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2016, Fly Fishing

Smith River, Montana – Part 1

SMITH RIVER, MONTANA

To protect a place or thing, you must appreciate and understand the value of it. The greater the number of individuals that have that appreciation and value residing in their souls, the more support you have and the stronger the voice when a call to action is needed. Although the Smith River is the only permitted recreational river in Montana and is enjoyed by thousands of outdoor enthusiasts each year, it continues to seemingly fly under the radar as a Montana destination in comparison to some of our other wildly famous resources. That all has slowly been changing over the last year as a proposed copper mine has brought the beloved Smith River front and center. Some cringe at the idea of more people knowing of their beloved spots and diluting their chances at drawing a permit yearly, but others see the necessity of a wider awareness and hope more people can become personally acquainted and educated on this beautiful river system and the overall majesty of the larger landscape of which the Smith River calls home.

A classic look at Montana’s Smith River.

The Smith River is what I would call the Grand Canyon of Montana. Flowing north out of the Big Belt, Little Belt and Castle Mountains it picks up size as it winds its way through windswept cattle country near White Sulfur Springs, Montana. As it passes Camp Baker, where floaters put in on their 59 mile float, it dives into a deep limestone canyon that provides some of the most stunning river vistas Montana has to offer. Cliff walls soar over corner after corner of this epic river and the beauty often distracts the fisherman from an eat of their fly by a hungry brown or rainbow trout.

This dynamic river is considered a red-ribbon trout fishery with trout densities back in 2011 averaging about 250 brown trout and 250 rainbow per mile in the upper stretches. Angler-days averaged about 14,200 between 1982 and 2009. The primary species to be hooked under these limestone walls are brown trout and rainbow trout, but cutthroat and brook trout do exist in lesser numbers as well. Given the nature of the upper 100 miles of river it often runs a varying hue of brown for much of the first half of the float season. Fishing a nymph will produce your best numbers but the Smith offers some exceptional dry fly fishing and great structure and pockets for the streamer junkie to target the larger fish in the river.

A nice Smith River brown trout.

Why the Smith is the #4 most Endangered River in America for 2015

Currently Tintina Resources is going through the permit process with Montana’s Department of Environmental Quality for an underground copper and related minerals mine in the Sheep Creek area. Sheep Creek is a tributary to the Smith River and prime spawning habitat for native fish populations from as far away as the Missouri River hundreds of miles downstream. The proposed mine has many worried. A few of the concerns revolve around acid mine drainage and it’s potential effect on fish and other aquatic life, the potential for a lowered water table that could effect adjacent stream flows in a river system that already has to deal with low flows during the summer months, as well as groundwater contamination issues. (More about the risks of the mine can be found in the links at the end of this post). Now it’s a fact that our society and most all of us rely on mining in our daily lives. I’m surely not anti-mining, but given Montana’s poor history with mines heavily polluting waterways it’s hard to not be highly concerned that we eventually will see many negative environmental effects from a mine such as this. The Upper Clark Fork basin is currently one of the largest Super Fund sites in the nation due to a flood in 1908 that caused an open-pit copper mine in Butte to spill millions of tons of contaminated sediment downstream along the river for hundreds of miles (https://www.hcn.org/articles/clarkfork_superfund).

Over hanging cliffs line a large portion of the Smith River.

With the debate raging on it was easy to see how both sides had valid points regarding their stance on the project. One side wanted to protect the environment and recreational value of the resource and the other wanted to mine a valuable raw material our society demands while providing jobs to the local economy which currently has few to offer. I figured the best way to feel out the subject was to actually get a first hand experience on the river. Both my brother Travis and I had drawn permits for mid-April, and we knew that after 5 days on the river we’d have a much stronger opinion on the matter at hand. As we spent time researching more about the river, I found that there was not much to be read or seen about the fishing on the river or the experience in general. A quick Google search of “fly fishing the Smith River” led to the first page being dominated by outfitters and fly shops offering guided trips. A read through these pages did provide some insight into the river but left more questions than it could answer. A quick look at Youtube revealed an assortment of poor quality, handicam style videos that didn’t seem to showcase the grandeur of a place that was seemingly so epic and suddenly so threatened. With little high quality content it seemed it would be hard for someone to understand the amazing value the resource had to offer without going on a trip firsthand. Given the nature of our work we felt documenting our trip would be a great way to raise awareness for a resource that seemed to desperately need it. It seemed that if thousands enjoyed the trip each year and our state was comprised of tens of thousands who enjoy fishing we could do better than only 8,022 signatures on a petition that needed 10,000 as of writing this.

