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First off, let’s clear up what this article is and isn’t about. It doesn’t deal with special permit drawing areas, except in passing where special permits skew the success ratios, just general season elk hunting open to anyone with an elk license. Also, generally speaking, we are going to concentrate on public land, open to all comers. We’ll touch on private land, especially where it complicates public land access, or in areas that are primarily private, but fortunately the vast bulk of Montana’s elk hunting occurs on public land, something we can all be mightily thankful for. It ensures that elk hunting in Montana will remain available to anyone blessed with a good set of legs and lungs, and not restricted to those who don’t need to balance their checkbook before writing a ten or twelve thousand dollar check for an elk hunt.

Another thing that we should probably clear up before getting underway is what really constitutes a trophy elk. It can be argued that any elk is a trophy, but most are looking for a branch antlered bull, preferably a six-point. Basing your expectations on pictures in magazines instead of time spent in the lodgepoles can easily result in disappointment. Our culture glorifies beauty and instant gratification, to the point that most guys seem to think they are entitled to a life partner that looks like Christy Brinkley, and a Boone & Crockett bull every fall. I’ll stay away from romantic advice, but as I’ve learned from bitter experience, it generally isn’t wise to pass up shots on any decent six-point. Truth be known, those 380 and 400 point bulls aren’t as common as you might have been led to believe even in the southwestern states. 300 points is sort of an arbitrary cut-off for what most consider a good bull elk, but unless you’ve killed a good number of bulls (or conversely, no bulls at all), you’re not likely to be disappointed with even a 270 or 280. That’s a lot of inches of antler, especially if you’re used to hunting primarily deer.

One last thing; I’m not going to recommend any terribly specific hotspots, like the SE quarter of the NW quarter, section 21, township 32N5W. Actually, I just made that up at random, maybe I’d better check the map…. Anyone who has done much elk hunting knows that they are highly mobile creatures, and generally speaking no one can guarantee that they will be in a specific spot. Also, a big source of satisfaction is finding your own private little honey hole, where few if any other hunters go, and if I mentioned some of those, well then, they wouldn’t be honey holes anymore, would they? Plus, some really big elk get taken in obscure spots where the overall success rates are very low. Barring blind luck, these require an intimate knowledge of the game and country, which can only be gained through first-hand experience. A perfect example is the new state record archery bull, a monster taken near Libby in northwest Montana a couple of years back. Overall, the success rate in that area is very low, and its not where I’d recommend someone looking for a hunting area to go. Your odds of coming home empty-handed are just too high. Better to start somewhere known to have a history of higher success rates, so let’s look at where those are.

Region 1: Northwest Montana

Pretty short list of good spots here. Most of northwest MT is densely forested, a steep and nasty jungle that just doesn’t provide enough preferred food for elk. As previously mentioned, exceptions exist, but most hunting districts in Region 1 have very low success rates, from three to seven percent. That means you have up to a 97% chance of having to buy your winter meat at the grocery store, and in fact you’re probably looking at a considerably higher chance of failure than that. In elk hunting the 80/20 rule holds fast. Twenty percent of the hunters kill eighty percent of the elk, year after year. I’m assuming you would like to be in that twenty percent, so if you want to hunt in Region One I think you should look at hunting in:

Districts 123 and 124. These lie south of the Clark Fork River in the Plains and Thompson Falls area. They generally have a more open forest canopy allowing the growth of more grass, shrubs, and browse than the denser forest to the north. Bull/cow ratios run about 10-12/100, which is fair. Hunting is restricted to brow-tine bulls, and most bulls taken are four and five points. The FWP biologist for the area says that it grows bigger bulls than SW MT, though, so there’s got to be some big boys roaming around in there somewhere. The five-year average success rate is 13%.

