Like Fitz's thread, this will entail my adventures as I pursue deer, elk, and an occasional bear or wolf in western MT. Here is a link to my 2012 Season: http://forums.bowhunting.com/bowhunting-talk/39175-backcountrys-2012-season-journal.html I reside in the famous Bitterroot Valley of Western Montana. I am surrounded by a mixture of National Forest Service, Logging Company, BLM, Private, and Wilderness lands. Needless to say, we have ample hunting opportunities. Last year was perhaps my most successful season in terms of knowledge gained. I learned a ton. One rather large storm cloud loomed over my joy, though. A massize 345" 7x7 bull I had been after was poached. I was crushed. Alongside this, my once productive deer spot had began to become overrun with people. I needed a change. Fast forward to the Spring of 2013. My wife and I decided we wanted to purchase a home and promptly did, which inadvertently began my new hunting aspirations. While our house is not far from town (20 miles), it put us smack dab into some of Montana's finest country. After the previous season, I needed a change in pace. I needed to go deeper, get away from people. To accomplish this I began looking into a designated wilderness area that is close by. What does this mean? No roads, no logging, no trucks, only foot/horse travel. No people and land as pure as it comes. The terrain is terrifyingly steep and unrelenting. Just what I need I am tired of hunting animals influenced by human activity, I want unmolested hunts chasing animals doing what real animals do. The beginning of summer looked promising as I picked up an incredible elk spot. To my dismay, a fire sparked two weeks ago that would claim 11,000+ acres, several homes, and all access to my elk spot. Back to the drawing board. As it stands I have a few more spots to check out and my first few outings for the season will likely be scouting trips. My season will begin on September 7th. As always, I encourage questions on my gear or anything else. I hope everyone enjoys my season with me as much as I know I will.
Looks like a great thread! I too would love to hunt unmolested animals once. Its one of my dreams to hunt Montana.
Congrats on the new home and what looks like an awesome new playground! You gearing towards mule deer instead of whitetails on the new ground?
Mountain whitetail, I do have a mule permit for a different unit, though. Thanks! We are enjoying the house. Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2
Beautiful house BC. That sucks about the Elk but hopefully it'll all come together for you. Hows the sitka gear holding up, any new additions?
I'm new to the fourm but this looks like a great thread. What's your hunting setup? (bow, arrows, broadhead....)
Only new add on has been a Jetstream Jacket. Love it! Good to see your still around! Bow 2010 PSE Bowmadness 27.5"@67# Vapor Trail Limbdriver Black Gold Ascent 10" B-Stinger Sport Hunter Fuse Satori Quiver Scott Rhino XT Release 260ish fps Arrow Goldtip XT7595 @ 27" 50grn Brass Insert Weight 125grn Slicktrick Razor Trick Bad Medicine Archery Wraps 3" Norway Fusion Vanes 470grns finished 17% FOC
Hunting country that beautiful is a win in itself, tag filled or not. Good luck on the upcoming season and looking forward to following along.
Haven't seen you in a while. Really looking forward to seeing your hunts out west. Congrats on a beautiful new home. New hunting ground looks awesome, hope you put an elk on the ground Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Being in the profession I am gear testing and recycling has always been a hobby of mine, much to the dismay of my wife Here a two pieces that I most excited for this year.. Mystery Ranch Longbow: This is something I debated on for a very long time. My last pack ( Sitka Bivy 30) was a phenomenal setup with one flaw for my needs. If I killed a bulled several miles in the pack could not handle a quarter for my first trip out. Adding 2-5 miles to an already crap hike was not something I wanted to do. MR packs are designed and assembled in Bozeman, MT. The longbow features their bombproof NICE frame and a 2300cui back. Perfect for 2-3days with camp on my back and still able to carry loads heavier than I ever physically could. Vortex Razor 11-33x50: Beyond stoked for this little gem. This is a new spotting scope just released this year from Vortex. It features their top of the line Razor HD glass and is a mere 1.3# and only 11" long! Perfect for this nasty country I will be hunting. In this terrain, one blown step can leave animals in the next drainage over and several hours from me. This will be brought on several hunts this year! I paired this with the Summit SS tripod, also from Vortex. The SS weighs 1.8# giving me a total finished weight of about 3.25#. Thing of Beauty.
Congrats on the new home and location. I'm looking forward to more of your thread and photos of that beautiful country your in.
Awesome thread, looking forward to reading about your season. How far do you hike on an average hunt? Is it a lot of spot and stalk? Do you ever just sit and wait or does that technique not work very well in the mountains? Thanks
On an average elk hunt I put on 5-10 miles. Deer usually 2-5. Elk is 95% spot and stalk with some cold calling setups thrown in. With deer I plan on doing more stand sits this year, traditionally I'm about 85% spot and stalk. Sitting can and is very effective on elk over wallows. My patience is terrible, though, and its something I'd rather not do.