Looking for risers in the foam.

Filming a nice cuttbow.

After a few weeks of quick planning we had arrived at Camp Baker with rafts, camping gear and a handful of cameras in tow. Our group totaled only six people and only Sam had been here before. Our goal was to see this resource firsthand and capture the trip through photo and video. We had no big production crew, no big sponsors, no shot lists or scripts and no expectations, just a group of good friends, a beautiful river and five days of wild experience before us. (Part 2 is now up on the site. You can read it HERE > Part 2)

Launch Day

To learn more about the Smith River Mine please see the following links:

Save Our Smith – (www.saveoursmith.com)

Tintina Resources – (www.tintinaresources.com)

Montana Environmental Information Center (www.meic.org/issues/smithriver)

Black Butte Copper – (www.blackbuttecopper.com)

Smith River Watch – (www.smithriverwatch.org)

Tintina’s mine proposal – (deq.mt.gov/Land/hardrock/tintinamines)

News Articles:

NY Times – (www.nytimes.com/smithriver)

Montana Kaimin – (www.montanakaimin.com/news/smith-river-mine)

Bozeman Chronicle 10/17/15 – (http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/opinions/guest_columnists/why-gamble-on-the-future-of-montana-s-smith-river)

Helena News 2/11/16 – (http://www.ktvh.com/2016/02/black-butte-copper-project-tintinas-technologies-part-3/)

-Written by Zack Boughton

-Photos by Travis Boughton, Zack Boughton, Calvin Connor, Maddie Sieler

May 2, 2016/1 Comment/by Montana Wild

2016, Food

Wildgame Wednesday – Mountain Lion Pizza

Little do people know that mountain lion meat is extremely tasty. Yes anti-hunters, we do eat predator meat on occasion, so here is a big get educated moment for yourself.

Today we are going to show a brief outline of how to make Wild West Mountain Lion Pizza.

INGREDIENTS:

favorite steak seasoning
1 mountain lion backstrap
balsamic vinaigrette
pizza dough
2 tomatoes
pasta sauce
mozzarella cheese
basil
1 can olives
artichoke hearts in olive oil (costco)
14″ pizza pan

First take and slowly thaw out the mountain lion backstrap in your refrigerator. Once thawed, clean the meat, rinse, dry and put in container where you can apply your favorite steak seasoning and splash with balsamic vinegrette. Let the backstraps marinate for 24hrs.

(Now is the time to make your pizza dough, or purchase your pizza crust from the store. We prefer making our own.)

Once the meat is marinated, you are ready to prepare the most unique pizza you have ever made. In our case we will be cooking on a Traeger Grill. Preheat your grill to 350F. Once preheated lay the backstraps evenly on the grill.

BBQ backstraps 5-6min each side, flipping to new grill space each time. (These times may vary depending on thickness of cuts, so watch meat closely). *Make sure the internal meat temp reaches above 150F to avoid trichinosis*

Once meat is cooked (golden tan color), remove from heat and throw rolled out pizza dough in the Traeger at 450F for 5-6 minutes. (Be sure to spray pizza pan with non-stick spray to avoid sticking)

Make sure your pizza topping are sliced and ready.

Remove pizza dough, spread pasta sauce, sprinkle on the mozzarella cheese, and apply the toppings. Add sliced mountain lion during this step. We had extra backstrap and ate the extra steaks, which were drop dead amazing by themselves.

