Australia Water Buffalo Hunt with Remi Warren

The Life of a Guide

As a hunting guide our responsibility is to get game out of the mountains for our clients. Here is a little behind the scenes look at what goes in to packing out our successful hunters animals!

Trophy Montana Mule Deer

After securing a great mule deer tag Dave Zohner hired Montana OutWest to give him a hand. After four days of hunting and passing up dozens of mature deer, Dave score on this awesome 180 inch typical buck.

The story of this hunt was featured in both Muley Crazy and Eastman's Hunting Journal- Here is the article from Muley Crazy!

A Bull and Buck Montana Deer and Elk Combo Hunt

Brian took a great bull elk after they spotted them in the morning from across the canyon his guide Bart lead him to a meadow where he figured they would come out. Like clock work the herd of elk fed out in the evening right in frount of the hunter. He stadied the cross hairs and dropped the bull in his tracks. The next day Bart brought the horses in to pack out the bull.

After packing out the elk they decided to bring the meat into town to have processed. Bart decided to check a honey hole for deer first since the rut was coming on. He spotted a great 4x4 buck that Brian took with one shot.

Back at the lodge we boiled and split the skull plate of the Buck so it could be taken home on the plane.

After four days of hunting the hunter had tagged out on not only a great elk but a trophy deer out of unit 240 as well!

Mule Deer and Elk For Doug

Things were going perfert for Doug as he and his guide got less than 100 yards from a herd of 200 elk. As the elk filed past Doug waited for the bull. when the bull presented a shot Doug squeezed the trigger only to hear a click. The bullet did not go off. After reloading he took another shot but just barely missed. After missing a nice bull elk Doug did not leave empty handed he was able to connect with his first mule deer a few days later.

Week Two First Big Game Hunt- Hunter Takes an Elk and Deer

Joseph joined us for his first big game hunt and hunted with guide Jason Warren. The two covered some ground and connected on Joseph's first elk. They had spotted the elk from a ways out and moved in on them. They knew the elk were in the timber on the other side of the ridge near the edge of a meadow. The two moved in and waited patiently for the elk to come out and present a shot. There were over 100 elk in the group but luckily the bull came over right where they wanted him too. Joseph got steady and took the bull.

Later in the week Joseph and Jason set up in a ground blind in the evening to try and take a whitetail. at last light a one horned buck stepped out. Joseph made a great shot and harvested his first buck.

Montana Guided Rifle Elk Hunt

After having multiple close encounters on an archery hunt with us two years ago, Mike Marchese decided to come back and hunt with a rifle in his hands this time. Mike had a great week of hunting getting in on quite a few bulls before connecting on his first bull elk. He also saw lots of elk, seeing elk every day of the trip.

"I can honestly say I have never had a more exciting hunt in my life. I was in elk and ended up shooting my bull at close range. It was really exciting. Even if I had not got the bull, just getting into elk all week was worth the trip. Not to mention I had some of the best meals I can remember." -Mike

Montana Guided Elk Hunts- Opening Week

Guide Jason Warren (left) and Jim Moore with Jim's opening week bull.

Jason's meadow strikes again. After a week of hunting hard and keeping after it, Jim and his guide Jason had many close encounters and saw lots of elk but did not connect until the evening they were sitting the same meadow Mark shot his bull opening morning.

"I knew the bulls were coming out in that meadow still so we decided to sit it till dark, no matter what." Jason said.

 Jason's hunch was right when a bull came out early in the evening. Jim took aim and dropped the bull in the meadow.

Putting in some Miles for an Opening day bull

Opening Morning found guide Remi Warren and hunters Andrew and Joe Ekstein waiting on a high mountain meadow where Remi had been watching a large herd of elk with multiple bulls the entire week before. Unfortunately the elk did not show according to plan so the group hiked to the top of the mountain and down the timber on the other side where they had seen some elk in the morning.

It was a long strenuous hike but it paid off as a bull bugled in the canyon. The hunters set up and one of the bulls came out in an opening in the trees 500 yards away. Andrew set up on the bull and made an excellent shot dropping the bull immediately.  While they were skinning the elk another bull continued to bugle to the cows just up the ridge.

Remi packed half the meat out that night planning to hunt the area for Joe's bull the following day. That next morning there were two bulls within range but the high gusting winds and trees made getting a shot impossible. they cut the elk off in the timber with the majority of the cows walking within 30 yards of the hunters. Unfortunately the bulls slipped out a different way bugling as they moved through the timber and disappearing.

Andrew and Joe enjoying a rest in the backcountry meado

Opening Morning Bull

After watching a bachelor group of five bulls enter a meadow every morning for over a week, Guide Jason Warren was excited to take his hunters Jim and Mark into the meadow now dubbed Jason's meadow to try and ambush one of the bulls first thing.

As they moved in on the meadow, true-to-form the bulls were out. The hunters snuck in and the first bull to give Mark Sicles an opportunity went down with a perfect shot. They had a bull down just after sun-up on opening day. The rest of the day was spent packing the bull out of the meadow.

Montana Elk Hunt - Opening Week Trophy Bull

Brian Secrest took his first bull with guide Darren Steel while hunting a herd of elk the Montana OutWest Crew had been watching before the season. A few days prior Mike Marchese and Brian had got into a big herd of elk and had some fleeting shots as the elk moved through the trees at close range. Not connecting, the group kept after it and got back into a big herd of over 100 animals a few days later. Brian was able to anchor the largest bull in the herd.

"After the bull went down we were all jumping up and down!" Brian said, "It was one of the most exciting moments I have experienced, my legs were tired but I sprinted up to the bull after I shot him. I could not believe it I finally got my first bull!"

After taking pictures, the crew made quick work of packing the bull back to the truck.

Montana Archery Combo Hunt - Tagged Out

Billy Martain had a great week of archery hunting with Montana OutWest Outfitters. On the first day he stalked a Pope and Young class 160 inch mule deer but the buck busted out before he could get a shot. Later that day a smaller buck stepped out and gave Billy a shot he could not pass up a thirty yards.

The next few days were spent chasing elk. Billy got into elk every day and had a close encounter with a big 6x6 at 30 yards but there was just too many limbs in the way for a shot.

Two days after the 6x6 a bull was just screaming in a canyon chasing cows. Remi bugled the bull in text book and Billy smoked him as Jason filmed the hunt.

The last two mornings Billy wanted to chase bear to fill out his last tag. He opted to borrow Remi's rifle for the hunt. The first morning of the bear hunting they closed the distance from four miles to 300 yards on a giant black boar. Unfortunatly Billy missed the bear.

 The next morning Remi decided to go to a little easer to get to area for bears.  Twenty minutes into the morning a nice brown phase bear came out of the brush 90 yards away. Billy was able to anchor the bear and fill all three of his Montana Tags. The best part is the deer, elk, and first bear Billy shot at were all captured on video!


Oh Yeah, can't forget about some mid-day grouse hunting either.

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.