Eastern MT deer hunt

[mdunc8]

I'll be leaving tomorrow morning bright and early to head out to the SE corner of Montana to chase deer for a few days. Looks like there's a few snow showers in the forecast, which I'm looking forward to. I haven't had a chance to hunt any of the fresh snow we've gotten the last few weeks. I'd been planning on chasing muleys this week, but have been eyeing the sheds in my bedroom that I found down there last year while turkey hunting and I'm not sure if I've got the discipline to pass up a nice whitetail especially if it's the caliber of the ones Oak and Fin got last year. I guess I'll let the hunting gods make that decision for me and hunt some areas where I'll run into both. I sat with a couple buddy's this weekend and saw quite a few bucks harassing some does, so it looks like I'm timing the rut just right. I don't have anything keeping me from hunting until next Tuesday, so hopefully I'll have the patience to wait for a nice one instead of shooting the first four point that walks by.

 

[belly-deep]

Good luck, a little snow is always nice

 

[Breaks Runner]

The bucks are rutting at peak right now....good luck out there!

 

[Hunter&Huntress]

We're heading out there this weekend-hopefully fruitful for the cold we'll be stuck in.

 

[nidahunter]

We just came back from there, spent all last week. The bucks were just starting to chase the does (all we saw were spikes and 2 points) so you should be hitting the rut perfectly. The overall numbers seem to be down, so hopefully you will do better than we did. Good luck!

 

[Horn Seeker]

Good Luck! Sounds like a good time! I spent 4 days out combo Elk/Deer this last weekend and saw about 40 does...and with them, the biggest buck was about 70 inches! I could tell by the rubs I was finding the big boys were there somewheres...but they sure weren't dumb enough to follow those does around in the daylight yet! Dam it!

 

[the nikster]

I came back on tuesday with a decent 4x4. Bucks were pushing does harder each day. Sit on some does and he'll show up. Good luck to you!

 

[elk_hunter]

Yep, I just got back from there and the bucks are starting to push does...the peak is probably a week out I'm guessing. Boy, those animals don't need much pressure before they hole up on private. Dang.

 

[bj3315]

Where ya headin to?

 

[mdunc8]

So I rolled into the woods with about three hours of light left on Tuesday. I hiked out and hunted some brushy draws that I thought would hold some whitetails. Found a few good trails and several nice rubs, but only managed to run into a small 3x3 muley tracking a doe. That evening the snow rolled in along with the wind.

I woke up to about 2" of fresh snow and not a bit of wind. It was one of the prettiest mornings I had in the woods in quite a while. Saw another 3x3 as soon as I got out of the truck. Hiked back up over the ridge to check out the draws I found the day before. On my way over, I found a really nice 3x3 bedded down with four does. I showed some restraint for the first time of my life deer hunting and left him with his lady friends. He was well outside the ears with decent mass and really dark horns.

I sat the draws for a few hours, but didn't see any sign of life, so I decided to get up and check out some more country. I climbed a steep ridge to glass a big basin just to the east. When I peaked the ridge I looked across the draw and spotted something moving through the trees on the opposite side. It was six does and three bucks. One little forkie, a decent 3x3, and a pretty nice 4x4. The does were bedded down and didn't appear to be in hurry to leave the area. I wasn't comfortable shooting across the basin as it would have ended up being a 300-400 yard shot. The wind was also blowing down and across the basin to them and I didn't have enough cover to close the distance, so I decided to hike up and around to their side. I made it around without being spotted until I poked my head over the ridge and found two does bedded no more than 40 yards away. I managed to sneak back behind the ridge without them busting and position myself a little further down towards the larger group of deer. Unfortunately after the 30 minute hike, they decide the other side of the draw looked like a better spot to spend the afternoon napping and were now back on the other side. Luckily, the basin pinched together down where they were at and I was able to sneak in behind a few ponderosas. Five of the does were feeding at the base of the ridge while the three bucks and another doe were bedded in the trees. I didn't have a clean shot at the biggest buck, so I waited...and waited...and waited. Finally, the five does started to feed away from the group and the bucks weren't having any of that. The 4x4 stood up a started walking down to the creek bottom to cut the does off. He stopped and offered a broadside shot. I had tried ranging them while bedded, but it takes an act of God to get a reading over 175 yards with my POS. I guesstimated them at about a three iron away (I played quite a bit of a golf before moving out West), which is about a 215 yard swing for me. I squeezed one round off and the big boy didn't take another step.

I couldn't be happier with him. I've been on quite the deer drought the last few years, so I was ecstatic to have found this guy. Unfortunately, I decided to shoot him on the backside of the largest hill I could find out there and apparently I'm too much of a sissy to get a deer out in one load, so it took all afternoon and part of the evening getting him the 1.5 miles back to the vehicle.

I only heard a few other shots and didn't run into another hunter in the woods. I did see several camps along the road, but was surprised not hear more shooting or see any orange dots running around the hills. I was hoping to spend about four or five days out there, but I couldn't pass up the first respectable 4x4 I've ever had a chance at. For anyone who still has a tag burning a hole in their pocket, every buck I saw was either harassing a doe or trailing one. Find a doe and you'll probably find a buck.

This was great end to what was shaping up to be the worst hunting season of my life. I don't think I've ever had more fun or seen more critters in the woods than I did this year.

Sorry I didn't get back to you BJ. I was already on the road.

 

[elk_hunter]

Congrats on a dandy buck!

 

[EasternMTHunter]

Congrats on a nice buck!

 

[Bucnutz.wis]

Nice Buck - Great Pictures - Congrats !!

 

[JoseCuervo]

Great hunt, great pictures.

 

[bj3315]

Congrats man, Great buck. And thanks again

 

[Bwana]

Good looking buck taken in some awesome looking country.

Congrats to you sir.

 

[Big luke1981]

That is a very nice buck, Congrats!!!

 

[----]

Nice buck!
That looks like some really fun country to hunt in.

 

[Big Fin]

Congrats dunc. That is a good one. Glad you got him.

 

[fowladdict]

Great buck! One of these days I need to try a late season montana muley or whitetail hunt.