Throw the pizza in the Traeger on high heat until crust is crisp and golden brown and the cheese is all melted.

Once cooked to perfection, remove, cut and sprinkle with basil. Enjoy and impress your friends when you tell them they are eating mountain lion!

-Travis Boughton

April 26, 2016/3 Comments/by Montana Wild

2016, Hunting

JUNGLE BEARS – Film Release

Back in 2013 we decided to make a trip to some Idaho backcountry in search of spring black bears. If you want to read more about the trip there is PART 1 and PART 2. This is our longest film to date and shows more of the process and day-to-day challenges we face on hunts like this. It was our most physical hunt any of us had done but in the end the reward was well worth the effort put forth by all of us. Your support either through purchasing apparel, sharing the film, or even leaving a comment on our content helps us continue to make more hunting and fishing films!! ENJOY!!

April 24, 2016/3 Comments/by Montana Wild

2016

10 Reasons Why Spring Bear Hunting is the Cat’s Ass: A Complete Reference

Let me preface this by by saying that the following statements, events, and recounts of events are all true. Except, of course, for the ones that aren’t. In truth, I know almost nothing about bears and bear hunting, this is all speculation.

Reason #1 – Tomahawk Chucking
First things first, if you’re in bear camp you’d better be throwing a tomahawk or two. Get to camp, dump your crap, and troll backroads in your freak-nasty Dodge until you spy a suitable round of firewood that one of your Keystone slurping, chew-mowwing brethren has left behind. Sling that bad boy in the bed and get to camp stat. You don’t need to bear hunt tonight anyway. Undoubtedly, you and the homeboys will spend the rest of the week playing grab-ass and squabbling about who threw it best. Assuming none of you are a direct descendant of Sitting Bull, you’ll all be horrid. Good luck. Loser washes dishes.

Reason #2 – Big Bonner’s
Camping beats actually hunting almost every time if you’re doing it right. After acquiring your tomahawk target you’re going to need to get a big ole’ bonner (bonfire) started. If you’ve been blessed with super neat hunting buddies like Jay and I have, they’ll probably say something like: “Hey you little gremlins, get a raging bonner started before we die out here!” Awesome. Gather as much wood as possible and get it going. Since you and the boys were busy farting on each other when your Boy Scout camp counselor explained how to start a fire, you’re going to have to grab the gas can and get aggressive. Mission accomplished.

Reason #3 – Crop Dusting
It’s noon by the time you drag your un-showered ass from the tent on day two. You’ve missed Bear:30, but just the morning shift. If you’re lucky your camp cook James has already whipped up a fresh pot of coffee; which will be about 15% actual coffee, and 85% grounds. Delicious. When you’ve chewed and swallowed your morning coffee, grab your pack and get to hiking. With any luck you’ll be hot on the six of the best beer drinker in camp. We’ll call him Zack. Stay close, and make sure you’re breathing hard. When last night’s beers hit bottom, you’ll be the first to smell it.

“Dude, they aren’t even bad!” Zack laughs.

Right. You could pass him, but it’s pretty steep. You might just have to suffer through it. Don’t stress, you’ll get him back in time.

Reason #4 – Bear Snacks
“Dude, you want some candy?” Travis asked as we filled our packs for the evening hunt. I stared at him like it was an of inside joke that I wasn’t in on.

“Uhh..no I’m good, thanks,” I said.

“Your loss,” he replied.

I’d never hunted with these guys before, and I sure as hell didn’t want them to think I was that greasy kid from the second grade who never grew out of his baby fat. You know, the kid you were afraid to high-five because of the sweat-induced film that always covered his hands? I didn’t need that crap.
Two weeks later, Zack, James and I were huffing and puffing our way through mile-three of a lengthy pack out at around 1 a.m. We reached the halfway point and scrounged for a place to take a load off.

“Dude, you want some candy?” Zack asked.

