First Archery Elk Hunt Trip Report

[Bl704]

New Gear to Buy:

Synthetic softshell jacket with DWR. Looking at the Kuiu teton next time they do the 20-30% off sale.
...

Pants with waterproof seat and knees. Looking at the sitka timberline just need a super/camofire deal to justify.

Sometimes that budgeting bites you in the butt on new gear...no problem, if needed you can overcome this obstacle:

On the jacket, my different route - fleece (my existing FL halstead-quiet and not too bulky) and if I need wind/waterproofing I pull out my rain gear top. Not warm enough? Add extra layer underneath. Real cold the (cheap end of year clearance) puffy is added. Ymmv

Similarly for the pants, that padding and water issue: I went with existing FL Corrugates (nylon dries well + base layer if cold and again if needed add the rain pants). I also carry a piece (~14"x10"x1") of foam. Wth? Multipurpose padding: under my head at night, sit on if glassing/sitting, kneel on, additional padding for a pack...yada yada. Cheap alternative.

Just some other opinions that get you roughly to the same place.

 

[Netherman]

Looking at your response maybe my issue is my rain gear. My issue wasn't warmth or keeping rain out it was my inability to vent and stay dry at the same time.

 

[Osprey]

I use the Garmin Etrex 20 it is half the weight of the Montana and the battery lasts slightly longer. I'd highly suggest holding onto the etrex 20 for times your looking to minimize weight. A few ounces here and there quickly become pounds. My Coues deer hunt this Dec in AZ my total pack weight is just under 55 pounds which includes larger heavy items like 65mm spotter, 15x56 binos, tri pod, and enough water for a 4 day hunt since water in the area I'm in is slim pickins those items alone are a good chunk of my pack weight. If your looking at backpacking trips in future I would also keep weight in mind on gear too.

As far as rain gear goes Kuiu has some in the outlet and you can find stika on sale as well if you search around, the pit zips will help with venting while hiking. I just got a Chugach set a couple months back for roughly 100 off both bottom and top.

 

[bwlacy]

This was a great thread. Very nice write up. I hope to be into the elk next year in Colorado. I've been once and no wear near the success you had and still can't wait to go back.

About your sight dilemma. I have been shooting an HHA slider for about 6 years now. I basically use the PBR method. I have a sight tape with the yardages on it and will adjust it if time allows. In a tree stand here in Michigan I set it at 25 and leave it for the most part. I can aim low lungs on a White tail and be good from 0 to 35 yards easily. For Elk I could probably set it at 30 and be fine out to 40 or 45. I'll have to play around on the target in the yard next summer and figure out my PBR with my elk set up. I really like it for deer hunting. You can't use the wrong pin, no thinking, just aim and shoot.

 

[Netherman]

Montana Return Trip:
I really enjoyed doing the write up last time and really appreciate the feedback from more experienced members. So, I’ll be typing up the return trip in the same format. This time we decided to fly there using reward miles from work and then rent a SUV out there to sleep in, move from area to area, and drive back to the mitten. We picked an area that looked good for both deer and elk. With a plan to deer hunt first and then try for elk redemption.

Day 0:
The only flight available on Friday got us into Bozeman at 10pm. From there we hit Walmart for a cooler and a weeks worth of food. Then, began the drive to our planned hunting area. With two feet of snow on the ground our drive took significantly longer than planned and had us arriving at the national forest somewhere between 2-3am. With the unplowed road and our less than capable Nissan Armada we decided to park at the turnout next to two other campers who couldn’t make it either. From there we got our packs loaded, everything set for the morning, and tried to sleep thru our excitement for the next morning.

Day 1:
Fortunately, morning comes quickly when you get to bed around 4am. As we were heading down the road to a chunk of state land that looked promising we saw a small heard of elk crossing the road. While we stopped and stared at a nice branch antlered bull and another giant that would’ve given Mr. 1000 a run for his money, we realized that they were moving onto a small chunk of state land. We found a small parking spot along the road but were unsure on the legality of parking on the side of a major road in MT. with roughly another hour until shooting light we decided to run up the road to get cell service and check the regs before starting out with a fine. 15 minutes later we are back with the confidence that we can legally park there only to find another truck parked there with two hunters running up the hill presumably after the two bulls.

