Winging it DIY Montana Elk General Rifle

[Preston]

I would plan hoping to get some snow and serious cold weather, which does happen ever few years and hunt really close to the private boundaries. Its gotten really difficult to fill general tag up here on public land the last 5 years. Best of luck and stay safe. Which region are you planning to hunt?

 

[jjordan355]

Well, my buddy flaked on this hunt (new job with limited PTO + his wedding), so I'll be going at it alone the 1st week of Nov. I was able to borrow a 8-man SO Tipi with a stove, and have identified a few 'Brow-tined Bull or Antlerless' units in the southwest to target.

If there's someone in a similar situation who wants to team up, I'd be more than happy to chat and see if it'd work out. I'm totally comfortable hunting on my own, but it's always nice to have someone to chat with in camp and it adds some safety factor.

I’m located in SW Montana. If you find yourself in need of help and I’m free I can lend a hand. Or if you need some advice on units/areas message me.

 

[CMF]

We've only hunted one season in MT, but we hunted archery and rifle. I saw 9 bulls the last day of archery, but never saw a bull once the rifle opened. It sounded like a dove shoot open morning. My advice would be to scout before season and try and be on a bull opening morning.
I would not count out block management. I would not count on elk moving off private. We watched a herd many days during archery on private and only once did they venture off to the small block of public.

• 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.

We've car camped in cold weather with a dome tent a large buddy heater. crank the heater on while getting in and out of bed and leave it off at night. Even with an air mattress this setup doesn't take long to move

 

[matchu865]

Looks like my Dad is going to tag along, which I'm excited about. He's getting up there in age and won't be able to do the 'steep and deep' type hunting, but it will be a great experience having him along, especially since we live across the country from each other. He has gotten accustomed to taking a cow elk yearly off of his buddies ranch in another state in much comfort and without much effort, so it'll be fun to see how he does toughing it with me and without a tag.

I'm going to try the diesel-heater route for the tent. The only limiting factor for this will be battery usage. I appreciate all the advice and support I've gotten here. I might still reach out to a few of you via DMs for more pointers, what I've gotten so far has been super helpful.

 

[2slow22]

Looks like my Dad is going to tag along, which I'm excited about. He's getting up there in age and won't be able to do the 'steep and deep' type hunting, but it will be a great experience having him along, especially since we live across the country from each other. He has gotten accustomed to taking a cow elk yearly off of his buddies ranch in another state in much comfort and without much effort, so it'll be fun to see how he does toughing it with me and without a tag.

I'm going to try the diesel-heater route for the tent. The only limiting factor for this will be battery usage. I appreciate all the advice and support I've gotten here. I might still reach out to a few of you via DMs for more pointers, what I've gotten so far has been super helpful.

When are you going?

 

[matchu865]

When are you going?

First week of November. Driving out the 1st.

 

[2slow22]

We are going out next week

 

[Geewhiz]

We are going out next week

You and half of the USA. Prepared yourself for a circus.

 

[2slow22]

You and half of the USA. Prepared yourself for a circus.

Have you ever hunted Pennsylvania,Michigan or Texas?

 

[Cantshoot]

You and half of the USA. Prepared yourself for a circus.

In what state is elk hunting public land not a circus?

 

[coyoteman]

Good luck! I probably wouldn't waste my time trying to pack in to areas..Lots of guys day hunt 3+ miles from the truck. I would make damn sure you have everything needed for your dad to stay comfortable. If you can tell he's not enjoying himself due to cold, bad sleeping conditions etc, it'll take the wind right outa your sails and you'll be thinking about pulling the plug and heading for home.
Random tip..Throw a heavy duty contractor garbage bag into the pack for each of you. For long glassing sessions on a windy mountain side, it can make a heck of a difference in staying warm with it pulled up to your waist. Kinda like a sleeping bag except cheap, so if you tear it up on rocks, no big deal.

 

[willfrye027]

First week of November. Driving out the 1st.

You can certainly spike out but probably don’t need to. It burns a lot of time to pack into an area with no game and it’ll probably be pretty miserable that week with long dark nights. Camping with a heater would work..I’ll be in an air bnb and hunting from there which has worked fine for us in that area. Don’t necessarily need to be “deep and steep” to find some elk.

 

[MT3LK]

You won’t be alone no matter how deep you go, there’s always someone willing to go deeper. Having hunted sw mt be prepared for sub zero temps, SxS driving where they shouldn’t, and play the pressure to your advantage. Pray for a big snow and shoot the first cow you see if you end up in an either sex unit.

 

[CTR50]

We are flying into Missoula today…. Happy Hunting!