Districts 150 and 151. The South and Middle Forks of the Flathead River in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. This is the classic wilderness early-season elk hunt. It’s wonderful country and a tremendous experience. There are some really big bulls here, but you may need an uncommon amount of luck to get one. The five-year average success through ’96 runs 17% and 19% for the two areas respectively, but the unofficial success rates in ’97 and ’98 are significantly lower than that. This country used to support more elk than it does currently. After widespread fires earlier this century, much of it is becoming choked with undergrowth or dog-hair lodgepole stands, with the resultant shortage of elk forage. Game ranges outside the wilderness to the south and east provide excellent winter habitat, and the elk are tending to stay closer to their winter ranges year-round, instead of summering deep in the wilderness as they used to. So, it makes sense to concentrate your hunting on the areas somewhat adjacent to these game ranges, particularly the southwest part of district 151 in the headwaters of the South Fork Flathead. Still, if you want to experience a classic pack-in wilderness horse hunt and pursue elk with a rifle during the rut, this (and the Absaroka/Beartooth area, covered later in this article) is the place. Realistically, unless you have your own pack stock, you will need to go with an outfitter. There are excellent outfitters in this area who have made a lifelong study of elk hunting in this remote region, and employing one of them will increase your odds of success significantly.

 

Region 2: Western Montana

This region supports considerably more elk than Region One and consequently has a more lengthy list of possibilities. Overall, bull/cow ratios are about 15/100, but up to 25/100 in the best areas. There is a lot of public land, although access to it is blocked by private land in some areas. Success rates, where listed, are five-year averages through ’96, except where I have obtained more recent preliminary data. Generally speaking, the best areas are:

210 John Long Mountains, east of Rock Creek and south of I-90. Overall success-22%. About 300-400 elk taken on average, with roughly half of them bulls. Spikes are legal, and they account for a fairly high proportion of the bulls taken, although there are reasonable numbers of big boys also. This area is fairly accessible, maybe too much so for serious trophy hunting.

211 Upper Rock Creek. Lies south of 210, famous for bighorn sheep hunting. 30% success, but lots of spikes. Private land can complicate access, but you can get around it if willing to work.

213 South Flint Cr. 30% success. Antlered bull area (meaning like 210 & 211 you can shoot spikes), but has a higher proportion of four and five points taken, in fact more of each than spikes, which is somewhat unusual in a spike area. A little shy on 6-points, though. The elk can tend to congregate on private land that is closed to hunting.

214 Mill Creek. South of 213 in the Georgetown Lake area. 23% Success. Again, spikes legal, but more 5-points taken. One complication as of 10/99 is that a private timber company’s land previously in Block Management has been closed to the public over a timber sale dispute. Hopefully this issue will be resolved shortly.

215 East Deer Lodge. 22% success. This is a brow-tine bull area, has good numbers of elk, with pretty consistent harvest of a little over 150 four to six-point bulls. Now we’re talking…..

216 West Rock Cr. 24 % success. Antlered bull area. Gives up about 50 bulls a season, roughly half of them five and six-points.

240 West Bitterroot. Brow-tined area. Only 12% success, but some big bulls. This is rough country; high and steep mountains. Most people just won’t work hard enough to successfully hunt an area like this, but put on a backpack and spike out way up there and you might be packin’ out big antlers.

250 West Fork Bitterroot. 14 % success, but good for big bulls. Most years more bulls than cows are taken here, which is unusual. This area holds more elk than 240, and is arguably somewhat easier to get around in. Good area. I wouldn’t let the low success rates turn you off of 240 and 250. They are prime examples of districts where hard work can put you in that 20% of hunters who kill 80% of the elk.

261 East Fork Bitterroot/Sapphire. 19% success. Brow-tine area. Generally 75-100 bulls taken, almost completely five and six-points. The elk can tend to congregate on private land with very limited access.

270 East Fork Bitterroot. 16% success. Also brow-tine area. Can be really good, but more weather-dependent than most.

292 West Garnet/Potomac. 17% success. Reasonably good numbers, with 150-200 bulls taken, close to half spikes, though. There is a sizeable BLM walk-in hunting area in the Wales and Yourname Creek drainages, which is where I’d go, personally. Otherwise, there is a fair bit of private land in the area where the elk tend to hole up.