Frustrated, we decide not to try and race these guys up the hill and headed to the state land we had originally planned to check out. Once we got there our disappointment was only enhanced. What had looked like good mule deer habitat (small rolling hills with sage and a river bottom) now looked like a ghostly tundra due to the two feet of snow. After two hours of trudging thru the snow we headed back to the SUV to drive up to the ranch HQ and get permission for a BMA area we had been looking at. We met the ranch manager, got our permission slips, then started making our way out there.

It was an AG area with a watering system and as we got there we saw over 20 deer standing underneath the watering system. Digging in the snow to get the premium feed below. It was getting dark and the deer began to pour out of the river bottom and into the field. All whitetails. We saw more deer in that evening than I see in an entire season deer hunting MI. We saw multiple 8 and 10 point bucks that would be shooters without question back home. But, travelling 2,000 miles to hunt mule deer makes shooting a whitetail tough. After shooting light passed and it became too dark to see we headed back to the hotel armada.

Lesson(s) learned: Know the rules. Know the rules. Know the rules. I don’t know whether those other hunters shot or even had an opportunity at those two bull elk or the rest of the heard that likely followed. But I certainly count this as an opportunity missed.

Question(s): N/A

 

[Netherman]

Day 2:

Back at the campground (national forest turn out) the night before we were talking about those whitetail and my friend decided that he would be happy shooting a 10 point whitetail and moving on to elk hunting. So we headed back to the BMA with plans to get up on a hill between the river bottom and premium feed. We got there minutes before first light and on cue the deer began their slow walk out of the field. We saw two bucks headed our way both 8 points and decent. While getting ready to take a shot we saw a 10 coming in behind them. Gotta wait for that guy. Well… We got another hard lesson about 2 in the scope being worth more than 1 in the bush. The 10 took a hard left and with just tundra between us we were forced to watch him walk away.

Unbelievably another buck began his daily migration back to the safety of the river bottom. And this buck was the biggest I have ever seen on the hoof. Twice as big as those 8 points and a much bigger 10 than the one from earlier. Trying to get a range was nearly impossible with the snow on the ground and no vegetation to reflect back at us. The only thing I could range was a small depression 300 to 350 yards away. As the buck got closer to the firing line he just kept getting bigger. Finally he stepped to what we guessed to be 200 yards and my friend shot. Right over his back. That deer ran faster than I’ve ever seen a deer run. After checking for blood, on our walk of shame out of there we saw where he jumped over the fence. From where he left the ground to his landing point was 20’ with a 5’ fence in the middle.

Figuring we blew out that area we headed back to the tundra hoping that our new BMA access and this cool looking bottom would have the mule deer we’d been looking for. A mile and a half thru two feet of snow later we were set up on a ridge glassing into the bottom. Based on the tracks we saw it looked like an elk migration had gone thru there the previous day or two. We spotted two bedded antelope and a mule deer doe with two fawns moving down the bottom. After watching the deer when we looked back at the antelope the two had turned into a hundred that must have been bedded on the other side of the knoll the two were bedded on. One by one they walked down the bottom along the fence line. The rest of the evening didn’t turn up any further leads so we headed back to the truck for another uncomfortable night’s sleep.

Lesson(s) learned: Sleeping in the back of a SUV is not ideal and with an overnight temperature below zero not very warm either. Starting to look at hot tents and am leaning towards the SO redcliff with a LO stove or a custom based off their design.*

Question(s): For those with redcilffs with stoves. What is the lowest temperature you’ve been comfortable/would plan to stay out in? Do you typically keep the stove going all night? With our wall tent we typically need to reload it twice a night if we want it going all night. Any tips on using a rangefinder in the snow?

