Location and Travel Arrangements
General Information
Archery Hunts - Deer and Elk
Rifle Hunts - Deer, Elk, and Moose
Big Horn Sheep Hunts
Mountain Lion Hunts
Drop Camps
Special Late Season Hunts for Migrating Yellowstone Park Elk
Deposits, Reservations, and Cancelations
Non-Resident Licenses

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Location and Travel Arrangements

The Broken Hart Ranch is conveniently located 16 miles southwest of Bozeman on an all weather highway. If you are driving, take U.S. 191 west out of Bozeman on the same route leading to the town of West Yellowstone and Yellowstone National Park.

Three commercial airlines -- Delta, Northwest and Horizon fly regular flights into Gallatin Field which is just six (6) miles from Bozeman. We will meet you on arrival, or rental cars are available at the airport. Also, several motels in Bozeman offer free airport pick-up and delivery service.

Arrive early or after your hunt stay a few extra days enjoying a multitude of local special interests. Visit Yellowstone National Park, fish nearby blue ribbon trout streams (Gallatin, Madison, Yellowstone rivers), or tour Lewis & Clark Caverns, the historic Madison Buffalo Jump, or Virginia City (mining ghost town). Two local ski resorts are usually open by Thanksgiving.

General Information

Hunting parties of up to 10 (varies with camp) can be accommodated, but smaller groups are equally welcome. Hunting parties of six or more in one group are accommodated alone in one camp. If the date is secured it will be strictly your camp with no other hunting parties included. Make your reservations early for the best selection of hunt dates. Any unsuccessful hunters who book back immediately (within 30 days) for the following year will be given a 10% rate reduction.

In camp guests are provided with heated sleeping tents, wooden bunks or cots, and a foam mattress. All meals are served family style in a clean wholesome manner. The cooks take great pride in their meals and serve plenty of food for the heartiest appetite. The camps have ample tents and space for privacy. They offer women hunters and/or wives an excellent opportunity to feel completely comfortable on a backcountry hunt.

Our horses are gentle with good mountain savvy. A professional guide accompanies each two hunters. Our guides are unique -- all have up-to-date first aid and CPR training, are good horsemen, and they know the country and game habits. All hunts are fair chase with the hunter and only the hunter pulling the trigger. Guides will not hunt in competition with you, their job is to get you into the game and take care of it after you bag it. We do ask that each and every hunter get in the best physical condition possible as this is rough country and we hunt hard from daylight until dark. We also ask that you do a lot of practice shooting during the year. Shoot from odd positions, standing, prone, etc. Do not use a rest other than to sight in your rifle. Most shots will be quick and less than 150 yards. Wild elk and deer will not stand around and wait for you to find a rest to shoot from. Most often, you will have less than ten seconds.

Camps are in beautiful scenic backcountry, accessible only by foot or horseback. The camps are in the Gallatin National Forest of southwest Montana, just north of Yellowstone National Park (Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks hunt areas 301 and 31.0 for elk).

The only items you furnish are your rifle, sleeping bag, personal effects and license. A recommended list of clothes to bring will be sent to you upon receipt of your reservation. Wives are welcome in camp as hunting or non-hunting guests. Rates for non-hunters are $ 125/day.

The number of days quoted for each hunt includes 112 day for packing into camp and 1/2 day for packing out. Your game is transported back to the ranch where provisions can be made for cold storage, cutting, shipping, taxidermy work, etc. Hunter stands all costs for processing game. Each hunt is detailed in a written contract and there are no hidden costs. Guide gratuity is at the option of each client, and is not included in the hunt fee.

We will gladly furnish references in your region for anyone seriously considering one of our hunts.

Archery Hunts -- Deer and Elk

Montana offers a special pre-rifle season for archery enthusiasts. Mid to late September is generally the prime rut period for elk in our area and offers some very exciting bow hunting. Our guides are experienced archery hunters and can do an excellent job of getting you on the elk. The archery season is the only season in southwest Montana where you will have the opportunity to see and hear bull elk bugle in the wild. The rut will be over by the time rifle season opens. Our archery hunts have consistently been our highest success hunts, averaging 80% kill on bulls over the last five years.

Rifle Hunts -- Deer, Elk, and Moose

Montana's general hunting season runs for five (5) weeks, opening on either the third or fourth Sunday of October and closing on the last Sunday of November. Your non-resident license includes both an elk and deer tag. The general season is open to buck deer and branch-antlered elk only, but doe deer tags and antlerless elk tags are available through the draw system. We will advise you as to which hunt areas to apply in for such tags.

Moose are readily available in the same hunt areas but the permit for such must also be obtained through a drawing. Any booked hunter who draws a moose permit in the areas we hunt elk may take their moose at the same time for no additional fee. You draw the permit and we'll find you the moose!

