Royal Outfitters Montana Elk Hunting

Tis the season for the RMEF to hold its fundraising banquets across this great nation of ours.  This year Royal Outfitters has donated a Montana elk hunt each, to the Rochester NY chapter, and the Sammamish WA chapter.  Deb, the kids and I are traveling to Sammamish this weekend to attend the banquet and tell folks more about our operation.  It is always a lot of fun to attend a RMEF banquet and to help raise money for the preservation of habitat for elk and other species.  It is a lot of fun to visit with folks that are passionate about elk and elk hunting.  The kids are looking forward to seeing some friends and getting their first look at the Pacific Ocean.

Montanas final draft of the 2010 hunting regulations will be available of March 16th.  However, applications for the 2010 elk licenses are available.  This week I will be sending applications and outfitter certification forms to those of you that have booked an elk hunt for 2010.  The good news is that the outfitter sponsored tag has decreased in price.  It is now $995 for the elk only, and $1225 for the elk/deer combo.  The special permit application date is still June 1.  If you want to hunt mule deer along with elk, you will need to apply first for the elk/deer or big game combo license, then before June 1, apply for the special permit for mule deer in unit 210, or 212.  I will be sending out alerts to keep you posted on the application process.  Of course you can always call or email with questions.    406-288-3819 or elkhunter@blackfoot.net

We had a fantastic couple from Tennessee staying at the lodge over the weekend. They had never been to Montana and were very excited to see some wildlife, especially bighorn sheep. One afternoon I asked if they would like to take a short drive to look for some wildlife. I planned to take them to a nearby area where deer and elk winter and I was confident that we would see them. They enthusiastically agreed, so for the last couple of hours of daylight we drove and searched for critters.

We were just getting to the area where I expected to see elk on the wide open hills when I spotted three large stout bodied animals on a hilltop about a half mile away. I grabbed the binoculars and was dumbfounded when I saw 3 bighorn rams grazing on the hillside. This is an area that is a couple of miles from the nearest bighorn sign I had seen, and even there they are rarely seen. In fact over the last 5 years I have never seen anything other than the occasional bighorn track in that area which again was a couple of miles away. Well the folks were tickled to see the sheep and we were able to get a few pictures in which the sheep were at least identifiable as sheep. It was such a surprise to see the sheep there, and even more ironic that this couple had just expressed a specific interest in seeing sheep. I guess the Lord works in mysterious ways.

We did see some whitetails, mule deer, and a coyote too. It was fun to share the first taste of Montana with some special people.