My Predicament

[Todd Carpenter]

So, I was scheduled to leave for Montana Thursday the 28th for a week long hunt with a buddy of mine. He is a backcountry guide and offered to take me out for my first elk trip.

Yesterday he texts me to say he fell checking a trail cam and broke three ribs and his foot and can't take me on the trip.

So what do I do? I have a non-resident general elk and deer combo tag and the last day to submit for a refund is today. I don't want to lose the $1200 I paid for the tags but I also have zero experience with western hunting. Every hunt I've ever been on is SC whitetails, sit in a stand over a pile of corn and wait. I've never even cleaned a kill.

So do I go by myself with a nearly 100% chance of failure while getting some experience, or eat the cost of the tags and wait until next year.

quit whining and git off your but and go hunting! You ought to be ashamed for not knowing how to clean a deer or elk!! I hate to say this but sitting over bait is shooting not hunting! You need to learn how to hunt! Naw I take this back you really need to stay home because if anything happens you do not know how to survive!!!

 

[xsn10s]

quit whining and git off your but and go hunting! You ought to be ashamed for not knowing how to clean a deer or elk!! I hate to say this but sitting over bait is shooting not hunting! You need to learn how to hunt! Naw I take this back you really need to stay home because if anything happens you do not know how to survive!!!

Are you going hunting in Montana?

 

[jaw719]

Todd, I bet you are a blast at parties

 

[Coldfinger]

Dang sorry to hear that.
Some of the best hunts I went on were the last minute/non planed and go on an adventure. Big undertaking if you are going by yourself and have no idea with logistical items like food, lodging, transport in the hunting area and WHERE TO HUNT. If you can get the guide to give you info with area maps and setting you up and possibly taking you to the area by vehicle and turning you loose. I would strongly suggest you take a family member or friend along. Don't do it by yourself. If you do carry a GPS distress system in case you run into trouble.
If you can postpone to next year do that.
Safety First!

It's no fun trying to nap by a fire and boned out elk with the snow blowing in your face in the dark wishing you knew where you were!!!

 

[xsn10s]

It's no fun trying to nap by a fire and boned out elk with the snow blowing in your face in the dark wishing you knew where you were!!!

I just got off the phone with a buddy talking about going to the junkyard pulling parts off a truck with the snow blowing sideways. Good times lol.

 

[dogz]

So, I was scheduled to leave for Montana Thursday the 28th for a week long hunt with a buddy of mine. He is a backcountry guide and offered to take me out for my first elk trip.

Yesterday he texts me to say he fell checking a trail cam and broke three ribs and his foot and can't take me on the trip.

So what do I do? I have a non-resident general elk and deer combo tag and the last day to submit for a refund is today. I don't want to lose the $1200 I paid for the tags but I also have zero experience with western hunting. Every hunt I've ever been on is SC whitetails, sit in a stand over a pile of corn and wait. I've never even cleaned a kill.

So do I go by myself with a nearly 100% chance of failure while getting some experience, or eat the cost of the tags and wait until next year.

Curious here, but what outfitter does your friend guide for?

Personally, I'd hit the road and go for it. Plenty of ways to ensure safety.

 

[jaw719]

He has worked for a bunch in the past, I'd rather not say which ones exactly to keep his info private. This hunt wan't going to be through an outfitter, just two friends going out for a hunt together.

 

[dogz]

Gotcha, when you called him a back country guide I wasn't sure if he guided for a hunting outfit or not.

 

[xsn10s]

It's better to hunt with friends anyways. I love hunting by myself when I don't have to worry about familial responsibilities. But hunting with friends is something special also. I've been trying to talk a buddy back into hunting. Hell I'd even road hunt with good friends if only to bs the day away.

 

[truckdweld]

First trip out to Colorado no idea where to hunt, we tried a few places with no luck. The owner of the house we stayed at felt bad and showed us a spot with some elk. A couple days later I had harvested my first bull. Not really anything special right? What was special was the night after at the restaurant in town we met some locals who had tagged out. They offered to take us to their spot and pack out any animals my buddies shot with their horses. The next day true to their word they took us in and packed out a cow my buddy shot. For the past 7 years I have met my new friends in Colorado and have had amazing success! 5 bulls and 2 cows on OTC tags. They have hauled horses for my wife and I to hunt off of, let us stay in their trailers and even bought and prepped all the food for the trip. We have become such good friends with some of them that they even come out to California for our wedding!

The point is you never know what will happen on a trip! Head out, ask for help and talk to everyone you can. Most people want to pass on their hunting traditions to others. I am now the one called upon to quarter animals for the crew even though they are the ones who taught me how to do it.

Pack up, head out, enjoy the drive and be safe. Yeah you could get hurt by yourself but you can get hurt with a group and no one will really know where you are if you split up. Lots of locations have cell service or get one of the other systems for out of service areas.

 

[smithcha]

So, I was scheduled to leave for Montana Thursday the 28th for a week long hunt with a buddy of mine. He is a backcountry guide and offered to take me out for my first elk trip.

Yesterday he texts me to say he fell checking a trail cam and broke three ribs and his foot and can't take me on the trip.

So what do I do? I have a non-resident general elk and deer combo tag and the last day to submit for a refund is today. I don't want to lose the $1200 I paid for the tags but I also have zero experience with western hunting. Every hunt I've ever been on is SC whitetails, sit in a stand over a pile of corn and wait. I've never even cleaned a kill.

So do I go by myself with a nearly 100% chance of failure while getting some experience, or eat the cost of the tags and wait until next year.

I had good results for deer on wma and block management land. Brian Brunelle is a good guide out of Cascade for elk.

 

[Todd Carpenter]

I have fun an love everybody, my wife when it gets late she dragging me home, I dont hardly drink any alcohol but Im just a self employed welder now so I spend a lot of time by myself so im gonna talk to everybody!!!! Ive reached an age I really only bowhunt so I only hunt 8 or 10 days a year anymore so I pack up an go back to Kansas where we used to live and my friend is a large acre row crop farmer and he got an extra house he lets me stay in and I wont hardly shoot anything if hes not big enough to go on the wall so if I eat a tag sandwich its ok because its really great just to see my good friends once a year!!!