What We Hunt
Whitetail Deer
Whitetail deer are browsers, meaning that their diet primarily comprises herbaceous plants and the leaves, twigs, and buds of woody plants. Because these food sources are found in abundance here, the Yaak River Valley has an extremely healthy whitetail deer population. Our whitetails can be found everywhere from the valley floor to the alpine ridges, requiring us to adapt our hunting methods based on cover and terrain. We hunt on foot, in blinds, and from tree stands during archery and rifle season.
Mule Deer
Mule Deer are grazers. While they do eat some browse, their diet is heavily comprised of grasses. The Yaak Valley is heavily forested, so there isn’t an abundance of grass. For that reason, there isn’t an abundance of mule deer. Those who call the Yaak their home are big, healthy, and live high on the mountain ridges. We climb high and hunt them on foot via spot and stalk during rifle and archery season.
Elk
Elk, too are grazers. During archery season, they can be found everywhere, from the river bottom to the mountain tops. Our herds are small, usually comprised of 1 herd bull and 6-8 cows, with a few satellite bulls hanging around. Bulls and cows may respond to calls, assisting us in locating a herd. More often than not, the bull will move his cows away from our call, unwilling to risk losing any of his harems. We hunt them on foot and over wallows from tree stands.
Upland Game
The Yaak is one of the few places where all 3 species of mountain grouse thrive. Our guides and pointing dogs have a special gift for finding Ruffed, Spruce, and Dusky grouse from the forest service roads and skid trails to the ridge tops.
Black Bear
Northwest Montana is home to a thriving population of black bears. Bears avoid humans if at all possible, making them very challenging to hunt. We hunt black bears from tree stands and ground blinds by spotting and stalking them or by still hunting. We do not hunt them with dogs or over bait of any kind, nor is it legal to do so.
Wolf
The most challenging and controversial hunt that we offer. We love wolves. We love that they are a part of and play a critical role in this ecosystem we live in. We also believe that hunting plays a critical role in managing their populations. We hunt them from December through February. While we use trucks and snowmobiles to get into certain parts of the valley, we hunt on foot, often with snowshoes. We look for tracks and howl to locate them, after which we usually transition to using calls that mimic the sounds of other predators and prey.
Mountain Lion
Our corner of Montana is home to one of the healthiest populations of Mountain Lions in the U.S. Hunted during wintertime; our guides work alongside houndsmen to locate fresh lion tracks in the snow. If it’s determined that the tracks were made by a mature tom (a male lion), the hounds are let loose on the track. You’ll need to draw a special tag to hunt lions, so give us a call for help with the application.