Big Horn Sheep Hunts

We hunt two of the few remaining areas of North America where Big Horn Sheep permits are available on an unlimited basis. Licenses must be purchased by May 1, but are guaranteed to all who properly apply. We offer three hunts, which have continued to give us one to several rams each year. The areas are very rugged and difficult to hunt. If your physical condition is above average and you're willing to hunt hard your odds are above average. Black Bear and Mountain Goat can be combined with sheep hunts if a goat permit is drawn (bear license can be purchased locally). One of our sheep hunts can be combined with deer and elk as that hunt area will open for the latter at the same time the sheep season opens. Please call us so we can explain the merits of hunting these unlimited permit areas.

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Mountain Lion Hunts

Mountain lion populations in Montana are definitely on the increase! In 1994/1995 we had 100% success -- 8 big toms for 8 hunters, two of which were over 150 pounds. The season runs Dec. 1 -- Feb. 15. Even though we use snowmobiles and/or horses to follow the dogs, these are very strenuous hunts. If you're in good shape and want some mid-winter excitement, join us for one of these trophies.

Drop Camps

A limited number of drop camp hunts are available -- depending on availability of camp sites. Note -- all outfitters must have a permit from the land owner (privately owned, USFS or whoever) in order to drop you off there. New permits for such are nearly impossible to obtain. Subsequently you cannot be packed into just anywhere. The outfitter must have a permit for packing you there. We have several permitted camp sites which are in prime elk country. They are particularly good for archery hunters who want to do their own thing. We'll furnish the camp site, pack you, your groceries, and personal gear in and out (plus your game) for $800 per hunter.

Special Late Season Hunts for Migrating Yellowstone Park Elk

Hunters are encouraged to apply for an "antlerless only" late season elk permit (Montana Fish, wildlife and Parks hunt area #310). Several hundred permits are issued for a series of two day hunt periods during January (computer picks date for each permit). At the time of the hunt, you must have an unused elk tag to make the permit valid. Only one elk per year per license holder! If you are unsuccessful during the general season, this permit gives you an excellent second chance. We have a success ratio of nearly 100% each year on these hunts. The weather can be extremely cold at this time of year, thus hunters are lodged in a warm cabin or motel. Note - Any of our regular season hunters (rifle or archery) who were unsuccessful and hold one of these late season permits, we will hunt you again on the permit with no charge for guide fees. Just an added bonus to show we are serious about you getting an elk!

Deposits, Reservations, and Cancellations

Our business is well established and many of our hunts are booking 1-2 years in advance. It's important to book early. We require a 1/3 (33%) deposit to confirm your reservation. Deposits are fully refunded if you are unsuccessful in obtaining a license after making timely and proper application. You can make reservations more than a year in advance by sending us a $100 per person holding fee for the dates you desire. This fee is non-refundable but will be applied towards your 33% deposit which is due a year before your trip. No rate reduction can be made if hunters fail to arrive on prearranged dates, or leave before the end of a contract period. Personal checks are acceptable for deposits, but balance is due upon arrival in the form of cash, cashiers check or travelers check. Deposits become non-refundable after March 1 on the year of your hunt. We will retain a $100 booking fee on cancellations made subsequent to that date. Note -- it is nearly impossible to fill openings created by cancellations once the non-resident licenses are all sold on March 15.

Nonresident Hunting Licenses

Montana offers 17,000 non-resident elk/deer licenses. 5,500 of these are set aside by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks for the clients of outfitters. A client who books with an outfitter on a fully guided hunt (drop camp hunts do not qualify) and applies for the license prior to March 15, will be guaranteed a license. The price for such a license is $ 835 (1999 price only), but remember -- you're guaranteed the license. No more planning a hunt and then failing to draw the license as was Montana's case previously. The price will vary from year to year depending on how many licenses are sold. It's called "Market Driven" where-by the price will attempt to hold the number sold to an average of 5,500 per year.

The remaining 11,500 licenses will continue to be sold at the same price as before ($475), but will require at least one or more years of "preference points" to obtain. For example, in 1996 there were 10,110 applicants with preference points (those that were unsuccessful in 1995). If all applied for a license, only about 1,500 licenses would be left to satisfy the average of 20,000 new applicants!

The choice is simple -- book with an outfitter (hopefully Broken Hart Ranch), pay a little more for the license, but hunt each and every year you desire!

Antelope, Mountain Goat, Moose, Sheep (limited permit areas) and Antlerless Elk are all obtained through a drawing. Permit application deadline is May 1. Sheep licenses for unlimited permit areas must also be purchased (no draw) by May 1. Mountain lion licenses may be purchased prior to Nov. 15, no draw. The Broken Hart Ranch will advise you as to which hunt areas to apply in for your desired permits.

License applications and/or additional information can be obtained by contacting: Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Special Licensing, Box 8012, Helena, MT 59620 Phone (406) 444-2950

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