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[realunlucky]

Day 2:

Back at the campground (national forest turn out) the night before we were talking about those whitetail and my friend decided that he would be happy shooting a 10 point whitetail and moving on to elk hunting. So we headed back to the BMA with plans to get up on a hill between the river bottom and premium feed. We got there minutes before first light and on cue the deer began their slow walk out of the field. We saw two bucks headed our way both 8 points and decent. While getting ready to take a shot we saw a 10 coming in behind them. Gotta wait for that guy. Well… We got another hard lesson about 2 in the scope being worth more than 1 in the bush. The 10 took a hard left and with just tundra between us we were forced to watch him walk away.

Unbelievably another buck began his daily migration back to the safety of the river bottom. And this buck was the biggest I have ever seen on the hoof. Twice as big as those 8 points and a much bigger 10 than the one from earlier. Trying to get a range was nearly impossible with the snow on the ground and no vegetation to reflect back at us. The only thing I could range was a small depression 300 to 350 yards away. As the buck got closer to the firing line he just kept getting bigger. Finally he stepped to what we guessed to be 200 yards and my friend shot. Right over his back. That deer ran faster than I’ve ever seen a deer run. After checking for blood, on our walk of shame out of there we saw where he jumped over the fence. From where he left the ground to his landing point was 20’ with a 5’ fence in the middle.

Figuring we blew out that area we headed back to the tundra hoping that our new BMA access and this cool looking bottom would have the mule deer we’d been looking for. A mile and a half thru two feet of snow later we were set up on a ridge glassing into the bottom. Based on the tracks we saw it looked like an elk migration had gone thru there the previous day or two. We spotted two bedded antelope and a mule deer doe with two fawns moving down the bottom. After watching the deer when we looked back at the antelope the two had turned into a hundred that must have been bedded on the other side of the knoll the two were bedded on. One by one they walked down the bottom along the fence line. The rest of the evening didn’t turn up any further leads so we headed back to the truck for another uncomfortable night’s sleep.

Lesson(s) learned: Sleeping in the back of a SUV is not ideal and with an overnight temperature below zero not very warm either. Starting to look at hot tents and am leaning towards the SO redcliff with a LO stove or a custom based off their design.*

Question(s): For those with redcilffs with stoves. What is the lowest temperature you’ve been comfortable/would plan to stay out in? Do you typically keep the stove going all night? With our wall tent we typically need to reload it twice a night if we want it going all night. Any tips on using a rangefinder in the snow?

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Those light wieght stoves aren't air tight so you can dampen them down for long burn times basically they work while your feeding wood into them. Nice to warm up before bed and dry stuff out it burns out and you have relight it for a warm tent before heading out in morning. Sleeping bags rated for those conditions keep you warm though the night

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[Netherman]

Day 3:
Cold. The last night was the coldest of the trip and zero degree sleeping bags weren’t even close to enough. We headed back to the whitetail spot and this time we got there a half hour before shooting light. With the armada reporting a temperature of -10 at the hunting area I really appreciated my puffy layers and wool mittens. At first light, all we saw was fog or perhaps our eyes had just frozen and began forming frost.
A frigid half hour later we spotted our first deer of the morning. It was the 10 from yesterday and this time it looked like he was headed right for us. Then as the fog began to lift was saw another buck and he was WIDE. It was the same giant from yesterday and he was catching up with the 10. Walking together he made the other buck look puny. Seeing that same buck again made me reconsider holding out for a mule deer. A quick discussion and game of rock paper scissors had left me holding the rangefinder and my friend getting ready for a shot at redemption. As they crossed the ditch I knew they were in range. Moments later they stopped simultaneously at 216 yards. Did they somehow smell us? Maybe they heard me whispering the range? We’ll never know because a second later a bullet went thru the giant’s lungs and the other buck took off.
A quick fist bump and a 216 yard sprint later we were down there. He didn’t get any smaller in person. We just stood there looking at his massive rack in disbelief that he kept his same routine after being shot at the previous morning. He had 10 typical points with split brows later that night we scored him at 154 gross and 146 net.
View attachment 62330
It took us an hour to get him caped, quartered, and loaded into our packs. Frozen and wet with meat in the cooler we headed into town to see if we could find a motel and a smaller cooler to put our recently displaced food. After checking into the local motel and a hot lunch we were back on the road heading to a new area. The new area was a next to a valley that fed out of the mountains. As we started walking to the ridge we saw 100+ elk in the private bottom. We booked it to the edge of the hill overlooking the valley. We noticed a group had broken off from the heard and was hopping the fence onto the public land. We got down the hill and moved thru the timber over towards their crossing point. When we got there, they were still crossing the fence. It was my turn to shoot so I was looking down a lane watching the elk file thru one by one. Cow, cow, spike, cow, cow… I didn’t want to shoot a cow after the whitetail from the morning.
My friend said he’d be happy shooting a cow so we headed back up the ridge. At the top, we saw a cow moving thru the timber and got setup. Boom City. Double lung shot at 100 yards. She took a few steps and was down. Elk are giant animals. As we walked up I realized just how big they are. This was going to take some work. Quartering took us into darkness and being in the timber had us checking our surroundings periodically. Fortunately, the wind was blowing down into the valley giving us a good view in that direction. We hung two quarters a few hundred yards or so from the kill site and then started the first leg of our trip. After three pack outs the motel was the best decision we had made all day. A hot shower and sleeping in a warm room let alone a bed was awesome.
View attachment 62331
Lesson(s) learned: I need to find a solution for keeping my feet warm. I had uninsulated boots and while changing into dry socks on the hill helped my toes didn’t fare too well. The Gutless method is the way to go especially if you are going to be making multiple trips packing out meat and are worried about visitors.
Question(s): Would you try and move a downed elk to a more open area to quarter? We probably could have rolled the elk further down the hill and gotten into a more open area.

