First Shoulder Season Elk

I've been hunting out here in Montana for the better part of 20 years. In fact, as I look back and tally up the seasons, I've actually elk hunted in in 20 seasons starting back in 2002. I took a couple years off while moving back and forth from Milwaukee and then hunted every year since 2007. In that time, I've killed eight elk during archery season, five during the general rifle season and now one elk taking advantage of the late part of the Montana shoulder season. Of those elk, six have been legal brow tine bulls, one spike and the rest antlerless elk. (I didn't say cows because of the legal description of elk in Montana and to be fair, I shot a bull calf one year thinking it was a 1 1/2-year-old cow. I felt a little guilty but then we started eating on it and it was the most tender elk I've had.) One of the bulls I shot with my bow was a 320-inch, 6 X 6, which is on my wall in the garage. That bull was the third elk I had shot and since then, I don't go after horns. Moving that mount around sucks. And the meat was so tough, I wound up grinding all the steaks into burger after shooting a younger cow the following year. 

Each elk has a story that I cherish. I know, one might be thinking, "big deal, it's a cow elk. Thousands get shot every year." That is true but much like catching that first trout of the day, it always feels like an accomplishment, and it always makes me feel incredibly grateful and humbled for the experience. And I always feel blessed and even a little surprised when it happens, remembering back to the first elk or the first brown I caught on a fly rod as if every elk is that first. 

If you read my last post, you already know how tough the general rifle season was for me this year. I worked my ass off and didn't see an elk I could shoot the entire season with the exception of spotting a few from the truck and not being able to get into them before the sun ran out. I kind of went on a rant and did a lot of finger pointing for what I believe caused many of us to come up empty these past couple years. Climate change, hunting pressure, and large plots of private land where the elk congregate have all felt like hurdles, I haven't been able to clear. The lack of snow during the hunting season seems to be the most consistent culprit, which seems to have been confirmed this weekend. 

Let me get a few logistical facts out of the way before telling the story. First of all, the Montana shoulder seasons are meant to thin out herds of elk that have been getting way over the number of elk FWP has determined is healthy and manageable in sense that landowners are not losing money and having to deal with unnecessary damage from elk. These shoulder seasons are only open to shooting antlerless elk on land outside of the National Forests in the management areas determined after the previous hunting year. That means private, state school trust, and BLM lands. Most of the elk hang out in the hay fields during the summer and get pushed up into the mountains from hunters and to some degree, from competing elk during the rut. Without snow, the elk stay high up in the mountains and are widespread until they move back to the hay fields as the weather turns. As mentioned before, they also find pockets of private lands that are not accessible.

Montana has roughly 17 million acres of National Forest most of which is in the mountains. As the elk come down to the private lands, they herd up. Some of the herds can reach numbers in the thousands. Private land in Montana amounts to about 64 million acres or about 62.5% of the land. Of that private land, around 7 to 8 million acres are entered into the Block Management program, which opens up private land for public hunting. State lands, BLM and Block Management land is checker boarded throughout Montana, most of which is in the lower elevations along rivers and in agriculturally rich areas where the elk go in the winter. So, the trick is, or the challenge becomes, finding where the elk are congregating and hopefully, finding them on accessible land. 

Shoulder seasons typically begin in mid-August and then run through February 15th. As with every attempt FWP makes to appease all the opposing groups that have an interest in elk, there are a lot of critics to elk management strategies, particularly these shoulder season hunts. Archery hunters complain that early shoulder seasons get the elk moving into the high country sooner and they become conditioned to hunters earlier, making them harder to locate and even harder to fool. Late season critics are typically elk sympathizers who believe hunters are taking advantage of desperate elk just trying to survive tough winters. I understand the arguments, but I've also seen these huge herds of elk and I feel like FWP is kind of running out of options for managing the numbers using the normal timeframe for the traditional hunting seasons. 

Game check stations across Montana have reported varying success rates for harvesting elk in 2024. Typically, about 10 to 15% of hunters are successful. That success rate is dropping, which could be explained by a number of factors. More hunters mean more people, especially less experienced hunters adding to the percentage of unsuccessful hunters. However, if you look at the raw numbers, many check stations are reporting fewer animals being harvested. More hunters may mean putting more pressure on elk during the regular season, which makes them harder to find and hunt.  

