shoots-straight
Well-known member
By hunting season I think Montana will have sold most of it's tags. Close enough that it doesn't matter anymore.
Blame HuntTalk.
- Thread starter Jwill
- Start date
By hunting season I think Montana will have sold most of it's tags. Close enough that it doesn't matter anymore.
Muley_Stalker
Well-known member
If you're a meat hunter it's hard to beat hunting for a cow elk. In Colorado it's pretty easy to get a cow tag with no points. It will cost a NR $461, and we have 23 million acres of public land to hunt.
Just saying.
Just saying.
BuzzH
Well-known member
IIRC, Wyoming cow elk are $288...and you can buy 3.
Muley_Stalker
Well-known member
I was just giving the numbers for those interested. I didn't know this was a contest. So, if it is. How about this. This is for 2012.
Colorado elk harvest. 43,490
Montana elk harvest 20,550
Wyoming elk harvest 26,365
Keep in mind the Montana season is much longer. Not sure about Wyoming.
BuzzH
Well-known member
What about success rates per state?
I can almost bet MT would be lowest and Wyoming the highest
I can almost bet MT would be lowest and Wyoming the highest
ida homer
Well-known member
I'd like to hunt Colorado someday when the budget allows. More interested in mule deer though. Not to make it a contest, but if I was a NR coming from back east it's a no brainer. I'd skip CO.
I just think the short seasons are really really lame. Any hunt that has a one week long season is gonna be crowded and if you don't get the weather you want your sorta effed. The extra travel distance is well worth it to beat the crowds in MT, WY or ID. The length of our seasons is just too good to pass up.
I do like the availability of OTC cow tags in CO though.
I just think the short seasons are really really lame. Any hunt that has a one week long season is gonna be crowded and if you don't get the weather you want your sorta effed. The extra travel distance is well worth it to beat the crowds in MT, WY or ID. The length of our seasons is just too good to pass up.
I do like the availability of OTC cow tags in CO though.
Lawnboy
Well-known member
Gummies make it all better don't they? Are they cheaper or more expensive in Montana than Colorado?
We don't charge any more for Non Resident gummies
No sales tax is a bonusI think you'd be better off hunting with Buzz in Montana if you want a decent bull, he seems to have some spot dialed in.
I just spent a few days at a reunion with some Utah guys and I'm so glad that Montana has the seasons and draw structure they do now. The poor Utah guys are simply living vicariously through their buddies while waiting for tags. Even Idaho has gone to zones and choosing weapons and areas. The Montana folks have no idea how good they have it for both opportunity and price.
They will whine themselves into shortened seasons or choosing weapons if they aren't careful.
Although I dont like it anymore than anyone else....tag price isnt the deciding factor for me as a non-resident. I'll pay the extra $300 for a better quality hunt or longer season. If u cant afford it, stay in your home state.
Muley_Stalker
Well-known member
It's true it's 9 days here, except for 1st and late season, but most NR don't hunt those. From what i've observed most NR elk hunters can't even do the whole 9 days. They only have so much time for a hunt, and they still have travel time back and forth. Everybody should skip the first weekend. It's usually a zoo, but by Monday half the hunters have quit, or just hang out in camp.
We have a lot of elk, and a lot of hunters, but even in an OTC unit lots of elk are killed. So, if you're will to put in the work you can get it done. If you hate crowds. You'd be better off hunting other states while building up some points for Colorado. Then you can hunt the better units for a much better hunt. More elk and less hunters.
I love Colorado, and even if I could afford to hunt other states. I'd still just hunt here.
genesis273
Well-known member
This may sound crazy coming from a NR, but I like the fact that MT's NR elk tag more expensive than most. If it were cheap, I'd have to build points and wait a couple years.
Ain't nobody got time fo dat!
I know that you can buy OTC tags elsewhere, but have also heard about the crowds. Which is something we didn't have a problem with.
Ain't nobody got time fo dat!
I know that you can buy OTC tags elsewhere, but have also heard about the crowds. Which is something we didn't have a problem with.
