SE Montana winter kill

[8andcounting]

I sometimes think about how many 3 and 4 point mule bucks get smoked on turkey day after lunch , or on friday and Saturday after turkey day . I bet it's s high number . It would be cool to see a survey and see how many deer are whacked the last 4 days of the season

 

[antlerradar]

Man I really hope this weather pattern breaks and breaks fast....

No kidding. It is double the fun when you get to see it first hand. Just looked at the forecast and just about the entire SE part of the state is predicted to get 10" or more.

 

[YoungGun]

Until bucks start giving birth hunting during the rut has little to do with overall herd numbers. Trophy quality yes, success rates yes, but not overall herd numbers. The number of B tags is what’s asinine And should be eliminated for the foreseeable future. Second using Wyoming’s model of “pick your region” for non residents when applying would help alleviate a lot of pressure in the southeast assuming they set reasonable quotas and adjust yearly based on scientific data. Third (and I know it will bunch some panties) for the love of god get rid of NR elk deer combo tags and manage these species independently. As someone mentioned earlier I like the idea of the general season closing 10/31 with a special LE season in November. Ok... so you can start calling me an idiot now.

I agree with everything here. I think an easy solution for the Turkey day hunters and the freezer filler families of MT would be to limit mule deer after a date, kind of like Gardiner Elk, but keep the whitetail general. Still provides opportunity for all, while protecting the muleys. And yes, split the combo deer/elk tags for non residents and manage game on a species based basis. And as for B tags, make them private land only. Hell, if you’re a landowner that complains about your hay getting hit, invite your friends to whack a doe on private over thanksgiving. BLM, Forest, and State though should be severely restricted for does, preferably to the extent that the only doe you kill is with your A tag only. I believe it was antlerradar that said the private recovers faster, and he’s right, so a private only hunt could satisfy the rancher/farmer in years where the population is up. You know, In a decade or so at the rate this winter is going. 2 more feet on the way in SW MT.

 

[brownbear932008]

I hear ya ..... this last weather blurp I just came across doesn't sound good. One of my friends that hunts a lot of high country said this winter reminds him of 91 I believe and the sheep alone damn near vanished in the tooths, took years to come back, let alone the deer. I talked to a friend from Glasgow he said ridges are finally burning off but the flats and bottoms are solid..... very solid.

Im glad I'm not a rancher, them boys have had one hell of a tough 18 months.

You know we have been talking about antelope and deer. But in the back of my mind a keep wondering how those goat and sheep are holding up esp goat.

 

[----]

You know we have been talking about antelope and deer. But in the back of my mind a keep wondering how those goat and sheep are holding up esp goat.

From my understanding years like this are easier on goats than warmer years where we get a lot of freezing rain and avalanches.

 

[brownbear932008]

From my understanding years like this are easier on goats than warmer years where we get a lot of freezing rain and avalanches.

Interesting I never thought about the avalanches but I'm guessing the warmer weather causes those and a lot of goats can get swept down the mountain. I thought maybe the winds in the higher elevations kept the ground bare in spots. It still amazes me they can survive in such places all winter.

 

[MTGomer]

Last winter was pretty snowy too. When FWP flew the beartooth about this time or a little later in the year all the high plateaus were snow covered badly.

This winter has been snowier but very very windy

The few times I’ve gotten views of high elevation plateaus this winter, I think they have gotten blown off fairly well. I hope so.

 

[YoungGun]

Looking at the 10 day for the SE corner of the state and I'm seeing temps hit the 60's and damn near touch the 70's by next Friday. Too little too late probably, but it beats seeing a damn snowflake on my screen. Hell, there's even a little rain mixed in!

 

[targetpanic]

I just looked at the DOT cameras for Ekalaka, Lame Deer, and Biddle and it looks like all the snow is gone?? Is that actually the case? That has to be a good thing unless it's too little too late like YoungGun said.

 

[antlerradar]

Snow is all gone except for north facing timber and drifts. There is even some green showing up. Lots of good moisture and it would not be too hard of find some place to get stuck in the mud. As for the deer. I haven't been too far from the river lately but the river bottom is full of parts and pieces of whitetails and some of the ones that are still kicking are not in good shape.

 

[timmy]

Snow is mainly gone, so are a good number of the deer. Quite a difference driving around last fall versus this spring. Worse for antelope.

 

[oldschool.06]

So whats up guys now that some snow is melting and you can see the carnage of the winters snow fall just how bad do things look ??

 

[phutch30]

I will say I noticed less deer turkey hunting this spring than last yr.

 

[BlakeA]

So whats up guys now that some snow is melting and you can see the carnage of the winters snow fall just how bad do things look ??

It looks like a beautiful landscape with significantly less wildlife on it compared to years past. Cattle look good though!

 

[oldschool.06]

It looks like a beautiful landscape with significantly less wildlife on it compared to years past. Cattle look good though!

Of course its beautiful most of Montana is . I love Montana If I could get my family to move I would already be living there . Im really sad to hear of the wildlife carnage it really sucks . I will be hunting there this year as I know if I turn in my tag it will just go to someone else anyway .

 

[joelweb]

I'm hearing that winter kill was less severe than anticipated. While winter mortality in eastern Montana was higher than normal, deer numbers remain fairly strong.

 

[8andcounting]

I'm hearing that winter kill was less severe than anticipated. While winter mortality in eastern Montana was higher than normal, deer numbers remain fairly strong.

I've not been to or heard anything recently from SE MT ,but I was recently out to NC Montana and the ranchers I ran into all said numbers look about like last year , which was really good I thought , they said they found no more dead deer than normal

 

[The Hedgehog]

Pretty sure if you draw a 20 mile circle on a map with Ashland in it's center, there's a bit more than "normal" winter kill. Just my guess. The upper rosebud area around Colstrip didn't look nearly as bad, which isn't too far from where it looked like the apocalyptic ice cap this spring.

 

[oldschool.06]

Hopefully the critters did better then we had all anticipated . Only time will tell. Breaking in new boots already so I can get further from the road then we normally have to do .

 

[stealthy_bowman]

I am also hearing that the kill was not as severe as anticipated. This came from a mfwp biologist I spoke to who expected worse, but was surprised and happy that the surveys are simply not indicating the disaster that was expected. Bottom line, indicators are pointing to marginally elevated winter kill, but certainly not the disaster some have predicted.