Montana Missouri Breaks Elk hunting

[j-kam406]

Fellow hunters,

I understand that this post is a little last minute but I recently found this forum. I am a Montana native out of Missoula. This year I drew a upper Missouri Breaks elk tag, unit 621 either sex. This tag is for the north side of the river. Over the past few months I have been looking at maps and talking with people that have been over there about how the elk move, what weather conditions I might expect and just old hunting stories. I have not been able to scout due to schedule unfortunately. I am going over on November 11 and I have until the end of the season to hunt which is great! I am planning on driving in and then hiking and setting up spike camps and stay mobile. Ive used this technique in western Montana and had good luck.

Was hoping that some of you guys out there might have knowledge of this unit and how to go about hunting later rifle season over there. Info of the area, have some advise, or just have good elk hunting stories. Let me know, anything will help! Im open ears...

Thanks
J-kam406

 

[TimberJunkie]

Well.....I have Hunted deer here several times. I hope you have a deer tag too. As aI ahev seen many nice 24-27" bucks out there in that unit. There are not a lot of hunters, but enough to cause issues, or be a blessing. The Fred Robinson Bridge that crosses the Missouri River has a Campground that generally has a lot of hunters, Go talk to those guys, They will generally tell you if and where tthey have seeing the elk. Not many elk tags over there.

My Brother in law has drawn that tag several times. First time he killed a 340" bull and the second time he held out for something in the 350"+ and went home empty, but saw a fair number of 5 point bulls.

The best populations of elk I have seen in that unit are in CK creek Its on thenorth side of the river, towards the east. I have not been to that area in 3 years, But you will need to get out and walk the main ridges and spend hours every day behind the glass.

I have seen a decent number of elk in Coyote Coullee. Its on the NW side on the unit. a few hour drive from CK creek, But I saw a few nice 300" 6 points in that area in 2010.

these are a few places to start. I know the last few years the elk have been a little harder to locate. especially since you are going after the CMR refuge closes to hunting, Make sure you pay attention to that boundary, its only open until the 10th on November most years. Check the regs for exact date.

Good luck to you.

 

[jjenness]

If I recall correct, the mule deer hunting is the only hunting that closes before the regular season, and elk stays open until the end of the big game season. I would spend some time in the Mickey Butte and Brandon Butte area, with some good glass and patience you should find a good bull. Good luck, take good pics and share them. Please don't let this be your first and last post here, there are a lot of good people around.

 

[TimberJunkie]

That's good info on the Elk not closing on CMR. never been lucky enough to draw that tag. My pops is out hunting unit 632 for deer and Elk right now. Talked to him today. He has seen 10 bulls, but nothing over the 300 mark yet.

 

[sra61]

He has seen 10 bulls, but nothing over the 300 mark yet.

We just got back from 622 last Thurs. We saw probably 30 bulls, with only three probably over the 320 mark, we killed the two biggest ones. The biologist told us we would see decent 6's, but 350 point bulls were real rare these days. We ran into a local guy in Malta that said our two bulls were about as big as any he'd seen in a while. In 620, 21, and 22 there were 1400 either sex archery tags, 300 archery B tags, 622-100 youth rifle cow tags, 500 rifle cow tags as well as the 30 either sex rifle tags. That is one hell of a lot of people chasing elk! We saw a lot of them in our week. I do think that we are just now getting far enough away from the big winter kill year to be getting some bulls with enough age to get real big. The Breaks ain't what they used to be in my opinion. I will however continue to put in for those bull tags!

 

[25contender]

I can remember when we would hardly ever see anyone in 621 during our archery hunt every year. A few magazine articles came out about the breaks and from then on it was wall to wall hunters. At one time during the unlimited elk archery season there was a tent around every corner. That is when I stopped hunting there. Then when they started to limit the tags I started putting back in for the tag. I drew that tag this year but opted to hunt a general tag area due to the warm weather.

 

[j-kam406]

Thanks for all the info guys! I figured I'd be battling some other guys but hopefully I can get away! I am headed over on Thursday and have until the season ends. I am pretty sure that muleys are the only animal on CMR that ends early(15th). I am going over with the mindset of just exploring and finding a good mature bull, no magic number I'm shooting for... I'll keep posting on here and report how my trip goes. Chat back soon, thanks again for the info!

 

[missjordan]

Thanks for all the info guys! I figured I'd be battling some other guys but hopefully I can get away! I am headed over on Thursday and have until the season ends. I am pretty sure that muleys are the only animal on CMR that ends early(15th). I am going over with the mindset of just exploring and finding a good mature bull, no magic number I'm shooting for... I'll keep posting on here and report how my trip goes. Chat back soon, thanks again for the info!

