Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Solo elk hunters on foot

Indeed, wet cold is tough. I've spent my fair share of nights out in wet-cold outside of Montana when the temps are well below zero, and a cabin is indeed preferable.

Coldest day I ever spent elk hunting was -30*F. Not a big deal as long as you're moving, but when the wind kicks up it gets sporty.

Here's a bull I killed many years ago (solo, public ground of course). I started climbing at 4:30 am @ -15*F... at sunrise I spotted this bull a mile away headed up a mountain with two other smaller bulls to bed. Rather than follow their track, I estimated where they'd bed on the ridge and decided to button-hook around them and come down to them from above (obviously they'd be bedded watching their backtrack). Three hours climbing in knee deep snow got me to the ridge I guesstimated they were bedded on. I Slowly still-hunted down the ridge which brought me exactly into their bedroom. I shot this bull at 35 yards standing in his bed a 1:00 in the afternoon. The high temp was 5*F for the day. Needless to say, I made a fire while taking him apart. Really, a fairly typical November day elk hunting in Montana.