2017 Montana elk

[Aspenhunter]

Well earned bull, very nice!!

 

[Barrelnut]

Great shot and elk! Thanks for sharing the adventure.

 

[ltgibbson]

sounds like a great Hunt enjoyed the story Nice !!

 

[Viper6]

Nice work!

 

[jmac603]

Awesome bull, story and write-up. Thank you very much for sharing.

Congrats!

Jason

The area I hunt in Montana has about an 8% success rate for elk. For non-residents like me, it's even lower. I got lucky in 2008 with the help of a local, and scored a decent 6X6 bull at 683 yards with my 300WM. This is true back country (Bob Marshall), so hikes in are long and packing out is longer. We go in on foot to places nobody else goes without horses.

I also hunted there 2009 and 2010, but the wolves came in between the 2008 and 2009 seasons. As a result, everything changed. In 2008 I saw decent numbers of elk, and trophy mule deer were on every ridgetop at midday. In 2009 I saw only a few elk, got shots on none legal, and almost no deer. In 2010 we basically saw nothing, and shifted money and hunting priorities elsewhere.

Ever since I've been itching for that back country experience. I wanted to go back before I got too old to hunt like this. I'd heard things had improved somewhat with some control of the wolves. I really wanted to go back, and I found a companion willing to go. So I got a tag for 2017.

I felt the unbraked 300WM was the biggest gun I'd own, but I read a ton about the 338 Edge on here over the years. I decided I would tolerate the requirement for a brake and build a big 338 for this hunt. So I sought out the perfect balance for a 338 hunting rifle. I ended up with a Stiller Predator action with Wyatts 4" box, and Sender contour 30" McGowan Remage barrel with Heathen brake (I do all my own gun building so DIY parts are a must) set in a McMillan A3 Sporter. A true gunsmith would cringe at what I accomplished with a dremel to modify the action but if works perfectly. I couldn't be happier with the result. The gun is stupid accurate; a ladder test at 100 yards resulted in a single ragged hold. I've never shot such an un-picky rifle. I settled on a load with the 285gr ELD-M at 2970fps with Re33. I shot the rifle in a match that started at 1000 yards and went to 2000 and placed third. This gave me high confidence in my understanding of this load in this rifle. I had nearly 300 rounds down range before taking the rifle on the hunt. It weighs 14lbs all-up to hunt.

We completed the 26 hour drive to Montana with time to hike in the evening before opening day. Unfortunately with the 7-year hiatus, I did not totally remember the unmarked "roads" into the parking lot. An unfriendly local having fun with us and giving wrong directions cost us an hour. A friendly local with great information corrected us, and we made it!

We did not win the weather lottery. Straightline winds were 40mph when we arrived. We packed up our gear with a 3-day camp and began the ~6-mile hike in to our planned camping spot. Recent fires burning to within .5-2 mile of planned hunting spots made me nervous, so I wanted to camp close to allow us maximum flexibility during hunting hours.

The wind and sleet were brutal hiking in. Our approach required passing through a narrow canyon to access the back country, and as we approached it tunneled the wind and it became extreme. Darkness had fallen, and having done the trail before I decided it was too treacherous to attempt in the dark with a full pack. So we camped half the intended distance in. Given the long drive, we slept hard that night even with the whipping wind on the tent.

Given fatigue we got a bit of a late start in the morning and a couple hunters with horses had passed us before we got out of camp. Another wrong turn on the trail due to the 7 year hiatus, and this put us approaching the first potential spot with elk soon after sunrise as opposed to before as planned. As we approached, we saw a couple horses tied up so we knew the drainage was occupied.

Moving up a bit and gaining sight to the first mountain side I thought may contain elk, lo and behold there was a bull in the clearing. We dropped packs and got glass on him, and determined it was just a forkhorn. We watched for awhile, but then I decided we should pack up and continue climbing to give us a better observation post. I doubted he was alone.

Just as we started moving again, a shot rang out up the mountain by the elk. Then a second. Then a third. As I dropped my pack and got on the rifle again, a fourth shot rang out. A whole herd of elk, roughly 10 cows, moved to the left and up the mountain into the clear above the trees. Behind them, a single bull with a legal rack followed. As I got my scope on this bull, no more shooting happened. He did not appear wounded. The elk, which I expected to continue to crest the ridge 200 yards above and leave, stopped and froze completely. I got my Sig2000 out and ranged the bull at 715yds straightline, though he was about 1000ft elevation above me, very steep angle. Wind was significant.

Given the entirety of the situation, I did not have time to power up my phone and run an entire solution, and I did not trust a shooter position wind reading to accurately predict the drift. So I consulted my drop chart in my scope cover, deliberately under-valued the wind, and elected to fire a spotter shot in front of the elk into the perfectly thinly snow covered hillside. If it spooked the elk so be it I would pass, if not, I would have accurate data for a follow-up.

I fired the shot and dangnabit I slipped in the snow and lost the hit in the scope. The elk didn't move, so I re-set. Given the angle I actually had a great setup, with the butt of the rifle basically in the dirt to make the steep angle so the gun was very steady. I fired the second with the same hold, and clearly saw the spotter hit. The vertical was VERY close and as I expected the wind downrange was more than I would have called from my location. The elk couldn't care less. I measured the shot with the reticle, shifted over to the elk, and carefully sent the round.

The .8 second flight time passed slowly and then I heard the hit. The bull folded immediately and sledded down the steep, snow-covered slop for 200 yards. I willed him to stop before the rack was damaged, especially after he did a flip. Eventually he stopped, and I could see the rack was intact.

This shot is taken from where the elk came to rest. The shot was taken from the bottom of the valley at the bottom center of the photo. The truck is about 8 miles away, 2 miles outside the canyon visible in the upper center of the photo.

The climb to the elk was difficult; later mapping verified a 1000-1200ft elevation different from shooting location to elk location.

This pic does no justice to the incline. It's not a big bull, 4X6 satellite bull, but I'm very pleased with him. I hit a bit forward of what was intended, but not enough to matter obviously. After I shot I saw the other hunter emerge from his location (safely away from my shooting, I had a pretty good location on him from the many shots), and was concerned that we had shot at the same bull though I was careful to look and see if he appeared wounded. It turned out he had shot the larger herd bull and hit him all 4 times with a 7RM a couple hundred yards downhill of where mine landed.

We boned him out and getting the meat out was one of the most difficult experiences of my life. But boy does he taste good.

I'm a believer in the 338 after this hunt. The experience was amazing. I'm not sure I'll ever get to do an on-foot back country hunt like this again, so this was a good way to potentially finish it.

Thanks for reading.

 

[claybreaker]

Thanks for the pics and write up, congrats on a fine bull.... Whew! that pack out.

 

[ahspray]

That's a helluva shot and a beautiful elk. Enjoy the tasty rewards.