Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Hunting season

Hope hunting is going well for everybody. We're right in the middle of Montana's 5-week rifle season for deer and elk, with prime-time coming up, both to increasing snow in the mountains and the deer rut just starting.

One interesting phenomenon that's been happening the past few years, though, is many if not most elk have already moved out of the mountains before the snow falls, due to LOTS of elk up there, without as much feed as down in the valleys, plus really hot, dry weather in late summer becoming a very common pattern. This year we had the driest July on record in our area, and August wasn't much better. Consequently herds of hundreds of elk were already congregating on irrigated hayfields down in the valleys even before the bow season started on September 1st.

I headed out yesterday afternoon to check a couple areas for mule deer. We don't need an elk, since Eileen killed a big cow last year, and there was still some meat left from a younger cow she'd taken a couple years before, but as I drove toward the first mule deer place, the highway passed one of the big elk herds, at least 200 head, feeding about half-a-mile away in a center-pivot field. It was just before shooting light so I didn't bother to stop and glass them, continuing on to the deer spot--where the only buck I found amid the does was a 2-1/2-year-old 3x3. The big boys aren't quite involved yet.

On the way back I discovered FIVE pickups on the highway, watching the elk herd. These days a lot of local elk "hunters" do it this way, hoping the big valley herds will be spooked from non-hunting land onto one of the smaller chunks of state or BLM land, or a hunting-friendly ranch. I stopped and looked at the herd as well (it wasn't going anywhere), finding half-a-dozen small bulls, and the rest cows and calves. In this particular hunting district, antlerless elk are legal on the general tag, mostly because there are so many down in the valley that landowners often complain to the game department--even the landowners who don't allow hunting.

After looking at them briefly I headed home--where I discovered Eileen had just dragged a big whitetail doe into the garage, taken on the local riverbottom Wildlife Management Area while I was out looking for a mule deer buck. She also saw one small whitetail buck, which was definitely looking for love, but this coming week the rut will be really coming on, so she'll be out on the WMA looking for a bigger one, while I fool with the mule deer.

Good luck, wherever you're hunting!

Guess what John? I got a few more elk tenderloins yesterday. We were in that group, waiting for the elk to cross over but couldn't wait any longer and just shot a few of them...

I'm sure the landowner was grateful!

Two whitetails in the can so far, with a crossbow of all things, and me with a barrel of rifles, including a new Barrett. I bought the crossbow to have more time in the woods while the deer are actually there, as opposed to the other side of the Shenandoah where they go when the pumpkin brigade arrives. Nice fat adult doe and a buck that probably had 30 pounds on her, but a tiny 8-point rack. Now I can relax a bit and might do a bit of woodcock hunting before the rifle, doe, and ML seasons. There's a week before Christmas when only point-ed sticks are legal again, so I may save my last tag for then.

My first season with the crossbow. Both deer were taken at ranges similar to what I shoot deer at on that ground during rifle season: 35 and 32 yards; one from the ground and one from a low treestand.

Best of luck to all, and be safe.

Only one doe so far with a muzzle loader. It's been really warm here in September and didn't get out until October. Been passing up does left and right with only scrub bucks around. Last week the real bucks started showing themselves and had a decent 8 point coming in, but he winded me. They cut back on our bucks this year, we're only allowed 3, so you have to pick wisely. We had really hard rain yesterday, so I didn't go out. But today I'll be out with the crossbow this afternoon, but the wind is blowing 30mph. The rut will really kick in next week.

Good luck hunting Y'all.

Banner acorn crop in the piney woods. Hunting should get better when they are gone. Even the pigs aren’t hardly coming to the feeders. They aren’t hitting the oat patches either. These three decided they wanted a little corn Monday.

do you walk up on the trap, or drive up? Or is there a stand?

I park about a 1/4 mile away, wear rubber boots, use corn oil for scent killer on boots and hands. No stand, just a trap pen, if you drive up close to pen before setting, you probably won’t have much luck. Feeder goes off one a day.

does it keep them thinned out, or are you doing it for the meat?

Love the elk pic with the scopes and bipods on each side and the old easy carrying iron sighted lever gun in the middle. What the heck is that contraption with the fence and dead pigs? A few years ago some poor guy a few miles from here had his hogs break out of their enclosure in the winter. The local fur and feathers authority told the public to shoot them as catching them was not working. So for one brief moment in time we had a hog season in Alaska. I would of looked for one, but my darn work schedule interfered.

I felt bad for the guy as he probably had a few bucks tied up in them.

Mule Deer, the....uh....mule deer aren't quite in rut yet either here in the Bitterroot. I saw 3 lone mule deer does this morning, but I did talk to two guys cruising around in an UTV that said they saw a good buck chasing does, but he supposedly never gave them a shot.

Montana isn't the only place hunters park on the side of the highway and watch for elk to cross onto public....it is just as bad in Wyoming and everywhere else I have chased them.

The deer season ends tomorrow for behind my home and a week from tomorrow at our cabin. I have a nice doe in the freezer with one more tag to fill. It rained pretty good with high winds for a couple of days keeping me inside and some family commitments had me missing out on two evenings so I am happy with what I have so far.

Bucks have been few and far between which is unusual at the house. The neighbor did not shoot a bruiser so I am hoping one wanders by. The cabin is pretty short on bucks as we have had 3 years of buck only limits and two of buck only or a doe if one draws a permit. That put a hurt on the QDM efforts regarding buck numbers with few older ones. It'll probably take 4-5 years until buck size and numbers get back to norm, providing the tag does not revert back to buck only.

As soon as I can fill this tag I can go back to my true love- chasing birds. The cold weather has the marshes freezing up allowing access to the roosters. If the fields dry out the farmers should get back to harvesting and the birds will have fewer places to hide.

Well, Archery season for Deer has been on since mid-Sept, here in CT. Landowner Rifle has been open since the First of November. So far it's been a bit slow. It's been very warm and very wet as well so far we got one doe tagged and we have no plans to shoot any more does. I let three walk by this morning. The trail cams show that there are some decent bucks on my property but my guess they are laying down during the day. It's been warm. Things should heat up with the Rut, so the next week or two should be good.

No way I could butcher all the pigs I catch. I clean one every now and then

What caliber was the lever action Shrap??? Off for whitetails tomorrow.. Did mule deer and antelope.. Elk will have to wait.. No fun just work.. Just spent a week shooting birds.. Wonderful.. My dogs loved it.. So did I.. One of my friends offered a super cool hunt on his club.. But I have to round up a double for that.. Could borrow, but no fun in doing that.. Have a great one fall is about over..

2 deer down in GA so far. 10 more left on the season limit. Got some venison chili bubbling for the fam!

Thnx for the encouragement.

1 Doe in Oct, antlerless only season.
1 8 pt on Opening Day, 11/10/18

This is also 5 weeks (6 weekends) of Regular Modern Gun season. I have several tags to go.

Jerry

Hang in there Jwall, I only hav e two deer tags left one doe and one any deer.. Hope to fill them in the next couple days, the the chore of elk.. What bastards they are.. Shooting is fun, but when they hit the ground, [bleep]!!

W C H

I can only imagine but I’ve always wanted to hunt Elk. I enter our permit drawing every year but ...............

Good Success to you & yours.

Jerry

The lever action is a 45-70 1886 SRC. It is also a photo of opportunity, because he didn't have a tag and didn't even shoot. That never stops him from adding to the story in the picture...