A great region to hunt for elk is 380. There are a lot of BIG elk up there. It's a big region and there are lots of hunters, but also lots of elk. Also holds a lot of good sized muleys. Its about 20 min. south of Helena. I wouldn't be to worried about bears. However, You might want to bring a can of bear spray or a good solid handgun like a .44 or somthing similar just in case.