For those of you who have been hunting in Montana since the big game season started:

How has the hunting been so far??? Weather?

Depends on what you are hunting and the area I suppose. I recently returned from an antelope hunt and had good results along with good weather. No complaints here and I hunted north eastern Montana. I was there beginning the end of the second week of October.

The weather has been bluebird perfect for the since deer and elk opener for rifle season. We had 12" of heavy wet snow over large portions of the state a few days prior to antelope opener but I think success rates were O.K. I took antelope the second weekend north of Forsythe under beautifual fall conditions and an unbelievable full autumn moon. Opener for elk in the Little Belts in central Montana was clear with very light morning frost. The woods are still slightly damp from the early snow. I passed on a spike bull. Upland birds are hunting well and I don't hunt migratory. I know guys gripe if there is no snow and cold weather for their favorite elk haunts but what they are really saying is that they're not good enough to go mano y mano with elk in good weather. Those critters live out there 24/7. Come on up and enjoy them moment.

Today, for November 1st the weather was as though it was September 1st. Sunny and in the high 60's. Currently windy her in north central MT with a weather change moving in.

I've seen some bulls and cows riding in pickups but cooler weather would be nice. Even if only from a "better for the meat" standpoint. Looking forward to the deer rut getting into full swing.

Saw a 3/4 curl bighorn today right on I-15 at Wolf Creek. Trying to keep his 6 lady friends together and get down to busines with one in particular. Really had the cars stopped watching the show.

Personally I like the warm weather. I have always said it's a great day when you don't know wether to go fly fish the Missouri, hunt big game or birds, or ride the motorcycle instead.

FN in MT

The weather has been very nice, but right now we have a winter storm advisory for tonight so all those wishing for snow will have it. As for game, 3 of us that had tags all killed antelope before noon on opening morning. Have seen huge numbers of deer, but nothing monsterous, I'm in no hurry there though. And so far not too many elk, but as mentioned with good weather they are much higher. Did have one friend shoot a nice 6 pt opening day, so they are out there if you want to hunt them.

Hey Frank, got my son a nice speed goat in the Cascade area... saw you twice in your cruiser on the hwy... couldn't miss that Kojak profile!

Good to see you around!

Brad

Keep up the reports folks! My buddies and I are going to be in the Miles City area the week of Thanksgiving hunting mule deer.

(I get my first year off cooking the Thanksgiving meal for the first time in about 15 years!)

Going to be driving there from the Portland area in an RV towing a couple of quads. So we hope that the weather is 'pass-able' before and after the hunt.

-Steve

[In order to head off any comments about the quads, one of my buddies is a paraplegic and hunts off the quad. The second quad is for his guide. My other buddy and myself hunt on foot]

Steve: I just returned from another successful Antelope Hunt in the Miles City area. Seemed like lots of Mule Deer and Turkeys this year also around there!
We cut the notch on my friends Antelope tag October 29th. He was unable to Hunt the ranch he had in mind on the opener due to extreme "gumbo" conditions!
The weather on our last Hunt was warmish (60ish) and overcast at times.
Today (November 2nd) here in SW Montana its raining and we had snow down to 5,900' last night! The local forecast is calling for highs of 43 to 45 in the next few days with rain/snow also for the next 3 days. A lot can change between now and Thanksgiving though!
I heard that the passes in Washington State got 8 to 24 inches of snow in the last couple days! Drive careful!
And be especially careful in the "Bozomanland" (Bozeman) area as there have been several recent sightings of twirps! I would suggest you not leave the safety of I-90 and just keep driving right on through "Bozomanland"!
Let us "real" Hunters know how you and your friends do when you get back home!
Again best of luck to you all!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

No Brad, it's not Kojak it's G. Gorden Liddy! Frank, glad to see you are back on the AR site.

Fred, what was I thinking... G Liddy, of course!

VG,

Thanks for the report. Driving 50 some feet of vehicle, I doubt that we'll get too far off the Interstate. We'll keep an eye out for the 'twerps' (I hope I know one whe I see one) and give you a detailed report when we get back.

-Steve

My hunting partners got back last weekend. They shot a nice 4 point Whitetail and a 4 point Bull. Were into elk everyday. Had a chance at a couple more elk but were trying for a shot at a big 6X and it never happened. Weather was warm and sunny for the opener and then started snowing the middle of the week. They were down in the SW part of the state. I have tags but couldn't make due to wifes pregnancy complications. Next year hopefully we can draw again.

Three of us were south of Big Timber and just north of Yellowstone. NO elk or deer. Wolves and grizzlies took care of that. There weren't any tracks in the high snow either. Old or new. Griz tracks were all we saw. About a foot long.

Northwest Montana hasn't been very good. I've been into elk 2 out of the three days I've been out, but haven't been able to find a bull. So far the deer hunting looks even worse. I have been more focused on elk, but I usually see quite a few deer. This year I think I've seen a total of 5. Hopefully things will turn around this weekend, it's been snowing off and on all morning. I may even bail out on work and make an afternoon hunt.

It's been too warm for a good deer hunt around Forsyth. I saw a few last minute antelope hunters yesterday. They had a doe and a decent buck in their truck. The deer aren't rutting yet, but I saw a dandy of a muley buck on my way to Colstrip. I also heard of some really good bull elk taken south of Hysham.

