2018 MT Deer and Elk applications are open

[Deleted member 28227]

Ok... so typical Montana having screwy rules. Don't Apply in the Draw if you just want a bonus point! Wait till July

I can't hunt MT this year and I just want to get a bonus point for Deer and Elk. They haven't changed the original system just added in the ability to buy points, so if you put in an application now you have to get a big game combo and if you don't draw the permit you get a 80% refund.

Unlike CO, MT, UT, etc. you can't just buy a point during the regular draw, you have to wait for July.

This may not be news to some, but I couldn't find it explicitly stated anywhere on the website.

 

[8andcounting]

Ok... so typical Montana having screwy rules. Don't Apply in the Draw if you just want a bonus point! Wait till July

I can't hunt MT this year and I just want to get a bonus point for Deer and Elk. They haven't changed the original system just added in the ability to buy points, so if you put in an application now you have to get a big game combo and if you don't draw the permit you get a 80% refund.

Unlike CO, MT, UT, etc. you can't just buy a point during the regular draw, you have to wait for July.

This may not be news to some, but I couldn't find it explicitly stated anywhere on the website.

Just buy the point online in July it's simple

 

[BlakeA]

2017 Draw stats are up.

 

[8andcounting]

Not that I see . Still not detailed by number of points . Only thing is a spread sheet that tells total number of apps and number of successful. That does nothing . I want to see detailed stats .

 

[8andcounting]

Not that I see . Still not detailed by number of points . Only thing is a spread sheet that tells total number of apps and number of successful. That does nothing . I want to see detailed stats .

My bad - they are in fact up . Sorry Blake my bad . Thanks for your help good luck in the draw to everyone

 

[Tristram]

Last year I applied for and drew a big game combo for the general season. Under the new system is it possible to apply for this again and a bonus point or not?

 

[8andcounting]

Last year I applied for and drew a big game combo for the general season. Under the new system is it possible to apply for this again and a bonus point or not?

And a pref point you mean , yes you can . Bonus point is only for special permits

 

[Tristram]

I actually did mean a bonus point as I'd like to apply for a special draw one year.

 

[Kramer588]

New to the site and new to applying/ trying to hunt in Montana. I have a couple questions after looking through the fish and game site. First off, is the non resident deer combo tag good state wide or do you apply for specific HDs and if you apply for the preference point with your tag application, does that apply to this years drawing or is it just buying one to use for next year?

 

[Chad E]

Can't answer the preference point question but the general is good statewide except the limited entry hd' s. The limited entry draw is different from the general.

 

[8andcounting]

New to the site and new to applying/ trying to hunt in Montana. I have a couple questions after looking through the fish and game site. First off, is the non resident deer combo tag good state wide or do you apply for specific HDs and if you apply for the preference point with your tag application, does that apply to this years drawing or is it just buying one to use for next year?

The deer tag is statewide except for few hds in the west . Easy to find in the regs . The pref point will be applied to this years draw

 

[Kramer588]

Thanks for the quick replies, being from Minnesota im looking at the SE part of the state to save on drive time, which also sounds like there are good numbers and opportunities there. Any places to start looking at that maybe have bigger pieces of public where its easier to get away from the crowds. My buddies and i did a hunt in NW Nebraska last year and averaged about 8-10 miles a day walking, so we aren't afraid to park the truck and cover some ground. In case anyone was wondering, Nebraska is not the place to go, we saw very few deer on the public and private that we drove past and we only took home one small 4x4 for the group of 4. That 4x4 was the only buck we saw on public that was bigger than a fork horn.

 

[8andcounting]

Thanks for the quick replies, being from Minnesota im looking at the SE part of the state to save on drive time, which also sounds like there are good numbers and opportunities there. Any places to start looking at that maybe have bigger pieces of public where its easier to get away from the crowds. My buddies and i did a hunt in NW Nebraska last year and averaged about 8-10 miles a day walking, so we aren't afraid to park the truck and cover some ground. In case anyone was wondering, Nebraska is not the place to go, we saw very few deer on the public and private that we drove past and we only took home one small 4x4 for the group of 4. That 4x4 was the only buck we saw on public that was bigger than a fork horn.

Get onx maps on your phone or handheld and go after it . Anywhere in region 7 with lots of blm or state land or block management you should be able to have a great hunt .

 

[Cableguy224]

Thanks for the quick replies, being from Minnesota im looking at the SE part of the state to save on drive time, which also sounds like there are good numbers and opportunities there. Any places to start looking at that maybe have bigger pieces of public where its easier to get away from the crowds. My buddies and i did a hunt in NW Nebraska last year and averaged about 8-10 miles a day walking, so we aren't afraid to park the truck and cover some ground. In case anyone was wondering, Nebraska is not the place to go, we saw very few deer on the public and private that we drove past and we only took home one small 4x4 for the group of 4. That 4x4 was the only buck we saw on public that was bigger than a fork horn.

You’ll see plenty of mule deer in SE MT but you’ll have a hard time seeing the big ones on public land. They didn’t get big by hanging out in the open!

 

[Kramer588]

You’ll see plenty of mule deer in SE MT but you’ll have a hard time seeing the big ones on public land. They didn’t get big by hanging out in the open!

We would like to shoot big deer like the next guy, but easy draw tags and public land isn't generally the way to do it. What is a realistic expectation about the size deer we could get onto, if we hunt 5 days and log some real miles?

 

[8andcounting]

We would like to shoot big deer like the next guy, but easy draw tags and public land isn't generally the way to do it. What is a realistic expectation about the size deer we could get onto, if we hunt 5 days and log some real miles?

If u go mid November in peak rut I'd say you could reasonably expect to find some mature bucks . 4x4s 20-24" wide is what I would reasonably expect for the high end . Maybe one or two bigger . Tons of forks and three points . But I should be able to kill a respectable buck

 

[8andcounting]

You should be able to is what I meant - hopefully me too but I hunt in central Montana for deer

 

[The Hedgehog]

We would like to shoot big deer like the next guy, but easy draw tags and public land isn't generally the way to do it. What is a realistic expectation about the size deer we could get onto, if we hunt 5 days and log some real miles?

If you know what you're doing and where you're going in 5 days, you might have a 50-50 chance to cross paths with a 4-5 year old 150-160 buck, which will be top end without a fluke. Not a bunch of them, maybe one.

 

[The Hedgehog]

and you'll have to turn down a half dozen 3-4 year old thin horned 130-140 class bucks.

 

[Cableguy224]

If you know what you're doing and where you're going in 5 days, you might have a 50-50 chance to cross paths with a 4-5 year old 150-160 buck, which will be top end without a fluke. Not a bunch of them, maybe one.

This and what 8andcounting said is spot on with what I’ve seen on the South Dakota line. They had some really bad winters a while back, lots of fawns killed so that doesn’t help with the older class deer population now.