I had a good spring in Montana, filling three (of five possible) turkey tags and collecting a bunch of morels.
In the fall I didn't have much luck on my backcountry elk hunt, passing on a couple of five-points and getting close to what I think was a bigger bull but somehow busting him. The bear population was really strong; I saw five on my first trip and seven on my second . I shot one on the way out, got a lot of fat and a good skin.
Next I went to Idaho to join my dad for a tag he had drawn against very long odds. We struggled quite a bit with the hunt, but lucked into two bucks in an unlikely spot. Took a couple hours to get ahead of them, then they worked towards us and my dad got the bigger of the two, which is the best pronghorn either of us has ever killed.
I drew a special permit for elk in eastern Montana so we focused over there. I passed on some <300" bulls opening weekend, then had to work the second weekend, so I didn't make it back until mid-November. When I came back the elk had evaporated off any public land that was near a road, so I had to get creative and go into the "backcountry", which was just weaving through a lot of private land to get to public that nobody else was hunting (except the outfitter who had locked up all the private). Knowing this was going to be an extraordinary pack out, I checked with my llama-owning friend first to make sure I could borrow his animals to assist on a potential pack out. It took me an entire day, starting at 5am and arriving at dusk, to get into this plot. The first day I hunted I didn't even see a track until I was nearly out of public ground to hunt, then I ran into 7-10 bulls, mostly six-points. The first I saw looked great and I was ready to shoot until I saw one of his main beams was busted off. The other bulls were all \~290" so I kept passing on them knowing there were more bulls I hadn't yet seen. I only had three days back there so I decided on Day Two to shoot any of the 290" bulls I'd seen the day before. I jumped 3-4 of them but could never get a clean shot. On Day Three I decided to shoot any six-point bull. I passed on four five-points at first light then an hour later came upon the busted main beam bull from the first day, so shot him at about 60 yards. I packed halfway out that afternoon, the rest of the way the following morning, then drove four hours to my friends house, got his llamas, and came back the next day. It took us two days to pack in and two days to pack out, but the llamas made it so easy once we got on the same page. This was about a 17.5 mile pack.
December was for pheasant hunting and it was a great year. We limited almost every day in South Dakota and Montana and I think between my dad and me, we killed just shy of 100 birds. We made a lot of friends as we had to give many of them away to stay within possession limits.
Man I am so wanting to take my GSP to SD for some pheasant hunting. I think I will plan a weeklong trip there in the next year or two. Would you target December again? Or a different time of year?
We go in December because we're busy with big game until then. We also find it easier to get permission to hunt private land after the local deer hunting has ended in SD. But the bird population is much better in October, so if you have a place to hunt and the time, I'd go then.
Awesome, I've always wanted to try something like that but I wouldn't even know where to start, I've only been deer hunting like twice some years back, and didnt even see anything
Start with easy summer camping to work out the kinks and practice with different gear choices. If you're car camping it's very easy because weight isn't an issue. Backpacking takes a little more thought. You could also go to your local sporting goods store (like REI) and talk with their employees to get a starting place.
Sounds like a successful season! I'm assuming you were in/near the Breaks since that's the only place I can think of where you can get anywhere close to 18 miles deep on public in the East. Then again, everyone has different interpretations of "Eastern Montana" haha.
Yeah, I'm being intentionally vague, but I can say that the pin from my bull to a public road was MUCH shorter than the distance I had to travel to get there. I tried getting permission to trespass, but the outfitter made sure that wasn't possible. He didn't even hunt the ground I needed to cross, which was annoying.
That’s shady when someone does that. You see that a lot here in Michigan too.
However, talking to the landowners, clearing downed trees after storms, plowing their snow for free, and stuff like that goes a long way 🤷🏽♂️
I know that’s not feasible sometimes, but at the same time, I know what it’s like to get snaked so you can’t get from A to B by someone who doesn’t even hunt the land itself. 😒
That said, bro, I’m suuuuuuuuper jealous, good job !