 

Region 3: Southwest Montana

Southwest Montana contains some of the best elk country on the planet. It has it all; productive habitat, good numbers of elk, good bull/cow ratios of up to 50/100, plenty of public land, relatively easy access areas, difficult remote wilderness areas, (you name it, if it’s good for elk you’ll find it in southwest Montana). It’s where I personally do the vast majority of my own elk hunting, and if you’re looking for a good area look no further. Elk hunting can be so good in southwest MT that it can be hard to pick a spot, though. You can find elk just about anywhere in Region 3, but let’s take a look at some of the better areas:

301, 310, 311, 360 Gallatin Canyon & Madison Range. This is elk central, what else can I say… Success rates run from 13% in 301 to 33% in 360. Conservatively, there are about 3000 elk taken out of these four districts every fall. They are brow-tine bull districts, and a whole lot of nice bulls come out of these areas. Generally speaking, the closer you are to Yellowstone and the migration routes to winter range through the Taylor Fork area and Buffalo Horn/Lodgepole/Porcupine drainages, as well as the winter ranges along the west side of the Madison Range, the more weather-dependent the hunting becomes. When winter storms drive the elk out of Yellowstone Park the hunting in these areas can be fabulous, although they contain good numbers of resident elk even prior to the migrations. Besides, all elk hunting is weather dependent to a degree. Late season special-permit hunts in 310 and 360 skew their success rates somewhat high, but they are still very good hunting during the general season. If I were forced to restrict my elk hunting to one region, this would be it.

312 & 393 Bridger Mountains 27% success. Much of this area is quite accessible, and a lot of elk (about 400) come out of it every fall. Naturally, trophy potential is not too great in the more easily accessible areas, but every fall a few lucky souls nail big bulls even in those spots. If you are capable of getting a ways into the backcountry, your odds of bringing home big antlers are best in the northern part of 393; north of Flathead Pass in the Hatfield and Horsethief Mountain areas. (That is about the most specific hotspot tip you are going to get in this article, so file that before I change my mind).

313 & 314 Paradise Valley and Gardiner. Success rate 32%- 42%. Another famous elk hunting region. Again, the success rates are somewhat inflated by the late season permit hunts. Success is arguably somewhat more weather dependent than the Gallatin/Madison area, but as always, exceptions abound. When the elk are pouring out of Yellowstone, the Gardiner area offers the best chance around to kill a trophy bull close to a road. Don’t plan on having the place to yourself, though, things can be pretty crazy under those conditions. This area also contains some extremely rugged backcountry, and if like me you prefer that kind of hunting you won’t be disappointed.

316 & 317 Absaroka/Beartooth. 23%- 28% success. This is rugged and remote wilderness. 316 has an early rifle season that opens September 15. This and the Bob Marshall Wilderness are the only places in the country where you can hunt elk in the rut, with a rifle, without a special permit. Only about 200 bulls are taken in these two districts, but a high proportion of them are six-points, with a few exceptional trophies every year. If you are sufficiently hardcore, it is possible to hunt this area without horses, something I can’t recommend for the Bob Marshall. Still, if you don’t have your own pack stock, most will be better off going with an outfitter. A backpack elk hunt is nothing to take lightly (so to speak)! Reports from the ’99 season indicate considerably lower success than usual, something many people are attributing to increased wolf populations in the area. Time will tell.

323, 327, 330 Gravelly Mountains & vicinity. Another very good area, success rates run up to 30%. A number of people I know do all their elk hunting here and do very well. Success tends to be better early in the season, and this is one spot to keep in mind if mild weather is making for poor success in some of the more weather-dependent areas. Generally speaking, access is somewhat easier in the Gravellies, although they do contain some very high and remote country also. On average, about 350 bulls come out of these three districts, mostly five and six-points.

324, 325, 326 Snowcrest/Ruby/Blacktail/Sweetwater. Success rate of 27%, except 17% in 326. This shares many characteristics to the previous three areas which are adjacent to the east. About 450 bulls annually, mostly five and six-points. Again, success tends to be best early in the season. The Robb Creek and Blacktail Wildlife Management areas provide superb winter range for the area’s abundant elk herds, as well as public access to some excellent country. There’s also quite a bit of BLM land in the Blacktail Creek area which harbors some big bulls, in spite of the fact that it doesn’t particularly look like typical elk country.

302/328/329 Tendoys/Horse Prairie. 23%- 30% success. About 500 bulls taken. Spikes are legal in 328 and 329, but there are still good numbers of five and six-points shot. Success tends to be best the first week, before the elk move onto private property.

331 & 332 Pioneers/East Big Hole. Success runs 19%- 26%. More excellent elk country; the Wise River area is well known for elk hunting. Spikes are legal in these two districts, and account for a little under half of the 350-550 bulls taken, with the rest mostly four to six-points. For a detailed review of this country see our Pioneer Mountains article in the camping section.

