MT CMR 622 Elk hunt - handicapped guy

[griz326]

This is my first post:

…just came back from a scouting trip to the 622.

We put on 400+ miles scouting and saw only a handful of speedy goats, two white tail, and a total of six young mule deer does, one young mule deer buck, and no elk even from the top of telegraph road.

I'd have to get really lucky to shoot one from the truck if we ever get our dream tag. More importantly, I don't think it's square business shooting my 350+ buck from a truck.

So a couple of questions:

--- I can hobble along for a fair distance, but it won't be quiet and my balance is terrible so there'd better not be cliffs. Is there a place where I might have a chance under those circumstance?

--- Shooting ranges. In my time hunting eastern Montana, I've never need to take a shot beyond 300 yards or so…but I've never been shooting elk.

--- What hunting strategies would you suggest for a guy in my situation?

Thanks…

 

[Frenchy]

Do you have the tag now, or are you just planning for future daws?

 

[griz326]

Sorry that I forgot to mention that; future draws.

We've been putting in now for a few years and have experience with going into an area with no previous knowledge. …don't want to waste the tag of a lifetime.

 

[PJ0311]

I had a tag for the area next to 622 a few years back and got a lot of great support from some of the members on here when asking questions. I hunted almost the whole season and what I found was that the quality of bulls is not what it used to be but the quantity was amazing. I saw one true monster but he was smarter than I. With that being said, from my experience you will most likely not see a bull of that caliber near a road unless he gets jumped somewhere else and you happen to be in the right place at the right time. I hiked away from the roads and saw bulls every day, mostly 300ish 6 pts and a few 330ish bulls (the big boy was on one of the islands). Some of the places I hiked were fairly easy walks as I would walk the tops of the fingers to get away from the roads. I found bulls as close as 500 yds from roads bedded down so they weren't always way back in the nasty stuff. I got the feeling that most of the hunters were simply driving the roads. I also noticed tree stands down on the islands so that could be another possibility for you. The willows were thick with elk for the first half of the season then it seemed most of the bulls moved off into the hills while a lot of the cows stayed down low. The willows along the river was a frustrating place for me to hunt but I did have opportunities on some nice bulls once I had figured out where they were crossing between the islands and the main land.

 

[PJ0311]

Forgot to ask if you had access to a boat. Another option would be to set up an ambush at a crossing point and have others drive an island and see what comes your direction. I watched a lot of people put drives on the islands and none were successful for the people on the island, but a couple of those drives gave me opportunities because I was set up glassing in areas where I had watched the elk cross in the past. One of these areas was very close to a road but the others you would need a boat if you couldn't walk a mile or so in from the top.

 

[griz326]

I can push to 6-7 miles of easy walking on level ground, but when my hip gives out I'm done; the balance is totally gone and the pain is beyond the control of my medications. All wrapped up into a once in a lifetime hunt, I think that I can do better.

I do have access to a 12 foot aluminum fishing boat and maybe a 16 footer.