Montana HDs 500 & 501 Safety Network

[trouthunter1106]

Man that's tough to accept. It's amazing how much of wilderness hunting boils down to being in the right place at the right time.

Especially in those units man. My hunting partner and I deliberated for a looooong time before we moved. The area we moved to definitely held sheep at some point during the year. We found a bunch of
sign and beds but it was all a bit older than we would have liked. Hell of a hunt though and I absolutely cannot wait to get back in there in 2020.

 

[kad11]

It sounds like you guys have some good areas to check out next season. Yep, I'm chomping at the bit...

 

[Hnttillmt]

I take it this idea is still alive? I'll be in there for the opener.

 

[kad11]

I take it this idea is still alive? I'll be in there for the opener.

I'm thinking it's dead; I've only got info for three guys between 500 and 501.

Good luck this season!

 

[Hnttillmt]

Well it was a good idea. Hope someone on here smokes one.

 

[recurveman]

I'll be heading in on Sept 7th and scouting until the season opens. Kind of open to how long I'll hunt. Could be shut down and might hunt a couple weeks. We will see.

 

[theat]

Hey Trouthunter1106,

Im the guy you talked to getting water and the one that shot the ram the day you left the pass. I was actually watching those rams from just above your camp while you guys were packing up. I almost caught up to you while you were down by the creek below your camp while I was on my way over to go after them, but you headed off to the pass before I got there. You would probably be even more frustrated to know that those rams were bedded down just over the ridge above your camp the night before. I don't know how nobody out of all the guys up there other than me saw them that day. Those were the same rams that the guy from Saskatchewan missed on opening morning on the other side of the pass.

If your interested I would like to talk some more about it, but I can't send you a PM since I am new on here. Not sure if you can send me one with your email? Otherwise I am over on one of the other forums that Randy Newburg runs. If you read the unlimited thread on there, you should be able to figure out who I am and send me a pm on there.

 

[Geetar]

I made it to 10,700' - the ridge in the two middle pictures tops out at roughly 12k.

Which ridge is that? I didn’t realize any beside Granite got up over 12k.

 

[kad11]

Which ridge is that? I didn’t realize any beside Granite got up over 12k.

Lots of stuff over 12k...Hague, Wood, Pyramid, Villard, etc.

Topos are your friend

 

[Geetar]

Lots of stuff over 12k...Hague, Wood, Pyramid, Villard, etc.

Topos are your friend

Yep I got a topo of my unit from My Topo in Billings. I studied int a lot but didn’t get too in depth on elevation because the one thing I didn’t like about it was the fact that it didn’t have actual elevation listed. It would say like 3300 or 3000 and there was a scale on the side to convert that number to an actual elevation. I spent more time studying terrain features on the map and google earth and carried the map with me and marked stuff I found on it. You got a better suggestion of a topo map?

 

[kad11]

Gotcha. I figured you'd done your research, but couldn't resist giving you a bit of a hard time Yea, I wouldn't mess with conversions either...

I just use caltopo.com and then my GPS with topo chip when I'm in the field. You could always print off caltopo maps if you wanted a hard copy.

You chasing rams in 2020?

 

[C Bow]

Kad 11 I am leaving home the 7th also but I am a loner and won't be of any help where I am going but good luck and be safe

 

[Dos Perros]

3300 is in meters right?

 

[Geetar]

3300 is in meters right?

I think so.

 

[Geetar]

Gotcha. I figured you'd done your research, but couldn't resist giving you a bit of a hard time Yea, I wouldn't mess with conversions either...

I just use caltopo.com and then my GPS with topo chip when I'm in the field. You could always print off caltopo maps if you wanted a hard copy.

You chasing rams in 2020?

Nah I’m waiting till 2021. That gives you the next two years to tag out and then help me pack mine out lol jk but I already had an elk hunt with my brother planned for fall of 2020 before this unlimited bug bit me hard and living so far out of state I don’t wanna buy the expensive tag till I can fully commit to it so fall of 2021 I’m planning to go hard and I’m still going hard on research and getting myself in best shape possible till then. I took that scouting trip up there to see if I could hack the elevations , rugged country, and find any sheep at all. It worked out good so after that elk hunt with my brother in 2020 the next several years till I kill are committed to unlimited sheep hunting. Best of luck to you and all the others this year. Let me know if you get one or have any good encounters with one.