Elk around Kalispell

[wannabemountainman]

Hey all,

Just moving to Kalispell from Minnesota, and the main reason is hunting. Wondering what your general thoughts are on units 103, 130, 132? I hear elk density is low, but Im wondering if I work harder than everyone why can't I be more successful than the 13% success rates are around there or whatever. Anyway, I don't need any secret honey holes just some general info.

Thanks

 

[8andcounting]

congrats on your move ! go hunt, you just never know !

 

[Ben Long]

Yes, success rates are low. But there are good bulls taken out of R1 every year. In my 30s, I averaged an elk every other year in R1. That has tapered off as I'm now in my 50s and have more responsibilities than time. Your main challenge in R1 is the country is very rugged and the elk densities are quite low. You have to find microhabitats that hold elk, then hunt them smart and hard. Most hunters in R1 focus on whitetails, which are much easier to hunt and much more abundant. Once you learn more about Montana, you may want to travel beyond northwestern Montana to find elk, but there is something satisfying about beating the odds and killing a bull close to home. Good luck.

 

[Ben Long]

Also apply for cow tags. It increases your odds of eating elk meat exponentially.

 

[wannabemountainman]

Thanks. I am also planning on taking trips down south, but I look forward to trying to take an animal around home.

 

[wayno945]

I had the moose tag in HD 111 (which is 102 for elk) this past fall. Saw one cow elk in two weeks of hunting. Lots of whitetails and wolf sign. Looked like good elk country but density appeared to be really low.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I spent 15-18 days annually hunting that area for my first 3 years elk hunting. I was lucky to have a great mentor who kills a 6 pt every year up there and I managed one young 6 pt over 50 or so days hunting.

First year hunting elk elsewhere this year I shot nice bulls solo on day 2 and day 6 in general WY and MT units elsewhere. I think a big part of the success was from learning what it took to get it done up in region 1.

 

[Bulldog0156]

Lots of 7 plates in the Breaks between September 1 and November 30. Elk are really tough to find around here. I still haven't seen a bull since I moved here, but I also focus my elk hunting in other areas of the state that have good numbers. I'm expecting good things from my trail cameras this summer though!

 

[Sytes]

As you mention in your opening post, if you work harder than everyone why can't you be more successful...

That is what it will take.
Best to you.

 

[----]

I spent 15-18 days annually hunting that area for my first 3 years elk hunting. I was lucky to have a great mentor who kills a 6 pt every year up there and I managed one young 6 pt over 50 or so days hunting.

First year hunting elk elsewhere this year I shot nice bulls solo on day 2 and day 6 in general WY and MT units elsewhere. I think a big part of the success was from learning what it took to get it done up in region 1.

There's a lot of truth in that. That 5% of hunters in NW MT that kills a bull every year are probably some of the best elk hunters on the planet.

I still remember the first time I went to region 3 to hunt elk, after hunting my whole life in NW Montana. I felt like we were getting away with something illegal.

 

[rustneversleeps]

There's a lot of truth in that. That 5% of hunters in NW MT that kills a bull every year are probably some of the best elk hunters on the planet.

Couldn't agree more

 

[wannabemountainman]

Thanks everyone for the input. I really apprecite it. If I work hard enough and put in the time scouting I know I can get it done. Then maybe I can pass what I learned on to the next guy.

 

[Mtnhunter1]

Well if pursuing your HT name, “wannabemountainman”, is your goal, R1 is the place to do it! But if you are moving to Kalispell because of the elk hunting, you better pick a different part of the state. R1’s elk population has declined to the point that, in most HDs, the season should be closed! The remaining HDs should have elk hunting by permit only. It’s a crying shame that this decline has been completely ignored MT FWP. R1 is the birth place of the RMEF and even they turned their back on R1’s elk. I don’t know where you came up with the 13% elk success rate for R1?? Total hunter success rate in R1 has slumped below 10% for ALL big game! There is a reason why hunters from R1 are now found in noticeable numbers in all other regions across Montana.

Hunters through R1 FWP’s Check Stations in 2018 = (14,615) and elk harvested by those hunters = (58). That (58) total harvest is made up of both bulls and cows. Still want to move to Kalispell for the elk hunting?



2017 vs 2018

 

[BuzzH]

Just one question on the above post, any break down on how many of the whopping 58 elk killed were bulls and how many were cows? Heard that information is a bit tough to get.

Heard from a friend that was in attendance at a recent meeting in Region 1...the claim by MTFWP is that predators are killing 32,000 big game animals a year in region 1.

I agree with the above post, the MTFWP has really turned their back on most areas that have any amount of public land, not just in region 1. What they have been doing is not sustainable, and hasn't been for a very long time. Yet, still the same old, same old seasons...more and more pressure on the resource.

Something had to give, and it has.

 

[Nameless Range]

Well if pursuing your HT name, “wannabemountainman”, is your goal, R1 is the place to do it! But if you are moving to Kalispell because of the elk hunting, you better pick a different part of the state. R1’s elk population has declined to the point that, in most HDs, the season should be closed! The remaining HDs should have elk hunting by permit only. It’s a crying shame that this decline has been completely ignored MT FWP. R1 is the birth place of the RMEF and even they turned their back on R1’s elk. I don’t know where you came up with the 13% elk success rate for R1?? Total hunter success rate in R1 has slumped below 10% for ALL big game! There is a reason why hunters from R1 are now found in noticeable numbers in all other regions across Montana.

