Caribou Gear

Montana 2020

stealthy_bowman said:
My advice, don’t go during the rut. Hunt the early part of the season.
Click to expand...
antlerradar said:
I hope you have a great time and notch your tag on a buck you are happy with.
However threads like this one reminds me just how fortunate we Montana residents are that we limit the number of nonresidents.
Click to expand...
I get it, I truly do. But you can’t blame us easterners for wanting to come and enjoy the beautiful west and all the great opportunities you have
 
timmy said:
Eastern Montana is a great place to live 11 months out of the year. I dread November.
Click to expand...
I get it. I’m an avid bass fisherman as well as deer hunter. I have to cross state lines for either of those activities to enjoy opportunities on public lands/waters
 
I’m not a Montana resident btw, I am about as far east as you can get, literally. My advice to go early is just based on my experience. Less pressure.
 
theres a lot of company and traffic on the roads, highways, and two tracks. I’ve literally seen guys parked in the middle of the highway glassing over their hood. Guys running parallel to the road in the ditches, catch their orange on bar wire fences attempting to hop em, and every gas Station in town looks like a pumpkin festival. That being said, park your truck, find a big section of blm that you can roam a while and get 3 or miles deep and you can find deer and some solitude.
 
Outlaw99 said:
theres a lot of company and traffic on the roads, highways, and two tracks. I’ve literally seen guys parked in the middle of the highway glassing over their hood. Guys running parallel to the road in the ditches, catch their orange on bar wire fences attempting to hop em, and every gas Station in town looks like a pumpkin festival. That being said, park your truck, find a big section of blm that you can roam a while and get 3 or miles deep and you can find deer and some solitude.
Click to expand...
That’s what I’ve been trying to find. Much easier said than done. However if were fortunate enough to draw I think I’ll have a few places picked out by then
 
I have a new year's resolution for myself...... not to badger the orange army for coming to eastern mt for mule deer. We'll see how it goes....... thinking I might need a 12 step program. So here's step 1. I have a problem.
 
Hosedragger852 said:
That’s what I’ve been trying to find. Much easier said than done. However if were fortunate enough to draw I think I’ll have a few places picked out by then
Click to expand...
There are very few places in 704 that you can get three miles from a road. There are hundreds of hunters just like you looking at that map. Add in that a rutting mule deer buck can cover that same three miles in a few hours and I would contend that the places three miles in are only marginally better that places much closer to roads.
 
antlerradar said:
There are very few places in 704 that you can get three miles from a road. There are hundreds of hunters just like you looking at that map. Add in that a rutting mule deer buck can cover that same three miles in a few hours and I would contend that the places three miles in are only marginally better that places much closer to roads.
Click to expand...
Yes That’s what I’ve been seeing. I guess all we can do is try!
 
I live in the Western side of Montana. No way I spend the gas money to hunt East for mule deer. mtmuley
 
Hosedragger852 said:
Yes That’s what I’ve been seeing. I guess all we can do is try!
Click to expand...
What I am getting at is when you are going over maps don't just look for places that are far from the road. Look for places that are hard to hunt. Steep terrain or thick timber are good examples. Another good place to look for is where private land makes access more difficult. You don't have to walk for miles to get away from most hunters, just be smart about it. Those big roadless places attracts quality hunters like road kill attracts magpies. The days of getting way off the beaten path and finding a respectable buck (quite a bit better than 150 in my opinion) are over on public land in eastern Montana. You have to be very lucky to take a respectable buck now days.
 
I got distracted about 20 posts ago and I had to go back and read the question. You are going to spike camp if you see deer? I can't remember seeing anyone do that. It basically means you are carrying your camp on your back in the afternoon.? Let me know if I am missing something. Most (and there are a lot) will set up camp on BLM or Nat Forest and just go from there. If you plan to be around Broadus, the hotel fills up fast. There are a lot of hunters, but you can find areas to hunt if you are willing to drive. If you go early the hunting pressure is less but the deer don't move as much. During the rut you might see deer in the evening, set up camp and end up staring at does (or more likely nothing) in the morning. The bucks move a lot when they are checking does. That is why they catch lead. Good luck.
 
oh yeah, if your buddies killed bucks in the 140-150 range, make sure they come with because they clearly have the mule deer horseshoe crammed up their...sorry, family site... let's just say it will come in handy.
 
SAJ-99 said:
oh yeah, if your buddies killed bucks in the 140-150 range, make sure they come with because they clearly have the mule deer horseshoe crammed up their...sorry, family site... let's just say it will come in handy.
Click to expand...
Yea, I know it’s not really necessary to be spike camp ready, but this is our first western hunt so we kinda just wanted to start practicing for other hunts (I.e. elk) but more than likely we will camp by the truck. What’s everyone’s thoughts on BMA’s. I know you can’t camp on them but just for hunting purposes. Would it be more beneficial to try to get on one of the type 2s one or two days? I found like 3 or 4 that look decent
 
Hosedragger852 said:
Yea, I know it’s not really necessary to be spike camp ready, but this is our first western hunt so we kinda just wanted to start practicing for other hunts (I.e. elk) but more than likely we will camp by the truck. What’s everyone’s thoughts on BMA’s. I know you can’t camp on them but just for hunting purposes. Would it be more beneficial to try to get on one of the type 2s one or two days? I found like 3 or 4 that look decent
Click to expand...
There’s some really good bma’s and there’s a ton that are absolute garbage. The good ones tend to fill up really fast.
 
To the OP . Take no offense , I truly hope you draw and have a great time ! But , I believe you are over thinking this way too much .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
Wyoming unit 100
3 4 5
Replies
99
Views
9K
Caseknife
C
WVmike
1st Elk Hunt 2nd Rifle Colorado OTC
Replies
8
Views
633
jphares44
jphares44
B
Central Coast Tule Elk Hunt
2
Replies
23
Views
965
cohunter14
C
J
2024 WY Elk Hunt Recap
Replies
15
Views
1K
B&CTom
B&CTom
SRW
Do you like my elk hunt plan?
2 3
Replies
43
Views
2K
bullkillintime
B

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
113,718
Messages
2,031,042
Members
36,300
Latest member
Hondadad83

Share this page

Back
Top