I could have cried. You bet I wanted some candy. Two Rolo’s and a stale gummy worm later we were ready to roll. Energy stores replenished, we stumbled through the next few miles without a hitch. Long story short, bring some kind of sugary bear-snack when you hit the hills chasing spring bruins. You never know when that same sugary snack that propelled your beefy, second-grade pal through recess will save your ass on the mountain.

Reason #5 – Ronnie, Lonnie and Connie
If for some reason you stumble on a bear or two worthy of naming, there are a few things you should know. For starters, names that command a certain sense of badassery should be reserved for bears to match. Average sows with cubs need names you might overhear at the local supermarket or while attending the neighborhood book-club. Margaret, Sharon and Barbara are fail-safe. Jason, Matt and Paul are good names for those schmedium boars, while Kenneth is only acceptable if he shows potential for future badassery.
Size isn’t the only thing that comes into play when naming your bears, though. Attitude should be a taken into serious consideration. On the first evening of bear camp, Zack and I spotted Ronnie (Coleman). He sauntered back and forth atop a knife ridge about a mile and a half distant. He ripped 35 inch trees apart with his brute strength, and ran sprints to and fro in some kind of high intensity interval training. As we watched, he laid beneath a hanging log and leg-pressed a monstrous ponderosa for ten sets of ten. We elected to chase him in the morning.

Ronnie was big, but it wasn’t sheer size that earned him his name, it was mostly his attitude. We saw Connie, his sister, out with the cubs later that night, and his brother, Lonnie, later met the business end of Zack’s rifle. But we never caught up with Ronnie, likely due to his aggressive attitude and peak physical condition. If your unfamiliar with Ronnie Coleman the video below will get you up to speed.

Reason #6 – Bear:30
What the hell is Bear:30 anyway? Good question. Bear:30 – not to be confused with its close cousin, Beer:30 – is when those veteran bruins get up and slow-ride their way to a favorite munching ground. Maybe it’s where the grass is the best, maybe it’s where the honeys are. Regardless, if it’s Bear:30 you need to be in the woods; and I don’t mean chilling in the whip, “glassing” with a cold beverage.

By Bear:30 you should have summited at least two peaks, crop dusted your buddies, and be looking into country that hasn’t seen a human-being since Lewis and Clark. Once you’re there, chill out. Bear:30 generally runs from around 6:30-9 in both the morning and evening, give or take a few minutes. Find a good spot and set up, it’s only a matter of time until Lonnie makes an appearance; or even better, Ronnie.

Reason #7 – Bear Chronic
Graminoids are monocotyledonous, generally herbaceous plants with narrow leaves sprouting from the base. This includes members of the family Poaceae, Cyperaceae and Juncaceae. Simple right? Actually, it is. All that shit is just grass. However, we like to use its scientific name: Bear Chronic. Bear Chronic grows everywhere, but where you find the highest concentrations of the stuff you’ll also find the bears. When Ronnie, Lonnie and Connie awake from their long winters nap they’re headed straight for the thickest, juiciest Bear Chronic.

Frequent users argue that Bear Chronic is non-habit forming, but we know better. Side effects include drowsiness, dry mouth, abundance of Bob Marley apparel, lack of motivation and over-use of words like ‘gnarly, chill and rad.’ Street names for the substance include, ‘Astro-Turf, Dinkie-Dow, Bo-Bo and Donna Jauna,’ so keep your ears open.
Old logging roads usually hold large quantities of Bear Chronic, so check ‘em out. You should be seeing piles upon piles of bear dung to boot. If so, you’re definitely in the sweet spot. Come back a little before Bear:30 and wait for the action to start.