Last edited:
devon deer
Well-known member
Yes the NR combo price hurts, combine it with flying half way around the world to get to Montana it gets very expensive, but i did it 2012, returned in 2014 and plan on coming back in 2016, if you haven't done it you really should, stunning part of the word, so much public access and combined with great people.
I warn you it gets addictive though.
BTW, i must be a 1% who try's to fit everything in, bird hunting next time...hopefully!
Cheers
Richard
Epfd217
Member
Rereading my post, it seems all I wanted to do is B&t$h. That certainly is not the case. I plan on hitting MT, CO and ID at some point. WY makes it easy to accumulate points so getting to hunt there every couple years will be nice.
I didn't realize MT had such cheap cow tags, but I've been spending hours trying to decipher the regs and its not that easy. I thought MN regs were tough.
I'm still trying to figure out where to go this year at the last minute, hopefully for 4-5 days. SO many choices and I like how everyone here is selling their home state. I can start planning where I'm going to move once the kids graduate.
I didn't realize MT had such cheap cow tags, but I've been spending hours trying to decipher the regs and its not that easy. I thought MN regs were tough.
I'm still trying to figure out where to go this year at the last minute, hopefully for 4-5 days. SO many choices and I like how everyone here is selling their home state. I can start planning where I'm going to move once the kids graduate.
Following up on this post, it’s pretty crazy how quickly trips like this come and go… Anyway, here is the story and a few pics.
After a swing and a miss on the draws in several states I floated the idea of picking up leftover deer/elk combo tags to my buddy. It took him about 5 minutes to text back “I’m in”. With that we sent our donations in to the MT FWP.
Tags in hand, we set about the task of finding a place to hunt, deciding when to go, and everything else you need to do for a hunt that’s going to be 2,100 miles from home in a place you’ve never been to. Maps ordered, crashed Google Earth a few dozen times, talked with the bios, let’s do this…
We added another member to the family this spring, so time for anything hunt related was minimized. Luckily the learning curve for western hunts it flattening out a bit. Over the summer and fall I managed to work in a couple trail runs a week to make sure my lungs were moderately prepared for the thin air of the Rockies. MT may be lower in elevation than CO, but it’s still steep.
As is typical leading up to a big hunt, the closer it got, the busier things were at home and at work. My buddy spent the morning working before heading north to pick me up and I spent about 5 hours on the computer while strapped to a projectile on my way across the country tying up some loose ends at work.
On the ground in Denver, then N/NW we go. Dinner in Cheyenne, check engine in Casper, limp into Buffalo for the night in half power mode, good morning Sheridan Ford service center…
After the first “fix” we made it about 2 miles on the interstate, the check engine light was back on and we had lost about 10 gallons of diesel, back to the shop we went…
Luckily we had Herb to shuttle us to the local sporting goods store to burn some time and debate whether or not we should purchase bear spray. We also spent some time at the local box store to gather food and last minute supplies while we had time to burn and we got in some good hunt/politics talk while staring at the injured vehicle.
6 hours later we were back on our way. Our plan was to push into Region 3 and hunt one location for a couple days before pressing further SW to our primary location. With the delay we realized we weren’t going to make it as far into the Big Sky Country as we thought. Time for a Plan B. We wanted to scout somewhere in the daylight, so out comes the gazetteer, gps, and the reg book. Region 5 it is. As we rolled toward the mountains Region 5 appeared to have a good supply of deer.
When we got back from our evening scout we checked into the local hotel, the attendant promptly informed us that the drainage we had scouted didn’t have any elk in it.
Well we hunted it anyway.
It was refreshing to be alone on the mountain. Made for the top, on the way up I found a couple griz scratching posts... Finally cut a couple elk tracks, but the wind wasn’t right so I wandered on. Eventually crossed paths with a couple deer, but ended the day with no shots fired and about 8 miles on the boots.
The next morning we hunted the same area, our tracks out from the night before were covered by some lion tracks. Unfortunately the morning hunt was interrupted by a couple 4x4’s plowing up what we thought was a foot trail… With that we spread out and made a big loop to the truck. We hit the 2 track with no shots fired and talked to a fellow up from CO, since we were on our way out of the area, we gave him as much intel as we could fit into a 10 minute conversation. Then it was off to Region 3.
