Headed west 11/14 with hopes to fill the freezer and Montana definitely delivered! Had a great trip and couldn’t say enough about the beauty and opportunities the great state has to offer. 
Started off on the right foot with my old college buddy harvesting a small mule deer buck near Glendive the first morning. Spent the am hours chasing a nice buck and his doe around but decided to hit the road and head west after seeing over 30 deer(AWESOME!). We headed west again and over the next 24 hours I saw more deer & bucks then I have probably seen in my previous 41 years(AWESOME again!) Next morning I spotted the largest buck I have ever seen sitting on a tiny piece of private surrounded by BLM land(even more AWESOME!!) Even though I was fighting it kicking and screaming we decided to keep heading west only to find out the cabin I reserved was not accessible unless we wanted to hike the last 3-4 miles. Since we are old and wimpy we decided to rent a hotel room and look over the back up plans. Next morning is probably my best day in the mountains started by tracking a bull moose thinking he was an elk to come up on him right as he was bedding down. 
We switched directions and within a mile had to stop because we could hear movement. As we snuck over a ridge we spot a large herd of elk heading nearly straight up a drainage. My buddy says he sees a monster and we are off in hot pursuit. After gaining about 1000 feet my buddy hits the snow and says he is done for and to go on without him. I can still hear him saying he saw a monster so I take him up on the offer and keep tracking the herd. About 3 miles and 3 hours later I hadn’t bumped anything but cows and calves and I was starting to question if I could find my way back since this was my first time in the area. Probably about halfway back I bump a nice buck and three does. He stops and gives me a look so I figured I had earned this one so took a stab and punched my tag on my first mule deer buck(keeps getting more AWESOME!!)
I break down the deer pack him up and keep trying to find my way back. I start to hear something so I look around and see my buddy where I had left him about 7 hours earlier with an almost broken down elk(WHAT) he said he was laying down trying to catch his breath and was nearly trampled by three elk! I’m ecstatic and we only have about a mile all down hill to the truck. We get all the meat to the processor before they close and felt like we are on top of the world! Next morning my buddy is to drained to get out of bed so I hit the mountain on my own. After about 2:30-3 hours I start hearing movement and sure enough the elk are heading up the same drainage again! I spot a young rag horn and get excited and decide he will be the one. I start gathering my stuff and formulating a plan to cut him off and a spike bull appears about 50 yards in front of me standing broadside. I quickly decide a bird in the hand and punch my elk tag about 9:30 in the morning. Next morning we take a drive down to check out the Deckard Flats and Yellowstone(WOW!!!!) 
Now at home we took the venison challenge 
and believe it or not had a hard time distinguishing between young corn fed whitetail chops, older mule deer chops, and young elk chops.(please don’t tell my wife) Thanks to everyone for the tips and advice available on this forum! Thank you Montana for the opportunities!
Started off on the right foot with my old college buddy harvesting a small mule deer buck near Glendive the first morning. Spent the am hours chasing a nice buck and his doe around but decided to hit the road and head west after seeing over 30 deer(AWESOME!). We headed west again and over the next 24 hours I saw more deer & bucks then I have probably seen in my previous 41 years(AWESOME again!) Next morning I spotted the largest buck I have ever seen sitting on a tiny piece of private surrounded by BLM land(even more AWESOME!!) Even though I was fighting it kicking and screaming we decided to keep heading west only to find out the cabin I reserved was not accessible unless we wanted to hike the last 3-4 miles. Since we are old and wimpy we decided to rent a hotel room and look over the back up plans. Next morning is probably my best day in the mountains started by tracking a bull moose thinking he was an elk to come up on him right as he was bedding down. We switched directions and within a mile had to stop because we could hear movement. As we snuck over a ridge we spot a large herd of elk heading nearly straight up a drainage. My buddy says he sees a monster and we are off in hot pursuit. After gaining about 1000 feet my buddy hits the snow and says he is done for and to go on without him. I can still hear him saying he saw a monster so I take him up on the offer and keep tracking the herd. About 3 miles and 3 hours later I hadn’t bumped anything but cows and calves and I was starting to question if I could find my way back since this was my first time in the area. Probably about halfway back I bump a nice buck and three does. He stops and gives me a look so I figured I had earned this one so took a stab and punched my tag on my first mule deer buck(keeps getting more AWESOME!!) I break down the deer pack him up and keep trying to find my way back. I start to hear something so I look around and see my buddy where I had left him about 7 hours earlier with an almost broken down elk(WHAT) he said he was laying down trying to catch his breath and was nearly trampled by three elk! I’m ecstatic and we only have about a mile all down hill to the truck. We get all the meat to the processor before they close and felt like we are on top of the world! Next morning my buddy is to drained to get out of bed so I hit the mountain on my own. After about 2:30-3 hours I start hearing movement and sure enough the elk are heading up the same drainage again! I spot a young rag horn and get excited and decide he will be the one. I start gathering my stuff and formulating a plan to cut him off and a spike bull appears about 50 yards in front of me standing broadside. I quickly decide a bird in the hand and punch my elk tag about 9:30 in the morning. Next morning we take a drive down to check out the Deckard Flats and Yellowstone(WOW!!!!) Now at home we took the venison challenge and believe it or not had a hard time distinguishing between young corn fed whitetail chops, older mule deer chops, and young elk chops.(please don’t tell my wife) Thanks to everyone for the tips and advice available on this forum! Thank you Montana for the opportunities!
