***Recap 2014 Montana DIY Archery Hunt***

[Archerm]

Hey everyone what a world wind trip we had in 2014!! But a great one. Lots of Elk and Some nice ones. Here is a recap of our Montana DIY Public land archery Hunt. I hope I put it in the right place. Please enjoy the hunt as it is only 6 months till the next one!!Mark

I will preface by saying that this Elk hunt was probably one of my favorite yet toughest hunts out west to date. One of my favorites because I had a chance to take someone that had never been Elk hunting out west on a public land DIY Elk hunt and the hardest because of the same reason. This is the first trip I have taken someone since James my hunting partner died about 6 years ago. I cant explain or tell someone how tough a hunt like this is where I hunt. It is a leap of faith to take someone and a leap of faith to go with someone that they have never met before. I remember taking my wife with Danny when we went to meet and eat before a decision was made. My wife is great at determining character and moral fiber in a person and when I asked her what she thought she said that Danny would work out fine on the trip. And as usual she was right.
Now this is not a slap on the back post by no means but until you do this trip you really don't know what to expect from a individual. I must say Danny stayed right in the game through the whole trip. You must understand that we drove for two days with little or no sleep and as soon as we get to my parking spot we shoot bows and hit the trail for a day-pack scouting trip at altitude. We then hike back and stay over night sleeping in the truck then at first light we are packing in the camp. I remember looking back a few times at Danny wondering if he was going to make it! He did make it and from that moment we reached camp it was non stop hiking and packing out Elk.
On our short scouting trip to a favorite lookout spot of mine we saw the Bull that was eventually shot on the second day of hunting. I remember that Dan was excited hearing that first bugle late in the day and then seeing his first Elk of the trip. Then seeing the bull. He really thought it was a 6 X 7. I knew it was a 5 X 6. Well after the bull was shot a few days later and reviewing the footage from the video it was a 5 X 6. Here is a Screen shot from the video.



We were in Elk everyday of this hunt. I don't think we saw a small bull at all. There were 5-6 nice bulls working the three steep drainage's in the area we hunted. I like this area because the Elk have many options and can come and go as they please. The second morning we split up and Danny stayed closer to camp and I ventured as far back as I could get. It was a Elkfest to say the least. I had four bulls bugling but all of them were way out in front of me heading to bed for the day. Instead of pressuring them I opted to hike back to camp and get Danny for the afternoon hunt. I knew if we got back up to a few wallows and springs I knew about someone would get a shot in the afternoon. After we ate a fast snack we headed back to the back of the drainage. We decided to take a break for a few hours and let the wind change a little then started to head up towards the wallows along the tree line. With a Bull bugling close by I thought we might be to late to the party. He got closer to the meadow and bugled about 150yds from us. He crossed the meadow at a small pinch point then vanished into the timber on the other side. We made our way up to where he crossed but could not get any action out of him. Just a faint bugle now and then. By this time it was getting late and I gave Dan a general Idea of where to setup. I on the other hand decided to get between two bulls that were bugling and did some calling. Eventually the bull that was closest to Dan Was really starting to get wound up so I decided to try and move around a little, cow call to try and pull the bull in front of Danny. As the bull got closer to Danny I heard a bugle that had to be very close to him. I then heard a crashing noise which ended up being the demise of a great first Bull for Danny. I heard him whistle and when I saw Danny he looked a little dazed!! I know the feeling myself on that first Elk. You cant believe what you have just done with your bow!! Tracking no need on this bull. Danny placed the shot right in the boiler room and he didn't go far.



Of course after the shot the real work begins. I believe it took us right at 22 hours including a few hours for a little sleep to get all the meat packed down the mountain to the camp then from the camp to the truck.
Pic of us taking photos after the Bull was down. Then cleaning the bull. As we cleaned the bull we also hung and laid out all the meat to air cool. You want the meat to cool down ASAP. I always use a citric acid Spray on the meat that keeps the bugs away and stops the bacteria from starting to break down the meat.