Reason 8: Stump Bears
“I’ve got one,” James hissed.
Travis ditched the spotter and hustled to where James was glassing. I followed suit.
“Where is he?” I whispered.
The abstract directions that followed guided my glass to rest on a big, black…something.
“Uhhh…has it moved?” Travis asked.
The answer is no. It hadn’t moved, ever, at least not since it came crashing down in the blaze that charred it pitch black. The moral of the story is this: nine times out of ten, it isn’t a bear. It’s a stump bear. Yeah yeah, we know, it really looked like a bear, and you swear it was moving just a second ago.
Everybody wants to be the guy that spots the bear, you’re a hero if you do. But it’s likely that you won’t be that guy. Someone in the group might be, but it probably won’t be you. Stay frosty, keep your eyes on him, and if your stump bear takes off running or stands up on it’s hind legs, then and only then, would it be appropriate to alert the posse.

Reason 9: Truck Mobbin’
“Do you say ‘mobbin’ too?” Jay looked at me.
“Yeah man, mobbin’, it’s basically all I do,” I mumbled between bites of my tailgate turkey sandwich.
Being from the Tennessee, I guess Jay had never ‘mobbed.’ Mobbin’ is basically the act of cruising the Dodge – or whatever truck brand you and your daddy choose to associate with – down some backroads and kicking it. Whether you’re headed to town or back to camp, more often than not you’re bumping your favorite beat – Avril’s 1992 hit Sk8er Boi – and Tokyo drifting every corner. Or not, maybe you’re just chatting up an evening GP (game plan) with the dudes. Whatever the case, you’re mobbin’.

Reason 10: Ticks
Ticks are a terrifying creature. If the thought of a nickel-sized insect braving the dangers of your ass-crack to suck your blood doesn’t terrify you, you’re either a SEAL, or impressively dimwitted. I’m leaning towards dimwitted. Anyways, the aftermath of a long pack out left me standing alone in my kitchen at 3:30 in the morning. I was starving, but I struggled pouring the milk into my Frosted Flakes. Standing in the half light of the kitchen, I ran my hands through the mane. The little beasts were everywhere. I abandoned the cereal – a cardinal sin – and hit the shower. I think I pulled five or six of the little buggers off of me that night; most of which had taken residence in my fledgling mullet. I wrestled with my emotions as I contemplated cutting the hair I had worked so hard to achieve. I had already limped past the awkward stage. You know, when it’s too long for you to be a responsible adult but not enough to achieve your desired degree of mullet success? On the other hand I had serious personal issues with the tick-farm my hair was becoming. But I had already come this far, I couldn’t let them win. I kept it and returned to my soggy bowl of cereal.

So that’s it. There’s ten good reasons why you need to be chasing spring bears with your buddies. If that doesn’t convince you, I don’t see how anything will. More bears for the rest of us I suppose.

-Written by Sam Averett

April 11, 2016/3 Comments/by Montana Wild

2016, Fly Fishing, Spring Fishing

Spring Is King

A lot of people ask us when our favorite time to fish is and while summer may provide warmer weather and more options to fish, spring is king in our book.

We simply mark spring as the time when the rivers lose their ice and temperatures start hitting the low 40s. The fish take note and if you can handle cold feet and hands, you’ll most likely land some of your biggest fish of the year.

Spring fishing is a tough bet if you’re not a local considering weather patterns this time of year can vary a ton! Those weather patterns also have a big impact on flows and river temps. If you live here though you’re in luck. Watching the weather will pay off and many beautiful days can be found in February, March and April. Having a flexible work schedule helps a lot as well.

Nymphing is going to be your big producer from February through mid March. If you’re not a purist throw on a worm and another nymph matching a local food source and you’ll be in business. It’s not flashy but it plain works. If you’re feeling a bit bolder, a streamer will pay off big time if you can push through the slow days that exist this early in the year.

Anytime of day, any water type and any retrieve can and will pick up fish but a slow twitch or swing through slow 3-6’ of water tend to pick up the most fish this time of year. As the river temperature starts to tick upward the streamer bite can be off the charts and other than fall this is our favorite time to streamer fish.

Once we get into the last couple weeks of March we start to see the skwala stonefly emerge. This hatch brings the big boys out of hiding and fishing big dries this early in the year is very hard to beat. Expect crowds once the word is out, but if you know where to look you can still have some banner days under the Big Sky tossing a dry and getting some vicious eats.