There are absolutely more hunters in the mountains these days as reported by the Butte Skyline Sportsman's Association. Viewpoint: Nonresidents secure more than 85,000 hunting licenses. In this article, they look into the number of Nonresident hunters, which has increased by nearly 30,000 hunters from 2019 to 2023. Not all of those hunters were hunting deer and elk, however, the majority, about two thirds were. That's just non-resident hunters. It's hard to find data on the number of licenses issued to Montana residents, which seems a little ridiculous, but I think it's fair to say, as our population explodes, more resident hunters are also being added to the mix. 

The point here is, as pressure increases and as snow levels get delayed until after the general hunting season, the elk hunting is getting tougher and the numbers support that. The shoulder seasons have increasingly become more attractive to me although it has been a little intimidating and I always hesitated to go that route. Again, finding access to elk on private land or state and BLM land is the challenge. Some ranches go with a roster option for damage hunts where you sign up and wait for your number to be called but you have to put your name in for the drawing well before hunting season even starts. I never even think about that before the archery season. 

OnX apps for your smart phone and computer have changed the game significantly, however. Now a hunter can sit at their computer and find those open lands in shoulder season areas in the comfort of their living room. The problem is, you don't know if the elk are going to be there unless you get some insider intel or you're just really intuitive and know the elk migration patterns. Or, you just get lucky. I tend to rely on luck way more than I should. 

I had a couple interactions last week that absolutely contributed to my late season success. I was talking skiing with a buddy, and he was reporting some really good snow conditions on one of the hills east of Helena. That hill is called Showdown and is located in the Big Belt Mountains. The Big Belts have a ton of elk in them and when the snow flies, those elk head for one of two valleys. One is to the east, which is White Sulphur Springs and the Smith River, and the other is to the west of the mountain range being Townsend/Toston and Canyon Ferry Lake, which is part of the Missouri River System. My interest was piqued.

The next evening, I was playing at an open mic and overheard a conversation an acquaintance of mine was having with one of his buddies. I tilted my head and dropped into the conversation. Apparently, he knew a rancher near the town of Townsend and was told the elk were in his hay fields and were hanging out there until late in the morning before heading up into the foothills. If you were patient enough, you could wait them out and eventually, they would cross through a piece of state land where you could shoot one. They had obviously come down because of the snow and were moving late because there wasn't the hunting pressure like there is in the general season. The gentleman went up there and in one day, voila, filled his freezer. 

I woke up the next morning and opened up my Onx app on my computer. I recognized the drainage the gentleman had mentioned and even found a sliver of state land he must have been hunting. I also remember him telling his buddy he was going to contact the rancher he knew and see if it would be ok to give his buddy his contact info for access. Given that, I really didn't want to step on anyone's toes, so I looked over other options for public access and picked out a few nearby Block Management Areas. I then called another one of my buddies to see if he wanted in. Given our last hunt where we spent the entire day driving around and barely even got out of the truck, he opted out for the weekend but told me to let him know what I found out after scouting he might come up. The plan was to drive down there on Saturday to get an idea of how many hunters were accessing the few areas I was looking at and if the elk were even traveling though. It was kind of a long shot given how much land there is in that area coming out of the mountains and how much of that land is actually accessible. I think 10 or 15% would be generous. 

I was at the brewery Friday evening talking with some other friends when the topic came up. One of the servers, who moved out from California, had never been elk hunting and wanted to experience it so she asked if she could come with. I told her the plan was just to drive around and scout it out so actual hunting probably wasn't in the plan, but she could hang out if she wanted. I figured an extra set of eyes, and some company wouldn't be horrible. 

We left Helena at around noon on Saturday and made it to the first BMA at around 1 o'clock. We drove around the back side of the BMA looking for the best access. As we came around to the North side of the BMA, we came to a sign-in box and the rancher's house. We started seeing a few rigs parked on the road. A few of the folks had on the orange vest every hunter out here wears as a requirement for rifle hunting. I stopped by a group of three rigs and asked the woman with the orange vest if they were seeing any elk. 

"Yeah, there's a couple out here," she revealed in a mix of rural Montana/southern drawl dialect. "But I'm from Shelby so you'll have to ask that guy over there. He's the one that's from round here." 

"Thanks," I replied and pulled the truck into the driveway next to the other rigs. 

"Hey," I greeted the gentleman who was not in orange but had his boots laced up and Gaters on. "You guys seeing elk out here? I'm just scouting it out right now, trying maybe make a plan for next week."

"Well," he says. "Yep, there are elk here. About 600 went up that ridge this morning, and the game warden said there were about 1600 head in here earlier." 