Hunters through R1 FWP’s Check Stations in 2018 = (14,615) and elk harvested by those hunters = (58). That (58) total harvest is made up of both bulls and cows. Still want to move to Kalispell for the elk hunting?

View attachment 94253

2017 vs 2018

View attachment 94254

When you consider the size of region one and the amount of public land within it, that data seems like a modern day tragedy of wildlife conservation.

 

[BuzzH]

Nameless Range,

Some more wildlife tragedy from Region 1:

we counted and classified elk from a helicopter in the South Fork of the Flathead River within hunting districts 140 and 150, from Youngs Creek to Dry Parks (Table 1). On 20 May 2018, Rob Cherot was the pilot, and Perry Brown and I were the observers; whereas on the 21 – 22 May, Ken Justus was the pilot and I was the only observer. Low lying meadows were fully green and snowline was high. The south facing slopes, particularly in the 2015 burn areas were also showing signs of emergent vegetation. Youngs Creek was blackened from the 2017 burn with only a few small patches of green vegetation. That drainage was relatively devoid of forage for elk. Skies were clear, and the wind was calm and conditions were optimal for sighting elk. Surveys were conducted from 0600 to 0820.

We observed a total of 202 elk, with a calf:cow ratio of 8 calves to 100 cows and a bull:cow ratio of 6 bulls to 100 cows (Table 1; Figures 1 and 2).

Just stellar...

 

[BuzzH]

At this point, I question whether its even worth flying anymore.

HD Area Cows Calves Ylg Adult Tot Uncl Total Calves per 100 cows Bulls per 100 Cows

150 Danaher Meadows 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 N/A N/A

Youngs Cr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 N/A N/A

Basin* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 N/A N/A

Big Prairie - FlatIron 59 6 2 0 2 0 67 N/A N/A

Burnt Cr & White River Flats 79 4 0 0 0 0 83 N/A N/A

Black Bear - Big Salmon 27 2 0 5 5 13 52 N/A N/A

HD 150 Total 165 12 2 5 7 13 202 7 4

140 Bunker Cr 0 0 0 3 3 0 3 N/A N/A

Spotted Bear Mtn - L. Twin Cr 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 N/A N/A

Dry Parks 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 N/A N/A

HD 140 Total 1 1 0 3 3 0 3 N/A N/A

150/140 Grand Total 166 13 2 8 10 13 202 8 6

 

[Bulldog0156]

Just one question on the above post, any break down on how many of the whopping 58 elk killed were bulls and how many were cows? Heard that information is a bit tough to get.

Heard from a friend that was in attendance at a recent meeting in Region 1...the claim by MTFWP is that predators are killing 32,000 big game animals a year in region 1.

I agree with the above post, the MTFWP has really turned their back on most areas that have any amount of public land, not just in region 1. What they have been doing is not sustainable, and hasn't been for a very long time. Yet, still the same old, same old seasons...more and more pressure on the resource.

Something had to give, and it has.

Buzz,

I believe I was at the same meeting. It was supposed to be a discussion on whitetail management and populations and quickly devolved into a "wolves ate all the deer" bitch session by hunters that don't appear to make it too far from their vehicles during the season. One guy was tuned up pretty good, hopefully he made it home safely. One of the public attendees spoke up with that figure and asked if it was true because he had heard it from an FWP employee at some point in the past at a meeting. The FWP employees were a bit miffed as to how that figure would have been determined and didn't believe it to based on anything related to any actual research. They did not dispute that we have a lot of predators in the NW corner of the state and brought up that cats are extremely efficient hunters and population estimates are that there are 3x the number of cats as wolves.

 

[wannabemountainman]

Well if pursuing your HT name, “wannabemountainman”, is your goal, R1 is the place to do it! But if you are moving to Kalispell because of the elk hunting, you better pick a different part of the state. R1’s elk population has declined to the point that, in most HDs, the season should be closed! The remaining HDs should have elk hunting by permit only. It’s a crying shame that this decline has been completely ignored MT FWP. R1 is the birth place of the RMEF and even they turned their back on R1’s elk. I don’t know where you came up with the 13% elk success rate for R1?? Total hunter success rate in R1 has slumped below 10% for ALL big game! There is a reason why hunters from R1 are now found in noticeable numbers in all other regions across Montana.

Hunters through R1 FWP’s Check Stations in 2018 = (14,615) and elk harvested by those hunters = (58). That (58) total harvest is made up of both bulls and cows. Still want to move to Kalispell for the elk hunting?

View attachment 94253

2017 vs 2018

View attachment 94254

I didn’t move to kalispell only for elk otherwise I definitely would’ve gone somewhere else, but I definitely want to chase then if they’re there!

 

[Sytes]

Thick public forests with little logging activity. Too thick with parks the size of puddles in comparison to elsewhere in the state. Environmental organizations interference/ obstruction with thinning operations that even RMEF says benefits elk populations.

Predators. Cats, Bears and the expanding wolf populations. More needs to be done to reign in as Moose and elk are dwindling.
Cats and wolves eat 7-10#'s per day. Bears diet is far beyond meat. Grass, etc and if they happen on a carcass or by chance tKe down an animal, it's their lucky day. Cats and wolves per animal chunk down a heck of a lot.

There is far more than enough public land in NW MT. I do not believe the cause is human pressure. Without a comprehensive approach towards thinning and predators the elk and moose will continue to maintain it's dismal pace.
Weather is outside our control. Predators and the canopy are in our control. Maybe there is a factor of reducing the hunt pressure though with the dwindling harvest reports I've posted as MTNHunter1 has, humans are a slight factor causing a reduction.