truck driver
Ammo Smith
- Mar 11, 2013
- 7,201
- 732
I got back yesterday from Montana and have to say it was fantastic trip.
The sights and grandeur of the entire west is unbelievable unless you can experience it first hand.
I went out a week early to get adjusted to the change in altitude and try to do some scouting and find out about the area I was going to be hunting in.
My knee didn't let me down the whole time I was running around in the mountains but my legs and lower back did because I didn't have time to get them in shape after the surgery. The best I could do was 3 miles up in the mountains and then the 3mi back out for a total of 6mi.
To have been successful I would have at least had to get 10mi back in the mountain since that is where the Elk went after the ranchers pushed the cattle off the summer range the week before the season started. I would have had to pack in and stay up in the mountain camping out to have been successful.
So I decide to concentrate on the areas I could reach which meant a slim chance for an Elk and a better chance for a Mule deer or Whitetail buck.
Though I didn't fill either my Elk or Deer tag was partly my choice. I saw plenty of game but the Elk and Mule deer were on private property and unshootable. I did have opportunities for white tail does but I can kill them at my leisure here at home.
The one Elk I saw off private land was a cow at 792yds ranged with only the neck and head uncovered and a Spike crossing the road in front of my truck.
The Cow was watching a bunch of hunters that were moving around in their camp over the ridge from me and down below her. She spooked and disappeared. I decided to try and find where she went while R_P Winkle glassed the ridge. ( I'll tell you in another post about R_P)
I was set up in a drainage where I had saw a nice whitetail buck the day before and I was pleased to wake up to a couple of inches of fresh snow.
I got to where I wanted to set up to watch an escape route and as it got around legal shooting time a whitetail doe stepped out of the cedars full broad side at about 100yds. She kept looking behind her so I thought there was a chance of a buck behind her. She was totally unaware I was there when someone stopped on the road above me and pulled a Chinese fire drill slamming every door on the truck alerting the doe.
I also had caught a flash of movement to my left just before the truck doors started slamming shut. The doe looked straight at me and I knew I was busted but she just stood there since she wasn't sure just what I was or if I was a danger. Then who ever was on the forest road above me got back in the truck slamming all the doors again and she spooked and took off for safer places. Figuring that ruined my spot I decided to see what was moving off to my left and looked for tracks in the snow.
I found tracks alright about 20yds from where I stood and it made the hair stand on the back of my neck.
The tracks were as big as the palm of my hand and my first thoughts were Lion tracks since there were Mt Lions in the area I was hunting and I was warned by one of the area guides too look out for them. So I took a picture and left the area going back to the outfitters to find out just what was stalking ME.
The first thing Donna ( my Lady Outfitter) said when she saw the picture I took was Wolf.
That spooked me so bad I couldn't go back into that area the rest of the day and choose to explore a different area on another ridge.
The rest of my week and a half hunt was uneventful except for the last day when again we were blessed with fresh snow and R_P didn't come down off the mt. till late and the snow had melted and made the road out a greasy dangerous mess and it took us an hour and a half to go a mile with the truck in low 4X4 and the tranny in first gear with the motor idling the whole way so the wheels wouldn't spin or slide out from under us. There are no guard rails on mt forest roads. Going over the edge would have meant a complete roll over and possible loss of life and a totaled truck.
I'll post some pictures in the picture section so you can see some of the country I was hunting in.
The sights and grandeur of the entire west is unbelievable unless you can experience it first hand.
I went out a week early to get adjusted to the change in altitude and try to do some scouting and find out about the area I was going to be hunting in.
My knee didn't let me down the whole time I was running around in the mountains but my legs and lower back did because I didn't have time to get them in shape after the surgery. The best I could do was 3 miles up in the mountains and then the 3mi back out for a total of 6mi.
To have been successful I would have at least had to get 10mi back in the mountain since that is where the Elk went after the ranchers pushed the cattle off the summer range the week before the season started. I would have had to pack in and stay up in the mountain camping out to have been successful.
So I decide to concentrate on the areas I could reach which meant a slim chance for an Elk and a better chance for a Mule deer or Whitetail buck.
Though I didn't fill either my Elk or Deer tag was partly my choice. I saw plenty of game but the Elk and Mule deer were on private property and unshootable. I did have opportunities for white tail does but I can kill them at my leisure here at home.
The one Elk I saw off private land was a cow at 792yds ranged with only the neck and head uncovered and a Spike crossing the road in front of my truck.
The Cow was watching a bunch of hunters that were moving around in their camp over the ridge from me and down below her. She spooked and disappeared. I decided to try and find where she went while R_P Winkle glassed the ridge. ( I'll tell you in another post about R_P)
I was set up in a drainage where I had saw a nice whitetail buck the day before and I was pleased to wake up to a couple of inches of fresh snow.
I got to where I wanted to set up to watch an escape route and as it got around legal shooting time a whitetail doe stepped out of the cedars full broad side at about 100yds. She kept looking behind her so I thought there was a chance of a buck behind her. She was totally unaware I was there when someone stopped on the road above me and pulled a Chinese fire drill slamming every door on the truck alerting the doe.
I also had caught a flash of movement to my left just before the truck doors started slamming shut. The doe looked straight at me and I knew I was busted but she just stood there since she wasn't sure just what I was or if I was a danger. Then who ever was on the forest road above me got back in the truck slamming all the doors again and she spooked and took off for safer places. Figuring that ruined my spot I decided to see what was moving off to my left and looked for tracks in the snow.
I found tracks alright about 20yds from where I stood and it made the hair stand on the back of my neck.
The tracks were as big as the palm of my hand and my first thoughts were Lion tracks since there were Mt Lions in the area I was hunting and I was warned by one of the area guides too look out for them. So I took a picture and left the area going back to the outfitters to find out just what was stalking ME.
The first thing Donna ( my Lady Outfitter) said when she saw the picture I took was Wolf.
That spooked me so bad I couldn't go back into that area the rest of the day and choose to explore a different area on another ridge.
The rest of my week and a half hunt was uneventful except for the last day when again we were blessed with fresh snow and R_P didn't come down off the mt. till late and the snow had melted and made the road out a greasy dangerous mess and it took us an hour and a half to go a mile with the truck in low 4X4 and the tranny in first gear with the motor idling the whole way so the wheels wouldn't spin or slide out from under us. There are no guard rails on mt forest roads. Going over the edge would have meant a complete roll over and possible loss of life and a totaled truck.
I'll post some pictures in the picture section so you can see some of the country I was hunting in.
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