Eastern Montana Elk Hunting- Special Permit

I must admit I was quite surprised and confused when I received a letter from the Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks in August.  It congratulated me for drawing an either sex elk permit for an area in Eastern Montana (an area I had forgot I even applied for) and then proceeded to give me the names and phone numbers of four land owners in the district who wanted hunters to come and shoot bulls specifically.  I had applied for the special tag because it looked close to the famous Missouri Breaks and the odds were not very good (which I interpreted to mean it was very desirable).    I wasn't even sure I wanted to head seven hours east to find a bull elk when that letter came.  But how often do you actually have ranchers wanting you to come hunt on their land?  In my experience, only when there are a lot of animals.

I eventually contacted all four ranchers/farmers and the biologist for the area and planned a trip for the fourth week of September, thinking that would be the best opportunity during bow season.    We (my wife and I) went to one ranch house to confirm property boundaries and I noticed a set of antlers in the mud room.  Its mass was impressive, but even more impressive was the fact that one side had nine legitimate tines. 

We saw elk every day. They were not extremely vocal however.  Probably because it was unseasonably hot during the day.  The last morning we were there, I got within 45 yards of a herd bull but couldn’t close the deal.  His G-3s (third tine up from the base of his antlers) looked to be about 20 inches long.  He had about 8 cows with him.  He was extremely unresponsive to bugles and cow calls even within 50 yards.  Surprisingly, this whole encounter was on public land.   

Although I originally thought I would only go that far to hunt once, I could not help myself and drove the distance the first week of November.  During rifle hunting, the cows herd up in large herds.  You can actually shoot a cow with a general A tag, but it is pretty hard to find one because the large herds typically on ranches that don’t allow hunting.  It is more common to find bulls as you wander through the breaks.  I saw one herd of cows, but it was on private land I was not allowed to hunt.  Someone hunting on the same ranch I was hunting on had shot a big 7x7, but by the end of my 2^nd full day of hunting I had only seen a small bull and had no opportunity for a shot.  I hiked a big loop and found 4 sheds.  There were so many rubs it looked like the elk had declared war on the trees.On a whim, I walked a ridge that enabled me to see the area where I had been so close to the herd bull a month and a half earlier. 

I immediately saw two smaller bulls fighting and after further observation noticed a slightly bigger bull below me.  To make a long story short, I missed-judged the range and missed several shots before hitting the biggest of the three bulls.  He was a modest 6x6 but I wasn’t about to travel all that way without getting something.  I found the bull less than 500 yards from where I had seen the big herd bull during archery.  To hike him out on public land would have been about a 2 mile hike, up and over several hills.  Alternatively, hiking up the breaks through private land was around 1 mile.  The next day the rancher, whose land I had hunted on, was nice enough to drive his gator down to my elk.  We threw my elk on and drove it directly to my truck.  I thanked him and he said he was glad to get rid of another elk.  As we drove he showed me elk trails through his wheat field that looked like cow trails.

Overall, hunting the breaks was one of the best elk hunting experiences I have had.  Access is tricky, but there are private land options and public land access.  Elk typically bed about mid-way between the river and the fields above.  I never saw elk on an alfalfa field but heard several stories about hunters getting them as they left or crossed wheat and alfalfa fields.  It’s not as steep as some areas in Montana, but you have to be in shape.  If you don’t want to camp, stay at the Winifred Apartments, it’s a good deal for your money.

Luxury Camping Hardcore Montana Style

How to Camp in a Hardcore, Yet Relaxing Way

Tent camping is great.   Sleeping on the tops of mountains and waking up to astonishing, beautiful views.   Peaceful seclusion from the rest of the world is yours.  But it has its downsides too:  no matter how good your gear is, sleep is never as good, rain can make the whole trip miserable.  Having dogs or kids on your trip can compound the misery and lack of sleep.  If you’re packed in somewhere or don’t have a portable grill, your food options start to sound like bomb shelter food.   Don’t get me wrong, some of my favorite memories involve some of this misery (aka hardcoreness), but I don’t want every trip to be mountain-man boot camp.  I suppose someday when I’m rich and famous I’ll get a fancy camper, but right now it isn’t in the budget.  If only there was a way to be in a secluded beautiful area, but have just a little more comfort than tent camping provides. There is.  

