Elk District 455

Hunted it 2 years ago, I assume you got the bull tag, what do you want to know.
 
LAST EDITED ON Jul-19-11 AT 08:34PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Jul-19-11 AT 08:33?PM (MST)

Camp at cottonwood, walk the 7 miles to the opening of pollock meadows, walk another mile into the meadow, and take your pick of bulls along with all the other hunters who drew a tag. Expect a nice 5 or 6 point bull. seriously it really is 7 miles to the meadow.

great tag if you have horses or are willing to work. I did not have horses and was beat by the time got to the elk. I saw several hundred elk, most hunters shot bulls opening day. I would not put in for it again unless I had a horse. Another plus is it is a beautiful area and saw lots of mature mule deer bucks.
 
I have had that tag twice and gotten into elk each time and scored on about a 320 class 7 pt about 7 years ago and passed on some smaller bulls when I had the tag two years ago. If I had put some more days of hunting in, I think I could have done 330 or better the second time I had the tag. I only hunted one day due to schedule. You definitely have to put the miles on to get to the elk but they are there. Either be in good shape or get some horses and you should be successful. I have always gone later in the season, ideally if we had snow but early season is good, just expect other people. The advice so far has been consistent with where I have gotten into elk. Good luck.
 
Thanks for all the info. so far..Yes I did draw the tag and am just starting to research a little. Has anyone used a boat to hunt the area?
 
My father-in-law drew a archery permit for 455, Ill let you know what we see if we wander into that area.
 
LAST EDITED ON Jul-19-11 AT 09:54PM (MST)[p]If you dont have horses you will be handicapped as far as getting in there by first light and getting your elk out,most people use horses.Hunting by boat isnt going to get you anywhere in that area you cant drive to,the road goes over and back down towards the lake where the area ends.You want to head up elkhorn or cottonwood creek,follow the horse crap.
 
Yes, I know about the deer permit as I have been trying to draw the deer tag for awhile now. I am assuming there is no motorized vehicles allowed on trails i.e motorcycles. I am going to call f and g today to get a 455 dist. boundary map. How far south does the dist. go, mann gulch, willow creek?
Thanks for the replies.....
 
Oh there's a map in the regs, maybe I will check it out next time. Another forum starta__......
 
No mountain bikes either! The southern boundry is kinda confusing to people that have never been there, best to get a good topo map and then mark out the ridge line the unit discription describes.
 
I talked to Peg at the Great Falls office today and she said that peddle bikes are ok past the gate on cottonwood, elkhorn and willow creeks as long as you keep your bike on the trail. Maybe this has changed from the past, I don't know. She also mentioned that there was a recent rock slide up willow crk. and wasn't sure how far a person could drive up the road. I am getting a good topo map this afternoon.
 
ok got some topo maps and am looking them over. sure looks like there are a few areas next to the lake that might get overlooked. I think I will bring my boat with me during scouting. Of course I have to do some fishing also..I have now heard of a couple hunters that used a boat to get there bull.
 
I think a boat is a waste of your time since you can easily get to most of the same areas by foot or truck. The bulls are concentrated on the north end of the unit where it borders HD unit 445. They are scattered around the rest of the unit in smaller numbers. If you want to have several bulls to chose from go the 7 miles up cottonwood.
 
If they killed it from a boat it was probably out of that area,you can drive right back into the east side of it,a boat is only going to get you to everyone's camp sites.
 
Go all the way to the north edge opening morning and wait for the outfitters over on Sieben Livestock to open fire and run whats left back into the hills.
 
Seems like everyone hunts the north end (cottonwood). What's the story with the south end. Seems like the south end would (willow) be a place the elk would go after the shooting starts in cottonwood. Also, everything mentioned has been about rifle season, what about archery season, I havent seen any replies on people hunting during archery season. Thanks..
 
From what Ive seen on the north end most the elk are down rutting in the private (Sieben/Dana) stuff,the bigger bulls separate and move back up into the wilderness after.Im sure there are plenty of elk in there during the rut but not nearly as many as later,everyone seems to wait for the rifle hunt.
 
nonyamt, what is sieben/dana. I assume ranches, and if so where are these ranches located, in 455 or out? Thanks. I am thinking more about archery hunting this unit, maybe less people.
 
They both border your area and both outfit,they kill a PILE of good bulls every year,they stop outfitting after the 3rd week of rifle when the general tag goes to a draw tag.
 
I drew t for deer 3 years ago and had a tough time finding a nice deer but saw a lot of nice bulls. Drew elk this year so I am pretty excited!
 
Congrats, are you looking at archery hunting? Did you seem to see most of the elk on the north end like most people are saying.
 
>Congrats, are you looking at archery
>hunting? Did you seem to
>see most of the elk
>on the north end like
>most people are saying.


I am interested in archery hunting it but don't think its going to work with my schedule and am pretty sure I won't get there until later in November. When I had the deer tag I hunted for a week in late October and then the last week of the season in November due to my work schedule. I saw a couple elk up willow creek up towards the wilderness, a couple right above the gate to the south of elkhorn. A large herd at the end of elkhorn which I was told early in the season was between the elkhorn camp and cottonwood creek. I aslo saw a herd of bulls right when you enter the area, and although no elk up cottonwood I did see a lot of older sign right up next to the boundary on the north side. I wasn't always into elk but did bump into some nice 6 pt bulls while hunting for deer.
 
I was up in the area since Weds. and left on Sunday morning. Saw close to 400 head, lots of small raghorns and a couple that were 290-300 class. Saw nothing that made my flip the safety on. very fun area to hunt, I hunted on foot and covered up to 10 miles a day. Walked alot of ridges and watched alot of horse hunters ride right by elk. You can only see so much on the trails or creek side. Noticed that very few people actually walk and hunt. Most elk were seen while climbing to the top of ridges and walking the ridge. Elk were bedded right on the ridges just inside timber. Friday night I had 200 plus head come out from 30 to 150 yards away from me, very cool experience. Cows were chirping away and two bulls were bugling, one bull mounted a cow. Very strange for veterans day weekend.
I was in elkhorn and willow areas, cottonwood was full of people, didnt even bother, alot of elk were chased out of cottonwood towards where I was.
 
There is one bull up there thats well over 300,my co worker has been after him since the opener and hasnt had a decent shot at him yet.
 
Got back last night, had a good time exploring new country, saw lots of elk, but no bulls bigger than I have taken before in general season areas in Montana, so I did not harvest a bull. The winds were really blowing and the weather was pretty warm. I bet the area would be a great hunt with a little winter weather, not chinook winds. I hunted 7 days total and checked the harvest reports at cottonwood everyday, and there really wasn't alot of bulls taken, unless they were not reported. Saw nine bulls on the last morning, two were 6 pts. around 300".
Anyway had a blast and maybe some day I can draw again, now that I know the area and have never been there before drawing the tag. The area is really pretty easy to get around on foot, walked up to the upper end most of the time. The elk were still up in the upper end this last weekend with the weather. Not much down lower, besides a fewe cows. Thanks for all the info. guys.....
Any other reports?
 
Sounds like you had a great time in some very cool country. I think the older bulls must get into the nasty stuff and stay there. I always see bigger bulls during archery season, so I know they are there.
 
Are the elk up in the upper end during archery season, like they are now. I could see that Shellrock Mtn. area being a great rutting area. If I were to hunt the area again, I would for sure bring a Mtn. bike to get in.
 
Once you hit the wilderness boundary there are no wheeled vehicles of any kind allowed,game carts included.
 

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