Montana Elk Hunt Analysis Help

[mad_angler]

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- I need to specifically identify spotting knobs so I can find elk quickly. Hiking all day was ineffective and slow.
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One more tip that I'm going to implement... when sitting at a glassing knob, don't just look for elk. Before you leave each spot, glass for glassing spots. Look for other knobs that give different or better looks than your current knob.

 

[BuckSmasher]

This is a great idea, glad to hear you are also learning. I was dictating notes to Siri on the drive home to capture all my thoughts raw. Then as I was listening to podcasts I would pause and write down an error I made the podcast reminded me of. Here was some of them that are even now evolving:

- Escouting is not just location for elk. I picked spots to camp, but I need to pick 3 spots to camp each with 8 different options accessible from my truck. I moved a ton and still not enough.

- I need to specifically identify spotting knobs so I can find elk quickly. Hiking all day was ineffective and slow.

- I didn’t hear a single elk, so I need to know how to hunt them when they are quiet. See above.

- I think I had everything I needed gear wise except a lighter for the stove. I was happy with my packing. Maybe more base kuiu shirts and a second set of each type of pants.

- Probably could have went further if I was in better shape. Specifically for packing out a bull. I had no problems hiking, it was the fear of packing one out 5 miles in.

- Woodsmanship. I need to practice this aggressively — see #3. Particularly the difference between fresh and old sign.

- Plan movement ahead of time. Truck to trailhead, atv to 1 mile, hike next mile. Whatever it is — must be planned before.

- Do NOT waste time in spots with no sign. One of biggest makes this trip.

- On e-scouting for elk specifically, I need to be much more detailed and mark up the heck out of the map. Therefore in field I don’t need to look I just need to move from one marker to another.

- Study more the language of elk. What call means what — especially helpful when they are quiet.

- Check the wind more often — it changed faster than expected and I didn’t know.

Let me know if you have any tips you’ve implemented if you ran into any similar errors. Man I can’t wait to get back out there — hunting elk is incredible!

It seems like you are overthinking it. Elk hunting is easy where there are tons of elk and hard where there are few. It sounds to me like the biggest mistake of the trip is you chose a low elk density area. Biggest part of e-scouting should be identifying good units and productive habitat belts in those units. I would disagree with having a marked up map and sticking to that vs conditions on the ground. Elk were almost certainly bugling 11pm-4am if you were awake and listening you were too far away from where they were. Country you were in looks gentle and forested, bugles don't travel that far in that.

Packing an elk 5 miles out solo is pretty darn near impossible before you could get meat spoilage in Sept. Somebody somewhere has done it but 5 miles in with four round trips equals 40+ miles of hiking with 20+ miles with 80 lb on your back is crazy. It would easily take several days even if gentle hike, restricting you to one or two days hunting. Good plan not to take that on. When I have hunted solo I stay within a half mile of truck/atv transport or have had a packer lined up.

 

[MT_Wyatt]

This is a good thread, almost a model for others - OP “went for it” and then asking for specific feedback on the experience. Refreshing!

@Team4LongGun really nailed it on the feedback in my opinion.

Only thing I would add is once you do find them, gauge their temperature for calling before going too nuts. Elk seem to really be getting educated out there.

 

[Jfkbeast2]

It seems like you are overthinking it. Elk hunting is easy where there are tons of elk and hard where there are few. It sounds to me like the biggest mistake of the trip is you chose a low elk density area. Biggest part of e-scouting should be identifying good units and productive habitat belts in those units. I would disagree with having a marked up map and sticking to that vs conditions on the ground. Elk were almost certainly bugling 11pm-4am if you were awake and listening you were too far away from where they were. Country you were in looks gentle and forested, bugles don't travel that far in that.

Fair point — I guess I do not want to make the same mistake again so I’d like to do everything possible to give myself the best chance. It makes sense once you get in elk you don’t need to overthink it — feels like general tags that’s becoming harder and harder. I woke up most nights in middle of night to listen for bugles.

Packing an elk 5 miles out solo is pretty darn near impossible before you could get meat spoilage in Sept. Somebody somewhere has done it but 5 miles in with four round trips equals 40+ miles of hiking with 20+ miles with 80 lb on your back is crazy. It would easily take several days even if gentle hike, restricting you to one or two days hunting. Good plan not to take that on. When I have hunted solo I stay within a half mile of truck/atv transport or have had a packer lined up.

Yes thanks for confirming this. It feels incredibly hard and I feel responsible hunting is imperative. Do you use hiking trails or just go straight into the brush?

 

[Jfkbeast2]

One more tip that I'm going to implement... when sitting at a glassing knob, don't just look for elk. Before you leave each spot, glass for glassing spots. Look for other knobs that give different or better looks than your current knob.

I just realized — I was in a lot of thick, thick timber. Any plan when they are silent but most of area is timber? Looked like this. There were parks at the top and I did look at them.

 

[Dos Perros]

I love Montana first week of October. Hate her last week of September. I'll probably never hunt the general tag again in September...too many dudes, elk won't bugle during legal shooting hours, etc.

I've kind of gotten away from it the last few years, but almost every morning my plan is to get to a glassing knob in the dark and sit and listen, maybe rip a bugle in the dark. If I hear a bugle on the way in I can change plans, if I hear a bugle off the knob I can change plans, and if no bugles I can sit and glass country for miles around. Doing this yields something more often than it doesn't...either I hear a bugle or I glass up elk and can take action. As @mad_angler mentioned, you can also use your glassing knob to look for the next spot...maybe a knob you can look into country you can't look into from where you are.

 

[BuckSmasher]

Fair point — I guess I do not want to make the same mistake again so I’d like to do everything possible to give myself the best chance. It makes sense once you get in elk you don’t need to overthink it — feels like general tags that’s becoming harder and harder. I woke up most nights in middle of night to listen for bugles.


Yes thanks for confirming this. It feels incredibly hard and I feel responsible hunting is imperative. Do you use hiking trails or just go straight into the brush?

I am not the most expierenced elk hunter on the board but here is a synopsis of how I got my elk out:
-Cow elk I shot late season colorado, gutted and slid on the snow downhill to the truck, still the only elk I have gotten out whole.
-Bull shot 4 miles into a wilderness area friends horses got to. Was nice because could ride horses right up to him.
-Shot a bull half mile from motorcycle trail
-Shot a bull 5 miles down a closed logging road, then went back and got my horses
-Shot a bull way down in wilderness but a half mile from the horse trail, we had to pack to the trail then our horses did the rest.

Been on a few buddies elk that helped pack a bit further but there was three of us. The bull this year was only a half mile from the trail but 900 feet above the horse trail on the steepest cliffiest slope you can imagine. Sidehilling with 80 pound pack on was NO fun.

Look at units where you can hire horse packers, consider renting llamas or horses, pick units with remote atv trails, etc. I would avoid packing an elk solo for very far at all costs. When I lived in Texas shot a whitetail way down a logging road on public land and strapped him to the bicycle, so bicycles and game carts are another option if closed logging roads. If you are not in wilderness and can get game cart or something to that wouldn't be that bad.