Elk

Elk and Deer hunt 1999

This is my fist ever trip to the USA. I booked a seven day elk and mule deer hunt in northern Montana. I arrived at the start of elk / deer season, only to find that the temperatures for this time of the year were the hottest they had been since 1949. Consequently, the elk and deer were very difficult to find.

The terrain was very rough and due to the weather, hunting was extremely hard work. We typically walked 3 - 5 miles each day, in very steep, rocky, difficult terrain. While we were seeing deer in small numbers every day, we saw virtually no elk. I had been told by the outfitter that shots could be quite long, but actually ended up hitting the heavy timber very hard trying to locate elk.

We saw small groups of deer every day, though many were groups of does only. This buck, a 2 -3 year old was easily approached to camera range.

This small buck was out on the only day that we saw snow. The change in the weather got the deer moving, we saw more out that one day than any other. No elk were sighted though.

A lot of our time was spent glassing for elk. Unfortunately without success.

This buck fell to a single shot from a Ruger No 1 chambered in a .300 wildcat. Shooting at a steep angle down hill, the 180 gn Woodleigh hit high on the shoulder, breaking the spine and dropping it on the spot.