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Honkey Tonk / Country Bar

OzzyDave

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Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Messages
321
Location
QLD AUSTRALIA
Whats good in Bozeman?
Finally made it to big sky country after about 20 hours travel time
The bpdy clock is sti.l ot 100% but some cold beers last night may have helped
 
Can't help you in Bozeman,if you were in Az. we could slap a cowboy hat
on and kick the dust up!Last time I was in Bozeman there was a place called
The Freeway.Don't know if it's still open.Good luck on the Honky Tonk and your hunt! 🔥
 
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Be careful, one of my roommates in college was in bozeman for a wedding one weekend, and couldn't find a place to pee so he went out back and before he could zip up his pants the local police had a light shining on him lol
 
I think you are in trouble... Yelp's "Top 10 Country Bars" list only has 6 entries and #4 is the local country club.
 
The triangle, molly/hoff/ scoop... but I would go to Neptune’s in livingston or the bar in Norris.

There are nicer places but you seem to be asking for dives?
 
Your in Montana not Texas. If such a place exists in Montana I’ve yet to find it. And My wife and I have looked pretty hard. In fact I’m sure there’s more country bars/ honky tonks in Temecula California than the whole state of Montana. Put on your best man bun go downtown and embrace the culture. Lol.

Ps.. stay away from the cats paw, some really friendly dudes in that place if you know what I mean.

Pss if your here for a hunt good luck, bulls are screaming and some toads have hit the ground already.
 
See the thing is, in "cowboy country" the cowboys don't hang out in the bars. They are out of town working, and seldom come to town. When it is rodeo week, the regular bars become cowboy bars.

When you get to places where there is a sizeable rural residential population and people have horses for recreation, THEN you see Cowboy bars that play to that tune...People live close to town and frequent them. They might "cowboy" on weekends (rodeo, horseshow, team pen, barrel race, etc.

Quack killer, I'd be interested in your recommendations in Temecula, as I have a work trip there next March... Funny story...Went to the Country bar in San Diego downtown and was THE ONLY person wearing a cowboy style hat...and it was packed with college kids...
 
It's an hour, but Pony Bar. Closer to town Stacey's hands down.
Stacey's Old Faithful Bar and Steakhouse is indeed an iconic honky-tonk country watering hole. Having lived west of there less than half mile for decades, I can attest to that. Real cowboy and colorful Stacey is gone now, but the stories live on and his daughters and family still run the place and they are really good people. Colorful history of the place is reflected by photos on the wall of noted and notorious real cowboys, elk harnessed for work, bison diving off the dock, and other interesting scenes. There have been horses ridden into and up to the bar, and to this day you might see some riders come into Gallatin Gateway to hitch up outside and saunter in for a drink. The food is outstanding, reasonably priced, the beer is cold, and you're likely to see some colorful, interesting characters sidled up to the bar. If you are into honky-tonk country watering holes, Stacey's is a must-see!

Anecdotal example: Several years ago, entering the Old Faithful Bar on a New Years Day to see what Stacey was cooking up for his annual hangover meal, I saw several pots of food steaming and asked about the bill of fare for the event. Stacey replied, "Well I've got some beef stew and a pot of chicken simmering ... and for those who like seafood, there's boiled muskrat and beaver tail!"
 
Your in Montana not Texas. If such a place exists in Montana I’ve yet to find it. And My wife and I have looked pretty hard. In fact I’m sure there’s more country bars/ honky tonks in Temecula California than the whole state of Montana. Put on your best man bun go downtown and embrace the culture. Lol.

Ps.. stay away from the cats paw, some really friendly dudes in that place if you know what I mean.

Pss if your here for a hunt good luck, bulls are screaming and some toads have hit the ground already.
Would have to be a stick on man bun for me - wasnt someone going to market these ?
Hunt went well - got my first ever archery bull elk. No record breaker - small 6x6 on the 3rd day. Punched him at 40yards. limited access still and need to transfer pics etc
 
Thanks guys. I went in hoping I would get a chance and in reality, I took the first chance that came along. Very addictive hunting and an unreal adventure. From day one, we were certainly in the right area and the action seemed to be increasing. Had 2 bulls fighting a 100 yards from me one evening. We couldn’t get them away from their cows. A spike was causing all sorts of dramas and seemed to be following me. We backed out not wanting to bump them and it was getting dark quick. It was a rapid trip of the hill that evening. Next morning we were back up there on sunrise. From the one ridge, we could see what looked to be a good bull raking trees. I high tailed it to the general area he was in but not really knowing the lay of the land I went too quickly up and a over a small rise and his cows caught me. He knew something wasn’t right and pushed his girls further up the hill. I took a seat next to a small klump of bush, maybe sage, so I could give myself another upper cut. About 10 minutes later this bull comes sneaking in above us to the same spot the cows had vacated. He made not a single noise. I was frozen and still had an arrow on the string from my previous failed stalk. His head went behind a tree and I drew. He was ever so slightly quartering to me. I’m pretty sure I transitioned to my knees but can’t be sure. It seemed like forever for him to take a few steps but he did. I hadn’t had an opportunity to range anything and guessed him at 40yards. A quiet chirp pulled him up exactly in the 4 foot clearing. Arrow hit him right in the triangle. I saw it enter and watched it blast right thru him and up into the timber up the hill. He ran 70yards and was done.
Elk back strap is nearly a religious experience - very tasty. Antelope, I could take it or leave it.
I landed back in Australia this morning after something like 23 hours of travelling and airports. Left on Monday 7th at midday and landed Wednesday 9th at 10.30am.
The biggest issue we had was the elevation. We went in 5 days early to help acclimatise etc, but it seems we were lacking. I did a few sessions on the motel treadmill and bike but got gassed real quick. I was tracking a black bear in the snow, a very cool experience for us also, up and over a hill at 6800ft. The legs were good but the lungs were screaming. Maybe some warmer gloves next time. All my other clothing choices were spot on for me.
 

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Nicely done. I was worried your priorities were out of whack but you have assuaged those fears. That is an excellent fair chase example of a workingman's bull. I hope your countrymen will appreciate it in contrast to the Kiwi High fence stags.
 
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