Montana’s archery season is one of the most demanding — and most rewarding — hunts you can draw a tag for in this state. You’re covering big country, usually in August heat or early September thermals, glassing for animals that can vanish into a canyon in seconds. The crew over at Twin Elements knows that grind well, and their latest film drops you right into the middle of it: bowhunting mule deer bucks and bull elk on the same Montana trip, with all the close calls and decision-making that kind of combo hunt demands.
The Mule Deer Chess Match
What stands out early in the film is the mule deer sequence — they spot a buck bedded in a crevice and have to figure out a play. That’s classic Montana muley country, and anyone who’s chased mule deer in the Missouri Breaks, the Musselshell drainage, or along the eastern front knows exactly that feeling: you’ve got a good buck located, the wind is doing something weird, and the terrain is working against you just enough to make it interesting.
Archery mule deer season in Montana typically opens in early September across most general districts, which puts hunters in the field during a tricky window. Bucks are still in late-summer patterns, feeding heavily and bedding in shaded draws during the heat of the day. Thermals in broken canyon country are notoriously unpredictable — they pull up-canyon in the morning and flush back down as temperatures drop in the evening, and any variation in ridgeline or rock face can create a swirling mess right when you’re trying to close the final thirty yards. The Twin Elements crew runs into exactly this kind of problem, and watching how they work through it is genuinely useful for anyone planning a similar hunt.
Practical tip: On mule deer in open breaks country, glass hard from a distance before you ever move. Burning a stalk on a buck you haven’t fully evaluated — or one that has unseen does bedded nearby — is one of the fastest ways to blow an entire day. Get your wind figured out before you’re committed, not halfway down the ridge.
Elk on Public Land — What Montana Still Offers
The elk side of this hunt is what will really get the blood moving for anyone who’s been bugling bulls on public land. Montana holds some of the best over-the-counter archery elk opportunity remaining in the western United States. Resident general elk A tags are available at a reasonable fee without a draw, and nonresidents can also access archery elk tags — though availability and pressure have both increased in recent years, so it pays to check current Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks regulations before you make plans.
The Twin Elements team leans into the challenge of closing distance on bulls in open country, which is a different game entirely from hunting bulls in dark timber. In the river breaks and open foothills that make up a lot of Montana’s accessible public land — including large blocks of BLM ground in central and eastern Montana — elk can be spotted and bugled from long range, but getting within bow range requires real terrain management. You’re using drainages, sagebrush benches, and whatever sparse cover you can find to cut the distance without getting winded or skylined.
Practical tip: If you’re hunting open country elk early in the rut, don’t overwork your calls. A bull that hangs up at 200 yards in open terrain is responding — he just wants the cow to come to him. Try going silent after a series of cow calls and use the terrain to circle in tighter rather than calling more aggressively. Patience wins more of those standoffs than volume does.
Why This Film Is Worth Watching Before Your Season
Beyond the action sequences, what makes this film useful is the decision-making it puts on screen. You see the wind calls, the blown stalks, the second-guessing — the stuff that doesn’t always make the highlight reel but is the actual substance of bowhunting in big, open Montana country. Whether you’re fine-tuning your setup for an upcoming archery hunt or just need something to remind you why you put in all those miles on the treadmill this spring, this one delivers.
If you’re planning a Montana archery combo hunt of your own, check the current season dates and district regulations at the Montana FWP website, and pull up onX or a FWP access map to identify BLM and state land blocks in your target area. The opportunity is still out there — it just takes some homework and a lot of boot leather to cash in on it.
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