Montana griz/elk questions

[Andrewlonghi]

Lucky enough to draw a general unit elk tag, will be me and my brothers going. We are considering a couple units that are in grizzly territory. What are some of the Do’s and Don’t for hunting in grizzly areas. Will areas with heavy grizzly population have good elk population to. What kind of areas should be avoided to less are contact with bears as far as going into dark timber or thick covered areas?

we will be coming for archery hunt September 12th-26th unless we tag out early. All of us will be carrying pistols and bear spray,considering bringing a shotgun or lever action to. We are also thinking of bringing one tent big enough for all of us instead of individual tents to lessen are exposure don’t know of this is a good idea or not.

I can share unit #’s in Pm if anyone has advice

Thanks guys

 

[D_wit22]

There are a bunch of YouTube videos that cover this topic in depth. Randy Newburg, Elk101 are some of the clips that I have seen that are very good

 

[Yooper]

Few great threads on here as well with tons of info. But common sense still remains supreme. I'd probably rather hunt in grizz country vs wolf country in terms of impact on elk, but that's just me.

 

[Preston]

If its any district near the Rocky Mtn Front down into Region 2 (north of I 90) up through the Swan/Seeley Lake area expect to have run ins with grizzlies or black bears. They are very thick in these areas. Ive never personally seen a track or bear in region 3. They seem to have the highest concentrations near Glacier/Scapegoat/Bob and around Yellowstone. These bears seem more aggressive than the interior grizzlies in Alaska from my limited experience

 

[Andrewlonghi]

If its any district near the Rocky Mtn Front down into Region 2 (north of I 90) up through the Swan/Seeley Lake area expect to have run ins with grizzlies or black bears. They are very thick in these areas. Ive never personally seen a track or bear in region 3. They seem to have the highest concentrations near Glacier/Scapegoat/Bob and around Yellowstone. These bears seem more aggressive than the interior grizzlies in Alaska from my limited experience

Does increase bear population in area affect the elk hunting in any way?

 

[Preston]

I don't really know, its a migratory herd. I know the bears have made a significant dent in the calf survival. I would just have a quick plan to get your elk meat away from the kill site and up into a tree. The FWP did a video release last year or 23 about issue of hunting this region.

 

[Justin (Raz) Rasmussen]

Lucky enough to draw a general unit elk tag, will be me and my brothers going. We are considering a couple units that are in grizzly territory. What are some of the Do’s and Don’t for hunting in grizzly areas. Will areas with heavy grizzly population have good elk population to. What kind of areas should be avoided to less are contact with bears as far as going into dark timber or thick covered areas?

we will be coming for archery hunt September 12th-26th unless we tag out early. All of us will be carrying pistols and bear spray,considering bringing a shotgun or lever action to. We are also thinking of bringing one tent big enough for all of us instead of individual tents to lessen are exposure don’t know of this is a good idea or not.

I can share unit #’s in Pm if anyone has advice

Thanks guys

Here is some Grizzly bear safety basics I put together a few years ago.

 

[D_wit22]

Good stuff

 

[psp8ball]

If its any district near the Rocky Mtn Front down into Region 2 (north of I 90) up through the Swan/Seeley Lake area expect to have run ins with grizzlies or black bears. They are very thick in these areas. Ive never personally seen a track or bear in region 3. They seem to have the highest concentrations near Glacier/Scapegoat/Bob and around Yellowstone. These bears seem more aggressive than the interior grizzlies in Alaska from my limited experience

Region 3 butts up to Yellowstone. There are plenty of grizz in the unit, especially the Southern half.

 

[trevvamos]

Does increase bear population in area affect the elk hunting in any way?

Doesn’t seem too affect it much. Some of the biggest elk herds are in the sketchiest grizz country. However, wolves howling 24/7 definitely moves elk and shut them up.

 

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

Region 3 butts up to Yellowstone. There are plenty of grizz in the unit, especially the Southern half.

I've seen more grizz in region 3 than any other

 

[hiker270]

Hunt the Gravely Range which has plenty of bears. Have never seen one only tracks. In archery season I carry my Glock 10mm and my hunting pardner carrys bear spray. Since we hike an hour or so in the dark morning and sometimes evening neither the pistol or spray would do any good. Plenty of elk free range cattle so the bears must not have any real affect.

 

[BuckSmasher]

Lucky enough to draw a general unit elk tag, will be me and my brothers going. We are considering a couple units that are in grizzly territory. What are some of the Do’s and Don’t for hunting in grizzly areas. Will areas with heavy grizzly population have good elk population to. What kind of areas should be avoided to less are contact with bears as far as going into dark timber or thick covered areas?

we will be coming for archery hunt September 12th-26th unless we tag out early. All of us will be carrying pistols and bear spray,considering bringing a shotgun or lever action to. We are also thinking of bringing one tent big enough for all of us instead of individual tents to lessen are exposure don’t know of this is a good idea or not.

