Montana HD 380 - Elkhorn Mountains

Griztrax said:

Thanks everyone for the kind words and for welcoming me to the site. I've lurked around for awhile now but obviously haven't posted much. The HT forums seem like a great place - hopefully I can contribute a bit more in the future.....and my offer still stands if anyone draws a 380 tag - just give me a shout.

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Griztrax said:

The hunt was everything I hoped it would be and then some. I hunted roughly 20 days during archery season and never released an arrow but have never had so much fun hunting in my life! And so much heart break! LOL! I wasn't particularly excited about rifle hunting and so was tickled to find a mature bull on the evening of opening day. Not a monster just a solid bull that I am very happy with. My 15 year old shot a cow in the same general area two weeks later and a young mule deer buck to boot. Was a great season at our house.

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RangerJack said:

Awesome bull! Did you get it scored?
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Thanks! I never did put a tape to him but he is a standard 320-330 bull. Turned a tooth into FWP for aging and he was 13 years old. Probably didn't have too many years left in him. It's funny, I recently had to take him (European mount) off the wall at my office because of office closing and now I don't have anywhere to hang it. LOL. Its been bouncing around rooms in our basement. Will have to figure something out. Ha! Thanks for resurrecting this post - takes me back to a wonderful fall.

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Danders134 said:

Hey Mark, you can hang it at my house. Will make room somewhere.

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Griztrax said:

So after 22 years of applying for this tag, my name was finally drawn out of the hat in 2014. Absolutely could not believe my eyes when the drawing results were posted online!! It's something you begin to think will never happen. Although I live in Helena and look out my back window at the Elkhorns, I had never spent a lot of time in the district and only hunted there once or twice with my kids looking for cows. So, one of the first things I did was a google search for information on this district and I'll tell you what, there isn't a lot out there. It seems like talking about "trophy districts" brings out the worst in people for some reason and is maybe considered a bit taboo.

I certainly don't want to start a huge arguement or anything like that....I simply want to offer my assistance (for what it is worth) to anyone who has questions about the district.... whether it's worth applying for the tag, what is the hunting like, did I see big bulls, etc. etc. I am lucky to have a number of friends and colleagues who helped me tremendously with my hunt. I can't even begin to thank them enough. I understand that many who draw this tag don't have the same support group so I am willing to offer up as much assistance as I can to the next lucky hunter to draw the tag or those thinking about applying. I do not claim to know all there is about this district.....heck I only hunted there one season. There are many who know much more. However I am happy to provide whatever information I can....I think that's what these forums are for.

Anyone interested can send me a private message and I will try to respond as quickly as I can. Happy New Year to everyone on the Hunt Talk forums and may your name get drawn out of the hat in 2015!

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Griztrax said:

The hunt was everything I hoped it would be and then some. I hunted roughly 20 days during archery season and never released an arrow but have never had so much fun hunting in my life! And so much heart break! LOL! I wasn't particularly excited about rifle hunting and so was tickled to find a mature bull on the evening of opening day. Not a monster just a solid bull that I am very happy with. My 15 year old shot a cow in the same general area two weeks later and a young mule deer buck to boot. Was a great season at our house.

Click to expand...

Griztrax said:

So after 22 years of applying for this tag, my name was finally drawn out of the hat in 2014. Absolutely could not believe my eyes when the drawing results were posted online!! It's something you begin to think will never happen. Although I live in Helena and look out my back window at the Elkhorns, I had never spent a lot of time in the district and only hunted there once or twice with my kids looking for cows. So, one of the first things I did was a google search for information on this district and I'll tell you what, there isn't a lot out there. It seems like talking about "trophy districts" brings out the worst in people for some reason and is maybe considered a bit taboo.

I certainly don't want to start a huge arguement or anything like that....I simply want to offer my assistance (for what it is worth) to anyone who has questions about the district.... whether it's worth applying for the tag, what is the hunting like, did I see big bulls, etc. etc. I am lucky to have a number of friends and colleagues who helped me tremendously with my hunt. I can't even begin to thank them enough. I understand that many who draw this tag don't have the same support group so I am willing to offer up as much assistance as I can to the next lucky hunter to draw the tag or those thinking about applying. I do not claim to know all there is about this district.....heck I only hunted there one season. There are many who know much more. However I am happy to provide whatever information I can....I think that's what these forums are for.

Anyone interested can send me a private message and I will try to respond as quickly as I can. Happy New Year to everyone on the Hunt Talk forums and may your name get drawn out of the hat in 2015!

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Moosecreek said:

That is a really great bull ! Fun to get family and friends in on the hunt .. I got very lucky this year and drew the 380-20 permit after 19 years. Can’t wait to get out and do some scouting!

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MT_elk said:

Congrats!

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