He then went on to let me know there were a group of hunters driving around on the back side of the ridge the 600 went to and eventually they would get pushed back and cross somewhere along the road.

"The block management starts at the fence-line though at the back edge of the grain field so you gotta let 'em cross before you shoot," he notified me. "But they should be here. I shot one the other day just up on the road." 

As pointed up the road he corrected himself, "I wasn't on the road, obviously. But you can hunt all the other side of the road and all the way up into the hills there once you get past the house."

"Cool," I said. "I should probably go sign in just in case. Thanks for the info."

I walked back to my truck noticing I hadn't even laced up my boots. I had slipped them on as I left the house, but they were just hanging there, splayed open like I was some urban backcountry Wanna-Be in a pair of un-scuffed Dr. Martens.

I opened the door and let Kenzie know, (my companion for the day,) "it's time to get laced up. Apparently, 1600 elk moved through this ranch this morning! Game on!"

We drove back to the sign-in box and filled out the permission slips, which is a requirement to access the BMA. I also tied up my boots and grabbed my orange vest and flung it over my shoulders and slipped my arms through the arm holes. This isn't my idea of hunting, but I hadn't shot an elk since 2022 and my freezer was void of good elk burger. I wasn't going to be a part of a massacre but if we spotted some elk we could get in on, I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity. 

After signing in, I decided to head downhill towards the hay fields just to get an idea of the layout of the property. As we approached the bottom end of the BMA, I noticed a group of elk coming off private property from one of the hay fields towards, the BMA. 

"Holy crap!" I pointed. "There's a group of elk right fricken there."

The elk were about three quarters of a mile to the west and downhill from the BMA but were working their way up quickly. They were also directly behind one of the ranch houses, which was also a safety zone. I quickly pulled into the driveway of the ranch house and assessed the situation. A sign on the fence post read, "No Motorized Vehicles Beyond This Point," which told me as long as you hiked in, you could get behind the house and up into the foothills and you would be golden. I also accessed the BMA boundaries on my OnX app to confirm. Just beyond the boundary, there was also a chunk of state land. A lot of moving parts would have to tumble into place but with a little luck, these elk would make their way off the fields and up into the BMA or state land and I would be there waiting. 

"You good hanging out if I go after these elk," I asked Kenzie. 

"Are you serious?" She asked. "Is this really going to happen? This is so cool." 

From the truck we could see the elk cresting a hill about a half mile out, heading up further into the foothills. Every once in a while, they would disappear behind a rise and then reappear. There were about 15 in that group, and they were on the move. 

"Shit. I gotta get moving."

I busted up the driveway, past the house and started across the open field into the first coulee heading up into the hills. I wasn't quite on a dead run but for 54, I felt like I was doing pretty good to cut the distance. Kenzie was watching through the binoculars from the truck. 

I crested the first hill and looked down into the next coulee. Nothing. 

I started up along the rim of the coulee and all the sudden, 15 elk popped up about 200 yards to the east, uphill from my position. They stopped and looked back at me. About half of them were spikes and rag-horns. I pulled out my phone and opened the app to make sure the elk were on the BMA. I then dropped to my belly, getting into the prone position and put the crosshairs on one of the cows. 

Before I could get my breath in check and steady the gun on the cow elk, they went back on the move, grouping up to a point that I couldn't safely shoot without potentially missing or hitting two of the elk with one shot. So, I clicked the safety back on and watched as they dropped out of sight over the rise. 

"Fuck," I thought and replayed the scene second guessing whether I should have taken the shot or not. 

It's just not worth it though, and with all the elk that were reported on this ranch, I can't imagine this will be my last chance and with that, I looked back down the coulees and to the edge of the hayfields. Low-and-behold, another group of a dozen or so elk were working their way up the fence line. 

These elk, however, must of have seen something they didn't like and stopped at the fence right before crossing onto the BMA. I kept still, kneeling in the snow. They were held up about 4 or 500 yards out, nervously circling around as if they were discussing which way they were going to head. One of the spikes started heading up the slope and the others followed. I circled to the back side of the ridge I was on, so I was out of site and started hoofing it towards the fence line they were traveling along.

As luck would have it, and I confirmed with the OnX app, these elk were traveling along the fence, not on the BMA but on the state land. As long as I could cut them off before the state land ran out, I was good to go. Unfortunately, there were two coulees between me and the fence line. I dropped down and then back up and noticed the just the ears of the elk behind the next rise on the move. I dropped down the next coulee and back up, now only about 50 yards from the fence. As I got closer and to a higher vantage point, I noticed the antlers of the spike that was leading the group. I move in and the other elk came into view. They were heading towards me and would be at the fence soon. 

