Montana deer units 704 and 705

[Todd10]

4-5 year old deer on public in SE Montana are not called mature, They are called senior citizens.
I have my doubts that I could turn up a four year old buck with more than three points in a week of hunting the toughest county on public and I have been hunting here for 40 years. For some one that is going in nearly blind it is going to be a monumental task. If you are coming to Montana set your sights lower, " I'm really just looking to have a good time and to bring home a deer" is the way to go.

That was my approach when I brought my 10 year old to Montana this past November. Took home a doe and a nice young buck we shot on the last day we were there. Saw lots of deer and my boy had an experience he’ll never forget. The smiles on his face were priceless and the meat was excellent.

 

[MNWhitetail]

Tons of land to hunt in these two areas. Pick whether you want to stay in the forest or open country. Lots of deer and little bucks. Would be a very fun hunt for a youth to do. Like others said, don't expect to see a 4-5 yr old buck on public. Do you have any points built up? Draw odds have been getting worse the last 2 years for the general deer tag.

 

[Swampdog]

Tons of land to hunt in these two areas. Pick whether you want to stay in the forest or open country. Lots of deer and little bucks. Would be a very fun hunt for a youth to do. Like others said, don't expect to see a 4-5 yr old buck on public. Do you have any points built up? Draw odds have been getting worse the last 2 years for the general deer tag.

Yeah I’ve got enough points to draw the general. I’m looking forward to it

 

[burtonsean]

There are a ton of big bucks in both those units. The problem is that there is also a ton of private land and the big bucks know it. Be prepared to get frustrated with the amount of big bucks you see that all you can do is wave to. We asked permission a lot and got denied almost every time. That said, the block management units can be really good. Ended up killing a real good buck on public but I got lucky. A good way to hunt would be to get on the block units that have lots of draws, walk the bottom of the draws, rifle ready. The national forest can be good earlier in the season, later on they drop down with the pressure and weather.

 

[lbaldrid]

Hunted this area last year and IMO, your best option would be to hunt earlier in the archery season. I took 3 trips with the first two focused mainly on elk. The first two trips I saw quite a few deer and should have hunted them harder. I came back out during rifle and saw one forky and only a few does. I spent time hiking several miles off the roads as the roads were cruised by hunters galore.

 

[Jpopejoy1980]

I'm taking my son who turns 8 in October with me on what will be his first big Western hunting trip. I'm looking at units 704 or 705 for deer and I'm hoping to find some places that wont be too strenuous for him but that wont be road hunting either. This will be his first big hunting trip and I'm hoping to make the most of it. The idea is for us to pick an area and hunt it for the next few years to get familiar so we've got it somewhat figured out when he's old enough to get his first MT tag. Ive got the maps and have been cross referencing google earth with OnX and right now I've got my eye on some of the BLM and block management land but am not opposed to the national forest either. We'll be looking for muleys but wouldn't pass up a decent whitetail either. The plan is to try to find a good campsite to set up a wall tent and spend 5 or 6 days there. I plan to talk to some game wardens and biologists too but thought I'd ask around on here as well to see if anyone had any tips or advice on the area.

Thanks in advance and feel free to PM!

How did your hunt go?