 

[Netherman]

Day 4:
We didn’t get back until after midnight the previous night so we slept in until 9, got breakfast at the local hole in the wall, and started heading up to the national forest after hearing that the road was getting plowed this morning. It wasn’t plowed but the snow had been melting and a few trucks had made in in so we decided to try it. On our way up there we ran into a rancher who slid off the road. After some digging, pushing, and pulling with the armada we were beginning to think this was a lost cause. Luckily the trucks that packed down the road got us some reinforcements. A few hunters that had been stuck in the national forest were able to make it out and one of them was kind enough to stop with his ¾ ton and give the truck a good yank. Once we got him going we were back on our way. We got another mile or so down the road before it got too bad and we had to turn around.
Running out of time we headed to a new area that looked promising. When we got to the rolling hill area it was just another barren tundra. There was a BMA attached so we figured we check it out with the little time we had left. Once we got there we saw hundreds of whitetail and two guys loading a mule deer into their truck. Glassing around we saw a few big 8 and 10s but not a single mule deer.
Lesson(s) learned: Having a capable vehicle with off-roading gear would have given us access to less pressured areas. In this area if you are near a river you will most likely see whitetail.
Question(s): What items/tools have you found useful when off-roading into hunting areas? Our list back home consists of (high lift jack, shovel, come along, chains, tow strap, misc tool bag)

 

[UtahJimmy]

