New Lodge

The New Lodge

A comfortable camp, first class meals, and great company is all part of the experience with Montana OutWest Outfitters

The Elk Hunting Experience

As elk hunters, being successful is only a small part of the trip. Although Jim has harvested many elk, our experience on this trip will be one to remember. On the first day of the hunt the mountains were socked in with fog. We worked our way up the mountain as far as we could. After spotting some elk in a meadow we stalked in for a shot. The pitch of the meadow made it hard to see the elk so Remi climbed a tree to get a look at the bull only 60 yards away, hidden by the contour of the meadow. He decided to wait the elk out until they offered a shot. After a short wait the bull gave Jim a 100 yard shot and Jim made the shot count.

As darkeness fell Remi built a fire and skinned out the elk. That night the clouds cleared and the full moon illuminated the snow. It was so bright no flash lights were needed for the walk out. It truly was a great elk hunting experience.

Set up on Elk

Paul puts some elk in his cross hairs waiting for the 5x5 we stalked in on to move out into the open for a shot. Cliff took a tough shot at a nice bull the first day of the hunt but unfortunately did not connect. The Father son team had a great hunt seeing a ton of elk and a lot of close calls.

They got the whole Montana -big sky hunting experience. including roasting sandwiches over an open fire for lunch while glassing in the fog and the cold.

Trophy Mule Deer-Montana Non-typical

After hunting hard and passing on a lot of trophy bucks in unit 270 Tony was able to get his crosshairs on this great non-typical deer. Hunting with his son Shane they covered the area looking over multiple trophy bucks every day. This buck presented Tony with a 400 yard shot right before the end of shooting time. Tony made a great shot droping the buck on the ridge. The hunt was captured on video and will be featured in an up-coming web epiosode. The buck scored over 183 B&C Gross.

Last Evening Bull

After his Dad took a nice mule deer buck, John and Remi headed out for the last eveing into an area where they spotted a few nice bulls that morning. After a long hike in, Remi Spotted a bull across the canyon in the timber. The two moved in and set up for a 450 yard shot being unable to get any closer. John took his time and made a great shot on the bull.

Being so far back, dinner was made out of some of the elk's backstraps as Remi skinned and quartered the animal. Jason and Bart came in with the horses at dark to help get the bull out. After a long and tough hike back the hunters finally made it back to camp around 3:00 in the morning.

Mule Deer from unit 250

After taking his elk Enrique also harvested this great 4x4 buck on the last day of the hunt. To top it off the whole deer hunt was captured on film (stay tuned for the launch of our Montana OutWest webisodes Coming mid January).

While chasing the buck the evening before the deer had given us the slip. After a long stalk the deer disappeared until right before dark. The next day the buck was back, this time pre-occupied with some does allowing Enrique time for a shot. Enrique got steady and made a great 350 yard shot.

Elk hunting in Montana

Enrique and his son John had a great week of hunting in Montana. At 60 years old Enrique walked through the mountains like he was a walking in the park. On the First day of the hunt we spotted a group of five big bulls over four miles away. We moved in to find the bulls still feeding out in a big meadow. As we moved in closer the elk slipped into the timber. we decided to wait them out hoping they would come out in the evening to offer a shot. after a little while of waiting Remi caught the elk moving below 300 yards way in the trees. Enrique and John both set up on the bull but Enrique got off the first shot. He dropped the bull in his tracks with one perfectly placed heart shot.

First Deer Hunt- Two Great Bucks from Unit 250

Cody and his dad Ed joined Montana OutWest for Cody's first big game hunt. With Bart as their guide the three set out in search of a trophy mule deer. Cody passed on some nice deer before harvesting this great 3x3. The buck presented a shot but by the time Cody got lined up the buck was on the move. Bart bleated at the deer getting it to stop offering Cody a shot. It was a great first buck and a great hunting experience.

The next day Ed was fortunate enough to harvest a huge buck. When Bart spotted this buck there was no questions it was a shooter. The buck had a heavy 4x4 main frame as well as a forked cheater. Including brow tines this 5x7 officially SCI scored 175 with a 170 inch typical frame. Both Cody and Ed's Bucks came out of unit 250.

Montana Elk Hunt for Gradutaion

Justin took this great 6x6 bull on the first morning of his first elk hunt. We spotted this bull at over five miles away at sun rise. We worked our way in on the herd and got set up 250 yards away. something spooked the elk while we were set up and sent them over the ridge. We moved in to find two good bulls 100 yards below us in the timber. Justin got set up and took a well placed shot at this bull through the tree's.

Justin's dad Randy also shot at a nice bull two days later in a different area. After closing the distance from a 1/2 mile to 300 yards, Randy took the shot as the bull moved from the timber to the open (video to come).

Ratteling and Calling Mule Deer

Hunting during the rut in a limited draw area has its advantages. This unit 270 mule deer was rattled and called in using a combination of grunts and doe bleats.We had to use calling tactics to call the buck over a property line to where we could shoot him. The big rutted buck came stomping in tearing up everything he could along the way, raking his horns on fences, a tree, and some sagebrush. He gave us a show before the hunter Art Hinckley took the buck. We captured the hunt on film with three different camera angles (video coming soon). The buck scored over 180 B&C Typical.