Give those wolves 30 years to work their magic and then tell us what your state knows how to manage.
Montana, talk to me about your mountain whitetail.
- Thread starter TOGIE
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Gerald Martin
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I spent $650 bucks per person this summer for my two boys and I to catch 12 fish….on a one day charter…. Add in three plane tickets, four nights lodging, and a rental car for the week…
Probably won’t do it again for a long time but us getting to experience Alaska with their grandfather who has Parkinson’s and their uncles was a much better deal than buying and equal amount of fish at the Costco two miles down the road for $200.
FREAK
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didn’t Colorado just push dates back for seasons and introduce wolves? 3rd season is pretty much a rut hunt now. Seems like it’s heading towards Montana.It was just a dis. A dis in jest that was intended to hint at a broader theme that seems to hold some truth: where mule deer tend to decrease in density whitetail tend to fill in.
Ergo, if maybe Colorado decided to show mule deer the door with a general rut tag maybe we could see some nice expansion of whitetail into the mountains
Last time I hunted Colorado in a pretty below average unit it was head and shoulders above most anything I’ve hunted in Montana. Bummer to see these changes IMO. I’ll be back soon before the wolves start running the show.
FREAK
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You beat me to it
ismith
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Welp, they were all going to get eaten by wolves, shot by out-of-staters or die from CWD anyway……..
LuketheDog
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Well they certainly proved they can't manage the wolves. Let's see if I'm remembering this right-they introduced 10, 2 of those are now dead, there are 4 pups, 3 of those pups and 4 other members of their pack have been recaptured and placed in double-secret probation captivity...so I think we have five wolves.
I think the whitetails will establish themselves in the foothills of the front range sooner than later regardless of how CPW tries to manage them, I've seen a few well away from the creek bottoms around where we live.
That season shift occurred five years ago. No, it’s not been good and it’s noticeable. Beauty of it is we readdress that every five years and biologists definitely have pull in the process. Unfortunately so does the public and the way things seem, yes the proverbial compass points more towards Montana than Colorado at the moment. But it’s still limited unit specific hunting and the true rut remains very limited in general.
I knew it might press a button or two, but a joke it was.
My underlying point was real though. If the trends of mule deer across the west continue I’m sure we can all expect more whitetail in more places than they were before.
I guess if there are silver linings and all…
Northwoods
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I’ve seen some videos of buck fights that shows the opposite.
Raisin Bran
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Yep! Probably could start a YouTube channel on it….
. I hear Colorado has the next possible record Whitetail ever taken at above 10,000ft.
Hunting Wife
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I don’t have a clue. I would guess ecology/biology of the species plays a role, along with some suite of variables that just create the right situation.
Way back in my young wildlife technician days in Colorado, I remember seeing quite a number of whitetails up along the Frazier, Williams Fork, and the mountains/passes around Granby and towards the park. I was surprised to see them in some of those areas, so I asked the biologist. He said they were expanding up in that neck of the woods, but they were issuing lots of tags because they did not want them there, for reasons I didn’t and still don’t know or understand. So perhaps the absence of whitetails in CO mountains has more to do with the state’s whitetail management than anything else.
Hunting Wife
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I also should point out that whitetails live at some crazy elevations through central and South America. So elevation probably isn’t “the thing”.
huntin24/7
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Interestingly, there are areas, not just in MT that were traditionally whitetail areas that now have significantly less whitetails and muleys are taking over. I never saw a mule deer in the unit I grew up hunting in ND until I was 26 years old. I know of two muley bucks killed there this fall. This is over 200 miles east of MT. Not on topic I know, but stilll interesting.
I get it. Part of me is always hesitant to actually talk online about anything remotely specific related to hunting/fishing/hiking/whatever. Out of fear that the unwashed search engine masses will seize upon that little nugget.
Another part of me is beyond pumped to talk about an actual outdoor interest. Ideally keeping things vague enough that some obnoxious social media person doesn’t totally popularize yet another niche pursuit.
Brittany Chukarman
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That would make Geist's point even stronger.
cgasner1
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Sometimes in life if you need to try and explain something to someone they will never understand
The thing is, their existence is no secret. MT FWP has documents about their existence and the rut. At a cursory glance rokslide has a half dozen threads on western Montana whitetail tactics and behavior.
Putting more spotlights on hunting western Montana whitetail isn’t necessary, sure. But the ship has sailed and there simply aren’t much in the way of secrets anywhere for anything anymore.
I have nearly zero intention of making a trip to western Montana for whitetail. But if I lived there it would probably be an annual priority.
It’s just always been a constant itch in my brain I can’t scratch as to exactly why they’re there.
They give em out like candy to all but eradicate em. Might find an occasional roamer on public next to alfalfa.
In general, not days well spent away from family on a tag you’re essentially guaranteed not to fill without access.
BackofBeyond
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Then Montana, and ONLY Montana, is where you need to be!
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