I personally won't be out until next week to do my hunt. I hope to take a nice buck with my Encore. I haven't christened it with a kill yet.

Here is an article from the Missoulian newspaper related to the opening weekend of hunting season.

Hunting numbers a mixed bag

What I was trying didn't work. Here it is.

Hunting numbers a mixed bag
By PERRY BACKUS of the Missoulian



Elk hunters scored big on opening day of the general hunting season in the west-central portion of the state, but warm weather hampered the orange-clad folk elsewhere.

Elk harvest in west-central Montana was up 58 percent from last year and 25 percent above the five-year average for Sunday's big-game season opener.



“Elk population numbers have been increasing and are at all-time highs in some areas of the region,†said John Firebaugh, regional wildlife manager for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. “This Sunday's higher-than-average harvest numbers reflect these strong populations and good hunter access to elk populations, especially in the Bitterroot area.â€

Just under half of the 90 elk harvested on opening day were reported at the Darby check station. The Bonner station counted 33 elk.

Hunter numbers were strong at the region's three check stations, down only slightly from last year. A total 2,378 of hunters checked 90 elk, 70 white-tailed deer, 28 mule deer, one mountain goat and one black bear.

The region's cumulative hunter harvest success was 8 percent, up slightly from 7.2 percent last year.

But hunter numbers hit a

10-year low in northwestern Montana.

At the six northwest Montana check stations, a total of 2,453 hunters checked 136 white-tailed deer, 36 mule deer and 19 elk. Last year, nearly 2,900 hunters went through the stations.

“We think since there's just so many deer out there and therefore plenty of opportunity, hunters are just taking their time,†said John Fraley, FWP information officer in Kalispell. “There's just no rush.â€

The check station at U.S. Highway 2 west of Kalispell had the largest number of hunters and number of deer taken. The Olney check station had the highest percentage of hunters with game.

Either-sex whitetails are legal game in most Region 1 hunting districts through Sunday, Nov. 6. After that, the regulation is buck-only until the last four days of the season, when either-sex whitetails will be legal again.

Officials urge hunters to check Montana hunting regulations to ensure the regulations apply to the district where they plan to pursue whitetail deer. The regulations don't pertain to mule deer or elk.

Hunter numbers and success were also down a bit in southwest Montana.

The Gallatin check station only saw five bull elk and two mule deer. The Cameron station saw the same number of elk, three mule deer and three whitetails.

Hunter numbers were down, said Mel Frost, FWP's information officer in Bozeman.

Officials are attributing the low hunter turnout there to warm weather and high gas prices.

“With these high gas prices, we think people are thinking they'll wait until the conditions get better,†Frost said.

I have a hunting report from Winnett, MT.

Actually it is praise for Montana folk.

Long story short, I traveled from NH to hunt antelope with my son Josh. We were hunting the Teigen Ranch on October 25th, and shot bucks within 30 seconds of each other. The problem was two fold, about 15 minutes of light left and 2 miles from the truck. About 1 hour into the drag (damn cow tracks!) I saw a vehicle stop on the road (MT 200 I think) and swing its headlights in our direction, then stop and park. In a short while a headlamp was bobbing through the sage and we met Mr. Tom Martin, of Lincoln County. This gentleman saw our parked car with my sons dog inside, spotted our headlamps in the distance and proceeded to walk at least a mile to see if we needed assistance. He then carried our gear to the vehicle, tended to the dog and left us two cold beers! As Josh said, "That is Montana hospitality".

If any of you know Mr. Martin, please pass on our sincere thank you. He made our day, and was a major part of a wonderful trip West.

Now the report.

We saw antelope each day, mostly small groups but some groups of 30 or more. Three spot and stalks, two were successful. During the third we were interrupted by three coyotes chasing the herd of antelope we were stalking. The coyotes were badly mismatched in that race. At least 20 to 30 mule deer each day, but only one 4x4 buck which Josh called to within 15 yds but did not shoot, "too small". To my eastern eyes it was "just fine"! One herd of elk toward the loop road.

Three antelope taken, two bucks and one doe.

Bucks at 235 and 260 yds, doe at 210.

One buck and one doe taken with T/C Encore, .25-06.

One buck taken with Ruger .30-06.

One bottle of Jameson.

What a marvelous place to hunt! I'll be back.

Fred & Brad,

Brad......WHY didn't you stop??? Would have loved to BS with you. Where did you hunt??

Fred......Ever see the shot of ME and G. Gordon together??? I DO look like his long lost son.

Have the 14/15th for elk over on the Dearborn. So may have a good story soon there after.

FN in MT

Frank, you were definately in the middle of "business" so to speak! Didn't want to interupt... Here's a pic of Junior and his goat. We belly crawled for almost an hour to get on him. One shot, 200 yards, 53 gr TS from a 223 did the job! I'm proud of him to say the least. The ranch is big, private and nearly un-hunted but the owner seemingly has a soft spot for kids so we got permission... is that enough of a hint?

Brad,

Nice speed goat. I really like to hear stories like your son's. A few of the Ranches which are normally inaccesible have started allowing first year hunters or kids in general access. Very nice situation.
The access thing around Craig is SO difficult and getting worse. Four big Ranches have the majority of the land tied up. FWP continues to sell the over the coutner cow tags and then you have all these tag holders driving around trying to get ON.

Next trip through give me a call or drop me an e mail.


FN