I can share unit #’s in Pm if anyone has advice

Thanks guys

We definitely liked sleeping in one big tent. Don't know if it was safer but sure felt like it. Sleeping in Grizz country is what I hate the worst because you are intentionally going unconscious. Where we used to hunt in MT tons of grizz. None of us have been charged. Saw a few every year. Almost more disconcerting than sightings would be fresh tracks overnight close to camp. A buddy did lose an archery shot elk to a grizz one year. The area we hunted had tons of elk and tons of grizz. It is good habitat. Critters like to eat.

 

[SleepyJones]

If you plan on calling, be aware that calf and cow calling can bring bears in. Not saying to avoid calling, just that bears will come in to these calls.

 

[Andrewlonghi]

Thank you guys for the info and messages, I appreciate all the help. Unrelated to the grizzlies what can we expect for the weather in September??

 

[logflame]

Thank you guys for the info and messages, I appreciate all the help. Unrelated to the grizzlies what can we expect for the weather in September??

Everything! Not being a smartass or anything. You can expect wind, rain, snow, hot and cold. Possibly all in the same day!

 

[TradLife406]

Everything! Not being a smartass or anything. You can expect wind, rain, snow, hot and cold. Possibly all in the same day!

Basically every mountain range here on the west half of the state has grizzlies. Even if people say they don't.
Where we used to hunt "didn't have grizzlies". Well then why is there a dinner plate sized bear track in the snow? Then my buddy who was the warden for that area was like yeah they're definitely passing through.

Yeah if there's griz there can still be a ton of elk. But I think it isn't an issue for the elk. Wolves however will make bow hunting basically pointless. Where we hunted last year there was a ton of wolves. We heard them kill a whitetail while eating lunch. Then later that evening we ended up calling them in. We could glass up a mature bull, have the wind 100% and slip in. Using just calf sounds the bull would run off.

Or when we would hear a bugle super close we'd move in set up calf call and then he'd go quiet and ghost us. The only bulls we called in were babies. And we only called in two in a solid week of hunting. We saw a ton of elk but they didn't behave like elk normal elk.

Make sure your food is secure. We had a momma and her two babies wake us up because my buddy decided to leave his black stone griddle outside next to the tipi vs in his truck. At 4 am big mamma knocked that griddle off the clean and empty cooler We set up a trail camera after that and sure enough they came back while we weren't in camp. All our stuff was secure though. Could have been a very bad situation.

Hoping the griz get even thicker though. Maybe It will cut the non resident pressure back in some of these general units.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

Just be aware that griz move around a lot in sagebrush and willows. Don't just think "dark timber = bears". They're nowhere to be found most of the time, but you bump one damn deer in the dark on your way in, and you think a bear is behind every tree for weeks.

Oh, and you don't know the meaning of high alert till you have to do the gutless method on an elk in a grizzly infested spot with 10 yards of visibility lol.

 

[Andrewlonghi]

Basically every mountain range here on the west half of the state has grizzlies. Even if people say they don't.
Where we used to hunt "didn't have grizzlies". Well then why is there a dinner plate sized bear track in the snow? Then my buddy who was the warden for that area was like yeah they're definitely passing through.

Yeah if there's griz there can still be a ton of elk. But I think it isn't an issue for the elk. Wolves however will make bow hunting basically pointless. Where we hunted last year there was a ton of wolves. We heard them kill a whitetail while eating lunch. Then later that evening we ended up calling them in. We could glass up a mature bull, have the wind 100% and slip in. Using just calf sounds the bull would run off.

Or when we would hear a bugle super close we'd move in set up calf call and then he'd go quiet and ghost us. The only bulls we called in were babies. And we only called in two in a solid week of hunting. We saw a ton of elk but they didn't behave like elk normal elk.

Make sure your food is secure. We had a momma and her two babies wake us up because my buddy decided to leave his black stone griddle outside next to the tipi vs in his truck. At 4 am big mamma knocked that griddle off the clean and empty cooler We set up a trail camera after that and sure enough they came back while we weren't in camp. All our stuff was secure though. Could have been a very bad situation.

Hoping the griz get even thicker though. Maybe It will cut the non resident pressure back in some of these general units.

How bad can the wolfs be while elk hunting ?

 

[The Guide]

How bad can the wolfs be while elk hunting ?

If you are see/hearing/seeing sign of wolves while hunting, your cances at being successful in harvesting elk tumble quickly. Wolves make it impossible to call and every deer and elk is on high alert. If you are into wolves while archery hunting, your hunt will be better with a 20+ mile move to a new area.

This is my experience and yours may differ.

Jay