Montana Here I Come!

[Trumkin the Dwarf]

Well gents, I fly out tomorrow afternoon. I'm heading for Montana. General season. Fresh snow. A full week to get it done.

It's gonna be good! Updates to come in a week!

[GoGriz1234]

Good luck! I'll be trucking around the Big Hole Valley at the same time!

[WapitiTalk1]

Best of luck guys; go get um!

[Trumkin the Dwarf]

Good luck! I'll be trucking around the Big Hole Valley at the same time!

Well I won't be in your spot then! Good luck out there!

[ElkNut1]

Good luck to you bud!

ElkNut1

[Swede]

Best wishes Trumkin. Let us know how you do.

[Trumkin the Dwarf]

Well fellas... I (gulp) *missed* my shot.

Day one of the hunt saw 12 miles in 7-20 inches of heavy wet snow. I missed a coyote first thing in the morning (walking at 400 yards). The rest of the day saw tons of really dumb whitetail does and little bucks, and in the evening we cut our first elk tracks. I dropped off the side of the ridge and slowed way down, while my grandpa stayed higher up. In the thick of alders, jack pines, spruce, and willows, my eyes suddenly saw a cow elk. It was one of those "ELK!ELK!ELK!-recognition-gun-raise-whirling-elk- BOOM-what-happened?" moments. Nearest I can tell, one of the alders deflected the bullet. And that was it for elk! The rest of the trip we didn't cut any fresh elk tracks (20+ late season snow covered mountain miles later). Talk about the pivotal moment of the trip. Fortunately, I can't think of anything I could have done better. The shot looked good and felt good (other than missing clean) and we did a great job of sneaking up on the elk in the thick stuff. That right there is elk hunting! Take heed ye uninitiated with many dreams! Best capitalize on your first opportunity!

On the plus side, I did shoot a real dandy mule deer (for the mountains we were hunting anyways)!