This was my first ever trip to MT to go hunting. I didn’t really know what to expect except I was going to have fun and make the best of it. The first day out there was a learning day. We put some miles on the atvs learning the area.
round noon KDM and I split up and headed different ways. Me being the guy I am I decided to go for a walk in the pines. I walked for about 400 yards before I found a fresh bed and a old school shitter. 
I slowly start following the tracks. I followed them for about a mile bringing me back in a circle about 40 yards from my atv before going back into the pines. At this point I still didn’t know if this was a cow or bull but any legal animal was going to make me happy. So back on the trail I go. I follow them about another 100 yards before I see a elk butt get out of its bed and take off. So I backed off for a couple minutes then headed back after them. I only made it another 100 yards or so before it took off again. I walked a little farther and determined I was never going to get a shot in the pines so headed back to the atv. I took a small break to catch my breath. My legs and body were well prepared for this hunt but my lungs were not. It was about 2 at this time so I went to sit by a small creek that had some fresher tracks by it. This was my vantage point for the night. 
It was about 430 or so and I heard a cow elk off to my right a couple hundred yards away. A second later I could hear a tree getting thrashed then all was quite. A couple minutes later I see a elk come running down a hill and he stops behind a tree. I get my gun up and he walked out. I put the scope on his head see a brow time. I instantly put the crosshairs behind the shoulder and touch a round off. I watched the bullet hit a little back. He runs at me about 30 yards and stops again. I was able with my shaking to somehow put one right above the brisket and hit him in the heart. Sorry mrs kdm. After this he still didn’t go down so I shoot another round. This time I missed I didn’t know it was possible to miss a 4x8 sheet of plywood at a 150 yards but I managed. It’s a good thing I did though he walked about 10 yards and fell down. 
At this point I’m kind of speechless I walk up take a few more pictures then head out to get KDM. 
The work began after the hunt. I’m really glad I was able to drop him a 100 yards from the atv trail. 
We got back to the cabin about 1130 that night tired and wishing we had a few beers. We took some daytime pictures. 
We hunted for 6 more days not seeing an elk or very little sign. We decided to call it quits and head to the spot we were going to hunt mule deer. We just drove around the first day getting the lay of the land. The second day we headed to a different spot that more resembles the badlands in nd I was at home then. I put on my hiking boots and took off. About a mile into my hike a bumped a giant 6x6 elk. He stood up at about 40 yards then just slowly bounced away. I put a bunch of miles on that day. But never seeing a mature deer. Day 3 found me sitting on the side of a hill over looking a valley. Seen 2 different bucks and a bunch of doe but nothing mature. I get back to the truck and kdm says he found a couple good ones on some public land. We went and walked around the same area I did the day before. Only seeing 2 small bucks and a doe. We were headed back to the area the decent bucks were at that morning and kdm spots on walking into a draw. I take off up the fence line to cut him off. I get to walk about 200 yards then had to crawl in the cactus and sage brush to get to the top of the ridge. He decided he didn’t want to continue in the draw and I caught movement a couple hundred yards away. I get the gun on him and shoot. I hear a solid hit but he didn’t go down. At this point he starts to run away knowing I hit him and didn’t want to have to track the animal for god knows how long. He gave me the perfect shot for a Texas heart shot. I squeezed off another round and he is down. I hit him right between the front shoulders. 
The scenery in both the mountain and the breaks are awesome. 
round noon KDM and I split up and headed different ways. Me being the guy I am I decided to go for a walk in the pines. I walked for about 400 yards before I found a fresh bed and a old school shitter. I slowly start following the tracks. I followed them for about a mile bringing me back in a circle about 40 yards from my atv before going back into the pines. At this point I still didn’t know if this was a cow or bull but any legal animal was going to make me happy. So back on the trail I go. I follow them about another 100 yards before I see a elk butt get out of its bed and take off. So I backed off for a couple minutes then headed back after them. I only made it another 100 yards or so before it took off again. I walked a little farther and determined I was never going to get a shot in the pines so headed back to the atv. I took a small break to catch my breath. My legs and body were well prepared for this hunt but my lungs were not. It was about 2 at this time so I went to sit by a small creek that had some fresher tracks by it. This was my vantage point for the night. It was about 430 or so and I heard a cow elk off to my right a couple hundred yards away. A second later I could hear a tree getting thrashed then all was quite. A couple minutes later I see a elk come running down a hill and he stops behind a tree. I get my gun up and he walked out. I put the scope on his head see a brow time. I instantly put the crosshairs behind the shoulder and touch a round off. I watched the bullet hit a little back. He runs at me about 30 yards and stops again. I was able with my shaking to somehow put one right above the brisket and hit him in the heart. Sorry mrs kdm. After this he still didn’t go down so I shoot another round. This time I missed I didn’t know it was possible to miss a 4x8 sheet of plywood at a 150 yards but I managed. It’s a good thing I did though he walked about 10 yards and fell down. At this point I’m kind of speechless I walk up take a few more pictures then head out to get KDM. The work began after the hunt. I’m really glad I was able to drop him a 100 yards from the atv trail. We got back to the cabin about 1130 that night tired and wishing we had a few beers. We took some daytime pictures. We hunted for 6 more days not seeing an elk or very little sign. We decided to call it quits and head to the spot we were going to hunt mule deer. We just drove around the first day getting the lay of the land. The second day we headed to a different spot that more resembles the badlands in nd I was at home then. I put on my hiking boots and took off. About a mile into my hike a bumped a giant 6x6 elk. He stood up at about 40 yards then just slowly bounced away. I put a bunch of miles on that day. But never seeing a mature deer. Day 3 found me sitting on the side of a hill over looking a valley. Seen 2 different bucks and a bunch of doe but nothing mature. I get back to the truck and kdm says he found a couple good ones on some public land. We went and walked around the same area I did the day before. Only seeing 2 small bucks and a doe. We were headed back to the area the decent bucks were at that morning and kdm spots on walking into a draw. I take off up the fence line to cut him off. I get to walk about 200 yards then had to crawl in the cactus and sage brush to get to the top of the ridge. He decided he didn’t want to continue in the draw and I caught movement a couple hundred yards away. I get the gun on him and shoot. I hear a solid hit but he didn’t go down. At this point he starts to run away knowing I hit him and didn’t want to have to track the animal for god knows how long. He gave me the perfect shot for a Texas heart shot. I squeezed off another round and he is down. I hit him right between the front shoulders. The scenery in both the mountain and the breaks are awesome. 