We got to our destination in time to put some glass on the mountains, eat a good dinner, and get a warm welcome. We spotted a few elk, some bighorns, and few other critters, so things were looking up.
The next morning we set out to find the elk again, but failed to find the herd, however we did see a group of 4 bulls high on the mountain along with a few more sheep. We decided to get up the mountain a bit, but before that we glassed a little from the trailhead. Unfortunately there were two folks already there and we watched as they shot. One cow fell and a calf was injured, head up, but not mobile. As we pulled on our packs to head another direction an older fellow pulled in and started unloading a sled. We told him we had watched guys shoot the cow; he informed us it was his son. I explained that there was an injured calf up there too; he said they were aware and he was taking his tag up and would claim the calf. He also rambled on about his son once shooting two moose and that the game warden had given them a warning, though they had to donate the second moose to the food bank. Needless to say as we parted ways, I was a little less than impressed with their ethics from what I had seen and heard so far.
To be continued...
After a swing and a miss on the draws in several states I floated the idea of picking up leftover deer/elk combo tags to my buddy. It took him about 5 minutes to text back “I’m in”. With that we sent our donations in to the MT FWP.
Tags in hand, we set about the task of finding a place to hunt, deciding when to go, and everything else you need to do for a hunt that’s going to be 2,100 miles from home in a place you’ve never been to. Maps ordered, crashed Google Earth a few dozen times, talked with the bios, let’s do this…
We added another member to the family this spring, so time for anything hunt related was minimized. Luckily the learning curve for western hunts it flattening out a bit. Over the summer and fall I managed to work in a couple trail runs a week to make sure my lungs were moderately prepared for the thin air of the Rockies. MT may be lower in elevation than CO, but it’s still steep.
As is typical leading up to a big hunt, the closer it got, the busier things were at home and at work. My buddy spent the morning working before heading north to pick me up and I spent about 5 hours on the computer while strapped to a projectile on my way across the country tying up some loose ends at work.
On the ground in Denver, then N/NW we go. Dinner in Cheyenne, check engine in Casper, limp into Buffalo for the night in half power mode, good morning Sheridan Ford service center…
After the first “fix” we made it about 2 miles on the interstate, the check engine light was back on and we had lost about 10 gallons of diesel, back to the shop we went…
Luckily we had Herb to shuttle us to the local sporting goods store to burn some time and debate whether or not we should purchase bear spray. We also spent some time at the local box store to gather food and last minute supplies while we had time to burn and we got in some good hunt/politics talk while staring at the injured vehicle.
6 hours later we were back on our way. Our plan was to push into Region 3 and hunt one location for a couple days before pressing further SW to our primary location. With the delay we realized we weren’t going to make it as far into the Big Sky Country as we thought. Time for a Plan B. We wanted to scout somewhere in the daylight, so out comes the gazetteer, gps, and the reg book. Region 5 it is. As we rolled toward the mountains Region 5 appeared to have a good supply of deer.
When we got back from our evening scout we checked into the local hotel, the attendant promptly informed us that the drainage we had scouted didn’t have any elk in it.
Well we hunted it anyway.
It was refreshing to be alone on the mountain. Made for the top, on the way up I found a couple griz scratching posts... Finally cut a couple elk tracks, but the wind wasn’t right so I wandered on. Eventually crossed paths with a couple deer, but ended the day with no shots fired and about 8 miles on the boots.
The next morning we hunted the same area, our tracks out from the night before were covered by some lion tracks. Unfortunately the morning hunt was interrupted by a couple 4x4’s plowing up what we thought was a foot trail… With that we spread out and made a big loop to the truck. We hit the 2 track with no shots fired and talked to a fellow up from CO, since we were on our way out of the area, we gave him as much intel as we could fit into a 10 minute conversation. Then it was off to Region 3.
We got to our destination in time to put some glass on the mountains, eat a good dinner, and get a warm welcome. We spotted a few elk, some bighorns, and few other critters, so things were looking up.