As we move into April we see some absolutely great fishing across the board and the weather is typically much nicer between spring storms.

Typically runoff starts showing up in late April and early May and from then on we wait until things shape up in June. This spring has already shaped up to be one that we won’t quickly forget and we’re only half way through it. Expect to see more from this spring in the future!

-Zack

March 30, 2016/by Montana Wild

2015

A Statement from Montana Wild

Recently many have seen a statement by Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks about Montana Wild’s involvement in both fly fishing for bull trout and commercially filming in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

There are many, many issues that could be addressed regarding this case to give a better understanding of the actual circumstances, but the length and complexity is better suited for a different platform. Below is a short and honest history of the allegations against us.

The story begins when we planned a trip in 2013 to make a fly fishing film about bull trout in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, specifically on the South Fork of the Flathead River. This is the only waterway that you can legally fish for bull trout in the State of Montana and the regulations are clear on this point. To fish legally in this area you need to acquire a bull trout catch card from FWP. All three of us had legal catch cards in our possession during the trip.

Prior to the trip, we spoke multiple times with the Film Commissioner at the Montana Film Office about whether we would need a permit for our film. We were advised that a special permit would not be necessary for our production. This was our first year filming as a business and naively believed that the Film Office was the best source for this guidance. We later found out that the advice we were given was not true to the law. Since this case began we’ve worked closely with the Forest Service to make sure all of our past films are properly accounted for and all filming since then has been properly permitted.

Months before we set foot in the Bob Marshall, we asked advice from many individuals including local fly shop owners, outfitters and past guides about where to fish during our trip. Not once were we ever told that fishing for bull trout in the tributaries was illegal. During our trip we filmed the vast majority of our time on the water with the intent of showing the film publically as we have over the past several years in cooperation with the best brands and anglers in fishing. In our minds we did everything legally during this trip. Later when we were approached by FWP, we found out differently as they told us the tributaries are closed to bull trout fishing. We simply did not know that their interpretation of the regulations defined the fishery that way. In our mind, the tributaries were located in an area of the drainage that was open to bull trout fishing. In fact, the regulations in 2014 that address this fishery were specifically altered to clarify the points on which we were misunderstood. After those regulations were changed, The Drake Magazine published an article called “Chasing Natives” in their Fall 2014 issue. The last paragraph has a sentence that says, “The river and its tributaries are one of the few places in Montana where it’s legal to target bull trout…” Apparently we aren’t the only ones who have had difficulty in correctly understanding these regulations.

This article was published after our trip in 2013.

Montana Wild exists as a business and a passion because we love to inspire others to enjoy Montana’s best fisheries and most wild places. Each and every fish handled during the filming of this project was carefully released to see another day. Many elements go into the netting of a bull trout in the backcountry. FWP allows you to photograph your catch, which is mentioned in their Bull Trout Regulations. They also ask you to document the length of each bull trout as part of the catch card process. We believe some of our practices could have been handled better during this trip with what we now know, but we believe FWP misrepresented this part of their case in their press release about our handling practices. Never was a fish out of water for more than a few breaths and then back into the net quickly. We feel strongly that we had no negative effects on the fishery and we never intentionally released a fish to replay it for the camera. That practice would violate the fish-handling ethos we hold dear.

After much work on this case over many months, we believed it was the best course of action to settle our case. On every point we have a counter point. But we are filmmakers and not lawyers—we feel more comfortable behind a lens than in a courthouse. While we feel that a court case could have been advantageous to our position, we wanted to begin our next feature film and continue to follow our careers and passion as filmmakers. In the end, several lessons have been gained by this experience. We wholeheartedly understand that passion projects like fishing for bull trout can lead to unintended consequences and we never had any intent on breaking any laws during this trip. That honest mistake is on Montana Wild and we assume full responsibility.

We are sorry if we’ve disappointed any of our supporters and we are excited to put this behind us. Our hope is that a look at our body of work and actions will speak louder about our intent and values as outdoorsman than a simple and honest mistake.

