These are among the most rugged Montana elk hunts, and we often describe them as “extreme” hunts. Our hunts are guided in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and Swan Valley areas of Montana off of horseback. Our guides and horses have been preparing and getting shape all summer long on backcountry pack trips; elk season is what they’ve been waiting for! Archery hunting elk, requiring close proximity to the animal, is, by its very nature, quite different from hunting these animals using a rifle. Successful archery hunts require excellent calling abilities and guides who know the difference between techniques utilized for archery versus rifle hunts. Archery hunts necessitate minimizing overexposure of hunting areas and minimizing scent control and noise. For these reasons, we only take two hunters to each of our “archery only” designated areas. We have experimented with various styles of guided archery elk hunts and we believe we have landed upon an offering that delivers the ultimate archery elk hunting experience in Montana. Even though the season is actually longer, we focus solely on the time frame surrounding the rut to maximize our opportunity: we offer three sessions of 7-day archery only hunts. Note that this boils down to 5 days of solid hunting as the rest of the time is spent getting to and from the area. We employ two-on-one guiding as we have found it is the best way to maximize our hunters' opportunities to be successful. With limited space, our archery elk hunts are the first to book up. We typically have been booked two years in advance, so don’t wait! Our elk herds are in better shape today than they have been in thirty years! Our hunting areas also support ample populations of whitetail and mule deer and color phase black bear, increasing the chances of success across species. This terrain is more challenging to hunt elk in, no doubt, no flat land here. We utilize our horses to search the front range of the Bob Marshall for elk. With exclusive access in the areas where we hunt, Swan Mountain Outfitters is able to offer archery elk hunters perhaps one of the most unique and best opportunities to bag an elk of a lifetime with a bow. As the season progresses, migration of elk begins and affords our late-season elk hunters an opportunity to bag an elk at lower altitudes.