The next morning we set out to find the elk again, but failed to find the herd, however we did see a group of 4 bulls high on the mountain along with a few more sheep. We decided to get up the mountain a bit, but before that we glassed a little from the trailhead. Unfortunately there were two folks already there and we watched as they shot. One cow fell and a calf was injured, head up, but not mobile. As we pulled on our packs to head another direction an older fellow pulled in and started unloading a sled. We told him we had watched guys shoot the cow; he informed us it was his son. I explained that there was an injured calf up there too; he said they were aware and he was taking his tag up and would claim the calf. He also rambled on about his son once shooting two moose and that the game warden had given them a warning, though they had to donate the second moose to the food bank. Needless to say as we parted ways, I was a little less than impressed with their ethics from what I had seen and heard so far.
To be continued...
Part 2 of 2.
I made my way up the mountain toward where we thought the bulls had disappeared to earlier. As couple miles clicked off, I check the gps and was now in the wilderness, the timber got thicker as did the elk sign. There was about a foot of quiet snow on the ground and calm wind. In spite of the time approaching mid-day there was a light breeze down the mountain, so up I went. As I climbed the ridge the scent of elk drifted through the timber, I packed away my trekking poles and took the scope covers off my rifle. As I crested a small rise I spotted the tan hide of an elk no more than 50 yards in front of me, at that I froze, fully expecting the woods explode with panicked elk, but it was dead quiet. As he turned his head I saw that it was a bull, completely unaware that I was there. I eased my binos out and studied this elk and his surroundings for several minutes. He was alone and had pretty unique antlers, but to my relief had the requisite brow tines of a legal bull. I slowly knelt down and eased to the side to get a clear shooting lane, I think he may have seen a slight movement as I shouldered my rifle, but stayed bedded and was relaxed. Once in position, with safety off the thought crossed my mind whether I should wait for him to stand, that thought quickly passed as he was bedded broad side, so I picked my spot behind his shoulder and touched off the shot. I worked the bolt, but he didn’t rise from his bed. My first bull laid there in the Montana snow. I picked up my brass out of the snow and made my way over.
My buddy made his way up the mountain at the shot and after a few quick pictures we got to work. We’ve hunted together for almost 10 years now, so the hard parts of the hunt are pretty automatic now. I skinned and quartered, he de-boned, and within an hour or so we had the beast bagged and ready for the haul. With it being early in the hunt I decided to keep the skull for a euro and to have the whole hide tanned. We shuttled everything a few hundred yards from the carcass, hung half, and headed out with our gear, a hind, and the loins/tenderloins and all the trim. It was a beautiful evening as we headed to the truck, getting there just after dark and being treated to an amazing Montana sunset.
My buddy’s wife arrived late that night, just in time for a tough pull the next day getting the rest of my elk off the mountain. We hit it at daybreak, with the plan to slowly hunt up to where we had stashed the rest of the meat and cape/horns. Unfortunately as I glassed, I saw what appeared to be the injured calf still on the mountain. I decided to hike up to check it out and after a deceivingly long hike, she was still there, still alive. The wind was howling, I was sweaty and a little cold, but I sat down on a stump and called the FWP for some direction. I was passed off to the game warden, but unfortunately I didn’t get an immediate response, eventually my buddy was in sight and I waved him and his wife over. There was no doubt what had to be done, so with that he finished it and notched his tag. A few minutes later the warden called back, I explained the situation and told him what we had done, for which he thanked us. Fortunately cows were legal with the general tag in the unit we were hunting; it was unfortunate he had to burn his tag on a calf so early in the hunt, though on the bright side, calf elk is delicious. We cut and packed most of the day, the last loads back to the truck about 30 minutes before dark. As we got to the trailhead a couple trucks were glassing a herd that was filtering through where we had just come from.
The next day we slept in, drove to town for a nice breakfast, and then got down to butchering.