Day 3:
Cold. The last night was the coldest of the trip and zero degree sleeping bags weren’t even close to enough. We headed back to the whitetail spot and this time we got there a half hour before shooting light. With the armada reporting a temperature of -10 at the hunting area I really appreciated my puffy layers and wool mittens. At first light, all we saw was fog or perhaps our eyes had just frozen and began forming frost.
A frigid half hour later we spotted our first deer of the morning. It was the 10 from yesterday and this time it looked like he was headed right for us. Then as the fog began to lift was saw another buck and he was WIDE. It was the same giant from yesterday and he was catching up with the 10. Walking together he made the other buck look puny. Seeing that same buck again made me reconsider holding out for a mule deer. A quick discussion and game of rock paper scissors had left me holding the rangefinder and my friend getting ready for a shot at redemption. As they crossed the ditch I knew they were in range. Moments later they stopped simultaneously at 216 yards. Did they somehow smell us? Maybe they heard me whispering the range? We’ll never know because a second later a bullet went thru the giant’s lungs and the other buck took off.
A quick fist bump and a 216 yard sprint later we were down there. He didn’t get any smaller in person. We just stood there looking at his massive rack in disbelief that he kept his same routine after being shot at the previous morning. He had 10 typical points with split brows later that night we scored him at 154 gross and 146 net.
View attachment 62330
It took us an hour to get him caped, quartered, and loaded into our packs. Frozen and wet with meat in the cooler we headed into town to see if we could find a motel and a smaller cooler to put our recently displaced food. After checking into the local motel and a hot lunch we were back on the road heading to a new area. The new area was a next to a valley that fed out of the mountains. As we started walking to the ridge we saw 100+ elk in the private bottom. We booked it to the edge of the hill overlooking the valley. We noticed a group had broken off from the heard and was hopping the fence onto the public land. We got down the hill and moved thru the timber over towards their crossing point. When we got there, they were still crossing the fence. It was my turn to shoot so I was looking down a lane watching the elk file thru one by one. Cow, cow, spike, cow, cow… I didn’t want to shoot a cow after the whitetail from the morning.
My friend said he’d be happy shooting a cow so we headed back up the ridge. At the top, we saw a cow moving thru the timber and got setup. Boom City. Double lung shot at 100 yards. She took a few steps and was down. Elk are giant animals. As we walked up I realized just how big they are. This was going to take some work. Quartering took us into darkness and being in the timber had us checking our surroundings periodically. Fortunately, the wind was blowing down into the valley giving us a good view in that direction. We hung two quarters a few hundred yards or so from the kill site and then started the first leg of our trip. After three pack outs the motel was the best decision we had made all day. A hot shower and sleeping in a warm room let alone a bed was awesome.
View attachment 62331
Lesson(s) learned: I need to find a solution for keeping my feet warm. I had uninsulated boots and while changing into dry socks on the hill helped my toes didn’t fare too well. The Gutless method is the way to go especially if you are going to be making multiple trips packing out meat and are worried about visitors.
Question(s): Would you try and move a downed elk to a more open area to quarter? We probably could have rolled the elk further down the hill and gotten into a more open area.

When snow is on the ground, I'll throw the ice fishing sled in the truck. Depending on how close you are to the vehicle, you can go back and grab it before going up to the killsite, gut it, and get out as quick as possible. Whether whole or quartered, you can drag them downhill only. I've gotten 2 cows out whole this way, solo.

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[Netherman]

Day 5:
Decided we need to get to higher elevation if we want to see mulies. Scouting from my phone I found a new area of national forest that look like it was higher, away from rivers, and had some decent vantage points. When we got to our planned lookout point we didn’t get the view we thought we would. As we were hiking to our second choice we happened across two mule deer doe. Unfortunately, they didn’t have a buck with them. Moving on we got set up on a hill that gave us an awesome view into the rolling hills. About an hour after shooting light the deer started popping out. 4 doe there, a group with two little bucks but, all mule deer. Being tired from the previous days resulted in me cutting the peeper (spotting scope) from my pack to save weight. Boy, were we missing it now. Eventually we spotted a group of deer about a half mile away. 6 deer one who’s body was significantly larger than anything we had seen all morning. Deciding that that had to be a buck worth shooting we headed that way.
On or way we stumbled across a bachelor group with 3 bucks. A fork, small 3x3, and a good sized 4x3. With the uncertainty on whether the other deer was a buck or still even there we made a plan to get on the 4x3. They were all feeding in a depression being on top we back up so they couldn’t see us, worked around the bowl, and began crawling at them. When we got to the edge they had moved. The two little bucks were in the bottom sparring and the 3x4 was now on the opposite side of the depression 436 yards away. We needed to get closer. We continued crawling down into the bottom trying to reach the bush that would put us 300 yards away. We made it, but something made the big guy nervous and he slowly walked over the edge. With the two little guys playing in front of us all we could do was watch him walk away. After we got out of the bowl we found his tracks but decided to stick to our original plan and went after the big bodied deer.
Looking over the edge into the area we had seen the deer we quickly spotted 4 doe working their way towards our ridge. Looking further we found the big bodied deer. He was a giant fork and clearly the boss of the group. What I still can’t figure out is why they were feeding here. All around were grasses and tasty looking vegetation but here they were eating picker bushes. There was another buck in the group a decent 4x4 and he was getting pushed around by the big fork. Not sure if I would get another opportunity and with an elk tag still in my pocket I decide to shoot the 4x4. From our vantage point the whole group was within 250 yards. I got prone, rested my rifle on my pack, and lined him up. Eventually the big fork left him alone and gave me an opening. I shot and the entire heard froze. The 4x4 was still standing so I racked another round and shot again this time he fell over kicking. The doe took off but the big fork ran over to see what had happened to his lesser foe. He stood over him and must have been thinking that he was so scared of His Forkyness that he died of fear and shame. As we headed down to celebrate the big fork just watched us either knowing that we were out of tags or that his superior genetics would keep him safe. Having two gutless experiences already this one went much quicker and we had him quartered and loaded in under an hour. We made it back to the SUV unloaded the meat, ate lunch, and headed to the public land bordering the valley full of elk we had gotten the cow at.
We headed into the broken timber hoping to find a few stragglers who were on the wrong side of the line. We walked the edge stopping at good lookout points along the way. We saw elk but they all were in or heading towards the timber on the opposite side of the valley. With darkness came our long walk back to the SUV. It was so dark out there and without a treeline for a reference we ended up using a compass to make sure we were headed west towards the road we had parked at.
Lesson(s) learned: Getting away from river bottoms got us into mule deer country. Plan your stalks with the assumption that the target will move. Had we been about 50yards further along the edge of the bowl we would have had access to the treeline and possibly been able to get an opportunity on the 3x4. Always bring the peeper on hunts when you want to judge an animal before shooting.
Question(s): Do any of you carry a smaller tripod when you plan on sitting to glass? I have a full size tripod and with an angled scope feel like it might be overkill.

