How are the crowds out there in the woods?

[Talk2elk]

My corner of MT is back to a more typical number of hunters compared to last year which was crazy busy.

 

[Redside]

I've been pretty surprised by the small number of vehicles at the trailhead I typically hunt on a weekend. Only about 4 when I'd expect 15 or more.

 

[widnert]

My corner of MT is back to a more typical number of hunters compared to last year which was crazy busy.

Agreed. My usual area was over-run last year for all of Archery and rifle season. This year, I saw one rig camped and only encountered a single other hunter hiking through. Much more normal.

 

[ccc23454]

Not 20 but still significantly more than normal.

 

[Irishman]

I've witnessed way more people than ever before. Maybe some of it was due to the fire closures limiting access to some areas. I went to one area in SW Montana that 75% of the vehicles were out of state hunters (not complaining, just surprised). Other areas where it was all instate people, but so many that seem to be around mid week when it used to be weekends.

 

[EWO]

Around 50% less people than last year. Only ran in to 2 hunters in the woods in 14 days. Usually hiked 1-3 miles from roads. More empty campsites for sure.

 

[Bighollow]

Just a bit crowded out here but hoping for a good one.

 

[Jwill]

One of my friends just pulled the plug early on an OTC CO Archery hunt due to the crowding, said he was disgusted and might never go back. Seems extreme, but that's the report he passed along. I suspect it has something to do with some of the adjacent units going limited. He was in GMU 65.

 

[WildWill]

One of my friends just pulled the plug early on an OTC CO Archery hunt due to the crowding, said he was disgusted and might never go back. Seems extreme, but that's the report he passed along. I suspect it has something to do with some of the adjacent units going limited. He was in GMU 65.

I was in 65 from 9/9-9/18 and your buddy isn't lying. I was staggered at how many people I ran into not just hunters but also hikers, horseback riders, campers, etc. Don't think I'll hunt it again at least not for elk and definitely not in September.

 

[Fremont15]

In the general unit I was in there was definitely less people hunting than last year. Actually a lot less it seemed.

 

[ol_spark]

When I went to Colorado last year, I thought everyone followed me there but I was wrong because when I went to Wyoming this year, they were there also. Maybe I’m just getting too old and cant get away from the crowds anymore. Seriously though, a lot of people where I hunted. Kentucky, Idaho, Utah, California you know the usual thing.

 

[SaskHunter]

I've noticed more guys out this year for the regular elk season here in Saskatchewan, even during archery. Rifle season was significantly busier.

 

[NMHunterGuy]

We tried turkey hunting in the middle of the week in 2020. Wife and I took two days off work so we could beat the weekend crowd. Every dispersed campsite in the mountains had at least one group of people and some of them had two, clearly separate, groups in the same little pull off. We hadn't accounted for the masses of people that weren't working. Everyday was a weekend for them.