We cut and sealed most of the day, then went out for an evening hunt at a new location. Saw a couple cow elk, two sage grouse, a great looking coyote, a poorly placed locked gate, but no deer. The next morning saw us glassing another new location, within a few minutes we had a nice 4x4 muley, unfortunately I was prepared for glassing and not hunting, wasn’t going to climb the hill in my running shoes with a foot of snow on the ground…lesson learned. We went back to camp and finished butchering, we had everything sealed and wrapped in time for a short evening hunt. I saw nothing and my buddy saw several with a good buck mixed in, but no shots fired. The next morning found us at the same location; I stayed at the truck to finish capeing out my elk while glassing for deer. About the time I finished up I found a little forky within shooting distance of the parking lot, he got a pass and about that time my buddy’s wife came back to the trailhead about half frozen. She had to get back to the airport that morning and my buddy and I decided to pack up early and head back to some better deer hunting ground for our last evening.
We hit the road for Region 5, on the way we dropped off my elk hide and head, and then made for the mountains. By the time we hiked the mile and a half back to the spot we wanted to hunt, there was only an hour or two of our hunt left. We split up to watch a couple likely areas as the sun disappeared behind the steep mountains. There was at least one good whitetail and one good muley in the area from what we had seen earlier in the trip. Just before sunset, I caught some movement below me, sure enough it was a buck, my rifle was already braced across my hiking poles, and he was only 50 yards out. As I peeked through the scope I could see it was a small whitetail and with time running out he was definitely on the menu. After the shot I drug him over to a flat spot and built a small fire to keep us warmed up as the mercury was dropping fast. Within a half an hour or so we had him boned out and packed up for the haul out. As we made our way down the mountain we talked about what a great trip it had been and eventually got on the subject of how fragile life was and how thankful we were to be breathing the cold, thin air, with bloody hands, and heavy packs. We loaded up the truck under the stars and cruised into town for a cold beer and a hot meal.
We were up early for the haul out of Montana and across the entire state of Wyoming in a light breeze (50mph), a few odd trailers strewn about the highway to keep us on our toes. Before we could get across the border I-25 took another pound of flesh in the form of a chunk of metal in the tire and a rock to the windshield, but other than that it was a beautiful drive.
Welcome to Colorado.
In the hotel parking lot we repacked for the last leg of the trip, including me cutting off the deer horns to fit in the cooler with my meat. All that was left was a 5 am flight and a 3 hour drive from the airport back home. I got a few “looks” while hauling my load through the airport and onto the shuttle bus.
Here’s a pic my little guy admiring the MT whitetail.
Unfortunately I didn't get any fishing in, but certainly will next time. On the upside I'll have a lifetime supply of elk hair caddis tying material now.
Thanks for the hospitality MT, can’t wait to do it again!
I made my way up the mountain toward where we thought the bulls had disappeared to earlier. As couple miles clicked off, I check the gps and was now in the wilderness, the timber got thicker as did the elk sign. There was about a foot of quiet snow on the ground and calm wind. In spite of the time approaching mid-day there was a light breeze down the mountain, so up I went. As I climbed the ridge the scent of elk drifted through the timber, I packed away my trekking poles and took the scope covers off my rifle. As I crested a small rise I spotted the tan hide of an elk no more than 50 yards in front of me, at that I froze, fully expecting the woods explode with panicked elk, but it was dead quiet. As he turned his head I saw that it was a bull, completely unaware that I was there. I eased my binos out and studied this elk and his surroundings for several minutes. He was alone and had pretty unique antlers, but to my relief had the requisite brow tines of a legal bull. I slowly knelt down and eased to the side to get a clear shooting lane, I think he may have seen a slight movement as I shouldered my rifle, but stayed bedded and was relaxed. Once in position, with safety off the thought crossed my mind whether I should wait for him to stand, that thought quickly passed as he was bedded broad side, so I picked my spot behind his shoulder and touched off the shot. I worked the bolt, but he didn’t rise from his bed. My first bull laid there in the Montana snow. I picked up my brass out of the snow and made my way over.
My buddy made his way up the mountain at the shot and after a few quick pictures we got to work. We’ve hunted together for almost 10 years now, so the hard parts of the hunt are pretty automatic now. I skinned and quartered, he de-boned, and within an hour or so we had the beast bagged and ready for the haul. With it being early in the hunt I decided to keep the skull for a euro and to have the whole hide tanned. We shuttled everything a few hundred yards from the carcass, hung half, and headed out with our gear, a hind, and the loins/tenderloins and all the trim. It was a beautiful evening as we headed to the truck, getting there just after dark and being treated to an amazing Montana sunset.
