Overall thoughts....


First off- it was a great trip. The people of Montana (SD, ND, and Wyoming the bit that I spent there) were fantastic. Simply aboveboard. The tags are expensive, comparatively speaking, but the long seasons make it worth it and the opportunity is there.



I think it was one week and three days from when I decided to do the trip, to when I was sitting in MT, and I didn't really get to plan until I was on the way. I didn't have a choice, but that was a bit rushed and I wouldn't recommend it in general. It's not that you need to plan for a year to make it happen, but a few weeks to a month would've been better. I keep a list of animals, where to find them, and the seasons for most states in case the opportunity arises on short notice. I maintain a relatively high level of fitness, am used to living out of a rucksack, have 95% of the gear needed either at my house or at work, am comfortable planning on the fly and that allowed me to go into this nearly blind without much issue.


Admittedly I am not a good elk hunter. I do not live where they live, I do not get to scout before season, it may be 4 or 5 years between elk hunts for me, and I've never hunted the same place twice. There is no doubt that guys who successfully stalk them in the timber year after year, or pop monsters by spot and stalk could teach me a metric ton about hunting them and every chance I get I STFU and take notes.

As to why I would drive a 90 hour round trip to shoot a dink bull.... Because I can. I want to know that I can throw a dart on the map and then successfully hunt whatever is there by my own skill level, knowledge and ability. Most don't understand that, but I have no desire to use a guide for anything, nor pay someone to hunt. Nothing against those who do, just not for me.







Gear.....




Rifle:


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Winchester M70 in 300 WinMag
Manners carbon fiber SL stock
Nightforce 2.5-10x32mm Mildot reticle, Mil turrets, and zerostop

Not sure what the weight is, but that has always been down on the list of importance to me. Maintaining zero and tracking correctly no matter what is at the top.


I used the same ammo that I have used almost exclusively for 6 or 7 years in this gun: a 178gr Hornaday AMAX with 80gr of H1000 in Winchester brass. With that I have killed well over a hundred big game. I don't recommend it for elk, or even deer as it quite "splashy", however, it does the most damage and kills the quickest of any bullet that I have ever seen or used.... and I've use most of them. The only round that didn't exit on the bull was the quartering away shot. The other two did, leaving impressive wound channels.





Glass:


My binos were a pair of Bushnell Fusion 1600 BRF's. The rangefinder is great, but the glass.... sucks. It's usable, but has the most annoying blue tint to it. I may just be spoiled by Geovids and Vectors but to my eyes the glass is about on par with $200 binos. The Fusion 1 Mile versions are better, though I don't have enough time glassing with them to make a solid comparison.

I used a Leupold Mk4 12-40x60mm Spotting scope with Gen2 reticle and a Manfroto tripod. Glass is solid though not "eye-popping" on the level of a Hensoldt, Swarovski, Lieca, etc. But it is good and I never wanted for more other than it to be lighter. Tripod is heavier than I wanted. Might have to look at an Outdoorsmans.


Clothing:


For the pant base layer I used Ice breakers Merino wool pants (250 weight I think), and for the top I used the issued synthetic "waffle top" as I couldn't find the IB Merino top. Both worked as they should, which is to say great.

I broke a rule of the mountains..... I used cotton. Specifically Mountain Khaki canvas pants. They fit right and are durable. If it's really warm I prefer CP pants, but for cold to 60 degrees or so, the Mountain Khakis are tops. Of course if it"s going to be raining, or I'll be in an area where that's a concern I will use a soft shell pant, but in most of the west this late in the year you have the snow, but it's not a wet snow. At least not like it is in the east. I brought softshell top and bottoms as well as Goretex rain gear but never used them.

Boots were Asolo Fugitive GTX's. I had no blisters and only one or two hot spots the whole time. The Injinji toe socks and Smartwools helped with that tremendously.

Gaiters were REI brand and worked great.


Gloves were straight tight fitting leather work gloves with custom drop chart.....

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I like the leather gloves as they let me "feel" well, are incredibly durable and just plain work. I probably have a pair of nearly every super duper glove made sitting in a box, and I still prefer them. For a glove that will actually protect your hands, I shoot best in these. I did carry Arctic Shield mittens in the pack, but rarely wore them until I headed East.

Note: don't throw leather gloves in the dryer..... grin



That's what I wore the vast majority of the time while moving. I can't stand to sweat preferring to start out cold, and maybe even stay a bit cool while hiking/climbing and then put on a good insulating layer once I stop. For this trip I used the ECWS "puff man" pants and jacket. They are heavier and bulkier than good down versions of the same, the only reasons I used them is because I left the down stuff at work.

This is not what I would recommend for others. Sticking to synthetics/wool is the best bet.





HPG Recon Chest Pack:

Freaking titties. Seriously one of the best pieces of kit I've used in a long time. I've uses it for just about everything since March. Work, hunting, running, you name it. I kept an emergency kit, lighter, map, compass, pen, knife, sharpener, headlamp, GPS, snacks, license, and extra ammo in it for the trip. Really dig that I could dump my pack and still have everything I need to survive most situations on me, out of the way.





Packs:


For the elk it was mostly a Mystery Ranch NICE 6500. Great durability, good carrying ability, the bag itself is well designed, I use the heck out of the detachable top lid, but it is HEAVY. Almost 11 pounds empty. Too heavy. I say this every time I use it, but just never get something else because it does work so well. This year a lighter pack is on the menu.


For most of the deer hunting I used a Badlands Superday pack because I wasn't staying out and it is a lot lighter then the MR. Of course had I shot a buck I would've had to go to the truck to the get the big pack.

A lighter 6,000+ CU pack is on the short list.





Sleeping system:


Bag is a Marmont 0 degree down bag that I've been using for three years or so, not sure of the model but it's one of their "good" ones. I sleep cold, and this bag has been awesome. Not once have I woke from being cold at night, although the coldest was around -8 degrees. It is narrow, and I noticed it on this trip. Not sure if it bothers me enough to replace it.

The bivy was a Kelty Goretex version. It worked fine but the zippers are opposite of the sleeping bag. The bag has left side zippers and the bivy's on the right. That DID annoy me.






Misc...:

Stony Point, Polecat I think, shooting sticks/tripod. This was my walking stick and rest for standing/sitting/kneeling if needed. Works fine for shooting, and helped tremendously with walking but a good set of hiking poles will be going next time. Actually probably the #1 item to get.

I have used the same Buck Vanguard knife since I was a teenager. It's heavy and doesn't hold an edge all that great. That stayed in the pack. I had a simple Cold Steel stainless steel knife in the chest pack. It's really light, and I've used it a bunch. Also picked up an Outdoor Edge folding knife with replaceable blades. We'll see, but still on the first blade after caping out the bull, and field dressing three deer, including ripping through the sternum.

GPS was a Garmin Foretrex 301. Simple and light. However next time I will take a more full featured one, to use the mapping software.

One of the most used items on the trip was my phone. I used it as a GPS, used it for mapping with HUNT by OnX, as a camera and as a ballistics calculator, among other things. It's nice that there are truly waterproof/dustproof cases for them now.

HUNT by OnX is an SD card or app for phones that shows you all the land detail- topo, aerial, GMU's, land ownership, etc. Really useful, but at least where I hunted elk it needs to be on a GPS not a cell phone as I had NO service most of the time.