Outstanding elk hunt

For many years I have been elk hunting in the Gallatin valley near Big Sky, MT. This year my boys decided to join the group. We stayed on the 320 ranch instead of setting up a tent camp. The 320 is only about a mile from the Buffalo Horn trailhead and has nice horse boarding facilities.

First evening ride up to check out the area after the boys arrived.

After an evening ride a short way in to check out the area, we were up the following morning at 3:30 for bkfst, feeding stock and hitting the trail. Shortly after first light we ran into elk and found a nice bull. I grabbed the horses while Steve and Cody moved on foot a short distance to see if they could get a shot. They got into position and had a 300 yd broadside shot. While they debated about who was going to harvest the bull (“you take him”, “no you go ahead”) , the bull tired of standing there and decided to move off. Cody finally made the choice to shoot. These big bulls are difficult to drop and at the longer range shot Cody had, the bull made it into the timber after being hit. It required a little bit of tracking through the deadfall, but they did find the bull.

He was a older bull starting to go down hill. Nice one to harvest.

The boys had to pack meat through the deadfall about 250 yds to where we could access with horses.

From there Freckles and Tanner took over

From that point on the standard was set, so although we did see a number of shooter bulls in the next few days, Steve opted to hold off and ended up unsuccessful harvesting his elk. Pretty sure next time he’ll take the shot. These public land bulls can be difficult to find, so when you have the opportunity you need to take it.

Although no more bulls were shot, we spent many days roaming these mtns on horseback with beautiful weather