Winging it DIY Montana Elk General Rifle

[matchu865]

My buddy and I accidentally drew non-resident general elk tags in Montana this year. We were intending to draw next year for deer tags to hunt in the east where my buddy has access, but drew with 1 point for elk. We've done limited prep due to 'life getting in the way'. I'd happily take strategy advice, but wanted to get some tips around the other pieces of the hunt. We probably won't be able to make it to the state this summer to scout, so will likely choose a few (5-10) spots/units via e-scouting and bouncing between them if we aren't able to get into any animals. We are experienced backpackers, and have gone backpack hunting several times, but apart from a couple short winter trips don't have a ton of experience in super cold/windy/snow camping, so leaning towards day trips from a home base. We're fit and would be able to pack an elk out 3-5 miles (Terrain dependent), and we're fine meat hunting for cows in allowable units.

Camping vs Motel

• If Camping, is a hot tent necessary? I can likely borrow a Tipi with a stove, and my buddy has a rooftop tent on his truck. We may also be able to borrow a 4x4 camper van but that's probably a long shot.
• If we're car camping, is it better to camp light/mobile or set up a more comfortable camp? If the latter, are campgrounds worth while? Generally in our home state we just boondock somewhere on BLM/National Forest.
• If Motel, I know it's location dependent, but should I start looking into booking these now or are there generally vacancies in the small towns? I know this is location dependent

Away from the truck

• Any tips on identifying what roads/trails are usable for quads/sxs/dirtbikes? We won't have one so I'd rather not hike 3 miles into an area that gets blown out by road hunters zipping up and down all the time.
• That said, if we're doing a bit of in-season scouting, any traps to avoid? An example I can see of is seeing a bunch of elk on private near public land then hunting said public land that they never go on due to pressure or habitat.
• Should we count out block management when considering e-scouting?

Basically, any tips for winging it? We'll have fun regardless but being successful is more fun.

 

[TradLife406]

Most mappjng apps have trail info. A lot of trails shut down to off road vics during general season.

Stay mobile. Backpack hunting is almost useless anymore. You'll pack in to an area just to find a couple Midwesties camped out in the elk beds or major transitional areas or feed areas. It's very situational. Not sure why everyone wants to just default to this. Probably social media making it look sexy. It is a good idea to have the backpacking kit just in case. But it's got to be worth it. Especially if you're going in blind. No point in packing in to find out there's no elk there. Which as far as otc hunting in Montana goes lately chances are there won't be any elk. They keep bailing to private even before archery starts. Or the wolves keep them on the move.

It's pretty hard to beat a good truck camp with a cooler and a black stone.


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[hoff1ck]

If I was in your shoes, I’d likely subscribe to Treeline Academy and spend the next month going through the e-scouting course. Will give you another solid month or two to shore up your plan and help to ensure you get into areas that will likely hold elk. As simple as it sounds, the hardest part is consistently finding elk. More elk, more at bats.

As far as the camping vs a motel goes, definitely prefer camping. Shaves off travel time both in the morning and evenings. A base camp with some heat can be really nice, but just depends on the area. I’ve found onX to be pretty reliable for road access and closure dates, but always try to verify those as well just to make sure we don’t get surprised.

Montana can be tough and it’s not the easiest hunt, but it’s a beautiful place to chase elk. Good luck and enjoy your hunt.

 

[elkster]

"Is a hot tent necessary?"

Have you ever used one? I ask because the trouble of setting one up is negligible compared to a tent without one and the benefit is real. Sure, you don't have to have one but if one is available, take it.

 

[wind gypsy]

Tent vs hotel is a location specific question that cant be answered unless one knows where you're hunting.

IMO, heating with wood is a PITA. I like to hunt, eat, sleep. Not spend time stoking a fire and trying to source dry wood. But yes, having a heat source is a great benefit i just lean towards propane. If I had a stack of dry wood stored up it might not be so bad but I've never had that.

 

[mad_angler]

I agree with the comments so far...

- Find 4-8 general areas to check out (lots of resources for eScouting):
- . Have the areas be about 2-10 miles apart
- . Have the areas be 1-3 miles from road that you can drive on
- Truck camp on a forest service road in the middle of those spots
- Drive a few miles each morning and hike into an area
- Hike out after dark
- Rinse and repeat until you have a dead elk

 

[mad_angler]

As for a hot tent...

