Good to see you positive without filling your tag, wish I was better at that.

6-8 one way..it was a 12 mile trek round trip on that day and we shortened it by heading straight down through the deadfall.. Not sure it was smart, but we made it back before midnight..I can see how snapping a leg/ankle would be easy in that mess..

 

[t_carlson]

Nice to read a write up of someone who understands what a hunt is about and had a great time without filling a tag!

Well said.

6-8 one way..it was a 12 mile trek round trip on that day and we shortened it by heading straight down through the deadfall.. Not sure it was smart, but we made it back before midnight..I can see how snapping a leg/ankle would be easy in that mess..

I'm kind of shocked they didn't have horses. I always assumed outfitters used them pretty universally to stay in business. Not many clients willing to walk like that, and without long walks (or rides), success rates are pretty low.

Glad you had an enjoyable trip.

I'm curious what the outfitter had to say about wolves in that area. I know it has been infiltrated pretty heavily by them.

 

[tntrker]

Well said.



I'm kind of shocked they didn't have horses. I always assumed outfitters used them pretty universally to stay in business. Not many clients willing to walk like that, and without long walks (or rides), success rates are pretty low.

Glad you had an enjoyable trip.

I'm curious what the outfitter had to say about wolves in that area. I know it has been infiltrated pretty heavily by them.

I had a wolf tag just in case but didn't see any or sign. They offer a discount to a future hunt if a wolf is taken, I think..They had horses for packing out if needed, which I would have needed if I had shot anything bigger than a rabbit..

 

[GSPHUNTER]

I have said it many times before, never judge the success of a hunting trip by the weight of the game bag at the end of the trip. sounds like a fantastic trip.

 

[Marble]

What great writers up! Nice to read a positive enduring story from someone who can't wait to do it again.

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

 

[Falcon]

Great write up. Sounds like a great adventure.

 

[tntrker]

Great write up. Sounds like a great adventure.

It was. Hoping to draw Montana again next year. If so, I'll be back with them for an archery hunt..We'll see how 2 pp, 1 bought and outfitter pp fair in the draw...

 

[Lcmorrison13]

Awesome pictures. I will have to document like this when I go.