montana area 380

There are a fair number of em in the unit, but the unit is huge... (by western MT standards) If you hunt on a general tag you can only shoot spikes so you get quite a few people in there from Helena, Butte and Bozeman during archery season and rifle season since its farily close to all three. I really don't think you would have much trouble killing a nice bull if you get the tag and put in a little time. We hunted for spikes in ther a few times. Saw a lot of nice bulls and a couple hawgs... The antlers probaly won't be as great this year since its been so dry. If you get the tag your odds of taking a great bull are are better than most all areas of the state. The tricky part is drawing the tag. I think they give out 100 permits and there was close to 4000 people put in last year! Good luck if you apply.
 
According to Montana FWP, in 2003, there were 4481 applications for the 100 either sex tags in district 380. This includes res and non-res. Can't comment on it being dry there, but if the rain that has fallen here in Western Montana is getting there, it ain't dry! Also, I dont't feel this area has the best odds for a big bull. If you haven't applied for the tag yet, it is too late (unless you live here). mtmuley
 
mtmuley... How much rain have you had in the last three months? Now how much rain have you had in the last two weeks??? Its just about all come in the last two weeks hasn't it? You must be living on the moon if you don't think its dry in western MT...
 
My brother drew this tag last year. We were in 300+ bulls everyday. We hunted during the Archery season and did not see one other hunter the whole time we were out. He ended up taking a 365 bull just 6 days after the hunt opened.

It is an awesome unit. The odds of drawing are very limited, but if you do draw, hold out for a 350+ bull. They are there. You will need to do a fair bit of hiking, but it is worth the walk.
 
I saw shedhorn pics over the weekend from unit 380 of a matched set that would go 430. Swear to God! I tried getting them e-mailed to me with no luck and the guy with the photos won't loan them out. It's only a matter of time before the pics are all over. I've never held a picture of elk antlers that gave me the shakes. They are noticeably larger than any shedhorns I've seen on this site. Stay tuned.
 
LAST EDITED ON May-24-04 AT 08:10PM (MST)[p]Bambistew, We've had over 2 inches in the past three weeks. I wasn't sure if it was getting over east. Are you in eastern Montana? And right now it isn't so dry here in western Montana. I do know that can change in a heartbeat, and for the long term, it doesn't look good. We get a good wet spring only to start on fire in July or so. I hope it doesn't happen, but I think the Forest Circus may shut down public access to forest land pretty early if things get dangerous. mmtmuley
 
A friend who lived in Townsend until recently and worked for the FS told me to apply for the non-res permit for 380 even tho it was next to impossible, and if I got it to come prepared to hunt the whole season, and worry about the divorce later!!
I've tried three times with no luck, But it must be great with advice like that.
 
I hate to give away the secrets to my homeland, but this is a great tag. I grew up in Helena and that is definitely the most coveted tag in the area. One difference between drawing this tag and getting a limited entry tag in another state is the length of the season. In most other states, your season is 5-10 days long. If you draw this tag in MT, you can hunt about 6 weeks with a bow and if unsuccessful, you still have another 6 weeks of rifle hunting after that. The area is great, and your chances are high.
Also, on the down side, I don't think the draw statistics are accurate. A lot of the 100 tags available are eaten up by people with "landowner preference" and so the odds for the general public are even worse.

By the way, I would really like to see the pics of the bigs sheds if anybody can find them. 430 typical or nontypical?
 
I would love to see proof of the 430 sheds, that would be amazing! How big a spread was it given?

My dad lives in an area in IDaho with only a handful of elk and someone found a 378 set (with a 43 inch spread) about 1/2 mile from his house! He's always looking for whitey sheds out there, can you imagine stumbling on them bones while you were expecting to find a 120 inch whitey!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
I drew the tag last year. It was an awesome hunt! Unfortunately I didnt tag out though. I scouted pre-archery season fairly hard and found some great bulls and I have also been in the area before so I new where some big bulls hid out. I set my goal early in the hunt for a Boone bull or nothing since one had never been killed and registered in there. On the second day of archery season I worked a true monster after already having a half dozen bulls come in! He was definitely in the class and beyond what I was looking for so to make a long story short I spent one whole bow and rifle season after this bull, because I knew I wouldnt be satisfied with any thing else. I came very close twice but didnt score. I did see a very healthy number of bulls along the way though and I know he is still alive. Ive also heard about the 433 sheds some guy was totin em around Bozeman last year said he got them from near Montana City turns out they were off a game farm down in Alabama. Might be the same ones you saw. Anyway there are some good bulls in there. I recommend it for any lucky sole who can draw it. As for me Im going for a Breaks rifle tag I know that there is no way I will ever draw 380 again especially since the odds with probablly be 100:5000 this year. And a good percentage of those going to landowners.
 
Jamie,

Did you see a lot of 330+ bulls? Was it unreal or just real good? I am just curious. Too bad you didn't score, but it sounds like you had a heck of a hunt and a great goal!

Breaks rifle is an awesome tag for sure, if I ever get drawn for it I'll go for a booner for the first trip (at least 10 days) then go for a nice big bull after that!
 
Ernie-I did see a fair number of 330 bulls in there. I also saw a fair amount of 350 to 360 bulls in there. As far as a Boone bulls I saw the one that would have went easily and another that would have been close. Im not sure I would say that it was unreal, but it is damned sure good. You still have to work real hard to find a good bull I hunted about 20 days, its definitely not a turkey shoot. It is definitely better in the archery season it gets to be a real zoo up there during rifle season because of all the cow hunters and the guys chasing spikes the big bulls get very spooky during the rifle season and alot go to private land. But I had the place to myself during archery, I also hunted some really cool ranches that had some big bulls in the sagebrush and wheat fields.
Jamie
 

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