Hunting bear outside the Crow indian reservation in Montana

[tikka_hunter]

Last year I hunted the selway for bear all DIY backpacking style and was sucessful . but it required a bush pilot and that for 1 hour is more that a round trip across the united states. I have heard of some nice bears being taken outside of the crow indiana reservation. I would like to give it a try but i know nothing about the area. and any of you guys form the area give me some info on where i could go and hunt around the crow indian reservation in montana.
thanks mike

[AK Jeff]

If I was going to hunt black bear in Montana that certainly isn't an area I'd focus on. A buddy of mine's family has a big ranch that buts up to the Crow Res and there's good deer and elk hunting, but he always hunts black bear in Western Montana. There's plenty of public land in the western part of the state and better areas to spot and stalk bear. Don't get me wrong, there are black bear in that area but it's mostly arid land and there's a lot of private property so access can be an issue. It's not impossible by any means but it wouldn't be my cup of tea. I've spent a lot of time in southeast and southwest Montana and I've seen a ton more black bear in the western part of the state.

[tikka_hunter]

AKjeff I would agree with you there. we seen 5 or 6 bears the first day of hunting in the bitterroot selway wilderness( which is right on the boarder of montana and idaho ). when i droped my bear of at a local taxidermist in hamilton montana. he told us that there are some huge bears outside crow because the indiana wont allow anyone to shoot them on the reservation.
Would you know of a good place where we can just hike to and hunt and camp? we was just wanting to cut the cost of a bush pilot. it was like $600 a hour to have him fly us into the wilderness.

[AK Jeff]

Originally Posted by tikka_hunter

AKjeff I would agree with you there. we seen 5 or 6 bears the first day of hunting in the bitterroot selway wilderness( which is right on the boarder of montana and idaho ). when i droped my bear of at a local taxidermist in hamilton montana. he told us that there are some huge bears outside crow because the indiana wont allow anyone to shoot them on the reservation.
Would you know of a good place where we can just hike to and hunt and camp? we was just wanting to cut the cost of a bush pilot. it was like $600 a hour to have him fly us into the wilderness.

I'm sure there are some big bears in that area, but it's probably because the area is mostly marginal bear habitat and doesn't get much attention and access is limited because of private property and the Crown and Northern Cheyenne Reservations. You certainly don't need a bush flight to get into decent bear country in western Montana. I've seen quite a few black bear in the Lee Metcalf Wilderness along the Madison River. I used to see a lot of them in the Bridger Mountains while on little day trips when I was in school. Pretty much all of the National Forest areas of western Montana have decent black bear populations and most have reasonable access points to start a hike from. By no means is a bush flight necessary to get off the beaten path.

[mtlion]

Originally Posted by tikka_hunter

when i droped my bear of at a local taxidermist in hamilton montana. he told us that there are some huge bears outside crow because the indiana wont allow anyone to shoot them on the reservation.
Would you know of a good place where we can just hike to and hunt and camp? we was just wanting to cut the cost of a bush pilot. it was like $600 a hour to have him fly us into the wilderness.

I know some Crow tribal members and have personally heard them tell stories about shooting every bear they see. One guy told me without blinking an eye that he had mowed down a sow and two cubs and left all to rot.

You certainly don't need the bush pilot for bear. I live and hunt out of Hamilton and this year loaded my bear in my pickup whole...public land.

[TwoBear]

Agree with above posters. Western Montana is full of bears, too many in fact. The Bitterroot Valley has healthy bear populations and easy access. I would be happy to give you some starting points and trailheads spots just Pm me.

[tikka_hunter]

Originally Posted by mtlion

I know some Crow tribal members and have personally heard them tell stories about shooting every bear they see. One guy told me without blinking an eye that he had mowed down a sow and two cubs and left all to rot.

You certainly don't need the bush pilot for bear. I live and hunt out of Hamilton and this year loaded my bear in my pickup whole...public land.

thats cool !!! hamilton is where we stayed for a few days after getting out of the salway. Our Pilot was Joe. i forgot his last name.
I went to a few bars there also. where would be a good place in that area to go. I still would want to do the hiking and camping part of it tho. By the way my bear is being mounted and it is still in Hamilton as we speak. ( well i guess as I type ).