 

[Archerm]

Here is a pic of how we laid the meat on a log for cooling. Luckily the nights are cold and after a few hours the meat is ready to go in the packs then down to the camp. All quarters were hung to cool then deboned. It took us two meat trips with one more gear and horns trip to get everything back to camp a mile from the kill location.We cached the meat in the stream at the camp to keep it cool while we got a few hours sleep. Then down to the truck we went. We packed the meat down to the truck in two trips.The truck was 3 miles away from camp. The laws are tough on bringing out every bit of meat you can and it always comes out first. Horns always come out last.

Meat laid out on a log to cool.


You can see the small dam we built in the creek. The water in this creek is about 36*-38*. Plenty cool enough to keep the meat at a good temp.


Once we made it to town and put the meat in the meat cooler we ate at a small town local restaurant. They have the best burgers as Danny found out.

 

[Archerm]

I meant to mention that on the way to the truck with the last load of meat we ran into two young men in their 20s. They were hiking the Continental divide trail from Mexico to Canada. We talked with them for a while and I was quite inspired by them. It was nice to see two young men doing something that they had been dreaming about. We talked a little about their journey and some about our hunt. One was a deer hunter and was excited to see a Elk being packed out. When we got back to the trail head there was a group of 7-8 hunters with horses heading in for a few weeks. They had stopped in the trail right near the trail head and were picking up supplies that one of the horses had bucked off. I saw bows and other miscellaneous gear scattered about. It sounded like they would be kind of close to where we were camped. Out of respect for their hunt I told them where we were camped in hopes they might take that into consideration on their hunt.
We dropped the meat off at the meat cooler and went and ate a good meal. Anyway after we ate it was getting late so a command decision was made to make a run to Dillon and spend the night. This was a great Idea after the lack of sleep and all the hard work we have been doing for the past five days.The next morning after the first good nights sleep in a while we headed back to the trail head and hiked back to camp. Danny stayed back at camp that afternoon to work on the skull of his elk for a European mount and regroup a little.



I on the other hand headed back up to where all the action was to listen for the afternoon. I was surprised when almost half way to my glassing spot I started to hear some muffled bugling?? Once up to the spot I watch from I could hear two hunters going to town calling, one on a bugle and one on a cow call. Don't get me wrong I do a little calling with a cow call when I am in close to a bull but these two hunters were wide open. When I say wide open I mean they were calling every 5 minutes in the same spot for 4 hours straight. I just don't get it!! I watched a small pass where I saw some elk vanish into the next drainage. Later I heard another hunter bugling less than a 1/2 a mile from me on the same side of the drainage. At last light it was deathly quiet as compared to the past few days when the elk were sweet talking. It seemed that before last light the other hunters that were nearby had packed it in for the day. Well so much for letting them know where our camp was so they might not go up that drainage.



So what to do now that all the Elk were blown out? As mentioned earlier there is a reason I like this area. These three small drainage's allow the Elk easy escape routes and they normally come back relatively quickly. The next morning I decided to head back to my glassing spot to listen and watch. Sure enough right at sunrise the Elk started filtering back over the high pass into one of the small drainage's. Not hearing the hunters again that morning I went back to camp. Danny at this point was getting camp fever so we decided to head in for the long trek back to the pass where I watched the elk come back into the drainage. It was a long slow hike up to the top.



It was steep but we took our time and made many stops along the way to listen and play the wind as it was swirling quite a bit. We were trying to get above the elk but it was difficult to know exactly where the Elk were. As we got closer to the pass I decided to do a light cow call and had a bull bugle not more than 150 yds away. The only problem was that he was surrounded by cows. They were talking all over the mountain above us and were moving slowly to a close by ridge. We kept moving closer and closer but could not pull the bull away from the cows. At one time We were almost totally surrounded by mewing cows. This went on for about 30 minutes and I watched the bull with five cows on the next small ridge. As I was calling I had some cows getting closer but the bull getting further away. I noticed one cow getting within range. Danny was behind me about twenty yards and made a few light cow calls and she was calling back. At this point knowing that other hunters were in the drainage, it was supposed to rain for the next few days, and that we could only leave Danny's meat in the cooler for about 5 days I decided to take a cow if the opportunity presented itself. She finally was in range, I was on my knees and as I started to draw back she caught me!! We had a stare down for about five minutes. She then turned and headed away. Danny made a light cow call and she then turned and headed back. I had already ranged the tree she was about to walk behind at 30yds. I drew back when she was behind the tree and as she stepped out I touched off the shot and watched it vanish behind her shoulder. After a short search we found her. Elk two was down. Was it the trophy bull I wanted not by far but after being a part of a exciting hunt with Dannys bull and the circumstances it was still nice to fill the freezer.



