Montana mule deer rant

[Nameless Range]

Ive shared this before, but this district south of where I hunt had an aerial survey performed on mule deer in 2021 and these are the results. Just think, these results were good enough for them to proceed with mule deer buck hunting on one’s general tag.

WPT = waypoint. It’s not the hunting districts. These are the counts for the entire district.

Exactly. Not to sound arrogant and elitist, but the “average” hunter isn’t on here.
Checkout “Montanica Extreme!” “Elk Addicts” or “Hunting Arizona” on Facebook for a sampling of “average” hunters.
Confused on simple regs, unit boundaries, blaming predators, hunting from the road, doesn’t own optics, zeros the 30-06 at 100 the day before season, “if it’s brown it’s down” “can’t eat the horns”. Etc.

If something like the Elk Advisory Committee was created for mule deer, and one of the ideas was to cease rut hunting, I bet 75% of Montana hunters would be opposed.

There’s some sort of psychological feature of many human hunters today that feels ok is good enough, then bad is good enough, then abysmal is the wolves fault. I sometimes wonder if it is because we are so far from the days when Montana voluntarily ceased hunting, in some places for decades, to save it, that folks just think states of affairs manage themselves. They don’t, of course, and it’s hard to make folks realize that good things - good times - don’t come easy.

 

[Nick87]

Our biologist said she was implementing the scorched earth approach to the town deer.

Doesn't work ask me how I know.

 

[Nick87]

Real nice, well meaning guy, but I think it goes right past him what the reasons are for the differences in numbers.

I believe, no I'm damn near certain this makes up at least 95% of the population that purchase a hunting license every year. Regardless of what state or type of species they are pursuing.

 

[Art Vandeley]

63 deer total wow. And anyone in the state with a tag can go kill one ? How is that even possible . even if they assumed they counted 5% of the population that means theres 1260 deer in the unit. how many hunters ? I’m sureFWP knows the harvest statistics based on gramma Ruth’s phone call surveys

 

[brockel]

63 deer total wow. And anyone in the state with a tag can go kill one ? How is that even possible . even if they assumed they counted 5% of the population that means theres 1260 deer in the unit. how many hunters ? I’m sureFWP knows the harvest statistics based on gramma Ruth’s phone call surveys

Ruth’s call in august after quotas have been set for doe tags and already sold out

 

[DFS]

@Big Fin and at @Gerald Martin should make another show about how good things are out here in southeast Montana!

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

The camping is excellent in SE MT! So good we should have unlimited OTC camping tags in the rut.

 

[Bambistew]

Before long, a killing a muledeer un MT will be harder than killing an UL sheep.

 

[brocksw]

Because FWP sold them a tag

I have some North Dakotan friends that are in MT right now to kill does.
He has remarked several times how many more deer he sees on the ND side on the border and wishes that ND would open up more hunting.
Real nice, well meaning guy, but I think it goes right past him what the reasons are for the differences in numbers.

Does he shoot dinks?

I'm stunned and confused how anyone could stand in the ND Badlands during our 16.5 day November rifle season, after they waited 7 yrs for a tag and think to themselves, "you know what we need, more hunters out here." That is an absurd thought to have rattling around in your head.

 

[MTGomer]

Before long, a killing a muledeer un MT will be harder than killing an UL sheep.

I think killing a big buck on public land/gen tag is harder than killing legal UL ram.

 

[MTGomer]

Does he shoot dinks?

I'm stunned and confused how anyone could stand in the ND Badlands during our 16.5 day November rifle season, after they waited 7 yrs for a tag and think to themselves, "you know what we need, more hunters out here." That is an absurd thought to have rattling around in your head.

I don’t think he’s big on passing up many critters.

 

[DFS]

I don’t think he’s big on passing up many critters.

I wonder if I didn’t meet your North Dakota friend with his crew. Complained a lot about how North Dakota limits tags and he’s just happy to come out here and shoot something. They had a trailer load of does. The does will come tougher this year. The North Dakotans have removed a lot of does from the public land in that spot over the last 5 years.

 

[Southern Elk]

Who the hell travels somewhere to shoot a doe? My 12 year old passed does on the youth hunt.

 

[golfer]

Who the hell travels somewhere to shoot a doe? My 12 year old passed does on the youth hunt.

North Dakotans and they are always excited about it from what I have seen in the past.

 

[brockel]

Trust me there are residents just as guilty. I know lots of them. Mule deer doe tags sold out really fast this year and you should have heard the pissing and moaning. I know more than one family killing over 30 deer a year the past few years

 

[MTelkHuntress]

one of the ideas was to cease rut hunting,

A couple of the districts in Western Montana went from unlimited permit to general but ending earlier to try to eliminate hunting during the rut for mule deer. Plenty of people were not happy about the season ending earlier. I got the feeling that the biologist didn't think it would accomplish much....but the deer aren't counted here from what I was told so who knows what the results will be.

 

[antlerradar]

Today I did a predawn drive from Ashland to Belle Fourche. Twenty one deer on the side of the road total. That is a pathetic number of deer for that drive. Montana's mule deer hot spot is just about dry.

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

Today I did a predawn drive from Ashland to Belle Fourche. Twenty one deer on the side of the road total. That is a pathetic number of deer for that drive. Montana's mule deer hot spot is just about dry.

Any hot Doe's at the Stockman's?

 

[antlerradar]

I blew right on through Broadus, Did stop at Alzada though, Can report, no hot does in Alzada, but I did see a cold EHD whitetail laying in the Little Mo.

 

[Mallardsx2]

Maybe they should only allow recurve bows and flintlock muzzleloaders with roundballs for about 10 years. lol

That will separate the men from the boys quickly and it will also allow the population to bounce back...