Planning for an Eastern Montana mule deer hunt

[EYJONAS!]

Good meat bucks

Aren't they all.... would make a good neck roast dish.

 

[mtmuley]

Aren't they all.... would make a good neck roast dish.

If your expectations are high, you are a fricken trophy hunter. That takes away frim opportunity. mtmuley

 

[Nick87]

If we kill them all, then they cant die from cwd.

That has been our departments approach to cwd here unfortunately.

 

[EYJONAS!]

If your expectations are high, you are a fricken trophy hunter. That takes away frim opportunity. mtmuley

So be it.....

 

[JEL]

Thanks for the replies guys. Hard to justify a 23 hour drive with $3.50 / gallon gas prices (thanks Biden) and a $650 non-res tag with this bleak of an outlook for eastern MT.
Was also considering heading up along the Canadian boarder in region 6, but can’t imagine the mule deer have faired the drought much better up that way. I have never been to the northern reaches of region 6, so any advice / guidance would be helpful. Looks like a vast area with quite a bit of state land to explore.

We have a farm near the border in 6. No snow, reservoirs are all dry and the range is in poor condition.

 

[SaskHunter]

We have a farm near the border in 6. No snow, reservoirs are all dry and the range is in poor condition.

That's because the snow is all on this side of the border... We haven't had this much snow in years and keep getting hammered by -40s...

 

[JEL]

That's because the snow is all on this side of the border... We haven't had this much snow in years and keep getting hammered by -40s...

Send it on down. We get the cold and wind but no moisture.

 

[s10]

For starters, I am new to the forum. So if this isn’t the best place to post this, please redirect me to where would be.

In 2020 I got to go on my first elk hunt with a lifelong friend. This had always been my dream hunt. We didn’t even see an elk, but made some incredible memories. Now we are looking to take my father on his dream hunt which is mule deer.

I have been purchasing points for him for a couple of years now for Montana. We chose to focus on Eastern Montana because we had heard their were decent numbers of deer and the terrain was typically easier to navigate than further west. That last part is particularly of concern for my father who is in his 60's with some knee issues. He can get around ok, just doesn't want to do any big mountain climbing. I am currently looking at unit 705. It looks like there is decent public access and a decent bet with the points he has. We aren't looking for a record book buck, just looking to see some deer and have a chance at a decent buck. Being whitetail hunters from Southern Illinois, any mule deer is going to look like a trophy to us I am sure.

Can anyone confirm or dispute my reasoning for looking at this area? Any tips or resources that you suggest I check out? I would appreciate anything from application strategy to actual hunting advise. I've hunted whitetails from a tree stand my whole life, but never mule deer. Thanks in advance!

Just hunted 704/705 last year with some buddies. We went in early November and the rut was far from starting which made it a grind to kill bucks. A lot of miles in not great weather. We all had success but it was a job to get it done. You are going to hear a bunch of negative guys talking about quality in eastern Montana, ignore them, and go hunt. If you want an easier hunt I would push your time frame to later November for the rut and it should help quite a bit in seeing bucks. Also, look to block management programs for access away from standard public grounds. There is type 1 and type 2. We all killed our deer on BMAs that required actually contacting the land owner for permission/setting time up to hunt as we were the first ones set to hunt it last year. Let me tell you, we saw way more mulies there than any other chunk of public. Long story short, look at BMAs and try and target the rut and you will have a chance at a muley if you aren't scared to put in a few miles. You won't be able to kill them from the truck, don't expect that.

 

[SwaggyD]

Just hunted 704/705 last year with some buddies. We went in early November and the rut was far from starting which made in a grind to kill bucks. A lot of miles in not great weather. We all had success but it was a job to get it done. You are going to hear a bunch of negative guys talking about quality in eastern Montana, ignore them, and go hunt. If you want an easier hunt I would push your time frame to later November for the rut and it should help quite a bit in seeing bucks. Also, look to block management programs for access away from standard public grounds. There is type 1 and type 2. We all killed our deer on BMAs that required actually contacting the land owner for permission/setting time up to hunt as we were the first ones set to hunt it last year. Let me tell you, we saw way more mulies there than any other chunk of public. Long story short, look at BMAs and try and target the rut and you will have a chance at a muley if you aren't scared to put in a few miles. You won't be able to kill them from the truck, don't expect that.

and don't forget to save the neck meat!!!

 

[MTLabrador]

It’s an interesting trend that the “negative” guys are usually the locals with more experience. Be as positive as you want, things are really bad for Montana deer right now with no end in sight.

 

[DFS]

Just hunted 704/705 last year with some buddies. We went in early November and the rut was far from starting which made in a grind to kill bucks. A lot of miles in not great weather. We all had success but it was a job to get it done. You are going to hear a bunch of negative guys talking about quality in eastern Montana, ignore them, and go hunt. If you want an easier hunt I would push your time frame to later November for the rut and it should help quite a bit in seeing bucks. Also, look to block management programs for access away from standard public grounds. There is type 1 and type 2. We all killed our deer on BMAs that required actually contacting the land owner for permission/setting time up to hunt as we were the first ones set to hunt it last year. Let me tell you, we saw way more mulies there than any other chunk of public. Long story short, look at BMAs and try and target the rut and you will have a chance at a muley if you aren't scared to put in a few miles. You won't be able to kill them from the truck, don't expect that.