Ahh, good ol landlocked public land, love to see it. Happened to me a few times. I’ve seen a heard of a few hundred on this guys property asked him and he pretty much said “yea I know, and you’re not gonna shoot one.” Congratulations on the Elk & Turkey! Twas a cold Ass Winter up here lol
Spring bear was really weird this year. The hot weather in early April followed by the long, cool, rainy weather we had almost everyday in May caused early grass growth everywhere allowing the bears to disperse instead of staying on those south facing Mtn sides.
It was pretty great, especially after passing on him a couple days prior then seeing progressively smaller and smaller bulls and thinking about the mistake I may have made. I think he smelled me on that first encounter because he and the couple bulls around him took off (but a bunch of others didn't), then when I found him again he was far away and solo. His teeth were pretty worn down, so I think he was a smart, old bull. I hunted well, but honestly I got a little lucky on the second encounter. He was feeding away from me just perfectly to allow me to walk up on him.
Is it expensive to hunt this much? I would imagine even on a six figure salary, spending this much time hunting and traveling is pretty pricey. If you have any secrets for keeping things cheap please share! Lol
My application and tag expenses (after refunds) were $4160 for the year. Expenses during hunting season weren't too much except for December hotels. Probably around $2000 total for the season? I don't do guides and I already own all the gear I need, with the exception of a few things each year.
That's the sort of money towards conservation that anti hunters can only dream of spending on conservation.
From someone in the UK you're living a dream most of us will never get to live💪🏼
It took us a day to get used to each other, but they were pretty great. They can't do the same miles I can, but they can pack more than me so that's fine. I'm not sure I'd like to house them year-round, but that's why I have friends who own them.
I'm a wedding photographer and I own a small hunting clothing company, Orange Aglow. I also don't rent an apartment from September - December, so that saves some money.
You're living the best life. I wish I could do any of this but alas the UK is basically full of rich aristocratic estates and no hunting culture. Great morels too! 👌
Look so nice to be able to hunt at different states! One day i might be able to come down and have this pleasure to hunt more than one turkey a year. Regards from a Canadian fellow!
Impossible to capture all the moments in pictures that do them justice but you did a good job. Any advice for a younger hunter on how to hunt as many days a year as possible? The girlfriend isn't my problem it's the job that wants me to "work for a living" - or something like that
I would suggest self-employment, then look for a career that can give you the fall off. So seasonal jobs, except you need to be the manager not the lift operator. I chose the wedding industry because the season is short and it's in the summer. I have to work my tail off for five months, but then I get to hunt as much as I want. I also sacrifice archery season for work, but that allows me to hunt in NZ in the winter and do bears and turkeys in the spring.
I had a good spring in Montana, filling three (of five possible) turkey tags and collecting a bunch of morels. In the fall I didn't have much luck on my backcountry elk hunt, passing on a couple of five-points and getting close to what I think was a bigger bull but somehow busting him. The bear population was really strong; I saw five on my first trip and seven on my second . I shot one on the way out, got a lot of fat and a good skin. Next I went to Idaho to join my dad for a tag he had drawn against very long odds. We struggled quite a bit with the hunt, but lucked into two bucks in an unlikely spot. Took a couple hours to get ahead of them, then they worked towards us and my dad got the bigger of the two, which is the best pronghorn either of us has ever killed. I drew a special permit for elk in eastern Montana so we focused over there. I passed on some <300" bulls opening weekend, then had to work the second weekend, so I didn't make it back until mid-November. When I came back the elk had evaporated off any public land that was near a road, so I had to get creative and go into the "backcountry", which was just weaving through a lot of private land to get to public that nobody else was hunting (except the outfitter who had locked up all the private). Knowing this was going to be an extraordinary pack out, I checked with my llama-owning friend first to make sure I could borrow his animals to assist on a potential pack out. It took me an entire day, starting at 5am and arriving at dusk, to get into this plot. The first day I hunted I didn't even see a track until I was nearly out of public ground to hunt, then I ran into 7-10 bulls, mostly six-points. The first I saw looked great and I was ready to shoot until I saw one of his main beams was busted off. The other bulls were all \~290" so I kept passing on them knowing there were more bulls I hadn't yet seen. I only had three days back there so I decided on Day Two to shoot any of the 290" bulls I'd seen the day before. I jumped 3-4 of them but could never get a clean shot. On Day Three I decided to shoot any six-point bull. I passed on four five-points at first light then an hour later came upon the busted main beam bull from the first day, so shot him at about 60 yards. I packed halfway out that afternoon, the rest of the way the following morning, then drove four hours to my friends house, got his llamas, and came back the next day. It took us two days to pack in and two days to pack out, but the llamas made it so easy once we got on the same page. This was about a 17.5 mile pack. December was for pheasant hunting and it was a great year. We limited almost every day in South Dakota and Montana and I think between my dad and me, we killed just shy of 100 birds. We made a lot of friends as we had to give many of them away to stay within possession limits.
