No Bull

[Csrbowhunter]

Well to make a long story short I didn't get a elk this year. I had my chances but made a poor shot that cost me! It's funny we all talked about maximum distance we would shoot and I shot waaaayyyy longer than I ever could have imagined I would. I chased this bull straight up this Bald Mountain. He nervous grunted me at least 20 times. I was wishing I was recording it for Paul for his videos.
There was very few small pine trees to hide behind so in the end I couldn't get any closer I tried a long shot. I wasn't sure where I'd hit him but he jumped up and bucked and ran full steam down the ridge out of site. This was just minutes before dark so I decided to come back in the morning. The next morning I couldn't find blood at all in this sparse grass with more dirt then grass. I found the last 3rd of my arrow and it had blood on it but nothing else. We looked most of that day but finally gave up. I went back to the same area for the next few days just hoping to smell it or see some crows circling, but no such luck.
This trip was very different from previous trips to Montana. There are lots and lots of hunters where the previous five years I had only seen 3 Hunters a dad and two sons. This time there were campers everywhere tents atvs. I drove 45 minutes every morning to a place where I'd killed a bull before but not many people like to hunt there because once you park at the gate you then have a 2 1/2 mile walk before you can start hunting. There were hunters there too but far less. The elk were not bugling, they would come in silent. I called in 8 bulls in 11 days and only heard maybe 3 bulls bugle. I'd never had this problem before in this area but I'd never had hunters there either.
I had 5 campers beside our tent and man did that bring in the bears. That group of hunters was going to stay for 2 weeks but left after 9 days cuz they hadn't seen or heard anything. Mostly because they road their atv everywhere off and on road. But I think the biggest problem was the number of hunters in this area. The locals told me there were so many hunters because in lower Montana the wolves had killed the elk herds off so the hunters moved north to get away from the wolves. I don't think I'll go back to Montana any more to elk hunt. I'll just put in for WY NM and AZ. And if I draw great if not well there's always next year.
I still had a great time but the time and money just doesn't add up with the amount of hunters you have to compete with there.

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[GoGriz1234]

Sorry to hear about the crowds Crsbowhunter and the lack of meat in the freezer. What area or region of Montana were you in so it can be avoided for those of us trying to stay away from the orange crowds.

[Csrbowhunter]

I was close to Townsend. My biggest Allure of going there was that there was no other Hunters and that I would see elk. This time I felt like I was deer hunting in southern ohio! Lol

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[TurkeyBowMaster]

It haoppens...learn from it.

What day did you shoot and where. I hunt near ther and i know something was dead in there because of theravens and coyotes and magpies and bears were congregrated on one spot. Defantly something dead i figured to be an elk but didn't go over to see. It would have to have been shot before the 16th. Yes, lots of hunters ther that hadn't been ther before, also birds don't get on it until days after. You cannot count on birds the following day. message me and yes, lots of people there this year.

[Fridaythe13th]

Are you sure you weren't in our zone in Idaho. We walk in 3 miles past the trail head and ran into 7 bikes and a horse camp. The elk were mostly quite and very call shy.


sorry about you luck on the bull

[Swede]

Finding areas where you can find solitude and hunt undisturbed elk is really difficult in Oregon too. Things seen to be fine in some places for a few days, but soon the hunters move in.

[Indian Summer]

Other than weather other hunters is the one thing you can't predict or research online. Elk hunting is getting more popular all the time and once there are a high number of hunters they all start moving around to get away from each other. So what was a decent spot last year might be overrun with hunters a year later. That sucks. But Montana has easy to get tags. So maybe you just need to relocate. That and start hunting a general license unit in Wyoming.