Doh, that sounds very worrying, not just from a selfish hunting point of view from me, i really feel for the people it has affected.
But i have booked my flights so its too late, we will be coming over.
Cheers
Richard

not to worry to much to soon as not ALL of montana is on fire and there still is alot of country that is fire free to hunt.
we have fires from lightning strike every year some big some small
just do not let this stop your hunt. if you were booked with an outfitter in just 1 small area that is on fire i rethink it but if you have a state wide tag [ tags ]
that are good for most areas them have a good hunt . keep in mind that montana is bigger then most countries in your area

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Here is where I came There is where I went Home is where I want to be!

Thanks chaps, the thought of cancelling never even entered my head.
Cheers
Richard

Well, luck to you all. It seems that our entire ranch has burned up. If there is any thing left we don't know as no one is able to even get out and see if there is any live stock left alive. So far they have saved our house but some homes were lost. The evacuation order was given about 4:00 this afternoon but since the fire crews were staging out of our yard and my father-in-law was MIA my mother-in-law stayed. Just as well because the highway was closed in each direction so there was no where to go anyway. Lately the entire town of Lame Deer on the Cheyenne reservation just 4 miles away was ordered to evacuate. The entire town! The pictures I have seen are surreal and very frightening. The loss of grazing land and corrals and live stock protective structures may not be missed because it seems that most of the livestock is probably roasted.
These pictures are just behind the house. About 1/4 mile away.

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Wow thats terrible. Vibes to u and your family. I cant even imagine what your going through, but it sounds like the house is safe and so is the family. That is the most important. I hope the best for u and your family. With how dry it is in montana it could happen almost anywhere, and it sounds like you got the short straw. Good vibes and if you need anything from southwest montana just let me know and I will do anything I can.

Brandon

Thanks for the well wishes. The fires are still burning although I don't know whats left to burn. As of this afternoon the estimate is 98% of the grazing is gone and 100% of the hay that was put up for the winter. The loss of stock has been minimal but windmills, corrals and hundreds of miles of fence is gone.
We are in dire need of wood and steel fence posts and hay for the winter and to keep the stock fed until they can be sold. It took over 115 years for the family to build up this ranching operation and just 3 years to wipe it out. I don't know just how you recover from something like this but they had to be tough to hang on this long and we will see it through. We are all thankful that there was no loss of human life and only one home lost so far.
If you know where there is hay for sale or fence posts please send me a private message.
The pictures are a good representation of what thousands of acres of what used to be beautiful country looks like after a fire. Even the deer that survived have their hair burned off.

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Well i didn't get my Elk but i did yet a muley and a whitetail, here is a picture just prior to me taking my longest shot ever at 404 yards with my 30-06, second is the result of the shot.
Only saw cow's on my Elk hunt, no good when all you have is a bull tag.
The Elk hunt was the toughest hunt i have ever done in my life!


Thanks for all your prior advice guys.
Cheers
Richard

Nice Muley, Congrats!

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You get from a dog what you put in to that dog !

Congratulations on your first mule deer and your longest shot. I hope you get to come back again some time.

Jay