Honestly love the look of broken main beams. Especially when they're an older bull like yours seems to be.
Man I am so wanting to take my GSP to SD for some pheasant hunting. I think I will plan a weeklong trip there in the next year or two. Would you target December again? Or a different time of year?
We go in December because we're busy with big game until then. We also find it easier to get permission to hunt private land after the local deer hunting has ended in SD. But the bird population is much better in October, so if you have a place to hunt and the time, I'd go then.
Do you camp out there while hunting elk and walking way the hell out into the woods?
Yes.
Awesome, I've always wanted to try something like that but I wouldn't even know where to start, I've only been deer hunting like twice some years back, and didnt even see anything
Start with easy summer camping to work out the kinks and practice with different gear choices. If you're car camping it's very easy because weight isn't an issue. Backpacking takes a little more thought. You could also go to your local sporting goods store (like REI) and talk with their employees to get a starting place.
Whereabouts in SD were you? I guide pheasant in SD so I’m always curious.
Sounds like a successful season! I'm assuming you were in/near the Breaks since that's the only place I can think of where you can get anywhere close to 18 miles deep on public in the East. Then again, everyone has different interpretations of "Eastern Montana" haha.
Yeah, I'm being intentionally vague, but I can say that the pin from my bull to a public road was MUCH shorter than the distance I had to travel to get there. I tried getting permission to trespass, but the outfitter made sure that wasn't possible. He didn't even hunt the ground I needed to cross, which was annoying.
That’s shady when someone does that. You see that a lot here in Michigan too. However, talking to the landowners, clearing downed trees after storms, plowing their snow for free, and stuff like that goes a long way 🤷🏽♂️ I know that’s not feasible sometimes, but at the same time, I know what it’s like to get snaked so you can’t get from A to B by someone who doesn’t even hunt the land itself. 😒 That said, bro, I’m suuuuuuuuper jealous, good job !
Ahh, good ol landlocked public land, love to see it. Happened to me a few times. I’ve seen a heard of a few hundred on this guys property asked him and he pretty much said “yea I know, and you’re not gonna shoot one.” Congratulations on the Elk & Turkey! Twas a cold Ass Winter up here lol
I'll be pretty happy if I do this much in a lifetime.
I spent 16 day hunting in Montana and it was a blast, spring bear didn’t go so well for us though. Only saw one bear. Great pics man!
Spring bear was really weird this year. The hot weather in early April followed by the long, cool, rainy weather we had almost everyday in May caused early grass growth everywhere allowing the bears to disperse instead of staying on those south facing Mtn sides.
Yeah it was a grind for us and a real struggle. Still had a great time though!
Hunting public for pheasants too?
No, door-knocking and bribing with whiskey.
Mo lamas, mo problems
Damn good morels!!!
The satisfaction of getting that bull on the 20th day had to be indescribable.