I dropped to my knees and double checked the OnX app. I was good but right then I felt the cool sensation of wind on the back of my neck. 

"Crap," I thought. "They're going to bust me. I need to make a move."

Getting into a crouch, I headed straight for the group and when I thought I was close enough, I stood up and there they were. Grouped up about 100 yards past the fence. One of the cows broke formation and stopped broadside a few yards to the left of the rest of the group. 

I clicked off the safety on my .270, brought the butt of the gun to my shoulder and dropped the crosshairs right behind the front shoulder of the lone cow. She was about to move. I was trying to catch my breath and hold steady for an offhand shot at about 150 yards. The circular motion of the crosshairs around the shoulder of the elk became tighter and tighter until I decided it was good enough and I timed the motion with the pull of the trigger hoping it would coincide with the crosshairs of the scope settling on the front shoulder. 

"Boom!" The gun went off and I listened for the "Thwack," of a solid hit but it never came. I did however watch as the cow hunched and dropped a bit before turning back to disappear into the rest of the group. I ejected the spent shell and racked another round.

The group of elk headed out away from me and dropped down out of site. I sprinted towards the fence and noticed the cow dragging behind and stop. I brought the gun up again and pulled the trigger, this time without much confidence of my shot. She took off out of site. 

I crossed the fence onto the state piece of land. It was wide open, dropping off into a series of coulees. The group of elk appeared across the next coulee and stopped about 300 yards out. I couldn't spot any of the elk that would appear to be wounded. They were huddled up, seemingly waiting for the call to move but nothing happened. Not knowing if the elk I shot at was down or not, and not seeing an obviously wounded animal, there was no way I could take another shot. I started walking toward the coulee hoping beyond all hope that my elk didn't reach the break and as I got closer and gained some vantage point to look down the side of the coulee, there was my elk, piled up, luckily before making the drop-off into the coulee. 

Upon examining her, one shot entered just into the lower part of the shoulder, piercing both lungs and clipping the upper chamber of the heart. The second shot wasn't necessary as she was never going to make it far. But not knowing for certain, I took the second shot knowing that at worst, I had a wounded elk that needed to be put down. I was super fortunate, that first shot dropped her in just a hundred yards or so, before making it to the coulee. Dragging her back up the coulee would suck. I hiked back to the truck. All this happened so quickly, I didn't even grab my knife, and I had a sled in the truck just in case.

"Alright," I told Kenzie as I opened the truck door. "It's time to get to work..."

"Are you kidding me?" She responded with excitement. "You got one?"

Kenzie had been watching from the truck as I got up on the first group but also saw that I didn't shoot. She did hear my shots on the second group but there was no way of knowing it was me. In fact, after my shots, another group of hunters also shot at the elk I must have pushed to them. It wasn't like a firing squad but there was a half a dozen or so shots that rang out after I shot. Unfortunately, that is the reality of hunting these ranches when the elk get herded up. Hopefully, people aren't just lobbing shots into herds of elk on a prayer. But that does happen and it's not a good look for the hunting community as a hole. That's not what I witnessed on this day, however.

The cow elk dropped just inside of a mile from the truck as the crow flies. With a sled, just the right amount of snow, and the entire drag being downhill, it was a pretty quick pack-out. When we got to the truck Kinzie asked how we would lift the thing into the bed, which is a good question. Again, fortunately, the rancher had plowed the driveway into a bank we were able to drag the sled up, which was the right height to back the truck to and slide it in. Perfect.

Again, this isn't my favorite kind of hunting, but I will say this, it's not like what I heard of for these late season hunts where elk are just hanging out in the field, and you drive up to them in a truck and pick one out. A lot of things had to come together to harvest this elk, and I feel grateful. And I did learn something for the next time I'm in need of filling the freezer.

The last thing I really want to address is that yes, an elk is a lot of meat for one person. This year I've pretty much tagged out on elk, antelope, and deer. I am grateful of the meat and value the opportunity I have for sharing that with family and friends who either aren't as successful, or don't have the means to get out there and get their own game. I also love processing the game into sausages and other forms of protein that we might not think to use the meat for and share that experience with others as well. If you're thinking about taking a trip with Montana Dream Fishing Outfitters next season, let me know you're interested, and I'll even share some of this fortune with you. I promise it will be something you'll remember for a very long time.

Keep 'em where they live...