Missouri Breaks?

[Robhood23]

I was planning on hunting the breaks this year (depending on what happens with the new regs) and am wondering if anyone has any info they would care to share. Any info would be much appreciated.
     Thanks, James

[Shaun]

I hunted there with Jim G (Littlebigman on TG) a couple years ago.Good whitetails in the river bottoms and mulies on the hills. I was interested in mulies and the other guys were after white tail antlers. Saw one very large mulie and several medium bucks. Tough hunting with spot and stalk or wooded draw ambush set ups. Practice your 30 yard+ shooting. Good hunting.

[Gatekeeper]

I don’t understand your question. What does hunting the breaks mean?

[fatman]

is there public land along the breaks?

[Joseph]

Almost all of the Missouri Breaks are public land.  It is going to be interesting to see what happens with the regs this year.  State Fish, Wildlife, & Parks has been getting complaints for the last ten years about overcrowding in the breaks and Outfitters leasing up land.  No one was able to get together behind a sportsman sponsored solution so the state finally came up with their own.  All area's in Montana that are limited entry for rifle will now be limited entry for bow, residents and nonresidents.  They are also going to limit the number of archery only antelope tags.  These are proposals at this time.  It is going to be interesting to see what comes out in the final rules.  Joseph

[Brent Rudolph]

Like Joseph said James, "IF" there is going to be an open season in the Breaks. No telling what FWP is going to come up with, or what it will look like on paper.

If you go, the best advise I can give you is to walk a lot (be in shape), look a lot (take some really good glasses), and most important.......take a GPS. I have heard more guys getting lost and giving in to exposure out there than I care to. It is big country and it all looks the same with little in the way of landmarks.

[Robhood23]

Thanks for the input guys. I was out there in 2005. It looks like a tough hunt for trad hunters. Any other areas in MT that would be worth taking a look at.

[Alex.B]

Originally posted by Joseph:
Almost all of the Missouri Breaks are public land.  It is going to be interesting to see what happens with the regs this year.  State Fish, Wildlife, & Parks has been getting complaints for the last ten years about overcrowding in the breaks and Outfitters leasing up land.    Joseph

Hi Joseph. I don't understand how these outfitters you mentioned are able to lease our public land
thank you
Alex

[Precurve]

I was there the second week of September, and it wasn't what I was looking for.  Temps at or above 90 every day with wall to wall hunters.  There's plenty of elk in the river bottoms but the treestand density is about one treestand every 200' in the prime areas.  Beautiful country and lots of mulies in the hills and whitetails in the riverbottoms.

[Joseph]

The outfitters aren't leaseing public land, I wasn't clear about that.  They are leasing private land which closes it to the public and keeps it out of the block management program that pays landowners to let the public hunt on private ground.  Joseph

[Badlands]

I hunted the breaks for the first time last fall. We went over for opening weekend to get a look at the place and then spent the 3rd week of the season there.  
This is not the kind of place that a guy thinks of when you first think about elk hunting, but, unless things change, I think a person has a better chanse to shoot an elk there with a bow than most other places with a rifle.
Basicaly you have two types of hunting. You can hunt the river bottom by treestand or the surrounding area by spot and stock.  
Most guys that hunt the river bottom use a boat to go up and down the river and place stands in strategic spots.  The river bottoms are very thick with willows and Brent's suggestion to use a GPS is good advice.  Many places you can't see more than a few feet in any direction.  The idea is to find a tall cotton wood tree that overlooks a travel route and put up a stand. Most guys will use a pair of limb puners to clear a trail of some sorts from the river to thier stand and mark the trail with flagging, consiquently there is flagging everywhere.  Most of the time when we were there it was hot and the bugs were bad, so your most important piece of equiptment is your headnet. The elk were very vocal when we were there, but I am told that they do not respond well to bugeling so we didn't do any. We did do some cow calling and had them talking back a few times but didn't have anything come in.
Hunting the badlands off of the river bottom is fun too.  The country is pretty open so once you spot elk you have to plan a stock to get you to them from down wind or to a place where you can be waiting when they pass by. we saw more elk this way but we hunt the badlands all of the time and wanted to do the treestand thing.  

Hunting preasure was heavy, but people were friendly and helpful. I think I'll try to go back unless the reg's change and mess it up.

Brad

[Mark Baker]

The Breaks has gotten very popular with the out-of-state crowd the past 20 years.  Why?  Because it's easier to walk in...you see lots of elk...you can drive in and car-camp...you can use your 4-wheeler (thats a big reason).   Now, you add this up and what do you get?   A lot of pis$%!  off local hunters who remember the "good-ol-days", and a generally not-optimal hunting experience for everyone, due to overcrowding.   Everybody wants to hunt elk where it's easy!

Outfitters, by the way, lease up a lot of checherboarded land throughout the breaks as well as the private stuff.   All things said, there are a  lot of elk, and a guy can still get one...but you have to do some homework like anywhere.  I'd concentrate on the areas that 4 wheelers can't go!   Most of the successful guys I know that hunt there, hike in quite a ways...and really work  to get away from the crowds...like anywhere.  

By the way...I don't hunt the breaks.    But the  place has been a thorn in the side of management and resident hunters for years now and there are no easy solutions there.

[Robhood23]

The reason we are looking at the breaks is because I am taking my father in law out, He is pushing 70 with bad knees. He doesn't think he will be able to handle the mountains anymore and the last time he went elk hunting was in the late 70's. I would sure like to get him on an elk. He has never shot one and would be tickled with just about any elk. If anyone knows of an area that would be easy walking please let me know. Thanks again guys.