I'm out of missoula too and had a buddy draw the tag about 7 years ago. It's a fun hunt. You should do good if your willing to put the miles on, and also see some decent bucks. I love that area!

 

[j-kam406]

Results of my 2015 Missouri Breaks hunt

Fellas,
Thanks again to you that gave me info. So my dad, brother, my buddy Andrew and I went over to 621 and had four days to hunt together. At that point everyone had to be back to town and id be solo hunting. I really wanted to get an elk with everyone there so it was my goal to get it done in the four days. My dad and brother hunted deer while over there and Andrew and I were looking for the elk.

The first morning we came across a nice bull, 310-315 range. I found myself stoked that we were already in good elk. It was hard to pass but we got some Phone Skope footage and moved on. Over the next day and a half we had to of seen 20 bulls and a few nice ones but just not the one that I couldn't live without. Captured video and photos of these elk.

After talking to a few guys who had seen a big herd of elk with a handful of bulls in it, including a nice mature bull move into a far coulee from the willows Andrew and I made a game plan. To reach this herd we had to cross two big coulees and hopefully the elk would be located in the bottom of the third one. Three hours and five miles later we were glassing dozens of elk in this area. We glassed for an hour or so and kept hearing bugles coming from further down the ridge near the willows. I was surprised that a few bulls were still bugling, but it was cool to hear. We moved that way glassing our way down trying to locate any big bulls. We made it down to the last high point on the ridge before a timber patch which then lead out to the flats. We could hear cow talking and actually bulls sparing below us. We posted up there hoping the elk would feed out into a clearing.

As we were listening to this herd below us I spotted a lone elk making it's way out from the next coulee, approx. 2000 yards to the east. Through the scope we realized this was a stud bull. Immediately I told Andrew that is my elk. We watched him for a minute with the Phone Skope to see his projected path of travel. At this point it was 4:30pm and light was quickly fading. The bull was heading out to the willows and not wasting any time doing it. Andrew and I gathered our packs, optics, guns and literally sprinted down a southeast facing ridge that was treed and about 500 yards to the flats and tree line. Once there, Andrew broke the scope out and I made a rest with my pack. Laying prone I found the bull in my scope. Andrew ranged him at 489 yards. The bull was not stopping to feed so once I was comfortable Andrew cow called and the bull stopped broadside. With this amazing bull in my scope I let the bullet fly. The next thing I saw was the bull lerch forward and awger into the grass. "TOAD BULL DOWN"

Overall it was an incredible hunt. Approximately 30 miles of hiking and lots of glass time paid off. We made it happen and everyone was there to celebrate back at camp! On top of my bull, Andrew, my dad, and my brother took good mule deer. Left the breaks heavy!

 

[sra61]

Good job! I was watching for a post with pics! It's so fun to be able to look over multiple bulls before picking the one you want! Congratulations!

 

[huntman]

Congrats and thanks for the write-up and pictures.

 

[NDHunter]

Congrats! Any pics of the mule deer?

 

[Kentucky hunter]

That is some good info on the breaks guys

 

[jjenness]

Congrats! Glad it worked out.

 

[netagnetym]

well done! hope the pack out wasn't to bad

 

[sneakypete]

Congrats on a very nice bull!

 

[ElkTrout]

That's a great bull! Congrats!


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[Matt seubert]

We just got back from 622 last Thurs. We saw probably 30 bulls, with only three probably over the 320 mark, we killed the two biggest ones. The biologist told us we would see decent 6's, but 350 point bulls were real rare these days. We ran into a local guy in Malta that said our two bulls were about as big as any he'd seen in a while. In 620, 21, and 22 there were 1400 either sex archery tags, 300 archery B tags, 622-100 youth rifle cow tags, 500 rifle cow tags as well as the 30 either sex rifle tags. That is one hell of a lot of people chasing elk! We saw a lot of them in our week. I do think that we are just now getting far enough away from the big winter kill year to be getting some bulls with enough age to get real big. The Breaks ain't what they used to be in my opinion. I will however continue to put in for those bull tags!

2015 archery season i saw a good 380 to 390 class bull didnt have my tag that year put in for rifle but it was the biggest ive ever seen. And theres been plenty of 340 to 360 classers ive seen down there been hunting there 8 yrs!

 

[480/277]

Now that's a group getting it done! Congrats
Any pics of the deer taken?

 

[MountainHigh]

Great bull and congrats. Sounds like you all had a great hunt.