NoKidsAfter40
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 17, 2021
- Messages
- 181
Well I have had two separate trips out to the great state of Montana to scout and network. The key goal was finding access and insights on where to find a Moose worthy of a 2021 Moose Tag. As I have mentioned previously; my goal is to harvest this Bull with a bow and arrow.
My first trip was taken at the end of July and I stayed in Dillon, MT. My second trip of which I just returned from, was in the NW corner of the state. I airbnb'd in Libby, MT where the country is very rugged. I had a good group of buddies with me on both trips. They are seasoned hunters that like to hike and glass. Without being very specific I will say that we covered 9 different mountain ranges along with several large ranches in week 1 and 5 different mountain ranges in week 2. The weather was extremely hot and things were very dry in July. Here at the end of August it was not much different but a bit cooler. There were 4 large fires burning all around the area in week 1. Smoke made glassing very far difficult. Spotting scopes stayed in the truck as you couldn't focus on anything. They were useless. I had originally planned to charter a small plane and do some aerial searching in the Red Rocks up through the centennial and into the ruby valley but it was impossible. The good news is we did find several moose. 18 Bulls and several cow and calf groups. They were ghosts and it required us to be up very early (pre dawn) and all afternoon. Mid Day was dead other than deer and elk scouting which came as a collateral benefit. (I have both general tags there too) We drove up several mountain ranges with groups pitching off and scouting on the way down. We covered all kinds of river basin and willow streams. The rental SUV we had ended up with nearly 2500 miles on it if that tells you much. I am sharing some of the pics here of my trips. We had a blast and found moose. The most important thing I believe we found was access and permission. It was great to meet the people all over and a real rich experience to enjoy meals, drink, and discussion with so many hard working salt of the earth hunters, ranchers, and business owners. I was over joyed with the level of support and willingness to help coming from just about everyone we talked to. We didn't trip over a giant moose, but we have plenty of ghosts to chase and friends watching and keeping me posted. In week 2 we found that there were some giants in the area but access was going to be a huge issue. Getting into moose areas was a ton of work and you are going off word of mouth and maps. Permission not an issue given the national forest is open to all. Killing a moose up in the Cabinets or Lolo/Kootenai Mountain ranges would be no joke and not for the faint of heart. We located two very nice bulls but who knows where they end up when season gets here. We made some awesome contacts and have several folks watching moose rutting grounds for us. The wolves in the area made their presence known on several occasions while we spiked camped in a few nights and they sounded off around us (lots of tracks and scat all over there too). We did get some good intel on other areas to look which we will do in the last week leading up to the opener. The season starts in less than two weeks and I have to say I am unsure what will happen or where I go. I do believe both regions I scouted have lots of moose and as it gets a bit more mild and as the moose shed their velvet this next week or two we will see more. I will be back out the week before season hitting all of my known moose areas looking. I want to thank those who made all the recommendations on where to start, the wildlife biologists who helped us with clues and insight, and all those we met out on the road who gave us permission and access. More to come as I start to get closer to season. I will give some live updates on my hunt as I get the opportunity. As mentioned previously, i will be putting my time in and feel like this tag belongs on something special. Please keep me in your well wishes as I hope to be able to share with the HT world how this turns out. IF you live out there and trip over something worth knowing I would really appreciate it.
PS: I have never seen more Grizzly's than outside of Alaska. Big Sky, Yellowstone, R.Rocks Lakes, and a few other places we spotted or crossed paths with Big Bears. IF I get a chance I can share my videos later.
My first trip was taken at the end of July and I stayed in Dillon, MT. My second trip of which I just returned from, was in the NW corner of the state. I airbnb'd in Libby, MT where the country is very rugged. I had a good group of buddies with me on both trips. They are seasoned hunters that like to hike and glass. Without being very specific I will say that we covered 9 different mountain ranges along with several large ranches in week 1 and 5 different mountain ranges in week 2. The weather was extremely hot and things were very dry in July. Here at the end of August it was not much different but a bit cooler. There were 4 large fires burning all around the area in week 1. Smoke made glassing very far difficult. Spotting scopes stayed in the truck as you couldn't focus on anything. They were useless. I had originally planned to charter a small plane and do some aerial searching in the Red Rocks up through the centennial and into the ruby valley but it was impossible. The good news is we did find several moose. 18 Bulls and several cow and calf groups. They were ghosts and it required us to be up very early (pre dawn) and all afternoon. Mid Day was dead other than deer and elk scouting which came as a collateral benefit. (I have both general tags there too) We drove up several mountain ranges with groups pitching off and scouting on the way down. We covered all kinds of river basin and willow streams. The rental SUV we had ended up with nearly 2500 miles on it if that tells you much. I am sharing some of the pics here of my trips. We had a blast and found moose. The most important thing I believe we found was access and permission. It was great to meet the people all over and a real rich experience to enjoy meals, drink, and discussion with so many hard working salt of the earth hunters, ranchers, and business owners. I was over joyed with the level of support and willingness to help coming from just about everyone we talked to. We didn't trip over a giant moose, but we have plenty of ghosts to chase and friends watching and keeping me posted. In week 2 we found that there were some giants in the area but access was going to be a huge issue. Getting into moose areas was a ton of work and you are going off word of mouth and maps. Permission not an issue given the national forest is open to all. Killing a moose up in the Cabinets or Lolo/Kootenai Mountain ranges would be no joke and not for the faint of heart. We located two very nice bulls but who knows where they end up when season gets here. We made some awesome contacts and have several folks watching moose rutting grounds for us. The wolves in the area made their presence known on several occasions while we spiked camped in a few nights and they sounded off around us (lots of tracks and scat all over there too). We did get some good intel on other areas to look which we will do in the last week leading up to the opener. The season starts in less than two weeks and I have to say I am unsure what will happen or where I go. I do believe both regions I scouted have lots of moose and as it gets a bit more mild and as the moose shed their velvet this next week or two we will see more. I will be back out the week before season hitting all of my known moose areas looking. I want to thank those who made all the recommendations on where to start, the wildlife biologists who helped us with clues and insight, and all those we met out on the road who gave us permission and access. More to come as I start to get closer to season. I will give some live updates on my hunt as I get the opportunity. As mentioned previously, i will be putting my time in and feel like this tag belongs on something special. Please keep me in your well wishes as I hope to be able to share with the HT world how this turns out. IF you live out there and trip over something worth knowing I would really appreciate it.
PS: I have never seen more Grizzly's than outside of Alaska. Big Sky, Yellowstone, R.Rocks Lakes, and a few other places we spotted or crossed paths with Big Bears. IF I get a chance I can share my videos later.
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