My buddy’s wife arrived late that night, just in time for a tough pull the next day getting the rest of my elk off the mountain. We hit it at daybreak, with the plan to slowly hunt up to where we had stashed the rest of the meat and cape/horns. Unfortunately as I glassed, I saw what appeared to be the injured calf still on the mountain. I decided to hike up to check it out and after a deceivingly long hike, she was still there, still alive. The wind was howling, I was sweaty and a little cold, but I sat down on a stump and called the FWP for some direction. I was passed off to the game warden, but unfortunately I didn’t get an immediate response, eventually my buddy was in sight and I waved him and his wife over. There was no doubt what had to be done, so with that he finished it and notched his tag. A few minutes later the warden called back, I explained the situation and told him what we had done, for which he thanked us. Fortunately cows were legal with the general tag in the unit we were hunting; it was unfortunate he had to burn his tag on a calf so early in the hunt, though on the bright side, calf elk is delicious. We cut and packed most of the day, the last loads back to the truck about 30 minutes before dark. As we got to the trailhead a couple trucks were glassing a herd that was filtering through where we had just come from.
The next day we slept in, drove to town for a nice breakfast, and then got down to butchering.
We cut and sealed most of the day, then went out for an evening hunt at a new location. Saw a couple cow elk, two sage grouse, a great looking coyote, a poorly placed locked gate, but no deer. The next morning saw us glassing another new location, within a few minutes we had a nice 4x4 muley, unfortunately I was prepared for glassing and not hunting, wasn’t going to climb the hill in my running shoes with a foot of snow on the ground…lesson learned. We went back to camp and finished butchering, we had everything sealed and wrapped in time for a short evening hunt. I saw nothing and my buddy saw several with a good buck mixed in, but no shots fired. The next morning found us at the same location; I stayed at the truck to finish capeing out my elk while glassing for deer. About the time I finished up I found a little forky within shooting distance of the parking lot, he got a pass and about that time my buddy’s wife came back to the trailhead about half frozen. She had to get back to the airport that morning and my buddy and I decided to pack up early and head back to some better deer hunting ground for our last evening.
We hit the road for Region 5, on the way we dropped off my elk hide and head, and then made for the mountains. By the time we hiked the mile and a half back to the spot we wanted to hunt, there was only an hour or two of our hunt left. We split up to watch a couple likely areas as the sun disappeared behind the steep mountains. There was at least one good whitetail and one good muley in the area from what we had seen earlier in the trip. Just before sunset, I caught some movement below me, sure enough it was a buck, my rifle was already braced across my hiking poles, and he was only 50 yards out. As I peeked through the scope I could see it was a small whitetail and with time running out he was definitely on the menu. After the shot I drug him over to a flat spot and built a small fire to keep us warmed up as the mercury was dropping fast. Within a half an hour or so we had him boned out and packed up for the haul out. As we made our way down the mountain we talked about what a great trip it had been and eventually got on the subject of how fragile life was and how thankful we were to be breathing the cold, thin air, with bloody hands, and heavy packs. We loaded up the truck under the stars and cruised into town for a cold beer and a hot meal.
We were up early for the haul out of Montana and across the entire state of Wyoming in a light breeze (50mph), a few odd trailers strewn about the highway to keep us on our toes. Before we could get across the border I-25 took another pound of flesh in the form of a chunk of metal in the tire and a rock to the windshield, but other than that it was a beautiful drive.
Welcome to Colorado.
In the hotel parking lot we repacked for the last leg of the trip, including me cutting off the deer horns to fit in the cooler with my meat. All that was left was a 5 am flight and a 3 hour drive from the airport back home. I got a few “looks” while hauling my load through the airport and onto the shuttle bus.
Here’s a pic my little guy admiring the MT whitetail.
Unfortunately I didn't get any fishing in, but certainly will next time. On the upside I'll have a lifetime supply of elk hair caddis tying material now.
Thanks for the hospitality MT, can’t wait to do it again!
Art Vandeley
Well-known member
Looks like you had a great time JWill! Congrats on the successful trip. That was a great read, you write well.
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