If you’ve been counting down the days until Montana’s archery elk season opens, Born and Raised Outdoors just dropped the fuel you needed. The channel wrapped up its annual Elk Week series with what might be the most compelling viewer-submitted hunt they’ve ever put on screen — a backcountry public land bowhunt that checks every box serious elk hunters care about: miles of hard country, no guarantees, and the kind of outcome that reminds you why you do this in the first place.
The Elk Week concept is simple and brilliant: Born and Raised picks one hunter’s real-world elk story and builds it out for the world to see. No outfitter, no guide, no high-fence operation — just a hunter who went deep into public land with a bow and figured it out. That premise hits different for Montana hunters who know exactly what that grind looks like. Whether you’re drawing a tag in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, hiking into the Beartooths, or glassing a roadless chunk of the Kootenai National Forest, you understand the weight of going in on foot and the pressure of making a shot count when there’s no easy way to get an animal out. Montana’s general archery elk season typically opens in early September, giving bowhunters a crack at bulls still in bachelor groups before the rut scrambles everything — and that early window rewards hunters who put in the scouting miles long before opening day.
What makes public land bowhunting in the backcountry so unforgiving — and so worth watching — is the margin for error. You’re packing your own meat, often multiple miles, in country where weather can change in an hour and a bugling bull can vanish into the timber just as fast. Montana’s 23 million-plus acres of public land give hunters genuine opportunity, but that opportunity doesn’t come easy. Elk pressure has increased across the West, and the animals that survive into September on public ground are educated. Videos like this one matter because they show what a successful hunt actually requires — not just the shot, but every decision that led to it.
Why Born and Raised Elk Week Resonates With DIY Hunters
There’s no shortage of polished hunting content online, but most of it exists at a remove from the reality most hunters actually live. Outfitter-guided hunts, private ranch access, and production crews that can afford to wait out a week of bad weather — that’s the standard formula. Born and Raised Outdoors built its reputation by pushing back against that formula, and Elk Week is the clearest expression of that philosophy. By centering the series on a single viewer-submitted hunt, the channel puts the focus squarely on ordinary hunters doing extraordinary things with nothing but their own preparation, fitness, and woodsmanship.
That framing matters. When you watch a hunter pack into a wilderness drainage alone, glass for days without a sighting, and then execute a close-range shot on a mature bull, you’re watching someone solve the same problems you’ll face. The decisions are real, the misery is real, and so is the reward. That’s a very different educational experience than watching a guided hunter fill a tag from a horse camp. For Montana’s large community of DIY archery elk hunters, Elk Week has become required late-summer viewing — part motivation, part masterclass.
Montana’s Public Land Advantage — and What It Actually Demands
Montana is one of the best states in the country for public land elk hunting, full stop. The combination of national forests, wilderness areas, Bureau of Land Management tracts, and state-managed lands creates a patchwork of opportunity that hunters in most other Western states can only envy. But acreage alone doesn’t tell the whole story.
The Country Is as Big as It Looks on the Map
Anyone who has pulled up OnX or CalTopo, circled a promising drainage, and then actually hiked into it knows the difference between map miles and boot miles. Steep elevation changes, deadfall, creek crossings, and the kind of off-trail travel that costs you twice as long as the topo suggests — Montana’s backcountry is legitimately demanding. Bulls that have survived a season or two on heavily pressured public land tend to live in the spots that require the most from you to reach. That’s not an accident. It’s a selection process, and the elk win it more often than hunters do.
Pressure Has Changed the Game
The popularity of DIY public land hunting has grown dramatically over the past decade, driven in part by hunting media, podcasts, and channels like Born and Raised. More hunters in the backcountry is, on balance, a good thing for wildlife conservation and the cultural health of hunting — but it does mean that the old reliable spots aren’t as reliable as they used to be. Bulls that get bugled at hard during the first week of September learn quickly. Early-season hunters who key in on food and water sources before the rut, use the wind religiously, and minimize their presence in a drainage tend to outperform hunters who rely on aggressive calling alone. Watching how the hunter in this video manages pressure and adjusts his approach is one of the most instructive parts of the film.
