Montana HD 455 Beartooth WMA

[Kameero]

I'm trying to increase my knowledge about Elk Hunting in Montana HD 455 behind Holter lake. Does anyone care to share their previous hunting experiences in the area. Specifically, early vs late season elk presence in the area. What would be a reasonable expectation of seeing elk.

 

[MTredneck]

I think there's a reason the draw success is so high. Not to say people don't kill some bulls in there, but it seems like the elk tend to use it harder in the winter and not so much in the fall. Maybe others have had a different experience, but I scoped it out a bit and never came away terribly impressed.

 

[Kameero]

Thanks, I'm in that dilemma whether the most of the better hunting is 8-miles in or could one reasonably expect to encounter elk 2-3 miles in. I see FWP does show fairly high success rates. And they were conducting the shoulder hunts all around area 455. I have learned that on the Front and in area 380 as well some other areas it is not uncommon for the bulls to head to their wintering areas a couple weeks after the rut. They can be more nocturnal and not move around much unless virtually stepped on.

 

[westrnwild]

So dont pay attention to success rates in Montana.. the state has no clue what there talking about. That area of the state is known for harbination problems.. most of the elk live permenatly on private land. And the shoulder season is one of the biggest screw ups in game management ive seen in a while, just playing into the landowners hands. But with out turning this thread into another bash on Montana FWP i think that you can find elk deep or your best bet is ride that border between private and public in areas hard to get to, if you can walk there easily, so can everyone else....good luck

 

[Jason Snyder]

This would be a relatively difficult unit to hunt without horses. You could potentially do it, but by and large most of the elk you find in there are going to be further than 2-3 miles from the roads.

Edit: The higher draw odds are much more a reflection of the difficulty of the hunt than the number and quality of the animals. It would be a very rare occurrence to park the truck and kill a bull within a mile of the vehicle.

 

[Kameero]

Thanks for the input. just trying to quantify if this unit is reasonable option for a guy on foot being that motorized travel is almost non-existent. Has anyone without horses been successful and still had the desire to reapply for the permit in following years? For me 7-8 miles in to start hunting is in the highly difficult class. thanks again for you insight.

 

[Jason Snyder]

I think you could reasonably hunt it on foot, it would be a physically demanding hunt. The other thing to consider is that you will be competing with a lot of hunters that DO have horses, and it is relatively open country. Lots of huge basins you can glass.

It's a neat unit, but I think theer are probably better options for a foot hunter.

 

[twintips16]

I fish Holter Lake quite often and always looked up into that country. Seen several elk down at the lake through the years and one really nice bull. I put in for the unit for 5 years and never drew the tag. My plan was always to put in the boat and head up from the other side and then go in the back way hoping for a ton of luck. Figured it would be easier to hike out to a boat then fight everyone.

In all my research and talkings with people, there are a lot of horse hunters and you have to get really high and really deep to avoid them and get into the elk. I also heard a lot of people commenting about the private land situation. Its a tough unit for sure. Would be even funner for mule deer I think and maybe more doable.

I never put boots on the ground up there as i never ended up drawing the tag. After five years and collecting 5 bonus points I deemed them worth more to get a better unit. I feel if a guy could draw it with reasonably low points then it would be worth it. But at some point there are better units that you can get into.

 

[Jason Snyder]

A boat won't give you any better access to the area than a pickup will.

 

[sliverstick406]

has anyone archery hunted this unit? or is everyone's knowledge here based on rifle season?

 

[Kameero]

I drew the deer tag last year, and from what I saw for the elk hunting there are better over the counter areas by far. Deer hunting was okay from a statewide perspective, but excellent for the greater Helena area if that makes sense.

 

[tylerb4613]

I drew the deer tag last year, and from what I saw for the elk hunting there are better over the counter areas by far. Deer hunting was okay from a statewide perspective, but excellent for the greater Helena area if that makes sense.

Did you end up harvesting a nice mule deer?