Anyone have any information/experience or recommendation for an elk hunt in the Bob Marshall Wilderness area as far as an outfitter/guide?

Thanks

There was a time that was a great area.
I look forward to hearing the current reports as well.

Osky

My intention isn’t to kill a big bull, but more for the experience/adventure for a flatlander.

I am from that neck of the woods. After the wolves got populated it changed alot of things up there. Alot of the outfitters sold out while the gettin' was good and their hunter success rates were up. Be careful when you interview an outfitter, have a list of questions ready and take the time to talk to more than two if ya can. Make sure you don't have to give a deposit unless you draw a tag. Look their stuff up with the Outfitters Board to make sure they are accredited. There are lots of things you should know before hiring an outfitter, or the experience/adventure you seek may be way different. Hope this helps- I am an ex guide and have been around a few doozies. GOOD LUCK !

I hear good hunting around the Missouri breaks area nick. Not sure of any outfitters though. The Bob was cool in the early nineties, not sure so much anymore.

The Missouri Breaks area is way over hunted. Reminds you of rush hr traffic being out there. Most of the ranchers have gotten away from block management due to no respect for the land by hunters.( garbage , ruts, gates left open, fences cut) Plus what elk are there are very wary as the ranchers have propane cannons going off to scare them out of the pastures and watering holes. The only thing that matters in that part of the country is Black Cows.Anything an elk drinks or grazes on is less for the black cows.

Hence the Montana Outfitters Association AKA Outfitters Board. My bad

Yes that is right, thanks.

I know of one outfitter that had 20 hunters and only one of em got 1 elk last year. If you want a wilderness hunt just buy a tag and go for a walk. You'll likely have the same success. It's not a great place to fill a tag

Most of the outfitters are making better return clients on their Fishing/camp/float hunts in the summer. AND most of N.W. Montana became a cinder box last summer.

A few years ago I worked on finding a friend a good elk hunt. The best value I could find at that time for guided horseback elk hunts was in northern British Columbia. They are true backcountry wilderness hunts with great success rates, and are fairly economical.
You will find very few resident hunters (most likely none), a very small percentage of Canadians hunt for some strange reason.
I would bet elk hunts in northern B.C. are still a really good option.

There are a lot of up-coming SCI banquets, get a hold of a couple of local chapters and see if nay of them have donated elk hunts coming up for auction at their banquet fund raisers. But don't just buy any guided elk hunt without doing your research.

I'd go to Montana FWP website and check harvest statistics in the unit you are looking into as I recall elk numbers are pretty bad in the bob marshall? One question is are you wanting to hunt with a rifle or bow? The Breaks could take you 20 years to draw a permit for a bull(either sex permit). Cow tags are easier to get for a gun in the breaks but that is still sometimes several years to draw. I will second the breaks being like rush hour, although, I will put in again this year for archery but it's not the hunt it was in the 90's but it's still where I've had the most success (always archery hunting). I would suggest looking into the Bridger range if you want to rifle hunt. 2 suggestion start on cardio now! it's rough country any way you slice it out there. Keep your expectations realistic unless you have really deep pockets. Good luck

Rifle or bow? Why the Bob Marshall? Other cool hunts that may fit the bill too. Frank Church in ID is wilderness scenic county hunt. Don’t need a guide with all the access in western MT and most of ID. I’ll be hunting both states in 2018 and for the foreseeable future.

this is why i didn't make this post Nick

Mike Smith. Bartlet Creek Outfitters. 406-693-2433. Hunting in the Little Salmon area. Known Mike fore many years. Worked for him when I was young. Him and his son are Serious hunters.

Waggler.....you are right in one respect....but WAY off on another. Yep lots of elk in northern BC....lots and lots. Better than anywhere in the lower 48 no questions about that. Has to be seen to be believed actually.....but you WILL see resident hunters.......LOTS of them. They are everywhere now. Take it from me, I know the country and outfitters very very well. Four years ago the owner of scoop lake outfitters counted 90 jet boats on the Kechika river on the opening day of elk season. You will almost surely get an elk....but you will almost 100% see resident hunters. There are a few places they don't get into yet....but you likely won't find them.

As for the Bob Marshall......look up Jack Hooker at the Whitetail Ranch....hes been in business for 40 years now. Good luck

Yukon254,
I stand corrected. I guess I was speaking in generalities regarding Canadians and hunting.
I have a friend who's brother in law runs a logging camp in central B.C., he told me the only hunter out of a camp of about 60 guys was the cook. In the northwest part of the US I've heard it's hard to keep loggers on the job during hunting season; at least that's the way it was back a few years when there was still a lot of logging going on.

About 6% of the US population hunt, and only about 2% of Canadians hunt, seems kind of strange considering the great hunting opportunities have.

Are most of the resident hunters you're referring to resident sport hunters from outside the area, or First Nations hunters? Will you even find these resident hunters on horse back accessed hunts? Or mainly along the rivers accessed by jet boats?

waggler, the northern part of BC has been getting hammered for a few years now. Mostly residents from the southern part of the province. To access my Yukon trapline I have to go in through BC. My cabin sits about 25 miles from the BC border. Fish Game had to come in a few years ago and put signs up on the border because BC guys were coming into the Yukon on my trail to hunt.
Yes you will see hunters on horse back hunts as well. The air charter company I use for my fishing lodge out of Watson Lake does a booming business every fall flying residents into the northern BC bush. A good friend of mine guided two sheep hunts down in the Turnagain country last fall. He's a young guy that really knows his stuff and gets after it. The outfitter offered him a pretty good deal to run the northern part of his concession, but my buddy wasn't interested. He said even in sheep country he was seeing other hunters on a regular basis. There are certainly areas a guy could go to get away from the crowds, but they are few and far between these days. Glad I got to hunt it when I did....there was no place on earth like it. Best game country I've ever seen, it was like hunting Yellowstone only better. Not anymore. Gotta come to the Yukon or NWT to find true wilderness hunts now. To bad.