Flying D Ranch South Border/Cowboys heaven

[Levajo]

Has anyone hunted up on the national forest land on the south side of turners ranch in unit 311? I tried to bushwack it to get up on top back there and was unable to do it in half a day. I have seen many horse trailers parked in the parking lot down at the trail head by the ennis dam but the signs say no pedal bikes or motorized vehicles. I have been drooling over this place on onXmaps but I just can't seem to figure out how i am going to get an elk out if i can even manage to get spike camp up there. Turner has done an exceptional job at making access to behind his ranch extremely difficult. I can't afford horses or to be flown in to the nearby BLM land. On onXmaps it says that there is a forest service cabin up there but when i tried to access the forest service road through Turners ranch it was gated off. Planning on just hiking the trail in here in 2 weeks which looks to be an almost 6 to 8 mile trail in hopes of finding some wallows up there to hang trail cams on. Any input would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Bambistew]

Half of bozeman hunts up there... just sayn access isn't that bad, and has been the same for decades.

 

[Straight Arrow]

Turner has done an exceptional job at making access to behind his ranch extremely difficult.

Not true.
The public road through the Flying D Ranch to the Spanish Peaks Trailhead is only gated in the winter to stop foolish folks from driving up and getting stuck. You can still hike, ski, or snowshoe up that road to the trailheads that take you south of the Flying D Ranch. You can bike or drive up to the trailheads during the warmer seasons when the road is not plugged with snow ... and in fact the road is paved for four miles up to the trailheads. The trail from the Madison near the dam passes through a private ranch (not Turner's) and was opened by legal action by PLWA years ago to access the Old Indian Trail. It is likely that the ranch and the USFS don't allow bikes or motors for some established reason, but it may be because that trail allows access to the Spanish Peaks Wilderness Area ... no bikes, no motors. I have known hunters who took elk up in that country, then packed out on their backs. 'Don't know the situation presently, but previously there was an outfitter hunting that country near Cowboys Heaven and upper Cherry Creek.

Turner changed nothing about access when he purchased the Flying D, and in fact agreed to leave those portions of USFS trails which are on the Flying D accessible. Unlike many, maybe even most, ranches abutting USFS lands the Flying D area has several trails to get around the ranch to hunt south of there. But those trails are not for the weak-kneed nor for those who may want to complete a morning hunt and be home by noon.

 

[mdunc8]

...

 

[Lawnboy]

Sheesh I tried following this but we went from cowboy heaven to the Spanish creek cabin. ��. As was mentioned gobs of access with elk numbers in the toilet. They supposedly have a nice wolf population cruising the ranch now.
Watson was the outfitter on the lake side and Heintz was on the Spanish creek end.

 

[Straight Arrow]

They supposedly have a nice wolf population cruising the ranch now.

Yes, there is a stable population of wolves on the ranch. Our Gateway Youth Group (GYG) conducts a rural middle school environmental summit each April around Earth Day, hosted by the Flying D Ranch. Eighty to a hundred students gather at the ranch to hear many great presenters who provide much good information and among those are the Flying D Ranch's wildlife biologist, the ranch's fisheries biologists, and the bison manager. They update us on the ecology of the area and describe the wildlife and fisheries dynamics in an informative and interesting way, with discussions and hands-on demonstrations of equipment and technology. The summit is another of those wonderful opportunities for rural Montana kids.

This spring we learned about the evolvement and stabilization of the wolf population and some of the interesting dynamics. The bison herd has been developing defensive behaviors since the wolves showed up. Also the ranch culls a few older, weaker bison to feed the wolves and keep them occupied and fed in order to prevent more depredation to the calf population. Also recently there has been some resident grizzlies on the ranch, which adds to the ecological dynamics.

Cowboys Heaven to the Spanish Creek Cabin ... oh yeah; recall that the large Flying D Ranch extends from the Gallatin west beyond the Madison, so both those locations abut the ranch on the south side.

Sheesh ... as a supporter of the ranch's conservation easement and an almost lifetime resident of the area, I shudder to think of what that beautiful landscape would look like if one of the many Gallatin area developers had gotten ahold of it!

 

[huntfishcamp]

we foot-hiked to cowboys heaven up and over red knob in 2010 and camped just below red knob., used the ennis dam trailhead. had lunch at the cherry creek rangers log cabin. It was our first elk hunt and packs were 80 lbs. We did not see or kill any in that area, we moved to South of Ennis 3 days in and found elk. Lots of hunters, grizzly sign.

 

[Coop]

My old man killed a bull around there every year through the 90s and early 2000s. I have gotten out there a few times over the past couple years and haven't cut more than a wolf track in a 20 mile day. I'm not saying they aren't around, but they are definitely a lot harder to find.

 

[Levajo]

Thanks for the info I will be looking around for a much more harder area for people to reach.