ironranger

I'm heading to Montana again this fall to hunt Mule Deer as I drew a tag for 2nd year in a row(Horse shoe up the @ss). I hunt eastern MT but am researching some other areas to hunt. Last fall, I watched a huge 7x7 with 23 cows/2 spikes below me within about 100 yards but had no elk tag. I was just wondering if there are alot of areas in MT to hunt elk that are non-grizzly areas?? I know the chance of seeing a griz are really remote but if I start applying for a tag I'd just as soon go where there are no bears. Are there elk throughout the state?? Secondly, if a person gets an elk tag is it good for either bow or rifle?

BareBack Jack

Hey Iron,
Are ya scared of the big,bad bears?
There are plenty of area's to hunt were the griz are not around.The Missiouri River Breaks are good place for elk,tough to draw a rifle tag but there is unlimited bow permits through the drawing.
The Castle mountains,the Crazy's,Belts,Big Belts,Custer Nat'l Forest,the Sweet Grass hill's,The High woods all have good elk population. But you are cutting your self short if you don't wan't to go into bear country.
To answer your ? if you draw a rifle tag for general season,you can use it for bow also,but you can't put in for bow season and then use rifle.

The best bet to find Bigger Bulls are the Breaks,Highwoods,Snowy Mountains,Custer Nat'l forest and the SweetGrass hills.
Some of these place get alot of pressure like the Breaks,it can be a very hard,hard hunt.
Hopes this will help.BBJ

ironranger

Probably been watching too much TV when it comes to grizzlies. I lived around black bears growing up but that's a different animal all togehter. I'm sure it wouldn't be an issue as long as common sense is used!! I hunted via boat along the east side of the breaks for mulies last fall. Thought that might be fun to give that a try for elk so maybe one of these years I'll look at that. Would I apply in mid March for a bow tag in the breaks??

BareBack Jack

Yeah you just have to apply befor the deadline,just like you had to for the deer.Look under archery special permits for the area you want to hunt.There should be a number for archery unlimited tags like.
Example: AREA 410
410-20 55 permits for Either Sex elk
410-00 300 permits Antlerless Elk
410-21 Unlimited permits ARCHERY ONLY<must apply as first choice.
Then apply befor the March deadline.Hope this helps BBJ

How did ya do on the mulies?did you see any elk?

ironranger

Thanx BBJ, I appreciate the input. I may look at that next year. Right now I'll concentrate on the muley hunt. Can't wait to head west again. My first muley hunt last fall was an adventure. I managed to knock down a buck on the last hour of our last day. He was a young buck (21") and maybe not what I had envisioned when I started the hunt but I really had a great time meeting people out there. I learned alot about hunting them and hope to carry that into my next hunt. My brother didn't apply with me so I may be going solo this year or I may attempt to hook up with two hunters from MT that I met out there. We hunted the beginning of the season (Oct 26th start) so the deer weren't rutting yet. I saw some nice muleys that were taken by other hunters. A group of 8 had 7 mulies from 26 to 29". I'm going to try and go out Thanksgiving week if possible this year. Figure to hunt Minnesota for whitetails and then head out after that.

As for elk, I only saw one group but man was the herd bull a dandy. I was walking up a steep hillside and stopped to sit down and glass. I looked down to see a whole herd of elk that were spooking and running down away from me across a sage flat. They were all cows and spikes. After milling around, they came back and were looking at something I couldn't see around a huge sand point below me. I thought "There has to be a bull there with all of those cows" and as the rest of them made there way around that point coming towards me he was bringing up the rear. He had 7 points on both sides as I was glassing him from about 90 yards below me. Would have been an easy shot had I possessed a tag. They finally spooked and ran up thru a small canyon toward the top of the ridge. I hurried up the hillside after they were out of sight and ran into them up on top again as they trotted by me. Then I continued to sit and glass them as they made their way into the next valley. Must have watched them for half an hour as they popped up on different levels. Even at 1000 yards or more I could tell he was a big bull.

montana_hunter_16

Bareback hit it right on the head, except for a few minor details. Of course the Breaks is the ideal area for elk in Montana, producing the greatest number of "trophy" bulls each year. If you're fortunate enough to draw a tag for 680, 417, 410 especially, 621, 622, or even 700, you're chances of seeing a bull over 350 B+C points is pretty darn good. However, drawing the tag is difficult, but the unlimited archery season does offer a good opportunity to those dedicated enough to put some time in and work. The breaks can be difficult to hunt if you don't like walking, and the hunting pressure near easy access is unbelievable. As far as rifle season goes, I'd look towards either the Big belts or Little Belts for general rifle hunting, and the highwoods, gardiner area, and crazies for special draw units. All of these areas will produce large bulls, but Gardiner and the Highwoods are notorious for having exceptional bulls. The sweet grass hills, contrary to popular belief, is not as much of a haven for elk as people would like to believe. There is a stable population, but it is 99% private land and without connections you've got nothing. In addition, the trophy potential is not there and I have NEVER heard of an elk coming out of the hills that scores over 320 B+C. That bull was taken 12 years ago by a local guy who hunted hard. I hunt the hills occasionally and even guide for an outfitter who leases almost all of West Butte, so i know what is there and what is not there. I can only say that I am successful in finding huntable elk because I know all of the ranchers from growing up around there, and I know the property lines well..

Personally, I would suggest applying for the Gardiner or Breaks tag in 410. If you get either one, you'll be golden. If you don't, go general season hunting in the Belt mountains.

G'luck!

Dan