Quick Tips
- It appears moose numbers are improving and there is a reasonable chance to harvest a mature bull
- Bring good optics even though much of the unit is forested and be sure to have maps showing 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 south central Montana and the southern boundary is the Wyoming state line. It is bordered on the north by Interstate 90 and is south of Columbus and Billings. The eastern boundary is mostly the Crow Indian Reservation line. It is a large unit but the north and east have little to no moose and is all private ground.
Moose numbers are lower than historic levels but currently stable and may be slightly increasing. After the wolf introduction moose numbers declined and tag numbers were reduced. With four bull tags now the harvest has been 75% to 100% successful the last three years. There is a chance to kill a mature bull in the 40 inch category.
Terrain
The unit is highly varied from the riparian areas along the Yellowstone and Stillwater Rivers and numerous streams to 12,000 foot peaks in the Absaroka–Beartooth Wilderness. A majority of the moose though will be located in the riparian areas along the stream corridors and up into the foothills of the Beartooths. This terrain varies from relatively flat to moderately sloping foothills.
Roughly 495 square miles
27.7% public land
Elevations from 3,500-12,800 feet
Vegetation
The riparian area along the main streams are cottonwoods, willow, rose, red-osier dogwood and other shrubs. The drainages all have numerous open meadows of grass, forbs and shrubs with a lot of wet boggy areas. There are a lot of agriculture fields adjacent to these riparian areas in some locales. The upper basins have some lush meadows with dwarf willow and other shrubs that are good browse. The majority of the foothills are forested with fir, pine, spruce and some quaking aspen. Many of the logged areas have grown in with good brush growth that is also utilized by moose.
Access
Moose located in the foothills can be found on national forest lands with relatively good access but there is private ground at the lower elevations and moose will be found here as well, so know where you are at. The area is easily accessed by highways and numerous county roads. The national forest lands have numerous trails into the unit. Some of the private land is closed to all hunting.
ATVs could be handy in some sections of this unit
Most of this unit can be hunted on foot via vehicle access but horses could save a lot of hiking and be extremely helpful for the pack out
Interstate 90 will get you access to the major highways heading south into the unit, Highways 212, 310, 72 and 78 and from these you can access the numerous county and forest roads
Camping and Lodging
There are numerous places to camp throughout the unit on the national forest and there are Forest Service campgrounds as well as other campgrounds in the unit. Red Lodge, Columbus and Billings have numerous motels, gas, restaurants and sporting goods stores.
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