2013 DIY Public Land Montana Elk/Deer Bowhunt

[Sifty]

Thank you for sharing.

[sticknstring]

As always, a great write-up Scoot! Looks like a mighty fine trip was had by all!

[Coach1310]

Thanks Scoot. I am saddened this is the last chapter for the year. Great as always!

[DonBo]

Thanks Scoot. I am saddened this is the last chapter for the year. Great as always!

Yep, what he said. Success comes and goes, but the experiences in between will always be there.

[NoWiser]

Thanks for another great story, Scoot! I know it's time consuming to put them together, but we sure enjoy reading them!

[Scoot]

Success comes and goes, but the experiences in between

will always be there.

[Coach1310]

Sounds great. Some of us regular folk really enjoy living dream hunts through you!! And we will continue to do so. We all enjoy reading your posts and sharing the ups/downs, wins/losses etc. I look forwarded to the next story you take us on.

Also, any chance you can shed some light on some of the details of your trip.... like how many miles you put on via foot total or daily? Things you have learned are "must haves" or "must knows" etc. Just tidbits that may help others as they try to go on one of these trips. I know each year is different and all that, but anything you find helpful.

I would love to some day and when the schedule allows, hope I am able.

Thanks again Scoot

[Scoot]

Some of us regular folk really enjoy living dream hunts through you!!

[BoxMN]

Scoot, just a quick question, but what is the ballpark cost of a trip like your most recent one? I am just curious, I am too old and too fat to actually do it, but wondering if $2k, $3k, $1500... thanks. Not equipment cost, just the trip itself, and tags, and fuel type costs.

[Scoot]

Scoot, just a quick question, but what is the ballpark cost of a trip like your most recent one? Not equipment cost, just the trip itself, and tags, and fuel type costs.

I got an elk tag, which was $804 in MT (MT has expensive tags!) Jon and Gabe got combo tags, which are something like $930 (that's close, but not exact) and the combo tag allows you to shoot both an elk and muley (and fish and small game). Our cost for gas was somewhere between $200 and $250 per person. This was the first hunting trip I've ever been on where I had to pay for any kind of room. I always stay in a tent of some kind. This trip, though, the cost was $75/night and we each covered two nights.

So, my total cost was approximately: $804 + $225 + $150 = $1179

Like I said, normally I wouldn't have the $150 cost in there and typically we'd drive a lot fewer miles because we'd park the truck and not see it again until the trip was over. So, if this trip had gone as I'd have expected it, I'd have spent less than $1000, even though the tag costs $804!

Once you've got the gear, the cost of tag and gas is the main cost. I don't count food costs (eat whether I'm on the trip or not). The gear is pricey up front, but primarily these are one time costs. Also, if you go with friends many of these costs can be split up.

[guntar]

Coach,

Jon here....I'm the guy lucky enough to be able to hunt with Scoot and Gabe.

As Scoot said the style of hunting and terrain you are hunting completely determine the kind of mileage you will put on. We tend to lean towards running and gunning, moving and calling a ton. If you are in dense timber there are options for still hunting, depending on conditions, open country offers opportunity for spot and stalk. The list goes on and on....

We are typically putting on at least 5 miles a day in the mountains. I have tracked as high as 14 miles on my GPS, but that is probably towards the top end. After that 14 mile day my brother and I were both in rough shape. I can also tell you that Scoot and Gabe were in tough shape when I picked them up after there 12+ mile expedition. The problem is when the bulls are bugling it is impossible to stop my legs from pushing me over the next ridgeline, and we are all that same way!!!

Gear, Gadgets etc….

Bow, Boots, Bugle, Binoculars….after that you start to get into details that are completely dependant on when/where/how you want your hunt to take you.

Tidbits…

Practice your calling – there are cd’s that can help you learn situational calling for elk, the most important thing here is to know what sound to make at what time.

Practice your shooting – really goes without saying, don’t want that chance of a lifetime to be lost due to something within your control.

Do a trial run with any piece of equipment you plan on bringing with you to the mountain, don’t be testing new equipment if you are talking about a once in a lifetime or even 5 times in a lifetime type of hunt.

Don’t let your mind beat you, what I mean by that is, elk hunting/hunting in the mountains is HARD, no matter what keep telling yourself in the next 20 minutes I’m going to spot/hear a bull. More people quit because they let there mind tell them that they don’t have a chance to fill their tag.

Last one on my long winded post, HAVE FUN!! There is nothing better for me than to be ON these hunts. I think about them every single day of the year, so when I’m on them I enjoy every possible moment. Filtered water from the mountain streams is one of my favorite things in the world right now…..it just can’t be beat.

[Halleywood]

This is Gabe. I don't have much to add to what Scott and Jon have said already but I think a couple of the biggest things you can do is 1)find a hunting partner(s) that has similar passion for the hunt as you. I have a few good friends that also hunt that I would not do a trip like this with. They are all great guys and I love to hunt with them but the simple fact is they don't quite have the drive that Scott and Jon have. I would never tell them this but I am extremely lucky to be able to hunt with Scott and Jon. As they both have said we all think about elk hunting 365 days a year, at least a little bit. We all push very hard on the mountain (and throughout the year) to put ourselves in position to have success on our trips. Finding the right people to go on a grueling hunt to me if the first step. Of course you could go solo, which I want to do someday, but I think hunts are that much more enjoyable with good friends/family with you.

2) Find the right boots that work for YOU. Nothing will kill a hunt like this faster than not being able to walk. I have been lucky in that my feet are pretty tolerant of boots. For some people (Scott) that's not the case. The problem with boots are you can't really do research online regarding boots that will fit YOU. Everyone is different. I have a pair of Kenetrek Mtn Extreme boots that I wore this year and they worked great. Scott tried the same boots and they simply wouldn't work for him. Both Scott and Jon will tell you that they tried multiple boots before they settled on some. I think they may still be looking for that 'perfect' boot.