 

[realunlucky]

Yep my go to tripod is short and has to be used sitting. I never glass standing unless close to the truck and have a tripod for standing in there. I hate carrying my spotter but feel the steps it saves me are worth the energy

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[realunlucky]

Really enjoying your trip report thanks

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[Netherman]

Forgot to add the pics

View attachment 62451
View attachment 62453

 

[Netherman]

Yep my go to tripod is short and has to be used sitting. I never glass standing unless close to the truck and have a tripod for standing in there. I hate carrying my spotter but feel the steps it saves me are worth the energy

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What tripod are you using? I've been looking around and it doesn't seem like there are very many mini carbon options. Compared to a mini aluminum tripod the weight savings over a full size carbon setup are pretty minimal. I could save some weight from my full size aluminum tripod, but it seems like going with carbon version would cover all situations and be about the same weight. There is a higher cost though.

 

[Netherman]

Day 6:
One full day and one tag left. We decided to head to an area the locals referred to as the meat rack. It sounded promising, but once again we were limited by our vehicle’s capability. We made it to the mouth of the valley that led to the meat rack but were unable to drive in any further. We parked and began hiking in hoping that the elk were moving down the valley towards us. Just after shooting light we started hearing gunshots. All coming from the general direction of the meat rack. We quickened our pace and headed towards the warzone, hoping that we would begin to see elk running down the valley. About an hour later we started hearing atvs or snowmobiles likely picking up the elk that had been shot that morning. The sounds were coming from over the ridge we were walking next to so we began heading that way. We made it to the edge and on the other side saw a heard of elk moving over the opposite ridge. With the valley and opposite ridge being private and the meat locker still 3 miles away we decided to head back to the area the cow was killed and see what that heard was doing.
At the new area we saw the heard safely bedded on the private side of the valley. We watched them stretch and feed around and after a while the lead cow got them moving. They were headed up the valley and we were hoping that they would start to cross over or make it all the way up to the national forest. Moving thru the timber we headed up the valley behind them checking on their progress whenever we got to an opening. After about a half mile we saw the heard make a hard right further into the private. Once we got to the other side of the hill we were on we saw why. Two hunters were walking down the fence line that was the border between the private and public. They didn’t have elk tags or they must have been clueless. Either way those elk wouldn’t be crossing there. We got up top again and watched the heard the rest of the evening. Unfortunately they never came anywhere near the line.