You can rent cabins and even lookouts from the Forest Service.  I had no idea it was an option until last winter.  Having stayed in two now, I can’t believe what I was missing.   Last February three of us skied six miles into a cabin, had a roaring fire, cooked eggs, potatoes and steaks.  We slept on relatively comfortable mattresses and skied out the next day.  This fall my wife and I drove up to a lookout on top of a mountain.  The lookout had a 360 degree view of the Cabinet Mountains, windows on every side and even a catwalk around the building.  We even saw a bull moose and a mountain lion cub while on a mountain bike ride.  Both were spectacular and fun locations, made even better by the fact that we had a dry place to sleep and cook delicious food. 

All the cabins and lookouts are located in relatively secluded, rugged forests and wilderness areas.  Some you can drive to and some you have to hike, ski or snowmobile to.  Most were used or are still used seasonal by the Forest Service so they typically have some basic amenities.  They are not hotels or vacation rentals but there’s always a stove to keep you warm and real mattresses to sleep on.  Many have cooking stoves and modernized outhouses (no splinters on your butt).  But perhaps the best part is the price: typically $35 per night or less.

A few things to consider if you do rent a cabin or lookout:  You definitely want to double check what amenities the cabin has.  I assumed the lookout we rented had a cooking stove and we ended up having to cook our food on the wood stove. This meant a roaring hot fire and open windows for several hours. You have to reserve some of the more popular locations months in advance or be willing to go on weekdays, but you can’t reserve more than 180 days in advance.  Many locations are only open during specific times of the year.  In the winter, some cabins can only be reached by skiing or snowmobiling.  Running water is almost never an option.  www.recreation.gov is the site you have to rent them through.  Once you have selected your basic search criteria, be sure to select “view as map” under search results as this will make it easier to select the location you want.  It isn’t the easiest site to navigate, but it is very informative. 

This option isn’t as hardcore as winter camping or sleeping under the stars in the middle of the Bob Marshall.  But not every trip has to be hardcore and this is the most authentically Montana way to have a relaxing “camping” trip!  It is True Montana!

Love and Elk Hunting- The Big Bull on the Two-Med Story

I let out a long location bugle (the sound a bull elk makes when he is trying to let all the other elk know where he is at).  It was almost more of an afterthought.  I had bugled back and forth earlier with a couple bulls and been within 50 yards of a timid smaller bull, but it was hot now and we were going to take a brief nap before hunting our way back down to the trail and heading back to the car. 

Suddenly, I was jolted back into reality by the bellow I heard in response from 200 yards below me.  I looked at my fiancé, Allie, whom I would marry a mere 2 weeks later and a smile crossed my face.  This new bull sounded very interested in meeting this new bull (me) who had the gall to walk right through his domain.  I waited a few seconds and bugled back over my shoulder, as if this new bull (me) was just on the other side of the ridge that we were on.  Another quick response back from the bull below, showed he had closed the gap in half and was definitely coming our way.  Allie lay down near a bush behind me and I quickly slid up to a tree where I would have a couple shooting lanes. 

I heard him before I saw him, but when I saw him, my heart began to palpitate like that of a humming bird.  Big, thick, black antlers emerged from the underbrush.  He was covered in mud and swayed from side to side when he moved, almost like he was a mechanically engineered FrankenElk.  I caught myself starting to count the tines as he neared 60 yards.  Suddenly all the failed elk encounters rushed back through my memory and the two instances where I had hit a bull and never found him jolted me back to the task at hand.  This was no time to count tines!  It didn’t matter how big or how small this bull was, if it was in my power, he was going down.  Given his approach, I had two lanes; one at 25 yards and one at 10.  He chugged up the hill so fast I forgot to draw before the 25 yard window, but had enough composure to draw right after when his head was obscured by a tree. 

 

He was resolute in his movement and belief that there was an intruder just over the hill.  As he broke into my 10 yard window broadside, I let out a mew that sounded more like a cat than a cow elk, but it was all I needed.  He stopped for a split second and I squeezed my release with my 10 yard pin pegged right behind and below his shoulder blade.  He spun around so fast, taking me from my concentration zone to a place of adrenaline and elation!  I had just arrowed a bull that was as big, or bigger, than any I had ever seen!

It would take two hours and another arrow before I would stand over this magnificent creature with Allie.  Marveling at how lucky and blessed we were to have that experience.  I measured him by B and C standards and though many people, including myself, believed him to be over 350, he measured a “mere 331” after deductions.  We got married about two weeks later in Glacier, in the rain and it was awesome!

