Montana mule deer rant

[EYJONAS!]

View attachment 251903

 

[mtmuley]

They're going.... see you there.

I hope you tank. You can thank Jimmy for the win not your 264 million dollar drama queen.

Come get some. mtmuley

 

[antlerradar]

I’ll probably regret wading into this, but..

Tag numbers aside, is there really something wrong with someone harvesting a deer for meat/experience vs. pursuing a trophy or mature buck? And who are we to judge those people?

Three years of drought will put a hurting on mule deer populations but even when they’re booming it’s not realistic to expect that every buck deer harvested will be a mature buck.

People hunt for a variety of reasons; having conversations about ways to improve the situation is great but it’s good to remember that.

I have no issue with someone taking a small deer no mater the reason as long as they own it. When they start to make excuses why they shot a small buck, I start to think maybe they shouldn't of pulled the trigger.

 

[EYJONAS!]

I have no issue with someone taking a small deer no mater the reason as long as they own it. When they start to make excuses why they shot a small buck, I start to think maybe they shouldn't of pulled the trigger.

 

[EYJONAS!]

I have no issue with someone taking a small deer no mater the reason as long as they own it. When they start to make excuses why they shot a small buck, I start to think maybe they shouldn't of pulled the trigger.

This week and last i have heard.... all good younger upcoming deer.

Best one I could find.... oh well.

Tough out there

Passed a couple deep chocolate 160s but settled on the last day.

Still looking for the "next level" buck

Can you imagine if he would've had....

Not as wide as I wanted.

Yeah, he's not much to look at but he fills the freezer....

Personal favorite, couldn't find much out there, what happened to all the deer...

Jeez Clark, I dunno.

 

[brockel]

This week and last i have heard.... all good younger upcoming deer.

Best one I could find.... oh well.

Tough out there

Passed a couple deep chocolate 160s but settled on the last day.

Still looking for the "next level" buck

Can you imagine if he would've had....

Not as wide as I wanted.

Yeah, he's not much to look at but he fills the freezer....

Personal favorite, couldn't find much out there, what happened to all the deer...

Jeez Clark, I dunno.

“Filled my second cwd tag”

“Wasn’t the buck I was after”

“Coming down to the wire had to get my tag filled”

 

[RandanP]

I know of one particular bma that is getting destroyed by does. The numbers are staggering. And there is nothing the rancher can do.

Being in BM ought to qualify him for game damage assistance, including game damage hunts.

 

[DFS]

We are privatizing hunting with endless opportunity. Most would agree that isn’t good. The private land is going to recover because it is managed. You will get to look across the fence at wildlife and think why can’t I hunt those deer or elk but at the end of the day it’s because hunters will never self regulate and the mtfwp lets them do it. If you want to hunt with high powered long range rifles during the rut and blast does, tags would have to be severely limited, if you want opportunity during the rut it would take primitive weapons. If you want to keep opportunity with rifles it would take an October season date. Nothing is going to change. The decline will continue.

 

[Pagosa]

I don’t understand why so many people want to hunt mule deer in the rut. The bucks have lost a lot of their fat reserves, not near as healthy (good eating) as September/October and are really stupid. States like Wyoming that have a mule deer hunt in October has some really nice bucks roaming around in the rut, when they shouldn’t be hunted. The only thing dumber than a mule deer in rut is bighorn sheep, which Montana also allows hunting during their mating season. It’s craziness from a management standpoint.

 

[EYJONAS!]

I don’t understand why so many people want to hunt mule deer in the rut. The bucks have lost a lot of their fat reserves, not near as healthy (good eating) as September/October and are really stupid. States like Wyoming that have a mule deer hunt in October has some really nice bucks roaming around in the rut, when they shouldn’t be hunted. The only thing dumber than a mule deer in rut is bighorn sheep, which Montana also allows hunting during their mating season. It’s craziness from a management standpoint.

DaTs WhEn Da HOGGGGZZZZ cOmE OuT DuH!!!