Those are two biggest things I would start with when planning a hunt like we do. There are so many different choices for tents, sleeping bags, stoves, food, clothing, etc. so that is really personal preference. All 3 of us have gear lists. If you would like to have a copy of mine I would be happy to email it to anyone that is interested.

As far as miles put on during the trip. I have most all the tracks I put on and it's between 5-12 miles per day.

[NoWiser]

Question for the three of you. Have you guys weighed your packs before the start of a trip like this? I did a very similar trip in Wyoming this year and my pack, heading into the mountains with 7 days worth of food, weighed right in at 65 pounds. This was with about 2 liters of water in my bladder and the bow strapped to the pack. I'm just curious how I compare with you guys.

Congrats on the trip, you three. Having done this myself finally, I have a whole new respect for you and anyone else that can do a hunt like this. Hunting hard every day and not giving up in terrain and conditions like that is an accomplishment in itself.

[guntar]

We weighed all 3 of our packs the night before we left. Gabes and mine came in between 53 and 54 lbs (3 liters of water each) and Scoot's was about 55 lbs. We spend a ton of time figuring out ways to lighten our loads. Sometimes it costs money, but more often than not it is the ability to cut it down to the bare essentials. I learn on every trip about things to leave behind and things to add. I'd love to get under 50 lbs, but for 9 days in the backcountry I'm just not sure I will be able to lighten the load too much more. With the wet weather we had this year I will definitely be adding a pair of light wool gloves. After my gloves got wet on Sunday my hands were blocks of ice for the next 2 days!

Ditto to Gabes comment on gear lists, if you want a start you can look at mine, there are also a ton of them already out there on the web.

[mrklean]

Maybe you guys already mentioned it but what kinds of foods did you bring along?

[Halleywood]

mrklean,

The two main meals of our daily food intake was mountain house meals and peanut butter, bacon, and honey sandwiches. The mtn house was for supper and the sandwiches were for lunch. We each had our own variety of snack bars, trail mix, jerky, etc. to fill in the rest of the food.

The food for a 9 day trip was about 40% of the total weight of my loaded pack weight.

[Scoot]

Boy, those are really good replies by Jon and Gabe. Gabe's point about choosing your hunting partners for a trip like this carefully is a really important one. We've got buddies who are great buddies, but who would not be good choices for hunting partners on a trip like this (at least to team up with us). Like Gabe said, you need to be matched up in lots of important regards to be a good match: physical conditioning, stick-to-it-iveness, hunting style. If one guy wants to bail on the trip and the other two don't, you've got a problem. In fact, when I heard the weather report I immediately feared I'd want to bail and the other two guys wouldn't, but I'm glad we were of like minds. In the end, it was a no-brainer decision, so it wasn't hard.

Gabe nailed it on food. I also eat 2 Cliff Builder Bars for breakfast, trailmix for a snack, and some fruit snacks and a granola bar or two each day. I consistently bring too much trailmix on these trips and for some reason just can't learn my lesson. The food adds up fast in terms of weight.

[Scoot]

I did a very similar trip in Wyoming this year and my pack, heading into the mountains with 7 days worth of food, weighed right in at 65 pounds. This was with about 2 liters of water in my bladder and the bow strapped to the pack.

[NoWiser]

...about that trip??? I sure would love to hear more about it! I'd be happy to start a thread for you to share your trip if you'd like. No pressure or rush or anything, but what the heck are you waiting for???

Don't you worry, Scoot, I'll get to it!! If you want to start the story for me, go right ahead! Make sure it starts off good, though. I'm thinking with me saving Miss America from a grizzly attack and then shooting a 6 point bull a few hours later. I can take it from there, when the hunt gets interesting.....

Regarding the trekking poles. I got made fun of when I bought some this summer, but I can't imagine doing a trip like this without them. There were places we hiked where you couldn't have gone without them. Especially with the monsoon and slippery mud everywhere. They saved us from a lot of spills and took a ton of pressure off or our joints. The down hills would have destroyed my knees without them.

[Scoot]

Regarding the trekking poles. I got made fun of when I bought some this summer, but I can't imagine doing a trip like this without them. There were places we hiked where you couldn't have gone without them. Especially with the monsoon and slippery mud everywhere. They saved us from a lot of spills and took a ton of pressure off or our joints. The down hills would have destroyed my knees without them.

[DonBo]

Wow Scoot, hope your wife isn't reading this.

[Scoot]

LOL, just jokin'! I got dang lucky with my wife in many regards...

OK DonBo, I'll be honest, but just between you and me- I only added myself in there to be nice. I really was just talkin' about NoWiser!

[NoWiser]

OK DonBo, I'll be honest, but just between you and me- I only added myself in there to be nice. I really was just talkin' about NoWiser!

You are too kind, Scoot

I read that last night sitting on the couch and busted out laughing. Jen asked me what was so funny. I showed her. She tried to act offended, but was laughing too dang hard.

[Scoot]

LOL- just givin' ya heck, Jim! I've never met Jen, but the way you've talked about her makes her sound like quite a catch. (Heck, any gal who likes you enough to worry that I'm going to chop you up into pieces and put them in a garbage bag must be a bright and intuitive gal! -- she's never even met me but she knew enough to question my sanity- clearly a good judge of character!!! I'd hang onto her if I were you!)

Similarly, I'm very lucky, even if I like to make smart aleck cracks once in a while.

Now, about your story...???

[Walleyehooker]

Not sure what kind of terrain you guys are going threw and maybe this wouldn't be practical. But would some sort of cart almost like a game carrier work for hauling gear rather than back packing?