Quick Tips
- It appears moose numbers are currently stable and there is a reasonable chance to harvest a mature bull
- Bring good optics even though much of the unit is forested and maps displaying land ownership
- You are in grizzly bear habitat, so hunt with a buddy and pack bear spray, be bear aware
On The Ground
This unit is located in southwest Montana and is just south of Livingston. It is the eastern slope of the Gallatin Mountain Range. All of the drainages flow into the Yellowstone River and that is also the eastern boundary. The southern boundary is Yellowstone National Park. A majority of the moose habitat is on national forest land, but there is private land at all of the lower elevations and along the stream corridors.
Moose numbers are lower than historic levels but currently stable. After the wolf introduction moose numbers declined and tag numbers were reduced. With only two tags now the harvest has been varied and there was a 50% success last year. There is a chance to kill a mature bull in the 40 plus inch category, but you will have to hunt hard and cover a lot of country.
Terrain
The unit starts along the Yellowstone River and rises to peaks of over 10,000 feet. Moose do inhabit the Yellowstone River valleys at times. Most of the drainages are quite long with some riparian bottoms and the adjacent mountain slopes are timbered almost all the way up to the high peaks. The mountain slopes are a constant grade, and hiking is not overly strenuous.
Roughly 541 square miles
42% public land
Elevations from 4,800-10,300 feet
Vegetation
The riparian area along the main streams has willows and brush in many areas. The drainages all have numerous open meadows of grass, forbs and shrubs with some wet boggy areas. The upper basins have some lush meadows with dwarf willow and other shrubs that are good browse. The majority of the unit is forested with fir, pine and some spruce. Many of the logged areas have grown in with good brush growth that is also utilized by moose.
Access
Most of the moose habitat is on national forest lands with trails up every drainage. All of the trails have good road access to the trailheads. Big Creek, Rock Creek and Tom Miner have roads following the streams for several miles but are mostly private ground. Several of the drainages are ten miles long after you leave the trailhead. There is private ground at the lower elevations and moose can be found here at times, so know where you are at.
ATVs will not gain you much but check the regulations at the Livingston Forest Service office on trail use
Some of this unit can be hunted on foot via vehicle access but horses would save a lot of hiking and be extremely helpful for the pack out
Highway 89 will get you access to Eight Mile Creek, Big Creek, Rock Creek, Tom Miner and Beattie Gulch
Camping and Lodging
There are numerous places to camp throughout the unit on the national forest, and there are Forest Service campgrounds in the unit. Livingston and Gardner have numerous motels, gas, restaurants, and a sporting goods store.
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