blue, if you do consider the lewistown area (surrounded by 6 mountain ranges), let me know. i can put you in contact with 3 or 4 guys in lewistown who would be more than happy to point you in the right direction to get a nice elk opportunity. wheni first moved there 4 years ago, they helped me get set up for deer and antelope. they were giving me a hand with elk last fall, but i ended up moving right when the season started, and missed the opportunity.

in any case, if your plans change from the bridgers to the lewistown area, be sure to let me know.

I have to agree with the other poster's on this. I live in Bozeman and the Bridger's get hunted very heavily. Each year Bozeman continues to astound us with the population growth! Hunting and fishing spots used to be easy and not very far away. It's getting so that we have to drive quite a ways from the valley now to get away from the crowds.

Anaconda area is good. I know plenty of local guys who head out that way. Elk population is pretty solid. Having said that I think it might be a little unrealistic to expect to see elk here once big game season starts up. Many of the elk find sanctuary on private ground. The rest get smart real quick. It takes a lot of hard work and time anymore to get one. A little luck never hurts either.