This year’s bow season is drawing to a close, as is our first year of marriage, and both have been fun and enjoyable.  I’m sure I’ll shoot more elk with Allie by my side(maybe she’ll even shoot some with me at her side), but we will never forget and always treasure that first elk together!  That’s True Montana!

Montana Made Scotch Ale Taste Test

Montana is a state full of microbreweries.  It seems everywhere you look a new one is popping up, even in the smallest of towns.  If you enjoy good beer, it is a great place to be.  One of the most famous beers that have emerged is the Kettle House’s Cold Smoke Scotch Ale.  Demand for Cold Smoke was so high that the Kettle House actually decided to scale back its distribution rather than make the step up to a larger brewery.  This only increased its fame and notoriety.  Montanans passing near Missoula often stock up on the deliciously smooth, dark and flavorful beer, even at $2 a can. 

But Cold Smoke is not the only Montana made Scotch Ale and I, for one, wanted to know if people liked Cold Smoke because it is popular or because it is a Scotch Ale (a more off-the-beaten-path microbrew beer type).   So we conducted a taste test in our backyard.

The test included four Scotch Ales: Back Country (Lewis and Clark Brewery Co. - Helena),Lock and Lode (Belt Brewing Co. –Belt), Copper John (Madison River Brewing Co. – Belgrade) and Cold Smoke (Kettle House Brewing Co. – Missoula).  There were six participants in the test, most of whom enjoyed Cold Smoke but had never tried the other three Scotch Ales.  Participants were asked to rank each beer on a 1-5 scale with five being best.  They were also asked to guess which beer they were drinking as it came.  Each round came out without the participants seeing the label and each participant tasted about two ounces of each beer.   

The results were decisive.  Even though Cold Smoke was third to be tasted, every participant guessed it to be Cold Smoke.  It also won the overall taste test, with participants ranking it a 4.67 out of 5.  Back Country was second with a 4.08 out of 5.  Copper John and Lock and Lode struggled far behind with rankings of 2.79 and 2.58 respectively.  One participant summed the results up best with his guesses for each beer next to the ranking: “Don’t Care”- Copper John, “I’d Drink Again” – Back Country, “Cold Smoke”- Cold Smoke and “Don’t Care”- Lock and Lode.   It is worth noting too, that Back Country is the best buy option, considering its relatively high ranking for taste and its comparative advantage in price per ounce on Cold Smoke (typically 2 cents per ounce difference in price).

The Unfortunate Truth About Federal Land Transfer

Sparked by the standoff at the Bundy ranch in Nevada, many western states have been calling for the federal government to release the millions of acres of federal land to the ownership of the states.  The potential ramifications for Montanans are extensive.  Everyone has an opinion and wonders how their particular interest would be served or not served by this change.  I did quite a bit of research on the subject and came to a few conclusions:

  In general I favor states’ rights and less federal control, but in this case, I believe a full scale transfer of federal land in Montana to the state is impractical at this time.  Everyone connected with the state forests sights the huge burden to Montana tax payers because of fire suppression.  The lack of infrastructure within the current DNRC also is a concern.  The state agency currently cares for 600,000 acres and if all the land were transferred at once, they would find themselves with close to 18 million.  It would simply be too much too quickly.  I do not think that the state would sell off all their new land to private individuals as many opponents think.  Historically (at least in the last hundred years), this has not been the pattern for western states.  I also think the same environmental groups and politicians that currently scrutinize federal land management agencies would also keep state agencies in check from an environmental standpoint.

While many political pundits are insisting that federal land should be transferred from legal standpoint, this too seems unlikely.  Most legal scholars agree that no federal court will uphold the view that the land should, by law, be transferred to the states, unless congress passes legislation allowing for it.   

All that aside,  there has to be more logging on federal land, both from an economic point of view and a fire suppression point of view.  Montana state land timber sales revenue is nearly six times that of Federal timber sales, despite the fact that Montana state land is only one thirtieth the size of Federal land!  Perhaps, state land is over-logged, but the disparity is absurd.  In addition, logging is thought by many as a practical means of preventative fire suppression.  This is especially true near Helena, where a fire on the beetle kill trees could jeopardize the city’s water supply. 

