Ok guys not wanting to come across as someone wanting your honey hole. I have a few posts over the years and have been an Eastmans subscriber for about 10 years. I have been building elk and deer points in CO for 8 years. Here is my deal. I have always wanted to hunt MT but never have. Honestly for two reasons 1. Bears 2. Complicated draw or so it seems(maybe my ADHD). Lol. I lived and worked in MT for 3 summers in West Yellowstone. I guided fly fishermen out of Arricks Fishing Flies and also did trips for the Firehole Ranch. Guess you would think I would have all the contacts I need to elk hunt but I wasn't in to elk hunting in mid 90's. Now I've been 6 years to CO and want to try MT. This past Oct I came back to float the Madison and realized how much I miss it up there. Either way my style is backcountry bow hunting...no interest in gun hunting. My Dad and I have a quote "the more miserable the hunt the happier we are". I know that sounds crazy but y'all probably all know what I mean. I'm use to doing 5-7 day bivouac style hunt. As for the bear fear...it seems the bear - hunter encounters have gotten more frequent and in areas where there use to be no sightings or very very few. I love that country between Big Sky down to West Yellowstone around to Ennis. However everyone I talk to says they won't hunt down that way anymore b/c of the bear encounters. I heard of a hunter this past year getting attacked up the West Fork. That was a place of interest. Talked to taxidermist out of Bozeman and he told me to put in for Elkhorns?? Ok I know this is long winded but if someone wouldn't mind helping me come up with a plan I would appreciate it. You can PM me and we can swap emails or phone #. Would love to discuss with a native. Thanks guys.