We prepped all the meat as we did the bull and decided to heavy pack her down the mountain in one trip to camp. Luckily it was 1 mile-1200ft 100% drop down the mountain to camp. It only took us 1 1/2 hours to pack her down after the meat cooled then deboned the quarters and loaded her in the packs. I think we made it back to camp by 11:30pm.

 

[Archerm]

After a good nights sleep we again packed the meat from the cow back to the truck at the trail head. Luckily we got back to camp and packed up the camp before the storms rolled in.



A little reflection time as we packed up the camp for the last time this season.



On the way out right before it started to thunderstorm. We made it about 1/3 of the way out before the thunderstorms with hail rolled in.

 

[Archerm]

I am working on the video from this trip and pulled a few screen shots tonight.

A few with Danny packing out the his last load from camp.





Me with the pack totally full. I don't think I could have put anything else in the pack if I wanted too. Last pack out of the trip.

 

[Archerm]

Here is the European mount of the Elk. came out nice.

 

[bz_711]

I enjoyed that...thanks for sharing. Sounds like the perfect hunt to me - and plenty of elk to keep things exciting!
Congrats!

 

[mk_v]

Thanks for posting, I really enjoyed reading your story. Congrats on the bull and a cow!

 

[Ross]

A great story, a great hunt and a new hunting partner....well done and congrats!

 

[Browtinemt]

Great story, hope this year is just as good for you. Congrats and good on you for "passing it on." What citric spray do you pack in for the meat?

 

[River Rat]

Great write up thanks for sharing!

 

[Archerm]

I order mine from Amazon it is the Silk Road Citric Acid,(2 Lbs, 100% Pure, Powdered Crystals, Bulk, Food-grade) If I remember correctly it was $11. It is crystals so I carry 4 oz with me.I use 2 oz per qt or 1 oz per pint and one qt will do one Elk's worth of meat.The citric acid puts a nice skin on the meat and keeps the bacteria from starting and bugs away. Just bring a pint spray bottle with you and add 1oz per pint of water. Shake and dissolve the citric acid crystals. Then just spray the meat and let the meat cool down.

Great story, hope this year is just as good for you. Congrats and good on you for "passing it on." What citric spray do you pack in for the meat?

 

[mmw194287]

Great pictures and great story. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Shrek]

Thanks for taking us along !

 

[Browtinemt]

I order mine from Amazon it is the Silk Road Citric Acid,(2 Lbs, 100% Pure, Powdered Crystals, Bulk, Food-grade) If I remember correctly it was $11. It is crystals so I carry 4 oz with me.I use 2 oz per qt or 1 oz per pint and one qt will do one Elk's worth of meat.The citric acid puts a nice skin on the meat and keeps the bacteria from starting and bugs away. Just bring a pint spray bottle with you and add 1oz per pint of water. Shake and dissolve the citric acid crystals. Then just spray the meat and let the meat cool down.

Thank you sir.

 

[gmajor]

Fantastic write up, thanks! What packs were you guys using?

 

[Trial153]

Great write up, thanks for posting it!

 

[Brendan]

Great story. You're making me antsy for September!

 

[live2huntelk]

Love reading stories like this!!! Thanks for taking the time to type it up and share your pictures! Would love to see the video footage!

 

[SethH]

Sounds like am awesome trip! It sounds like you found yourself a new hunting partner.