Zack and Travis Boughton

Montana Wild

February 20, 2016/9 Comments/by Montana Wild

2016, Hunting

TOOTH & FANG – Official Film Release

Coyote hunting, its a controversial topic for many. To most hunters it seems to be an obvious necessity to keep a balance between predators and prey. Coyotes affect deer, elk and antelope numbers in many regions of Montana. An overpopulation of coyotes will reduce fawn survival rates drastically and put added stress on the wildlife in that area. Coyotes have a strong knack to survive the harshest conditions and have a rapid ability to reproduce.

On top of that, coyotes are the largest cause of death for cattle and sheep calves in the spring season. When a rancher has a $50,000 loss in one year due to coyotes, you know they are a huge problem. Coyotes affect many ranchers livelihoods and have a much larger impact on livestock than many realize.

Tooth & Fang is a very unique coyote film that goes into some of the reason behind coyote management. We traveled thousands of miles, talked with many ranchers, and visited some of the most beautiful landscapes that Montana has to offer. This three year film project shows a rancher’s perspective on how coyotes affect the wildlife and livestock on and around their ranches.

Don’t be mistaken, we made sure to show some of our best coyote encounters while helping balance the coyote populations on multiple tracts of land throughout the treasure state. Here is the teaser below. Help support our future film endeavors by renting or purchasing the film HERE.

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/149700981 w=580&h=440]

RENT THE FULL FILM HERE.

January 11, 2016/1 Comment/by Montana Wild

2015, Hunting

Montana’s Mountain Muledeer

Its been a long journey for Zack to find a mature mountain muledeer in Montana. Read the full story here: MONTANA’S MOUNTAIN MULEDEER

December 18, 2015/by Montana Wild

2015, Hunting

BOW BREAKER BUCKS is Live!

This past year we had the chance to chase mule deer on public land in October. In less than perfect conditions Zack found a buck worthy of an arrow, but could just not seem to connect with a shot. Its never easy to shrug off a miss, especially when your bow is still on. Sometimes its all a mental game when archery hunting, and if you can overcome that mental hurdle, you will most likely succeed.

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/134435761 w=580&h=440]

The Outlaw Hunting Knife

We instantly found common ground when we first met James Behring. We both had a passion for hunting and our overall personalities meshed well. It didn’t take long for us to get a few Behring Made knives in our hands and immediately we were impressed. James craftsmanship is top notch, and his blades have personality to go along with the razor sharp blades.

During 2014 we had the pleasure of using two different Behring knives. They performed well but we had a few changes in mind that we felt would improve the knife for our use in the field. That winter we came back to the Behring Made shop and chatted with James about various details that we felt would make the knives perform better in our hands. From there the idea took off to build a colab knife between Behring Made and Montana Wild.

After our first round of testing, James took our input and went straight to the sketch pad to draw out new blade designs. James came up with two new prototype blade shapes. From there we decided to stick with an epoxy finished paracord grip, because we felt it added great feel and grip to the blade and also helped us reduce overall weight of the knife.

The two new prototypes consisted of different blade and handle shapes, which we got to test on three different bears this past spring.

From there James took our feedback and drew up a final prototype blade design. We were now down to the final details, and set out this fall with 3 final prototypes to test.

Our archery season was very successful and we were able to test the prototypes on 4 elk total. Overall we were very impressed with the knives and the slight modifications we had made from our first round of prototypes. The feel and ability to hold an edge was top notch and the blade handled joints, meat, and caping extremely well.

Overall this has been a great process that in turn created a solid product that we think a lot of hunters will be extremely happy with. In the “disposable society” we live in it’s great to hold a knife built to withstand a lifetime of use and something that will only get better with age. To top it off these knives are handmade in Missoula, MT! Below is a video detailing some of the process we went through to get to the end product.

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/145451882 w=580&h=440]

The knife is now available here> THE OUTLAW

There is also more specs available here> Knife Specs

November 11, 2015/by Montana Wild