If you have one, bring the tent and stove.
For wood,
- bring lumber scraps if you can get them
- Maybe buy a box of fake wood to eliminate need to gather and process
- Bring small saw and axe to process wood to supplement above

 

[matchu865]

"Is a hot tent necessary?"

Have you ever used one? I ask because the trouble of setting one up is negligible compared to a tent without one and the benefit is real. Sure, you don't have to have one but if one is available, take it.

Yes I've used one, and they are great once you have all your kindling processed. The issue with the one I used was it going out after 1-2hrs leaving the tent cold. Nonetheless, it sounds like some sort of in-tent heat source should be treated as a requirement, be it a heater or stove.

I’ve found onX to be pretty reliable for road access and closure dates

That's good to hear. In some places I've hunted in Washington their seems to be a lot of unmarked ATV/ORV trails, and also disregard for regulations on roads/trails that are closed to ORV usage.

 

[Indian Summer]

To avoid exactly what you mentioned I would look to large tracks of national forest where animals do not have the option to seek refuge on private land. If you do, you will find out they have learned for generations which side of the fence to be on.

It sure is hard crawling out of the sleeping bag to a cold tent. Especially with condensation. Any woodstove is better than none. But I prefer a real one. A cylinder stove. It will get you through an entire night if you pack it tight and someone repacks it one time when they get up to take a leak. We spent half a day riding around cutting dead standing trees and getting them into camp. We cut and split enough to get through the first few nights. After that we split it when we have time.

I love a heated wall tent. There is a motel only 10 miles from my base camp. I’d rather not drive every morning and evening though. That 10 miles is a 30 minute drive. I don’t care for spending an hour each day driving.

Other than that, my tips for winging, it would be get started up the mountain long before light. Find the best vantage points you can in the area and be sitting at them before the sun comes up.

 

[Skerhunter]

Get a Diesel heater for the roof top tent, having a second tent on the ground or tarp to dry gear out is nice also. I wouldn’t mess setting up a big camp unless you know you want to hunt there for more than a few days.

Camp on blm/forest close to where you want to hunt. Driving to a spot just wastes time you could be in bed or hunting.

 

[brockel]

My buddy and I accidentally drew non-resident general elk tags in Montana this year. We were intending to draw next year for deer tags to hunt in the east where my buddy has access, but drew with 1 point for elk.

You were banking on drawing the LE tags on east side of the state as a non resident? Unless you were just planning to shoot a cow on your friends private I guess which you could still do next year by applying for the cow tag that’s private land only

 

[matchu865]

You were banking on drawing the LE tags on east side of the state as a non resident? Unless you were just planning to shoot a cow on your friends private I guess which you could still do next year by applying for the cow tag that’s private land only

No, we were banking on drawing a deer combo with 2 points and hunting one of the general units where my buddy has access. We put in for elk because we thought it was a 0% chance of drawing with 1 point.

 

[Buglebrush]

No, we were banking on drawing a deer combo with 2 points and hunting one of the general units where my buddy has access. We put in for elk because we thought it was a 0% chance of drawing with 1 point.

It's should've been a 0% chance. I'm really confused at how that happened?

 

[Sccritterkiller]

It's should've been a 0% chance. I'm really confused at how that happened?

All gonna depend on how many folks put in for gen...Must have been a bunch of folks trying for LE tag..drew the gen, didn't draw the LE and checked give the gen tag back box.

 

[Indian Summer]

None of this makes sense. Applied for elk to plan a deer hunt. Drew the elk with zero percent chance of drawing with 1 point. ???

 

[matchu865]

This thread has a lot of the weirdness that went on with the draw this year. https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/official-montana-2025-draw-thread.400849/

Like I mentioned earlier, we wanted to go deer hunting next year. The original plan was to go back to AK to hunt Sitka blacktails, which we've done successfully the past 3 years. To put in for deer combo this year the chances of drawing with 1-point were non-zero, so we put in for Elk, since it was cheaper than Elk+Deer and per the guidance we received had a 0% chance of drawing. We drew 'released' tags, which apparently are the folks that put in for special draws and opted for the 80%.

We're up for the adventure in MT, so we're going to try and fill these Elk tags.