SMALL BULL HELP

venada_blanca · Aug 11, 2008

(Sorry bowhuntn37 no disrespect meant with my post)
I am looking for any elk in any general area, I did not get drawn for the elkhorns.

I am afraid that if I do not put an elk on the table soon, I may loose my kitchen pass to pursue them.

I have hunted the majority of central Montana mountain ranges with no luck. I do get off the roads and I spend a great deal of time glassing where I can. I have not tried the crazy mountains yet and am looking at trying them this year. Would anyone be willing to share any info on where I should start on the Northern end of the crazies? I am not looking to tag a monster just trying to tag an elk and break my Montana elk jinx I have had since moving here. Either Archery or Rifle season advice would be much appreciated. Please PM me if you wish and many thanks to all.

Dean

bowhuntn37 · Aug 13, 2008

dean

as you can see i am hunting in the elkhorns. no offense taken but as far asw the crazys i have never hunted them if you make it closer to helena then i can help you more. pm me if you need anything

venada_blanca · Aug 13, 2008

Thanks bowhuntn, good luck with your hunt in the elkhorns...I hope you tag a big one...post pictures when you score.

Abomb · Aug 19, 2008

I lived in Montana for many years and was lucky enough to harvest quite a few elk. Just my opinion but I think some of your problem is you sound like you are bouncing around a lot and not figuring out "AN" area. As you know Montana is HUGE and elk inhabit pretty much any terrain in has. I have even jumped some big bulls Pheasant hunting in the middle of the most non elk looking habitat you could find. I noticed you are from Billings. You have some GREAT Elk hunting just minutes from your location in any direction.Believe it or not just north of you by Klein actually has/had some decent Elk numbers. But since you mentioned the Crazys, which is a big range, I would hunt the south end on the Clyde Park side. The terrain is very rugged which keeps a lot of people out. I have done very well there as has quite a few of my buddies. Rock Lake area has great hunting as does the head of Shields River. Do not think you need to go to the top or the farthest back area. I have had a lot of sucess glassing the fringes of private from a distance and hunting them. Quite a few hunters like to go way back in and that pressure will push Elk right into the sage country. The main thing to do is pick an area and scout it hard all summer, not really looking for game just sign, and hunt it hard all season to find out what animals are there and their patterns. Remember, if it were easy it would be called shooting not hunting. Good Luck

venada_blanca · Aug 19, 2008

Thanks for the info abomb. I have heard that there are elk in the Klein area, but I was unable to gain access to any of the private land,if I remember right not much public land here. There is a block management unit in the southern end of the bulls...but I found no sign of elk on that ranch. I have seen elk east of roundup, but on private land and was not able to gain access. I have jumped around alot trying to find an area where I am at least seeing elk. Many of the areas I have hunted, I have gotten completely skunked and not seen a single elk on the hoof. I find it hard to stay in the same unit for another year and possibly get skunked again, so I move on. I do put in a lot of time off the roads and do not necesarily go way back in as far as I can or go up as high as possible. This past weekend I scouted the shields river area, just on the fringes of private and national forest. I did find elk sign, but no elk were seen. The interesting thing is that in most of the areas I have hunted, I see moose. If I ever get a moose tag, I should be golden. I will likely continue to focus my efforts in the shields river area, unless you think my opportunities would be better spent elsewhere. Thanks again for the info.

leonard · Aug 22, 2008

Abomb - I sent you a PM.

I hunted the north end of the Crazies in 2003 during the rifle season. We seen lots of old sign and rubs along the Divide between the Middle Fork of Cottonwood Creek and the Shields River drainage, which would probably be a good place during bow season. But then again I only hunted there once, I'm not a local. As compared to Colorado the elk seem to live in larger herds in Montana, just my experience. Good luck, Leonard