Going on a hunt of a lifetime this November

[Sir_Gawain]

Wanted to share on a hunt I have booked with my Family this coming fall. Going to be a long Spring and Summer knowing this is coming up.

Here is the information for the trip....feel free to check out the web site.

http://montana-elk-hunting.com/

This all started after a "we should do this" drinking night chat and followed by a phone conversation we had with Tom Heintz. He (Tom) and his family have been doing this for 5 generations, and run Medicine Lake Outfitters.

The area we will be hunting in is the Northwest Yellowstone territory. The hunt is an unguided hunt for elk and mule deer. They will provide horses, mules, a packer and a cook to take care of camp and the animals.

Once we arrive, we meet at the trail head, no more than 60 pounds of gear per person, not including your gun or hunting clothes that you are wearing.

The dates we are going is November 12-19.

It will be a 9 mile horseback ride to our base camp. He said that we need to be in very good physical condition for this hunt. We will hunt on foot, the packer can help us get out our animals.

Last year he had 15 guys take this hunt. 6 of them took massive bulls, out of the other 8, 5 were over 67 years old and never went more than a mile from camp. He said that if we were willing to walk a 3 mile circle around the base camp we would be in lots of elk, but we have to be willing to do the work....

The deer population in the area is massive...the wolves have killed off the coyotes and lions and only prey on the elk so the deer population is growing unchecked. Bucks only, but he said you will not have a hard time locating deer with horns in the area.

The hunt is for bull elks only, he does not allow cows to be shot on his hunts. We can each get both an elk and a deer

There are wolves, grizzlies, and mountain lions in the area....we need to be prepared for that.

We need to have and be proficient with topo maps and GPS to take this hunt....lots of practice this summer so that something to keep my mind off of being miserable in anticipation!!!

We need to get and practice with elk cow calls...too late in the season for bugles, but cow calls will calm down a nervous herd that is around you.....

We need to finalize our survival packs, cuz if we get caught in the dark we will have to use them....

Needless to say I am extremely excited. Have any of you gone on a trip like this? Things to consider/prepare for from experience?

 

[The Anchor]

sounds like a great trip, one that you will probably want to do again, and again, and again.....

 

[PaulD]

Out of curiosity, how do you get the meat back?

Elk is one tasty animal.

 

[Sir_Gawain]

Out of curiosity, how do you get the meat back?

Elk is one tasty animal.

Elk is my favorite game meat. They offer services out that way that'll ship it back for you flash frozen...we are in the process of exploring all the options now and seeing if it would be more economical to rent a uhaul and drive it back ourselves or something.

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sounds like a great trip, one that you will probably want to do again, and again, and again.....

This is the first time I am doing this type of hunt. I can already see catching the bug to do trips like this again. Have the fun is the anticipation and in planning for it.

 

[RichLec]

Very jealous! Can't wait to read the "just got back" thread! Good luck!

 

[Sir_Gawain]

Very jealous! Can't wait to read the "just got back" thread! Good luck!

Its going to feel like an eternity for the "just got back" thread . I am taking a GoPro with me as its super lightweight, so I should have great shots of the area and the hunt.

 

[Admin]

Sounds like it's going to be a blast. No pun intended.

 

[dixidawg]

Elk is my favorite game meat. They offer services out that way that'll ship it back for you flash frozen...we are in the process of exploring all the options now and seeing if it would be more economical to rent a uhaul and drive it back ourselves or something.

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This is the first time I am doing this type of hunt. I can already see catching the bug to do trips like this again. Have the fun is the anticipation and in planning for it.

We shipped all of our dirty clothes home UPS (pretty cheaply) and checked the frozen meat on the plane as baggage.

 

[Sir_Gawain]

We shipped all of our dirty clothes home UPS (pretty cheaply) and checked the frozen meat on the plane as baggage.

Haha thats great, I'll throw that idea out there and see what their thoughts are. Thanks for the tip!

 

[warpig]

Must resist neg repping out of jealously........

That is going to be one outstanding trip! I have never done one out west, but my dentist goes regularly to Montana. I'll check in with him, and relay back any tips.

Now you are on the hook for periodic preparation updates, as well as a full trip debrief, with pics!

 

[Sir_Gawain]

Must resist neg repping out of jealously........

That is going to be one outstanding trip! I have never done one out west, but my dentist goes regularly to Montana. I'll check in with him, and relay back any tips.

Now you are on the hook for periodic preparation updates, as well as a full trip debrief, with pics!

I will update with trip preparations!

 

[Sprocket]

Buy a treadmill - start walking - a lot
Good luck and share pics if you can
jealous? I am.

 

[MAGG]

My step bro did an elk hunt last year i think in Idaho. He ended up shipping back 200 lbs of Elk and the rest donated to food shelters. He had a guided tour and it was pricey( like 5 dimes)

 

[ColdDayInHell]

Holy shit I didn't know elk were that big.

 

[DitchDigger]

If you can afford a hunt like that, you can afford to have me carry ur stuff up and down those hills.
PM me ,I think those dates are open.

