Shrek's big adventure

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

It sounds like you got a good old Montana lesson on life and hunting! I will always argue that relationships are more important than trophies, and it sounds like you have the same idea. I'm bummed that you couldn't make it happen on elk though. There just isn't any way around it. Elk are tough to find and kill. Good luck with the deer, and thanks for sharing the whole story.

 

[Shrek]

All is not lost for elk. The area is antlerless elk only and chances are low but there is still a chance.

 

[BigDog00]

Shrek you'd be really surprised what you find. While deer hunting this year I saw close to the same number of elk as I did deer. Including a 340+ bull. This was in some sage bush draw/canyon type terrain. It definetly caught me by surprise seeing them.

 

[2ski]

I haven't ever heard of that burger place. If you're looking for somewhere in Billings to eat, the Vig is pretty good.

Good luck. Hopefully you get something on the ground. At least shoot a bunny. Although I am convinced that rabbits are bad luck...everytime I see one, it means I'm not going to see anything else. See a bunny antelope hunting, no goats. See a bunny elk hunting, in fact I saw a bunch of bunnies...no elk.

 

[AZ Vince]

Shrek,

This has been one of the most enjoyable threads I have read on any forum.

Not because of your suffering or not filling your tag but because you have the ability to make one feel your joy, frustration, and experiences through your writing. Thank you sir. I too like to hunt with a partner and don't care for 100% solitude. My hunting partner lives in CO and I'm in AZ. We went to WY last year for antelope and this year we hunted coues deer in AZ. I'm happy to say he filled his tag, took him to my Honey Hole, and I passed on a spike after blowing it on a Booner coues for myself.

Hang in there and keep working at it. It's been two weeks since my hunt and I'm back in the gym already for next year's season. Physical strength and proper equipment can make or break you in western hunting. Hopefully we'll draw a late season elk tag in AZ next year and do some backcountry snow hunting for elk. Wish us luck and hang in there. The time and effort is worth it, to me, and I think you'll think so too upon reflection. Sounds like a lot of hard lessons learned this trip. Believe it or not it does get easier.

My hat's off to you for your try sir. Like my old man used to say, "If you don't try you can't get it done, so try Boy."

Vince

 

[Jon Boy]

So pretty much shrek just has bad luck haha went to one of my spots this morning that always holds deer and a few elk and got skunked! First time ever in that spot haha heading out to another spot in a few

 

[Jason Snyder]

Hflier , I can't agree more with the sentiment that I wish I had started earlier. I also agree 100% about training for uphill travel. I don't think you hit snow while going uphill but I promise you it adds a bunch more effort to it. Stairmaster , bleachers , local fire tower , ect. I can't emphasize enough how this will be the make or break conditioning. Running is great for baseline fitness but I think you could struggle to run a mile and still be prepared if you could keep a steady pace on the stairmaster with your pack on loaded for three hours straight. On the other hand you could be able to run ten miles but if you struggled with the stairmaster and pack you aren't in elk hunting shape. There's was almost no place I could have run . It was all picking your way through debris while hiking straight up and down. It puts tremendous strain on your ankles and knees also. Side hilling may not be like climbing but if you are coming from flatland it will wear your ankles out.

Don't discount running. What you shoud strive for is diversity in your training. Just running wouldn't be a good plan. Neither would just stairs. Neither would just weights. Do a variety of stuff, like a couple days of Crossfit/Insanity stuff, some biking, run some intervals (this will help greatly with the altitude), and a day of doig a long run/hike to build your endurance. Doing Insanity all the time will condition you well, but it won't prepare your for 10 days of hiking/climbing all day long.

 

[Jason Snyder]

PM me if you want to discuss it there, but how in the world did you choose NW Montana as a place to learn how to elk hunt? You drove through hundreds of miles of prime elk country to get to one of the toughest places for an outsider to find elk in the state?

 

[Matt Cashell]

Good luck today, Shrek.

I am with Jason on varying your training.

I will say that IME running is the single best exercise for developing a cardiovascular base. Running is an essential cog in the gears, IMO.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Good luck today, Shrek.

I am with Jason on varying your training.

I will say that IME running is the single best exercise for developing a cardiovascular base. Running is an essential cog in the gears, IMO.

Trail running is one of the most enjoyable training methods there is. Mountain biking is a great mix in too, for building leg strength and working at your anaerobic threshold.

 

[Matt Cashell]

Yeah,

I like to run pavement and ride the road bike in the winter/spring, and move to trails for both in the summer.

MTBing can really get your legs in shape.


It is good to hear Shrek already planning on making fitness a top priority for his next hunt out west.

I think SW MT is a great place for the first time elk hunter. It has more elk, more open terrain, and lots of public land. There seem to be some good options in ID and CO also.

 

[Shrek]

I had a great day with Jonboy and Dustin. Saw a couple of yearling spikes and Dustin saw a big forky apparently chasing does but it was getting dark.

 

[Shrek]

To elaborate a little more on yesterday I wanted to add that the howling wind and higher temps were doing us no favors. I got up at 4:45am this morning and checked the forecast and then went outside to see for sure and then went back to bed. They were calling for 20-30 mph wind and they were right. It is supposed to lay down this evening and tomorrow so I'll be out. Like I said earlier , I'm not trying to be hard core at this point and finding deer in a howling wind is tough.

 

[squeekieslayer]

To elaborate a little more on yesterday I wanted to add that the howling wind and higher temps were doing us no favors. I got up at 4:45am this morning and checked the forecast and then went outside to see for sure and then went back to bed. They were calling for 20-30 mph wind and they were right. It is supposed to lay down this evening and tomorrow so I'll be out. Like I said earlier , I'm not trying to be hard core at this point and finding deer in a howling wind is tough.

awe now, 20-30 is considered "breezy" here in central MT haha.

it is MISERABLE hunting in the wind. I had a patient today tell me he parked his camper and went to hunt, planning to come back afterward and put down the jacks since he was running behind.... he came back facing the bottom of his camper that had just blown over. haha

Joe

 

[ssliger]

If you don't like wind, cross Wyoming off your list for hunting. Good luck

 

[Jon Boy]

Shrek almost filled both his tags with me this morning. He ended up filling one of them. Not a trophy but he was excited !

 

[Randle]

JB that is awesome you were there to share and encourage Shrek Can't wait for the story and pictures

 

[Matt Cashell]

That away!

Great job guys!

 

[crumy]

That is awesome. Good job Shrek. The first one is always the hardest, then you apply what you learned to the next year.

 

[dotman]

Congrats! Details man!