362 South Madison Range. 29% success, which doesn’t really tell the whole story. For one, this area also has a late permit hunt, plus it contains some prime winter range that the elk don’t always get to during mild hunting seasons. Generally, though, about 100-200 bulls come out of here, with a few real big boys. I’d look at this one particularly if the weather has driven the elk to their winter range by late November. Of course, under those conditions you have your choice of good prospects, but this area gets a little less pressure than the Gardiner and upper Gallatin areas. It’s also arguably a little tougher hunting.

390 & 391 Sixteen Mile/Dry Creek. 25%- 35% success resulting in about 150 bulls, almost completely five and six-points. The problem here is that most of these districts are private land. If you go with one of the outfitters that operate here, that isn’t a problem, though.

As previously mentioned, virtually all of Region Three can contain good elk hunting, but these districts best fit my criteria of districts where you have a reasonable chance at a trophy bull without having to draw a special permit. Some good bulls come out of districts not mentioned, but unless you have a special advantage like access to restricted private land you will be better off in the above districts. Besides, it would take several lifetimes to thoroughly explore the districts I’ve mentioned, so you’d better get after it.

Region Four: North Central Montana

Region Four comprises a tremendously diverse scope of Montana; from the remote backcountry of the Bob Marshall and Scapegoat Wilderness areas to the badlands of the Missouri Breaks, from the Sweetgrass Hills on the Canadian border south to the Snowies and Little Belts. While your list of top choices of spots to nail that trophy bull here are a little shorter than in Region Three, there are still some excellent possibilities:

410 & 417 Missouri Breaks. These districts are on a permit basis for rifle hunting and so don’t really fit into my criteria for this article. Interest in them is high though, so a bit of info is appropriate. If you manage to draw a permit, which only about 2.5-3 applicants per 100 are going to do, you might be able to connect on a seriously large trophy elk in a most unique setting. They are open to archery hunting, although as of 1999 District 410 requires a special permit. It is issued on an unlimited basis, but you need to apply for it by June 1. These areas do get quite a bit of archery pressure, too much so for my taste.

413 & 416 Little Belts. These areas have some unique regulations, a result of having too many elk. Such a dilemma. Holders of cow permits can hunt the week before the general season opens, and anyone with a regular elk tag can shoot cows the last week of the season. If you haven’t connected with a big bull by then, the pressure is on and if you want to be eating elk burger over the following months, you might not want to pass up an opportunity at a cow. This article is about where to kill bull elk, though, so let’s get back on topic. Overall success runs 17% in 413, and 21% in 416, with about 250 bulls. Spikes are legal and comprise about half the total, with the rest weighted toward four and five-points. I realize I am beginning to sound like a broken record, but there are some big bulls in these districts. If that’s what you’re after (and who isn’t?) I’d get as far off the roads as possible, back in the remote country in the Smith River vicinity, or conversely, close to the boundaries of some of the large ranches in the area where the elk take refuge. According to the biologists, that is why more elk don’t come out of these districts, which is ironic because complaints from these same ranchers are the reason for the liberal regulations.

418 South Judith Basin. Most of this district is private land, except for the southwest corner, which catches the eastern edge of the Little Belts. It shares the liberal regulations of the previous two districts. Although it doesn’t produce as many bulls, about 75 on average, a considerably higher percentage of them are five and six-points. Success rates run about 15%.

422, 423, 424, 425, 441, 442 Rocky Mountain Front. I grew up in this area, and although it pains me slightly to say so, elk hunting here just isn’t what it used to be. Not that it was ever easy, but the Sun River area used to produce reasonable numbers of elk and some good bulls. That was then, and this is now, though. A combination of factors are at work; some of the elk stay on private land where they are inaccessible, weather doesn’t always force elk out of the Sun River Game Preserve in the wilderness until after hunting season, and overall elk numbers are down (see our analysis of areas 150 & 151 in the Bob Marshall). So, these areas don’t really justify mention according to the criteria of this article, but I’m sure I would have to explain to some why they weren’t included, which I have just averted.