Early-Season Archery Strategy: What September Elk Hunting Actually Looks Like
The early archery window — before the rut kicks into full gear — is a different game than the bugling circus that most people picture when they think of elk hunting. Bulls are still grouping up, recovering from summer, and living predictable lives built around feeding, watering, and bedding. That predictability is your best friend if you’ve done your homework, and your worst enemy if you haven’t.
Scouting Is the Hunt
The most successful backcountry archery elk hunters treat the scouting process as seriously as the hunt itself. Summer trail cameras, glassing trips, and boot-leather scouting in July and August pay dividends that no amount of in-season adjustment can fully replace. Knowing where elk are watering, where they’re feeding in the evenings, and where they’re bedding in the midday heat gives you a framework for making smart decisions when the season opens. If you can identify a specific bull and pattern his movement, you’ve already done most of the hard work.
Thermals and Wind Are Non-Negotiable
Close-range bowhunting in elk country lives and dies on scent control, and scent control in the mountains lives and dies on understanding thermals. In steep terrain, thermals typically rise as the day warms and fall as it cools — morning hunts often work best when you can approach from below as thermals pull your scent upward, while evening setups require the opposite logic. Wind direction on top of thermal movement creates a complex puzzle, and elk noses are extraordinarily good at solving it. Hunters who ignore or underestimate this dynamic burn encounters fast.
Physical Fitness Is Part of Your Equipment List
You can’t buy your way into shape for a backcountry elk hunt, and no amount of gear optimization compensates for being gassed when a bull steps into a shooting lane at 40 yards. The ability to move quietly and efficiently in steep terrain, recover your breathing quickly after a hard push, and function well at altitude after days of effort — these are as important as arrow selection or broadhead design. Hunters who treat physical preparation as part of their gear list tend to have more encounters and execute better when it counts.
Packing Out Your Bull: The Part Nobody Films Enough
One of the things that separates backcountry public land hunting content from the guide camp variety is the pack-out — and it’s where a lot of first-timers get their hardest education. Elk are big animals. A mature bull can run well over 700 pounds on the hoof, and once you’ve broken him down into boned-out meat, hide, and antlers, you’re still looking at a substantial load that has to move from where he fell to where your truck is parked. In steep backcountry, that process can take multiple trips over multiple days.
Having a solid meat-hauling system dialed in before the season matters as much as your shooting practice. A quality pack frame with a load shelf, game bags that breathe and keep meat clean, and a realistic plan for cooling meat in warm early-September temperatures are all things worth thinking through now, not after the shot. Many Montana backcountry hunters also build their packing plans around a hunting partner or two for exactly this reason — the work is more manageable and safer with another person involved.
Montana Regions Worth Knowing for Backcountry Bowhunters
Montana’s elk habitat is spread across the state, but certain regions have developed strong reputations among serious backcountry bowhunters. The Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex — encompassing the Bob Marshall, Scapegoat, and Great Bear Wilderness areas — is arguably the most iconic elk country in the lower 48, and it holds good numbers of bulls that see relatively light pressure the farther in you’re willing to go. The Beartooth-Absaroka country in south-central Montana offers high-alpine elk habitat with dramatic terrain and bulls that tend to hold at elevation longer into the season. Northwest Montana’s Kootenai and Flathead National Forests carry solid elk populations in dense timber country that rewards still-hunting and close-range ambush tactics over aggressive calling.
Each region has its own access challenges, regulations, and character. Before you commit to any new area, it’s worth digging into Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks mapping tools, talking to your regional FWP biologist if possible, and checking current regulations carefully — season dates, unit boundaries, and any special restrictions can change year to year. Always verify your specific tag requirements and season structure directly with FWP before your hunt.
Get Your Gear and Your Head Right Before September
Whether you’re a seasoned elk hunter dialing in your early-season strategy or an archery newcomer trying to understand what backcountry pursuit really demands, this is worth an hour of your time. Pull it up, take notes, and get your boots ready. September doesn’t wait.
The weeks between now and opening day are exactly the right time to be watching content like this — not to get pumped up, but to actually learn. Pay attention to how the hunter in this film reads the country, manages his approach, and responds when things don’t go according to plan. The best preparation you can do right now is a combination of physical training, gear shakedowns, scouting if you can get out, and studying hunts like this one that show you what the real thing looks like from beginning to end. Burn the midnight oil on this one. Your September self will thank you.
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