Gravelly Range Elk Hunting

[Ranger93]

Myself and 3 buddies are going to be hunting in the Gravelly range next month, and wondering if anyone has any gut feel on Elk numbers in the region. I read the fish and game reports and called a warden form the area and everything sounded good last I checked in. I'm a little concerned with what I have read about hunting pressure in the Gravelly's, but I'm hopeful that we can walk past the roadside hunters and get back into some more remote areas. I worked in griz. country and been around them a lot so that not a big concern, but a high concentration of hunters is. We are all in good shape and can do the work to get past other hunters, but hopefully its not a competition. Would ATV's be an advantage? I know some people hate them but if used properly they don't have to be a nuisance. Any input or opinions are welcome.

 

[tuffcrk14]

Be aware that when it rains/snows over there that the mud turns into gumbo rendering a pickup almost useless or at least limiting your access to certain areas. I know because I’ve hunted and did some work fencing for a livestock association in the black butte area of the gravely’s and have had to save some people and have been saved by other people on the same road. Four wheelers are a good idea to get where you’re going when conditions change. A lot of people use four wheelers/side by sides just because of the sketchy road conditions when moisture hits. The drainage I wanted to get to but couldn’t because of limiting road conditions turned out to be the one that had the elk in it and the horse hunters came out with elk that day.


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[WCB]

Where at in the Gravellys? it is a pretty big area. Realistically there aren't a whole lot of places you are going to get away from people distance wise, use the terrain to your advantage. If you drop down into some of the hell holes there are elk but getting them out is not always fun. I personally would bring an ATV as it give you good options to move or split up.

Elk numbers are almost always good. Still have to find them though. IF you are coming out opener maybe think about opening a hot dog stand at one of the trail heads....you'd come out ahead money wise on your trip.

 

[tuffcrk14]

Rifle opener is quite a sight in itself. Wall tents joined back to back to back to back to make one long wall tent, giant campers, tricked out side by sides, you name it. Where I camped off of the main road for opener up in the Gravely’s there was a wall tent with a neon Miller high life sign over the entry way. I made a comment about the neon sign to a guy I was camped next to and he said, “Hell, that’s nothing! Last year he brought a hot tub up here and pumped water from the creek for it and had a big generator to keep it going all weekend!”


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[JohnnyB]

Was there for rifle opener a few years ago. Wow. We left and found some great hunting and relative solitude in a couple ranges close to the Gravelly Range. Get a cb radio so you can communicate with the convoy!

 

[Ranger93]

We are staying in Ennis and hunting from the pick-up / Atv. Looking at Several areas in HD 330. Our expectation is to enjoy the country and have a good time in the field. Punching an Elk tag (or deer tag) or 2 would make it all the better. Hopefully we can get to some more secluded areas and get away form the crowd. Were not afraid to start before daylight and put 7-10 miles on a day but I also know we need to be realistic about what we can pack out. I hunted the Bighorn MTN Region in Wyoming for Elk and Mule Deer for 20 yrs. So I am familiar to the climate and the Red gumbo. Sometimes chains don't even help much.

 

[huntertx]

My group has killed a bull (should have been 2) and 2 mule deer out of there. We weren’t covered up in elk but stayed after it and got some opportunities. It’s hard to get away from roads. We killed the bull just one ridge from the road but it was straight uphill and there was no trail.
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t see them opening day. It took us a few days to find recent sign.

 

[kid44]

Be cautious of the grizzly bears, there's been an attack or two recently.

 

[Ridge Hunter 83]

Rifle opener is quite a sight in itself. Wall tents joined back to back to back to back to make one long wall tent, giant campers, tricked out side by sides, you name it. Where I camped off of the main road for opener up in the Gravely’s there was a wall tent with a neon Miller high life sign over the entry way. I made a comment about the neon sign to a guy I was camped next to and he said, “Hell, that’s nothing! Last year he brought a hot tub up here and pumped water from the creek for it and had a big generator to keep it going all weekend!”


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Good God! Run... run, far away! That's precisely the kind of crap that I avoid... 100% opposite of that. Those are the same people who will piss and moan forever that there are no elk left on the planet.

 

[Dust Rider]

It’s been a shit show down there for the last decade. Always keep a person in camp for tweekers, and for bears. Lots of elk if you catch them at the right time. Lots more Griz cursing around these days. It’s a unique mix down there for sure.

 

[exppi]

Haven't hunted there in a decade but it was always a shit show early in the season. People crawling around everywhere and lots of pressure.

 

[Ranger93]

I thought I would add an update to this post for the benefit of anyone interested in attempting a Public Land DIY Elk/ deer hunt in Montana. Our trip was totally awesome in almost every way. The not so awesome parts were out of our control. The weather on opening days was perfect, but the next 3 days were tough. If it wasn't raining it was snowing and if it wasn't snowing we were fogged in. We are from the Adirondack Mtn Region of NY, snow and cold are the norm during hunting season so that was not a big deal for us. Our party was well equipped and able to deal with the weather. We brought 2 atvs and chains for the pick up so we didn't have any problems getting around if the roads were at all passable, but we lost a lot of time due to just plain crap weather anad deep snow up top.

I agree with the posts above that opening day is a bit of a circus but you can get away from it if you try. There were lots of road hunters and ATV operators who thought they should go anywhere that they'd like with total disregard for the resource or the regulations posted by the Forest Service. I'm not sure if it was a result of the weather or if it was a standard occurrence, but most of these folks seemed to have disappeared by Wednesday. I have to admit I didn't miss them.

We hunted hard, 7-10 miles a day on foot and used the atvs as little as possible. It took 4 days before we could even find an elk, but we kept at it until we did. We were able to harvest 1 bull in our party of 4 hunters , however we saw 10 separate bulls. Some shooters and some spikes. The bull we took was 4.5 miles from the pick up and we walked into get him. It was dark by the time we had him field dressed so we left him overnight in the snow to cool and went back in the am with meat packs to haul out. Our pack was 1.5 miles to here we left the ATVs. I carried a 12 guage pump shotgun with 00 buck for packing out the next day but there was no bear sing near by and nothing bothered the Elk that night.

We rented a house it town it was inexpensive, warm, had a washer and dryer, we cooked our own meals and we all had a shower every day, however it was 1 hour to the trail heads we hunted in from in either direction. All in all it was a great trip and we plan on doing it again.

Here's what we learned.
1.) You can't plan on the weather so hunt for as long as you can 10-14 days would be best. 7 days min.
2.) It's big country and its hard to find game so you have to travel quite a bit.
3.) There are idiots everywhere you go and not all of them are non residents.
4.) People become much friendlier about Tuesday.
5.) Elk are very tough animals even when hit in the bread basket.
6.) Don't believe everything you read on this forum.
7.) ONX (or similar gps) is a must, but take paper maps and a compass with you as well
8.) When the weather up top was bad we should have focused on hunting deer down low.

Note: We are all in our late 40's and early 50's, we were out earlier in the a.m. and back later in the p.m. than most anyone else we saw, but we went to hunt. However we all still had a few beers at the end of the day. We prepared most of the summer and did lots of walking at home on the weekends with weighted packs. We still could have done more, but never underestimate will power.

Those hills are steep!

 

[Bsib2]

How much is the trip?


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[Ranger93]

We were all in at $2200 per person including the license.