Summer scouting Montana general tags

[Scott85]

Thanks to all this crap going on I got enough airline credit to pay for a flight for my buddy and I to fly to Helena for a week in late July early August to take a look at some areas I Escouted. I have a general big game combo tag and was looking for some units within easy driving distance. I think it would be a good idea to get a lay of the land and maybe do some backcountry fishing. Any ideas on what to look for? I was going to check out some parks in the deep timber and some burns, granted the elk aren’t going to be in the same places once the General season begins. Just looking any advice. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[jt13]

How to best spend 3 scouting days in August

So with all the craziness that was canceling my honeymoon I ended up with all kinds of leftover flight credit for a number of different airlines. With some of this credit I have orchestrated a scouting trip the weekend of August 27-29th to the south-central Idaho unlimited quota elk unit that I...

www.hunttalk.com

I posted about the same question and theres some good info there

 

[Talk2elk]

It is forecasted to be a much warmer then average summer which makes access to water a premium.

 

[diamond hitch]

scott85 - what districts are you interested in? There is a lot of country around Helena.

 

[wtrfwlhunter]

Not sure where you are planning on hunting, but it doesn’t change much as all the areas have elk. Scouting will give you ideas where to start, but obviously the elk don’t sit tight (usually) once rifle season starts. Generally on low snow I’ve had my best success on public elk at high elevations. Not above tree line or anything - more so that same zone where you’d find mule deer bucks or spring bear and of course away from roads. If there’s snow obviously that changes the game. If big mountains aren’t your thing You can also try to position yourself near to private that holds elk and catch them moving through timber. One thing I will say is all the easy access points will have hunters constantly, even looking for smaller access roads that aren’t “trailheads” can help a lot.

I say all that, but people around Helena shoot elk all the time from the roads on public. Never seems to work out for me...I must be doing something wrong

 

[fachries]

Not sure where you are planning on hunting, but it doesn’t change much as all the areas have elk. Scouting will give you ideas where to start, but obviously the elk don’t sit tight (usually) once rifle season starts. Generally on low snow I’ve had my best success on public elk at high elevations. Not above tree line or anything - more so that same zone where you’d find mule deer bucks or spring bear and of course away from roads. If there’s snow obviously that changes the game. If big mountains aren’t your thing You can also try to position yourself near to private that holds elk and catch them moving through timber. One thing I will say is all the easy access points will have hunters constantly, even looking for smaller access roads that aren’t “trailheads” can help a lot.

I say all that, but people around Helena shoot elk all the time from the roads on public. Never seems to work out for me...I must be doing something wrong

+1

 

[stealthy_bowman]

I generally try to take a late august scouting trip if I’m hunting a new area. This year will be no different, hopefully, as I’d like to check out some new areas in a unit I’ve already hunted. The main benefits for me are to ensuring I have multiple access points figured out that are actually real. You’d be surprised how many places you think you can access by looking at maps when in reality you can’t, at least not where you thought you could. The other very useful piece is learning the terrain, where you can scale mountains, and more importantly, where you can’t. All of these things are only learnable with boots on ground, the time spent will be immensely well worth it. You will not be able to determine, of course, where the game will be in the fall, but you will undoubtedly save tons of time by learning where you can get to and what you can traverse. Also very useful to find multiple options to set up base camp. Definitively bring a small fly rod as virtually all streams hold plenty of fish. Lastly, have fun! Here are some pics from my scouting run last summer...

 

[Bjcoyne]

In my experience scouting versus hunting in Montana, summer was a great time of year to see lots of bulls. I had multiple big bulls on my trail cameras and had glassed up a few bachelor groups of 20+ bulls in the area I planned on hunting. Now come September, they were all completely gone from that exact same area. Not a single bugle either. My buddy said he saw a spike one morning but that was it. Went back to the same spot in October and the cows were there, with some nice bulls. Might just be anecdotal but just something to think about—finding bulls in summer might not mean jack shit in September.

 

[Irishman]

I always figure that you scout for elk, and for elk rubbed trees. If an area has both, then it should be good for September. However, if you are rifle hunting in late October or November then that would be different, maybe the bulls return to where they were in July, or migrate to elk wintering areas.

 

[diamond hitch]

How about someplace inbetween depending on the weather!

 

[Roughwater]

This fall will be my first time hunting Montana and I won't likely be able to make just a scouting trip but If I could I would definitely do the obvious and scout the places I intend to hunt. Also verify access points to be sure they are legit. Get on some trails and talk to hikers etc. It would be a awesome just to be in Elk country, catch a few fish, maybe stop at at a ranger station? If you plan to use the service of a local butcher stop there and talk. Try a local beer. Good luck and have fun.