Royal Outfitters Montana Elk Hunting

This week I took an early morning hike into our western hunting area.
On the drive in I saw a big black bear.
He was standing on the road when I first saw him and once he saw the vehicle he galloped down off the road and crossed a couple hundred yards of meadow and the creek.
He didn’t stop running until he hit the timber on the other side of the creek and was out of sight, so I was unable to get any video or photographs.

I was pleased to see that the storm clouds that had passed the previous night had dropped significant rain.
I could see that water had run down the road washing gravel and pine cones out of the way.
This is a real blessing because it has been hot and dry for the past several weeks.
There is a lot of grass in the mountains thanks to good spring snow and rain but it has been drying up quickly.
At least the fire danger in this particular area may be tempered if only for a short while.

Any way by the time I got hiking the sun was up and was begining to warm things up so I didn’t see a lot of game.
I did however run across a couple of nice huckleberry patches.
They are a few weeks away from being ready but they have been duly noted on my map and definitely will be revisited.

There is nothing like filling your face with fresh picked huckleberries.

According to Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks the Montan elk population has grown from approximately 55,000 animals in the late 1970s to 150,000 animals today.
I think it is a credit to the Mt FWP that they have done a good job managing the herd and we are now enjoying great hunting opportunities.
Some management units have even exceeded population goals and the state is looking at new ways to manage this new issue.

Anyway, from the elk hunters point of view there has probably never been a better time to plan a Montana elk hunt.

We would love to help you plan your Montana elk hunt.
Our experienced staff is looking forward to providing you with the
elk hunting experience of a lifetime.

I took
my son
fishing last night on Flint Creek near the lodge and had a great evening.
Dex loves to fish and we had a ball catching and releasing several browns, a rainbow, and some cutthroats.
Dex caught a few with a spinnng rod,
but at sunset we pulled out the fly rod and really had a ball catching them on top of the water.

He is still out there

Originally uploaded by royal.outfitters

This is a bull that several of our guides called in on different occasions. This photo is actually taken out of some video that I was able to shoot while trying to call this bull in again. Only moments before the footage was taken, we had the bull in to about 25 yards and the hunter was at full draw. He made the tough but correct decision not to shoot however due to the fact that, although broadside, his vitals were obscured by some bushes. This bull still roams the woods and will probably be a bit bigger this year.

First Trout for girl

Originally uploaded by royal.outfitters

Father and daughter admire a trout caught on Flint Creek. Lazy Summer day spent with the family on Flint Creek produced a few browns and rainbows.