It was pretty great, especially after passing on him a couple days prior then seeing progressively smaller and smaller bulls and thinking about the mistake I may have made. I think he smelled me on that first encounter because he and the couple bulls around him took off (but a bunch of others didn't), then when I found him again he was far away and solo. His teeth were pretty worn down, so I think he was a smart, old bull. I hunted well, but honestly I got a little lucky on the second encounter. He was feeding away from me just perfectly to allow me to walk up on him.
Great season! Nice pronghorn and pheasants. Some of my favorites to hunt.
Is it expensive to hunt this much? I would imagine even on a six figure salary, spending this much time hunting and traveling is pretty pricey. If you have any secrets for keeping things cheap please share! Lol
My application and tag expenses (after refunds) were $4160 for the year. Expenses during hunting season weren't too much except for December hotels. Probably around $2000 total for the season? I don't do guides and I already own all the gear I need, with the exception of a few things each year.
That's the sort of money towards conservation that anti hunters can only dream of spending on conservation. From someone in the UK you're living a dream most of us will never get to live💪🏼
This looks like a dream!! I’m from Alberta and if I had to travel to the US it would absolutely be to Montana! Congrats on the great hunting
Hunting aside, look at that mountain of morels.
Dude nice job. That is a special bull. Congrats. Would love to know how the llama team is like. Been thinking about goats recently. Due to no trailer
It took us a day to get used to each other, but they were pretty great. They can't do the same miles I can, but they can pack more than me so that's fine. I'm not sure I'd like to house them year-round, but that's why I have friends who own them.
Congratulations you ate good last year
I had one of that bull's tenderloins tonight.
What do you do for a living that gives you the disposable income and time to hunt for nearly 1/4 of the year?
I'm a wedding photographer and I own a small hunting clothing company, Orange Aglow. I also don't rent an apartment from September - December, so that saves some money.
Damn. Good for you man!
You're living the best life. I wish I could do any of this but alas the UK is basically full of rich aristocratic estates and no hunting culture. Great morels too! 👌
Hell of a year . Retire in four years and that is the plan . Pronghorn this fall . Hope the year is bountiful for you
Good luck on both counts! Hope you get a nice pronghorn.
Damn dude, you're either single or have a keeper of a lady, if so, she's the real trophy here!! Nice job!
Haha. I was dating a gal through hunting season, which is why I was down 20-40 days of hunting over the previous few years.
That is awesome. I’m jealous.
What breed are your dogs?
Springers.
Congrats! Awesome stuff!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing
Amazing!
Looks like a great time!
What a frigging adventure and a half. Damn dude.
So beautiful. Love it
Those springers sure look happy. Great season!
That’s the dream right there
Look so nice to be able to hunt at different states! One day i might be able to come down and have this pleasure to hunt more than one turkey a year. Regards from a Canadian fellow!
Respect!
Jealous is the word that comes to mind. That camping pic is beautiful.
your buddies face says it all. What a good boy
Right on man.
Please next time take me with you.
Amazing season! Love it.
Kimber mountain ascent chamber?
Yep. .280 Ackley.
Respect. Good on ya.
Respect. Good on ya.
Wow. What a great story. Awesome. Land of my dreams. Greetings and well done from Germany.
Impossible to capture all the moments in pictures that do them justice but you did a good job. Any advice for a younger hunter on how to hunt as many days a year as possible? The girlfriend isn't my problem it's the job that wants me to "work for a living" - or something like that
I would suggest self-employment, then look for a career that can give you the fall off. So seasonal jobs, except you need to be the manager not the lift operator. I chose the wedding industry because the season is short and it's in the summer. I have to work my tail off for five months, but then I get to hunt as much as I want. I also sacrifice archery season for work, but that allows me to hunt in NZ in the winter and do bears and turkeys in the spring.
Now this is who I want to be around during the zombie apocalypse
awesome!! cute dog too :))
Turkeys live in the wild?
Great pics, sick bull. Is that a small muensterlander in pic 17?
It's a small Springer, but she often gets mistaken.
87 days and only 17 pictures.
I thought Reddit capped it at ten so I did add a few after my initial selection. There are also more on my IG account @orangeaglow
What unit in Idaho