Montana mule deer rant

[Deleted member 28227]

Fairly certain you would have a hard time finding many hunters in any unit private or public land anywhere in Montana that would say we have just as many mule deer now as we did early 2000’s. It’s not even close.

Even by with their incredibly crappy numbers MT is still killing 20% more deer and has 75% of the population CO does...

 

[Oak]

Muley's alone... I'm assuming CO has like 8000 or something total so their numbers aren't significant.

MT 328,000 Does 12861, 4 does killed per 100 deer
CO 427,000 Does 8770, 2 does killed per 100 deer

So MT is killing 2x as many does as CO on a relative basis.

Yeah, I'm not going to waste the brain power, but I'm pretty sure I botched reading that MT harvest table.

 

[Nameless Range]

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02EDanHBtYgfm6Uh7uF8vfHNrU39Ekhxk1a3SZUgopAnimZpJa1yGgMCARHyByEWMjl&id=100064846804177

 

[TheJason]

There’s a Facebook page called Montanica extreme hunting and fishing. Starting to see posts about the lack of deer numbers. Maybe some eyes will start opening

They’ll blame it on the wolves.

 

[Schaaf]

There’s a Facebook page called Montanica extreme hunting and fishing. Starting to see posts about the lack of deer numbers. Maybe some eyes will start opening

Showed myself the door from that page when one of the admins was bragging about his 600 yard dome shot on a doe for management.

 

[MTLabrador]

I drew a deer permit this year in a place I know well. I also drew in 2017 and had a fun hunt. It didn’t take long to realize that things are very, very different now. But you might hit one with your truck while driving highway 2 at night, so our numbers must be fine. Time to lace the boots up a little tighter.

 

[mtmiller]

Showed myself the door from that page when one of the admins was bragging about his 600 yard dome shot on a doe for management.

I was a member for about a week last year. I also decided many in the group were an embarrassment to me and not something I wanted to be associated with. My loss.

 

[brockel]

Showed myself the door from that page when one of the admins was bragging about his 600 yard dome shot on a doe for management.

I enjoy arguing to much. Who knew?

 

[Eric Albus]

They’ll blame it on the wolves.

It’s coyotes, mountain lions and drought

 

[mtmiller]

It’s coyotes, mountain lions and drought

and lead poisoning.

 

[300stw]

anyone notice the lack of dead deer on the roads, i drive an average 240 miles a day in 3 montana counties, at least 40 weeks out of the year, besides all the scouting and hunting trips.

3 years ago there was a lot of dead deer on the roads i travel, this year maybe 1-3 a day, when 3 years ago it would be 10-15 a day minimum

besides the lack of deer i see on all the private ground, ,,,,,

 

[MTTW]

It’s coyotes, mountain lions and drought

I was told by a biologist that it was too much blow down timber in the burns causing mule deer to not use the national forest, which is kind of odd because we used to hunt around the burns when I was a kid because that is where the big bucks lived.

For years I was told the lack of game was because we suppressed fire, and now it is because it burned.


Anyway, we can't do anything about coyotes or mountain lions, so we need to work on the drought.

 

[Irishman]

Fairly certain you would have a hard time finding many hunters in any unit private or public land anywhere in Montana that would say we have just as many mule deer now as we did early 2000’s. It’s not even close.

Actually there are units in Western Montana that have a lot more mule deer now than in the early 2000's. I think it's due to habitat after the forest fires. Units that in 2000 I would rarely see mule deer in, but now they seem to be all over. I don't hunt Eastern Montana, but I have no doubt it's a completely different story there.

 

[Pagosa]

I’m just as concerned about the whitetail in central and eastern MT, they seemed to have died off.

 

[300stw]

in the last 3 years the number of whitetail i see daily has plummeted, i use to have 30-50 within a mile of my house, now there is less then 10, and i believe maybe half that, i have cameras on water troughs for cows and horses and the numbers that were on the cameras 3 years ago vs. this year supports my thoughts,,,,

 

[Mtnhunter1]

in the last 3 years the number of whitetail i see daily has plummeted, i use to have 30-50 within a mile of my house, now there is less then 10, and i believe maybe half that, i have cameras on water troughs for cows and horses and the numbers that were on the cameras 3 years ago vs. this year supports my thoughts,,,,

Same around our place. EHD has really done a number on the whities the last few years. Could count on there being 80-140 whities in the hay fields below the house this time of year....there were 6 last night. Guessing that there will be additional muleys harvested due to the lack of whitetails.

 

[targetpanic]

We just got back from our 3rd trip to Eastern MT (will post shortly). No shots fired. We hunted from the 23rd until noon on the 28th. Deer numbers were way down in the NF compared to our prior trips. Barely found any tracks in the snow etc. The few hunters we talked to were all saying the same thing. We did turn up a few good bucks on public and all 3 of us could have filled tags on small bucks but that isn't why we go out there. There were afternoons of glassing big country public and even glassing into private and turning up a couple of deer and no bucks...it was pretty depressing. Definitely going to have to revisit our location in a couple of years if we decide to go back for a 4th trip.

 

[TheJason]

It’s coyotes, mountain lions and drought

A 5 week rifle hunt into late November isn’t part of the equation?

 

[Schaaf]

A 5 week rifle hunt into late November isn’t part of the equation?

 

[KB_]

Just got back from the Custer in East montana. Yikes...... Tons of hunters no deer. I was also hunting antelope but still. That was very unusual.