445 Hound Creek. Lots of private land here, but success runs 33%, which again doesn’t tell the whole story. Around 400 elk come out of here, but the majority of them are cows. A regular elk tag is good for either sex elk through the first two weeks of the season, but you need a special permit to shoot a bull after that. The area gives up about 100 bulls annually, with a little under one fourth of them spikes. Over sixty percent of the remainder are four to six-points. The best and for all practical purposes only way to ensure that yours is one of those six-points is to book an outfitted hunt on private land.

446 Big Belts. Success rate 29%. Access is tough in the northern part of this district, although public land is accessible in the southern part west of White Sulphur Springs. Reasonable numbers of five and six-points, although your odds are better if you shell out for a hunt on the private land or public land they control access to.

Region Four has a number of other districts where some excellent trophy elk potential is available, but they require drawing a special permit, which once again, isn’t what this article is about.

Region 5: South Central Montana

Our list of prospects starts getting shorter again here. There is some superb elk hunting in Region 5, but much of it occurs on private land. The bulk of the public land occurs along the east face of the Crazy Mountains and the north face of the Beartooth and Absaroka ranges. Big surprise; all of my picks are in those areas:

520 Beartooth Face. This is high and rugged country, so plan on some calorie expenditure unless you have access to private land down lower. In comparison to areas in southwest MT, only a handful of elk are taken here, but they tend to be big ones. Overall success runs 18%, roughly half & half cows and bulls.

540 South Little Belts. Success runs 17%, with around 75 to 100 bulls taken annually. Spikes are legal and comprise over half the bulls taken, but the rest tend to be five and six-points.

560 Boulder River. This area comprises the northeast part of the Absaroka Mountains, and shares the rugged topography of the Beartooths to the east. Success rate is 18%, once again mostly spikes and cows. Only about 20 five and six-points are taken each season, a statistic that can be somewhat meaningless if you happen to be one of the lucky few. Plan on working for it in this area, although that is not particularly unique.

580 East Slope Crazies. Success rate is 37%, which needs some clarification. The southern part of this district is on a special permit basis for elk with only 20 permits for bulls. High success on cows (also by special permit) is what inflates the success rate. The northern part of the district is open to general elk hunting, though, and some good elk come out of it. Spikes are legal, but there are more five and six-points taken than spikes, which is somewhat unusual.

There are a couple of other districts in Region 5, most notably 570 (Sweetgrass) and 590 (Bull Mountains) that have high success rates, but they are private land inaccessible to the general public. Some real big bulls come out of these areas, and if you are not averse to hiring an outfitter, they are something to look at.

Region 6: Northeast Montana

I could have titled this section Missouri Breaks, since that’s where practically all the elk hunting in this district takes place (the exception is 690, special draw with only a couple of bulls taken). Once again, rifle hunting is by permit only, and archery hunting also requires a special permit although it is issued on an unlimited basis (except for 690, limited to ten archery permits). As with the Breaks districts in Region 4, this area doesn’t fit the criteria of this article, but interest is high so I’ll include some statistics. In speaking with the biologists, one thing that struck me is that their management goal is for 1500 to 1900 elk. While a respectable number, by Montana standards it isn’t really that many. For perspective, around 2500 elk (and as high as 4000 in recent years) winter on the Flying D ranch in the foothills of the Spanish Peaks in district 311. That is just one ranch, albeit a very large and productive one. The Missouri Breaks is interesting country, but I think the elk hunting attracts more attention than it possibly deserves. Those who have drawn a permit and killed a whopper bull may disagree.

Region 7: Southeast Montana

Elk are starting to colonize this area, formerly a deer and antelope stronghold. While their numbers are still low in comparison to other areas of the state, there are some enormous bulls in this area. Rifle hunting is by permit only though, with very low draw odds. Bowhunting is becoming more popular (too much so according to some locals). While there are some truly huge bulls roaming this uncharacteristic elk country, I’d recommend you stick to the more traditional elk areas of the state.

Well, there you have it. Montana is an awfully big state, with a whole lot of elk habitat. Hopefully this article has helped you narrow your scope a bit. Now it’s time to choose an area or three and get out there scouting (or hire an outfitter to do it for you). Somewhere out there in the lodgepoles, there’s a trophy bull whose antlers would look mighty fine mounted on your den wall.

Good luck!!