Lesson(s) learned: bringing your own vehicle, atv, or in this case snowmobile would be a huge advantage. During rifle season in a OTC unit if you see an elk on public shoot it. You might not get another opportunity.
Question(s): With daytime highs under 20 we could feasibly take a week to pack out an elk. Would you typically limit your hunting distance under those conditions? I think that factored in to us not making it to the meat locker. It might be a grass is greener argument but I keep wondering if we had made it up there if we would have got one.

 

[Netherman]

Day 7:
One morning left. Not sure where to go we headed to the same spot as the night before. We saw the bulk of the heard in the private valley. Hoping that there were a few stragglers on the right side of the line we began slowly making our way thru the timber. Whenever we crested a hill we peeked around but still weren’t seeing anything. Suddenly, we heard a shot. It was close. When started running to get between the shot and fence hoping there was more than one and that we could get a shot before they made it over the line. That plan never materialized and we decided to head towards the gunshot we had heard earlier. We found exactly where the shot had come from as we walked up on two hunters field dressing a calf elk. Talking with the hunters it sounded like the calf had somehow gotten separated from the heard and was wandering around when they saw it. The lack of other tracks around seemed to confirm their story. I checked my watch and it was 11:30. Crap, where did my morning go? We needed to leave at 12 for my friend to make it to another wedding so we double timed it back to the armada.
Lesson(s) learned: The early snow pushed the elk out of the higher public lands and down into the private/BLM lands. In a situation like this SHOOT THE FIRST ELK YOU SEE.
Question(s): Will elk typically move back to the high country if the snow melts after an early snowstorm? There was 1-2 feet of snow when we were there but it was melting as we were leaving. My thought is that they will stay where they are until weather or hunting pressure forces them back up, further down the drainage, or onto private land.

Recap:
I had a blast. Three out of four tags filled is awesome and a much better score than our first trip to Montana. Now, I need to start figuring out which states to be building points in and most importantly where I will be hunting next year.
Here’s the gear recap. Almost all the gear I used was purchased based on reviews here and around the web. So, if anyone has any questions about any items let me know and I’ll try and answer them. I’ve taken so much knowledge from here I should probably try and give some back.

Noteworthy Gear:
Kuiu Yukon gaiters. With 1-2 feet of snow on the ground these weren’t a luxury but a requirement. They kept the snow out of my boots and my pant legs from getting wet. I’m going to start wearing them in MI as well.

Howard Leight quiet band ear plugs. I got these from work and they were very convenient. I had them around my neck at all times and they were really simple to put on before each shot.

Hooded Chama. The hood is 80% of what makes this layer great. It was simple to put the hood up or down to help regulate my temperature while hiking.

Kifaru gun bearer this was super convenient and much easier to use than my friend’s kuiu version. Most of his troubles involved getting his stock into the holder.

Timberline Pants. These pants were everything that I had hoped they would be (I removed the knee pads). The waterproof knees and seat were awesome and paired with gaiters never got wet. The only changes I would make would be to add an additional rear pocket and hip vents.

Disappointing Gear:
Hydration pack. This was fine in September but had freezing issues in November. I ended up using a powerade bottle after the first day. I may switch to the bottle exclusively going forward. (added bonus of powerade the first use)

I’m glad to see that this list isn’t very long since it could also be labeled wasted money.

New Gear to Buy:
Hot tent. Probably a Redcliff since it gives a lot of flexibility with 2-4 people.

Light Outdoors 18” stove or DIY version with similar design.

First Lite neck gaiter. Hoping this will pair with the chama hood and be a complete head covering system for me.

Woobie. Even with puffy layers I was still cold during long sits. Everyone seems to rave about theses so I might give one of the Costco ones a try.

Artic Shield Boot Covers. Think this might be a good solution for me. I posted about these already and am pretty sure I will be trying them next year. I might even buy them this year and give them a try in MI.

Trash or Dry Bag. Something to put game bags in for pack out. I got blood all over my pack and back of pants. Not a big deal on this hunt but would be an issue on a backcountry hunt with bear concerns.