I can assure you the people that are negative would have no problem killing a muley buck. It isn’t hard, they are more concerned for the herd as they have seen the decline.

 

[s10]

If you’re a local and want to complain about numbers, go for it. Everyone whines on to try and deter non-res hunters. If MT FWP is still offering tags, it’s fair game. Ragging on quality and quantity to make a guy feel bummed about something he wants to do is dumb. No herd can sustain perfectly over the decades. Changes happen. Let folks be excited to hunt.

 

[MTLabrador]

If you’re a local and want to complain about numbers, go for it. Everyone whines on to try and deter non-res hunters. If MT FWP is still offering tags, it’s fair game. Ragging on quality and quantity to make a guy feel bummed about something he wants to do is dumb. No herd can sustain perfectly over the decades. Changes happen. Let folks be excited to hunt.

It’s not ragging on quality and quantity to deter nonresidents. It’s being legitimately concerned that the situation is very bad. Wouldn’t you feel that way if it was your home that was being over-exploited?

If you just want to kill a mule deer and that’s it, you’ll probably have a good time.

 

[DFS]

If you’re a local and want to complain about numbers, go for it. Everyone whines on to try and deter non-res hunters. If MT FWP is still offering tags, it’s fair game. Ragging on quality and quantity to make a guy feel bummed about something he wants to do is dumb. No herd can sustain perfectly over the decades. Changes happen. Let folks be excited to hunt.

Fair enough come hunt. Just remember last year was the best you will ever see and many have watched that for 30 years or longer.

 

[Hem]

If you’re a local and want to complain about numbers, go for it. Everyone whines on to try and deter non-res hunters. If MT FWP is still offering tags, it’s fair game. Ragging on quality and quantity to make a guy feel bummed about something he wants to do is dumb. No herd can sustain perfectly over the decades. Changes happen. Let folks be excited to hunt.

Maybe a decline in non-res coming to shoot whatever would get the attention of F & G to make a more concerted effort to manage.

 

[SwaggyD]

If you’re a local and want to complain about numbers, go for it. Everyone whines on to try and deter non-res hunters. If MT FWP is still offering tags, it’s fair game. Ragging on quality and quantity to make a guy feel bummed about something he wants to do is dumb. No herd can sustain perfectly over the decades. Changes happen. Let folks be excited to hunt.

they should come on up! nothing illegal about it if they have a tag in their pocket! i don't think the locals are trying to intentionally bum anyone out, just explain expectations they should have.

 

[BlakeA]

Let folks be excited to hunt.

How about letting folks know the truth?

 

[s10]

I understand caring about the situation at hand. I am from NW MO and grew up on whitetails. I find myself very concerned about what is going on with herds, CWD and management/culling that takes place. I'm very engaged with our conservation department and their vision for the future in the state. My point is that hunting quality is a very subjective measure for many people. "I saw less than last year, times are bad" and then disagree with management techniques. All of that is fine, we should feel that way as hunters and express that to our agencies that manage game. A guy looking for some input on a hunt with his dad doesn't want to hear every guy and his dog complain about MT FWP, numbers, and CWD. He can't do anything about that currently. Provide some meaningful tips and encouragement.

 

[rogerthat]

I understand caring about the situation at hand. I am from NW MO and grew up on whitetails. I find myself very concerned about what is going on with herds, CWD and management/culling that takes place. I'm very engaged with our conservation department and their vision for the future in the state. My point is that hunting quality is a very subjective measure for many people. "I saw less than last year, times are bad" and then disagree with management techniques. All of that is fine, we should feel that way as hunters and express that to our agencies that manage game. A guy looking for some input on a hunt with his dad doesn't want to hear every guy and his dog complain about MT FWP, numbers, and CWD. He can't do anything about that currently. Provide some meaningful tips and encouragement.

But when we the locals have been hunting the very same areas for the last 40 years don’t you think we might know something? I’m not going to be sorry for being negative for living here and working here all last year and not seeing a mule deer buck that was bigger than 160. That’s absolutely pathetic. That was hunting 30 plus days and working in the area all year also. Ps I shot a buck bigger than this in the worst unit in Colorado so it ain’t that I don’t know where to look. Carry on with telling everyone in MT they don’t know crap. Maybe I will tell you what I know about hunting whitetail in MO

 

[brockel]

If you’re a local and want to complain about numbers, go for it. Everyone whines on to try and deter non-res hunters. If MT FWP is still offering tags, it’s fair game. Ragging on quality and quantity to make a guy feel bummed about something he wants to do is dumb. No herd can sustain perfectly over the decades. Changes happen. Let folks be excited to hunt.

Don’t forget to grab a few mule deer doe tags