 

[JEL]

I don’t understand why so many people want to hunt mule deer in the rut. The bucks have lost a lot of their fat reserves, not near as healthy (good eating) as September/October and are really stupid. States like Wyoming that have a mule deer hunt in October has some really nice bucks roaming around in the rut, when they shouldn’t be hunted. The only thing dumber than a mule deer in rut is bighorn sheep, which Montana also allows hunting during their mating season. It’s craziness from a management standpoint.

Not so much for sheep since tags are pretty strictly limited. Same as it should be for deer if we are hunting them in the rut.

 

[FREAK]

DaTs WhEn Da HOGGGGZZZZ cOmE OuT DuH!!!

You meen u dnt hav a wall tint up looking for a big bowel and buc rite now!?

 

[Bambistew]

I’ll probably regret wading into this, but..

Tag numbers aside, is there really something wrong with someone harvesting a deer for meat/experience vs. pursuing a trophy or mature buck? And who are we to judge those people?

Three years of drought will put a hurting on mule deer populations but even when they’re booming it’s not realistic to expect that every buck deer harvested will be a mature buck.

People hunt for a variety of reasons; having conversations about ways to improve the situation is great but it’s good to remember that.

Shoot/hunt what you want. I'd just like to see a robust age structure, not one that's skewed entirely to the "meat/experience" crowd. There is a healthy balance that needs to happen to allow for both opportunity and quality experience at the same time.

Going to a draw, or some other way to manage hunters and harvest would allow for you to shoot what ever you want on your tag, but also conserve some for the future and others to hunt that want a chance at chasing something bigger than a 3yo.

 

[antlerradar]

DaTs WhEn Da HOGGGGZZZZ cOmE OuT DuH!!!

Let me translate.
Dats when da hogggzzz come outa dah hills soz I can blast um without having to get my lazy fat ass out of da truck

#fillupthegastank
#coversomecountry
#trolltheraodsforbucks
#Montanatradition
#hikingisforsuckers
#huntthehayfields

 

[EYJONAS!]

Let me translate.
Dats when da hogggzzz come outa dah hills soz I can blast um without having to getting my lazy fat ass out of da truck

#fillupthegastank
#coversomecountry
#trolltheraodsforbucks
#Montanatradition
#hikingisforsuckers
#huntthehayfields

SoUnDz LikE Da InViTE 2 M3!!!!!

#ondaway

 

[huntin24/7]

I’m not a big fan of the extreme limited entry management approach. Is it really that big of a sacrifice to not shoot a mule deer buck every year though.

 

[EYJONAS!]

I’m not a big fan of the extreme limited entry management approach. Is it really that big of a sacrifice to not shoot a mule deer buck every year though.

Short answer should be.... no. Cause at this rate in 5 years. There won't be much left for the turkey say sacrifice.

 

[Luke_with_a_lab]

I'm a bit late to this thread. Is the quality like it used to be? No way, however, I do know a guy who shot a mule deer buck last year that was in the high 190's/ maybe 200" on PUBLICLY accessible public land. So there are still good bucks out there if you work for them and also have a good amount of luck on your side.

 

[tjones]

I'm a bit late to this thread. Is the quality like it used to be? No way, however, I do know a guy who shot a mule deer buck last year that was in the high 190's/ maybe 200" on PUBLICLY accessible public land. So there are still good bucks out there if you work for them and also have a good amount of luck on your side.

Any pics?

 

[Irrelevant]

I'm a bit late to this thread. Is the quality like it used to be? No way, however, I do know a guy who shot a mule deer buck last year that was in the high 190's/ maybe 200" on PUBLICLY accessible public land. So there are still good bucks out there if you work for them and also have a good amount of luck on your side.

The Montanan in my office does pretty damn well on deer on public land in Montana. But he don't share pics, you either look at them on his phone or you don't see them. But that sumab also does it in WA... he's a real jerk.