 

[Sir_Gawain]

Buy a treadmill - start walking - a lot
Good luck and share pics if you can
jealous? I am.

Yep, work out regiment starts now for sure

My step bro did an elk hunt last year i think in Idaho. He ended up shipping back 200 lbs of Elk and the rest donated to food shelters. He had a guided tour and it was pricey( like 5 dimes)

My step father brought home about 400lbs few years back

If you can afford a hunt like that, you can afford to have me carry ur stuff up and down those hills.
PM me ,I think those dates are open.

 

[ntomsw]

My buddy in Michigan go Buffalo hunting every year.

You should see the damn head mounted on his wall.

They brought home a crazy ton of meat from that thing last year.

I am going out there this November to go hunting with them. I can't wait.

 

[MAGG]

Holy shit I didn't know elk were that big.

my step brothers was almost 900 pounds

 

[boilermaker]

We need to have and be proficient with topo maps and GPS to take this hunt....lots of practice this summer so that something to keep my mind off of being miserable in anticipation!!!

Have you taken the map/compass class through Mass Wildlife? It might be helpful and there are worse ways to spend a day.

http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/education-events/hed/course-descriptions.html

 

[Sir_Gawain]

Have you taken the map/compass class through Mass Wildlife? It might be helpful and there are worse ways to spend a day.

http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/education-events/hed/course-descriptions.html

I was going to last year but blew it off for a BBQ. Thanks for reminding me about it, i'll try getting in one before we go.

 

[boilermaker]

They don't have any posted yet but I took it a few years ago and certainly learned some things. Good Luck.

 

[Sir_Gawain]

They don't have any posted yet but I took it a few years ago and certainly learned some things. Good Luck.

I signed up to get alerted by mail whenever they have one in my area. I'll keep an eye out online too though.

 

[dropride]

Man i'm jealous. Should be an awesome trip. Hoping to go on an elk hunt in the next couple of years.

 

[NickyBangBang]

sounds like a dream hunt! all the best!

 

[richc]

Wow... that sounds incredible!

What an amazing life experience.

 

[Sir_Gawain]

Thanks guys.

 

[boilermaker]

What are you bringing for a rifle?

 

[Sir_Gawain]

What are you bringing for a rifle?

I am so torn on that...I have my beautiful trusty Remington 700 in 30/06 I am considering, but my step father has an enormous selection of quality rifles I can choose from. I am very tempted by his early Winchester Model 70 chambered in 338 (thing is gorgeous).

 

[45collector]

What are you bringing for a rifle?

I was just about to say... 20something posts and no one has asked about hardware yet?!!!

Sounds like an epic time man. Enjoy it and don't forget to pack a camera.

 

[bdb]

Sounds like an amazing trip, you will have a blast if its the kind of trip you are excited about doing, its not for everyone though. I have done DIY elk trips in Idaho and New Mexico and a semi-guided in Colorado. I also spent a lot of time in CA hunting muleys in the high country on pack in trips. A couple of recommendations from my experience.

1. Get a quality pack. Not a small day pack. Even if you are really only day hunting and the outfitter is hauling out meat for you on horse, a good pack is important on those hunts. You'll want to pack enough survival gear to make it a night away from camp. I have a Badlands 2800 that I love, I still use it here in the north east but its overkill for most hunts.
2. Lots of layers. Temps will most likely fluctuate a lot from early AM to mid day to dark. Plus hiking mid day is a lot warmer than sitting for the last 2 hours of light somewhere. Cotton kills is a good saying to remember.
3. Load up that pack with at least 40lbs and start hiking somewhere near by with some good elevation change. The stair master or treadmill is good but just not the same as hunting up and down those mountains with food, water, extra clothes, gear etc etc
4. Good binos are worth it! I use binos here but it's not the same as spending hours behind glass out west picking apart miles of terrain looking for animals. Spotting scope is likely a great addition, somewhat depends on the terrain in the area. I would ask the outfitter about this. The area may be thick and spotting scope not really necessary or it could be very open where its almost a must have.
5. Comfortable, already broken in boots and bring mole skin in your first aid kit, it comes in handy!
6. Repeat point 3 as much as you can because your conditioning will be key to your level of enjoyment. If you go at it hard for a couple of days but then have to rest a day because of muscle soreness, blisters etc it is a real downer.

Not sure I agree with the wolves eat the elk and leave the deer alone statement though. The spot we hunted a few times in Idaho (friends dads property butting up against national forest) went down hill big time from the wolves, both the elk and deer got pounded. We found lots of carcasses of both while hunting over the years. Our last trip was so bad with regards to animals seen that we gave it up as a go to hunt going forward. That said I have no doubt your outfitter and his generations of experience knows better than me, this was just my experience in one place.

Can't wait to hear the report, to me hunting elk in the west is about as good as it gets for hunting, even after the rut has finished up. Not sure what the terrain you will be in as Montana can be pretty varied depending on the part of the state. But this is the type of place we hunted in Idaho. My buddies dads house was about 2500 feet of elevation down in the valley at the bottom right so conditioning was a big part of getting ready for the hunt