First Montana Pre-Season Glassing Trip - Success!

[seazofcheeze]

Headed out to glass around an area Tbunao and I (mostly Tbunao) found some sheds this spring. I was glassing a deep field when I saw a "deer" trotting about a mile away...after a little closer inspection, it was an elk. I drove down the road more to try and grab a pic, turns out it was a bull, first one I have seen in velvet!

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I headed down the road a few more miles and spotted an orange back way deep...the fields here are much larger than Michigan, so it can be a challenge to spot deer without binos. Anyway, I put the spotter in the window, and it's a pretty good buck, but he's running towards the wood line. Then he stopped, right next to a really nice buck (in pic below). I don't think I've ever seen a buck in person that was this big this early. I got a good picture, and then I checked onX. He is close...like 300yards close to a piece of public land. I plan on shooting a muley this year, but I might have to keep an eye on this guy.

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Another mile down the road and I catch a faint glimpse of orange along a fence row. Get the spotter out and there's a group of 4 bucks. Two solid ones, and two small ones. I also drove by a 6 mule deer bachelor group on the highway, but didn't stop to get pics. Pretty exciting first trip...I'm going to go broke buying gas this summer

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[DhD]

You guys have me half seriously pricing homes and looking at jobs in Montana, I can't even imagine having all this in my back yard. Keep the reports coming!

[greenhorndave]

That first buck is a stud. Great stuff.

[Kokes]

Seaz are you sure those aren't old pics you've take when you were back in Michigan;)

[wickedbruiser]

Awesome stuff, Jeremy! Bet you miss MI a ton

[Edcyclopedia]

Way cool!

[seazofcheeze]

You guys have me half seriously pricing homes and looking at jobs in Montana, I can't even imagine having all this in my back yard. Keep the reports coming!

Turns out Montana is full now, and they closed the borders. On a more serious note, housing is definitely more expensive here than it was in Michigan, and jobs seem to pay less on average, not a great combination. I guess that's the price to pay for living in a sportsman's paradise though.

I should also mention that a lot of the stuff I have been seeing isn't exactly in my backyard. I have put 9,000 miles on my vehicle in just over 4 months, so I am covering lots of ground.

[DhD]

I would consider a two hour drive "in my backyard". Most of my spots are at least an hour from home and not nearly as cool as yours.

[justdirtyfun]

Looking good.
I can relate to the "in my backyard" feeling. My new home is surrounded by significant amount of public ground. But you earn it in time and gas running backroads. Windshield time adds up.

The ground isn't going anywhere. Knowledge and experience are slowly adding up.

My last evening drive around gave me a glimpse of some bucks standing in the stream drinking. Beautiful and great intel for chasing them.

Are you using a cell phone /spotter combo for pics?

[seazofcheeze]

Looking good.
I can relate to the "in my backyard" feeling. My new home is surrounded by significant amount of public ground. But you earn it in time and gas running backroads. Windshield time adds up.

The ground isn't going anywhere. Knowledge and experience are slowly adding up.

My last evening drive around gave me a glimpse of some bucks standing in the stream drinking. Beautiful and great intel for chasing them.

Are you using a cell phone /spotter combo for pics?

I couldn't agree more, putting the time in definitely pays dividends.

I am using a Vortex Razor 20-60x 85mm spotting scope, with a Phone Skope case adapter and a Galaxy S9 cell phone. The pics I posted, the bigger was buck was 600yds out (measured on OnX) and the bachelor group was closer to 1000yds. Obviously not crystal clear magazine quality photos, but since I already owned the spotter and a cell phone, it was around $75 bucks to get the phone skope and be able to take pics and videos. I think a guy could definitely engineer the phone case though, but I'm kind of lazy when it comes to that stuff

[justdirtyfun]

Looking good.
I can relate to the "in my backyard" feeling. My new home is surrounded by significant amount of public ground. But you earn it in time and gas running backroads. Windshield time adds up.

The ground isn't going anywhere. Knowledge and experience are slowly adding up.

My last evening drive around gave me a glimpse of some bucks standing in the stream drinking. Beautiful and great intel for chasing them.

Are you using a cell phone /spotter combo for pics?

I couldn't agree more, putting the time in definitely pays dividends.

I am using a Vortex Razor 20-60x 85mm spotting scope, with a Phone Skope case adapter and a Galaxy S9 cell phone. The pics I posted, the bigger was buck was 600yds out (measured on OnX) and the bachelor group was closer to 1000yds. Obviously not crystal clear magazine quality photos, but since I already owned the spotter and a cell phone, it was around $75 bucks to get the phone skope and be able to take pics and videos. I think a guy could definitely engineer the phone case though, but I'm kind of lazy when it comes to that stuff

The ranges possible with those spotter/phone scope combos are amazing. Like you said, not magazine quality but what you need is there. How much longer till go time???

[seazofcheeze]

Looking good.
I can relate to the "in my backyard" feeling. My new home is surrounded by significant amount of public ground. But you earn it in time and gas running backroads. Windshield time adds up.

The ground isn't going anywhere. Knowledge and experience are slowly adding up.

My last evening drive around gave me a glimpse of some bucks standing in the stream drinking. Beautiful and great intel for chasing them.

Are you using a cell phone /spotter combo for pics?

I couldn't agree more, putting the time in definitely pays dividends.

I am using a Vortex Razor 20-60x 85mm spotting scope, with a Phone Skope case adapter and a Galaxy S9 cell phone. The pics I posted, the bigger was buck was 600yds out (measured on OnX) and the bachelor group was closer to 1000yds. Obviously not crystal clear magazine quality photos, but since I already owned the spotter and a cell phone, it was around $75 bucks to get the phone skope and be able to take pics and videos. I think a guy could definitely engineer the phone case though, but I'm kind of lazy when it comes to that stuff

The ranges possible with those spotter/phone scope combos are amazing. Like you said, not magazine quality but what you need is there. How much longer till go time???

Headed to North Dakota Aug 30 - Sep 2 for the whitetail archery opener, then the following weekend, Sept 7th is the deer/elk archery opener in Montana

[tbunao]

You guys have me half seriously pricing homes and looking at jobs in Montana, I can't even imagine having all this in my back yard. Keep the reports coming!

Turns out Montana is full now, and they closed the borders.On a more serious note, housing is definitely more expensive here than it was in Michigan, and jobs seem to pay less on average, not a great combination. I guess that's the price to pay for living in a sportsman's paradise though.


I should also mention that a lot of the stuff I have been seeing isn't exactly in my backyard. I have put 9,000 miles on my vehicle in just over 4 months, so I am covering lots of ground.

No vacancy

Yea I’ve had my vehicle since May 3rd and am about due for an oil change

Your chasing big bucks and I’m chasing trout in world class streams. This place sucks

[justdirtyfun]

Now Montana is overpopulated with



Wolves. The wildlife will need all the help it can get.
Good luck.