I do think there is a better system for managing public lands in Montana.  A report by a bipartisan panel called “Evaluation Federal Land Management in Montana” has outlined a plan to make federal management more efficient and collaborative.  They suggest transfer to state ownership as a last resort.  Another article I read talked about creating Federal Trusts to manage the land.  These would essentially be more nimble than the current bureaucracies and they would also be required to pay for themselves through access and use fees.  Federal agencies currently do not get to keep most fees they collect and typically lease land below market value, making them far from profitable.  I also think it could be feasible to conduct a gradual transfer from the feds to the states. 

If anything good is to come of this situation, I hope federal agencies feel pressure to perform more efficiently and in a way that benefits the states they serve.  I also hope Montanans take a good hard look at what owning 17.1 million acres of federal land would look like.  More in our control, yes, but more taxes, higher use and access fees too.   Let’s not be like the North Dakotan who shot a spike moose 25 miles back and had no friends to help him pack it out.  Count the cost.  Is it worth it? That’s True Montana.  

Easter Egg Hunt for Big Kids: Shed Hunting on the Sun River Game Range

                I slowly and carefully opened the door, holding it open as the car slowed down.  Before it came to a full stop I pushed it open the rest of the way, took a step on the ground and I was off at a sprint.  I heard a loud horn and a louder voice yelling profanity at our driver as he veered back into traffic.  No, I was not in the streets of LA or New York; I am talking about the opening day of Shed Hunting on the Sun River Game Range in Montana.

                You may find it hard to believe but every year on the 15^th of May (regardless of the day of the week), thousands of people drive up to the Sun River Game Range, a little over an hour outside of Great Falls to be part of a strange, yet exciting event.  At high noon, the gates are opened and dozens of riders and runners rush in.  The rest, at least two hundred cars and pick-ups, roar along the road until the driver of each vehicle finds a lucrative spot to pull over.  At this point, everyone opens their doors and sprints over the hills as fast as they can.  Each person trying to spot and grab as many of the hundreds of antlers elk bulls have shed in the past few months. 

                The road leading to the game range is littered with the abandoned vehicles of those who have jumped in with a friend who was further ahead in line (there is literally a line of cars over a mile long).  The majority of the antlers will be found in the first few hours but many easy ones will be run by and found later by black bear hunters who come in later that week.  In order to insure peace, the Fish and Game recently moved the start time to noon instead of midnight to prevent fights over spots in line.  They have even been known to put radio chips on antlers in order to ensure no one sneaks in and “poaches” prior to the official opening date.  People get time off work; park their truck as early as two weeks in advance, yell at people for blocking the road, all for elk antlers.  And why all this craziness you might ask?

Antlers can sell for as much as $10 a pound.  Some antlers weigh nine or ten pounds, so finding two could easily equal more than most Montanans make in a day.   But I think there’s more to it than that.  Part of it must be that inner child inside most people.  The child that loved to compete in Easter egg hunts.  The other part, for True Montanans at least, is the “inner-claim-staking-gold-rush-miner” rushing to stake his claim on the land.  It is that inner-Montanan who has come to seek his fortune, to compete with everyone else, on a land anyone can set foot, for treasure only the land can offer.   Deep down inside, whether they build houses or sit at a desk all day, I think all True Montanans want to live off the land, even if it’s just for a day.  That’s True Montana!

Meet Me at the Beach....in Montana

Every year about this time Kerr Dam at the bottom of Flathead Lake is opened up to make room for the impending run-off.  Summer is coming and the snow is finally starting to melt!  But it also means that for a very short window in time the northern shore of Flathead Lake has the best beach in the state!  No kidding!  Its awesome!  It stretches from Somers all the way across to Bigfork.  It is also about 100 yards wide and even when it does reach the water, its relatively shallow for a long ways out.  The sand is perfect too!  No real rocks or glass or even dog poop, though I have seen dogs.

It is a perfect place for an ultimate Frisbee game, to run your dogs or children, to make sand castles, run on the beach and have a pick-nick.  

But before you go, please consider this:  the entrance at Somers involves going around a swamp on a path that goes around a gate which says "no trespassing".  My wife has been yelled at by the alleged owner of this access.  I have heard from multiple locals, however, that he doesn't own the access.  I looked it up on my GPS and from what it looks like, there is no private ownership of the access.  Private property is a big deal to Montanans but I'm unsure why someone would get all worked up over property that they're pretending to own. I have recently been to the beach in Bigfork.  The public access section is extremely narrow and between sections of private land that have cameras monitoring your movement.  Creepy.  

Anyways, if you have an afternoon off, and its a nice sunny day, go to the beach and catch some rays!