Montana mule deer

[alpinemule08]

.

 

[mtmuley]

Randy said be nice. mtmuley

 

[Wildabeest]

Welcome

 

[Kneetopia]

Drew the 300 mule deer permit as well! Heading down the end of this week to do some scouting.

I'm planning to archery hunt it the 2nd week of the season and then go back for rifle if needed. I've heard archery can be somewhat better as there might not be as many hunters there putting pressure on the elk, which also stirs up the bucks.

Would love to hear anyone's thoughts on this for special permit tips. I've hunted the area for elk (took a bull a few years ago) and also antelope, which were both great hunts.

 

[Kneetopia]

Bumping this bad boy in hopes of talking to anyone who's drew this tag before! I've been down in the unit 2 trips so far this season and nothing has tickled the trigger yet. Heading down next week.

 

[Walkalot]

Not the tag it once was. I had the tag in 2017 and ate it. Passed up several 150 to 160 deer. I regret burning 15 points on it. I would lower your expectations and just have fun. That being sad u have a very slim chance at a 170 plus buck. Alot of deer move to lower elevations during the rut (private).

 

[Kneetopia]

I appreciate the info that all the hunttalkers gave on this unit. I'll be honest most of the feedback I got was not all the encouraging. That includes the beta from the biologist, he was new to the area, but told me I should manage my expectations.

I drew with 13 bonus points (tired of putting in for the Bitterroot) and felt a lot of self imposed pressure. The first 5 days in the unit, I had some buyers remorse. But in the end, it only takes one. My best to date and everything else about the hunt was memorable.

I spent days and days E-scouting and researching the unit. Several days spent pre-season hiking with my hunting pardo. Followed by a few solo hunt days during archery (saw 4 small bucks). Coming off a 14 day quarantine from being diagnosed with COVID-19, I hit the camp with a renewed fire.

A couple of days were spent bouncing between drainages. A few bucks seen, but nothing that was big...yet.

On day 2, I spotted the buck at 700 yards 24 hours before I ended up harvesting him. He appeared out of a stand of aspens and sauntered down to some private. Watching him until dark, I hoped he would gather up some does and come back up to public.

The next morning I was 300 yards closer on a good glass spot. Over the course of the morning we saw numerous does and bucks, but no big guys. About to pull up stakes (the wind was wrong for the basin), the big fella was spotted again, but high up on the mountain and on the wrong side of the fence. He ghosted into some trees for a siesta.

Later that afternoon, my buddy and I found a sniper perch overlooking the zone and hoped for him to reappear on the right side. After about an hour, we saw a doe that was in range, hanging out on a bench. Looking left a big bodied deer was visible through some trees. Range acquired. Shortly after he came into view pushing and sniffing. He stepped through a 15 ft window. Damner. Looking right another 8 foot window was located. The doe stepped through. The buck filters left to right. 400 yards. He stopped right on cue. Trigger. Hit. Ran 25 yards and done. Caped and packed out the 2 miles. I am tickled that I didn't eat the tag and found a nice one.








Memories made. He taped out 170 1/8"

 

[Art Vandeley]

Awesome buck, congratulations!

 

[fallfreak]

Wow! Nice buck. Congrats

 

[MTlionchaser]

I appreciate the info that all the hunttalkers gave on this unit. I was lucky enough to draw this with 13 bonus points and was feeling a lot of pressure. I'll be honest I had my days were I had some buyers remorse. But in the end it paid off and I'm happy with this deer. My best to date and everything else able the hunt was memorable.

Over the course of the hunt, I experienced a huge variety of emotions. From guilt, frustration, remorse, doubt, fear and pure joy. This tag had a 3% draw odds, with 13 bonus points it brought my chances to 15%. The pressure to succeed was immense. Family and job responsibilities weighed heavy as did the desire to find a good representation of the species.

I spent days E-scouting and researching the unit. Several days spent pre-season hiking and learning the area. Then a few days hunting during archery. Coming off a 14 day quarantine from being diagnosed with COVID-19, I hit the camp with a renewed fire.

A couple of days were spent, bouncing between drainages. A few bucks seen, but nothing that was great.

On day 2, I spotted the buck at 700 yards 24 hours before I ended up harvesting him. He appeared out of a stand of aspens and sauntered down to some private. Watching him until dark, we guessed he would gather up some does (or hoped at least).

The next morning we were 300 yards closer on a good glass spot. Over the course of the morning we say numerous deer and bucks, but no big guys. When were about to pull up stakes (the wind was wrong for the basin), we saw the big fella again, but high up on the mountain and on the wrong side of the fence. He ghosted into some trees for a siesta.

Later that afternoon, my buddy and I found a sniper perch overlooking the zone and hoped for him to reappear on the right side. After about an hour, we saw a doe that was in range. Looking left a big bodied deer was visible through some trees. Range acquired. Shortly after he came into view pushing and sniffing. He stepped through a 15 ft window. Damner. Looking right another 8 foot window was located. The doe stepped through. The buck filters left to right. 400 yards. He stopped right on cue. Trigger. Hit. Ran 25 yards and done. Caped and packed out the 2 miles. I am tickled that I didn't eat the tag and found a nice one.

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Two great friends joined me on the hunt. Both were instrumental in driving me forward to succeed. Not to mention helping on the pack out. Memories made. He taped out 170 1/8"

That’s probably one of the biggest deer I have seen come out of that unit in years!! Congrats!!

 

[Huntmt28]

Good Buck nice job!!

 

[MTLabrador]

That is a great looking buck. Congrats!

 

[Nick87]

Beautiful buck! Congrats.

 

[rmyoung1]

Beautiful buck! You should be super proud of that one. Awesome!

 

[rtraverdavis]

That is a great buck. Congratulations!

 

[Stubaby]

Sweet buck. Love the black and white pic

 

[Western Traveler1]

Nice!

 

[TheJason]

Yeah that black and white is cool. Nice buck.

 

[Walkalot]

U did very well. Congrats

 

[EYJONAS!]

Great buck!