Montana hunters-how'd you do last year?

[montana_hunter_16]

Just wondering how successful my fellow Montanans were last year. I put in 19 days of archery, missed 4 shots. 2 deflections in timber. 1 was completely my fault, I misjudged the distance. 1 was a planing broadhead. I did stick a 6 pt, however, in October. Long story short, I hit him too high and only go one lung...he's still alive. I did my annual Augusta trips and was disgusted by the amount of pressure.

I'm focusing most my hunting on the Front in archery season near Augusta/wolf point. What about you guys? Did you apply for any special tags this year?

[cherokee_outfitters]

Not to sound pompus but it sounds like you need alittle practicing shooting in the trees. Setup your target in some tree'd area and approach it from a different direction everytime. You'll find out what elevation tree limbs can be for a various of yardage shots. Also alot of times trying to snake an arrow through a very small spot a person is worried about the tree and the mind automatically sends the arrow into the tree.

Sometimes an animal can live through a lung shot, have recovered a bull that was shot high through both lungs in muzzleloader season and lived two and half weeks to 1st rifle and was taken. I think the muzzleloader guy was very sick thinking he'd have a massive bull but couldn't find him. That bull was a 380 class bull. Talk about a sad guy in muzzleloading season. The maxiball was recovered also stuck in the hide on the other side of the rib cage. This bull was festering and would not made the winter.

But very few times does a animal make it through a lung shot. Has been recorded before but most animals will die shortly after or into the winter.

I think it has happened to almost every bow hunter out there if they hunted over a long period of time. A long time ago I too shot a cow elk high in the lungs and tracted that elk over a mile and half. I jumped the cow seen the blood running down the side of the elk where it started about 8 to 10 inches below the back line right behind the shoulder. She actually stopped bleeding and when I got in the rocks lost her all together. I trully believe that cow died from her wounds but she wasn't slowing down, she went straight up the mountain for the first three quarters of a mile. A sad thing.

[121553]

Hi ya Dan, I sent you an e-mail awhile back but didn't hear from ya, so I wasn't sure if you made it through the winter or not.
I'm putting in for the 900 antelope tag and HU 410 along the mussleshell as well as hunt here in the back yard. I just sent off for the moose drawing so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Good luck on your draws this year. Bobby

[montana_hunter_16]

Cherokee...I think what you suggested is exactly what happened. In that thick pine it's tough to weave the thread on an elk.

I hope that elk made it...I still feel terrible about it and I'm ashamed to tell the story. I'll be turning 18 in four days, so I'm not exactly a seasoned hunter yet, but I'm putting in my time and learning for myself. I'll be up in the area quite a few times this summer scouting, and I'll keep an eye out for him.

Bobby, yeah I got your email. nice buck! What'd you think of the Dillon area?
You'll have to send me your phone number so we can arrange an antelope bowhunting get together. I've got a lot of private land to hunt, and since we didn't get a chance to go last year I thought we could give her a go this fall. Plus, it starts AUGUST 15! what a deal!

Here's a few pictures from 2003. Sorry for the poor setting of some of these. My good hunting pictures are in an album in my room, and I didn't want to go through it all.
The two deer are my dad's buck and my buck. The antelope buck is mine. The four turkeys are from this spring. The lion is one we treed this winter. The elk from one of the hunters I guided in the Sweet Grass Hills for an outfitter.

[Wolf killer]

I had a good season.
2-Antelope.
2-Whitetails.
1-raghorn bull elk.

[Wolf killer]

Bobby, yeah I got your email. nice buck! What'd you think of the Dillon area

Bobby what unit did you hunt in the Dillion area? If you plan on archery hunting in the Dillion area this year maybe we could meet up? I will be archery hunting down there the second week of archery season.

[121553]

Dan, you got mail.
Wolf, I'm not going to be in the Dillion area this year but I did put my draws in for the 410. Last year I hunted just south of Dillion near Lima Lake. Lots and lots of flat prarie land and a lot of BLM property available to hunt. Get out there early in the season and the antelopes won't be so far away to get a shot at. I also hunted just past Lima Lake called Red rock wilderness, towards the divide and encountered many mulies, but it was just too early in the season for me to shoot at anything, but now I wish I did. Good luck Bobby

[BareBack Jack]

Hey Bobby got your e-mail,if there is anything I can help you with about your up coming hunt over in 410 let me know.

Hey Dan nice to here from you,thought the same.Figured you froze up there on the high line.
Sent you an e-mail in detail about my season.here is the jist of it.
For me I shot,
1-5x4 bull
1 Mulie buck 5x2 26 in sread.
1-White-Tail doe
1-Antelope Buck 15 in.
For everyone else I took hunting/or went with.
Father in Law 1-6x6 bull (First elk,first elk in Montana),1 buck.
Brother in law#1 1 5x5 bull,4 point whitie
Brother in law #2 1 cow and a 5x4 whitie
Brother in law #3 1 6x3 bull and 1 4x4 whitie
Nephew missed 1 cow and shot his first deer 1 4x4 buck whitie
My sister shot her first buck a 3x4 mulie and 1-cow
4 kids I take hunting every year 8x5,5x5,4x4,2 point(all whitetail) and all shot their does
So my season was very good and very busy.Hope the next 20 are just as good.BBJ

[Dirt2]

I had a real chest thumper of a season last year - best of my life.

3 antelope - 14" buck with near 7" bases, right on the B&C line
2 whitetails - 9-pointer (eastern count) and doe
1 elk - 6 by 6 bull, 265 net P&Y (my first archery kill, took me 3 years of trying)

[Elkshed]

I called in several nice raghorns and a nice mature 6x that I passed up because he was missing his left antler,during archery.
I took my nephew during rifle and got on a nice 6x6 that busted us in the timber where he was bedded down on the last day of the rifle season.
I shot a 4x4 or 8 point whitetail during the rifle season.I had fun and can't wait till the season starts again for archery elk.