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.