trout creek MT

[thepalletco]

Anyone ever elk hunted with Billy Hill out of Trout Creek area in MT? Any reviews anyone would like to share?

Thanks

 

[InkedElkSlayer]

I’ll let others speak about Hill specifically if they have 1st hand experience.

As a life long MT hunter with experience living and hunting in NW MT, here are some thoughts.

I would be extremely careful about booking with ANY Outfitter anywhere in W MT, especially NW MT. Promises these guys make are outrageous. If you draw a coveted permit, you’re booking around White Sulphur on a huge exclusive chunk of private, getting packed into the backcountry, etc… you’re getting a unique service for your $. But if you’re 1 of dozens of clients that is going to park at the same gated road, or trail, as every other general tag holder… you are simply not getting anywhere near the service that you are paying for.
I would think long and hard about spending the $ that is being charged to hunt ANY general OTC unit MT. Even if you have to save and wait another year to book with an Outfitter that can truly provide you with a unique service, I would save and wait. Others may disagree, but be careful with your $. Don’t spend $1000s on snake oil.

 

[bsnedeker]

I’ll let others speak about Hill specifically if they have 1st hand experience.

As a life long MT hunter with experience living and hunting in NW MT, here are some thoughts.

I would be extremely careful about booking with ANY Outfitter anywhere in W MT, especially NW MT. Promises these guys make are outrageous. If you draw a coveted permit, you’re booking around White Sulphur on a huge exclusive chunk of private, getting packed into the backcountry, etc… you’re getting a unique service for your $. But if you’re 1 of dozens of clients that is going to park at the same gated road, or trail, as every other general tag holder… you are simply not getting anywhere near the service that you are paying for.
I would think long and hard about spending the $ that is being charged to hunt ANY general OTC unit MT. Even if you have to save and wait another year to book with an Outfitter that can truly provide you with a unique service, I would save and wait. Others may disagree, but be careful with your $. Don’t spend $1000s on snake oil.

I agree 100%. I live in the Flathead valley. If you want to pay to come up here and hunt bears, wolves, mountain lions, or fly fishing I think you can get your moneys worth.

Don't come up here to hunt elk. You'd be better off literally anywhere in the state. I personally drive 4-5 hours to elk hunt. Guys get it done up here, don't get me wrong, but it's tough.

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[nodakian]

Solid advice from both fellows.

I grew up in the same county as Hill (and Cody Carr and others) and still know folks, reputations, and hunting conditions. Rough country, thick timber and brush, low elk numbers. Avoid it.

Good luck.

 

[Ross]

I’ve posted several times about nwest Montana hunting….killed many great deer and elk around noxon and trout and up the bull river….incredible country but odds are stacked against you for success…much much better places south and east with higher densities and a lot fewer predators And easier country…..a decade ago it was still very good and two decades ago epic with bulls singing into November….

 

[S.Clancy]

There aint alot of elk in that country, FYI.

 

[Flatgo]

Ross, tells the truth. wish i could roll back the clock to 15 years agos and hunt my old stomping grounds some of the best hunting i have ever had. pretty sad to see what the wolf did in the country and how quick it went down hill. in the drainage i hunted it went from about 10 elk in every basin to 10 elk in one of 10 basins. if anyone believes that wolf had no effect on elk they never hunted NW Montana. now about all thats left is a few grizzly bears.

 

[Pony Soldier]

I grew up in the south end of that county with about 20" of rainfall. The north end is in a rain belt and gets about 80". What I remember was it was thick and miserable. If you were near where the 1910 fire went through the brush can be inpenetrable while on the south side it can be parched and scorched.

There was a lot of activity at that end in the 80s but I feel you might have to bring your own elk now. Life is indexed on the worst experience you ever had so maybe you need an index event.

 

[InkedElkSlayer]

I grew up in the south end of that county with about 20" of rainfall. The north end is in a rain belt and gets about 80". What I remember was it was thick and miserable. If you were near where the 1910 fire went through the brush can be inpenetrable while on the south side it can be parched and scorched.

There was a lot of activity at that end in the 80s but I feel you might have to bring your own elk now. Life is indexed on the worst experience you ever had so maybe you need an index event.

You are about as subtle as I am. Can you imagine dumping around $8K of your money just to learn the definition of “suck”?

I replied on another thread where a guy recommended to another guy to book W MT for a “backcountry”, guided, riding stock, wilderness mule deer hunt!

 

[Pony Soldier]

Cody Carr grew up around my family and I can remember when his dad built his house. The only time I ran into him was when he showed up in a clearcut I was riding through with about 6 hunters that were driving a jungle a lot like hunting pheasants in south dakota without a dog.

He did not have a permit to guide on that side of the ridge but that wasn't anything new. I always felt that a guide shouldn't have anymore than two clients to be fair but that's my opinion.

 

[sneaky]

I’ve posted several times about nwest Montana hunting….killed many great deer and elk around noxon and trout and up the bull river….incredible country but odds are stacked against you for success…much much better places south and east with higher densities and a lot fewer predators And easier country…..a decade ago it was still very good and two decades ago epic with bulls singing into November….

Gee..I wonder what changed a couple decades ago?

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[bsnedeker]

Gee..I wonder what changed a couple decades ago?

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Mountain lions... pretty sure it's all mountain lions.

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[Pony Soldier]

At one time there was one wolf pack of 40. The locals are getting better at thinning them out. There are plenty of cats but used to be enough deer to feed them.

When I was 12 (1963) the season started in September. In the early 70s we had a 1 week bugling bull rifle rifle season. That really butchered the hell out of the big ones. Then the FS chose to go from district management to regional management and cut and roaded everything that would make a saw log. Everyone that moved there became an outfitter.

The ACM co. cut the hell out of the Thompson river country. One of the locals teamed up with a taxidermist in Denver and started contract killing the last of the bulls as long as they had horns. With no bulls the calf crop was 2-4% on a good year. The the FS started cutting everything in Mineral co. with more new roads.

By the late 80s with multiple drainages bald it was difficult to find a place for an elk to hide. The wolves showed up within a couple years and game went from damn few to extinct. With nothing left to cut the mills started to shut down and everything came back thick and very little for elk to eat.

By the end of the 90s or before the mass migrations to Dillon started. What was left fit into the forest service's let it burn policy and what we saved in the 70s on smoke chaser crews turned into charred ground by 2000. The old ACM ground was cut to the dirt by Plum Creek and then sold off. There are some remaining huckleberry bushes but I have seen them filled with armed commercial pickers.

Although I still have favorite places in NW Montana, I have no expectations of see anything. It isn't what I grew up in. That answer some questions?

 

[cman79]

No experience with the specific outfit in question but I’ve been in the area a few times. I hunted the area 2 years ago with an outfitter for archery elk. Lots of hype beforehand but like many others have said it was a letdown. Wish I did my homework better before that trip! I’d have saved a lot of $, the negative reviews I read especially about CC seem accurate and right in line with my bad experience.
I’ve since returned for bear and enjoyed the area but I’d look elsewhere for elk.

 

[303TrophyHusband]

Soooo, you're saying there's a chance!

 

[Ryan Avery]

You would have to pay me to hunt elk in N. Idaho and NW. Montana right now.


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[mwebs]

Bunch of whiney babies damn.

 

[bsnedeker]

You would have to pay me to hunt elk in N. Idaho and NW. Montana right now.


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You'd have a tough time finding a shot anywhere near 1000 yards....it would be too easy for you!