Thank you for posting this article. That makes my decision pretty darn easy not to drive 2100 miles and pay $750 for a non res deer tag.
Hopefully things improve for the future because you guys certainly have an amazing state that I truly enjoy hunting.
Now that some seriously high standards. Impressive!
I hope you are planning to go with a big time outfitter and hunt for about a month straight to accomplish that goal. Good luck though and please keep us posted on how it goes.
Reviving an older thread here bc I am interested in some additional info on Unit 652. I understand this unit only has approximately a 12% draw success ratio, but wanted to get some opinions on whether it’s even worth rolling the dice applying for 652 or just go with the 700 tag?
Seems that 200...
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...
I am considering heading back out to eastern Montana this year as well. I spent time in the South Central part of the region 7 in 2020 and had an amazing trip. I shot my first mule deer on that trip which was a long time dream of mine being a whitetail hunter from Ohio, and made some memories...
I hunted the northern section of Custer NF for the first time last fall in early November and wouldn’t recommend it if they are trying to shoot even a decent buck. Granted it’s a massive area and I would say some monster bucks come out of there every year, however Hunter pressure was pretty...
We use them as a scent lure during rut hunts particularly when scrape hunting. Nothing can draw out an old mature bruiser buck like a new comer showing up on his home turf after his ladies.
To the point above, you do need to handle them with extreme care not to contaminate with human scent...
On a big old Rutted up buck I always cut them off in the field while field dressing them and use the inside out glove technique to store them until I get home and can double ziplock bag them and freeze.
They work great for scrape hunting or setting up on the home turf of a dominate local buck...
Assuming that buck lived most of his years in the metro parks in that area that are off limits to hunting. Lots of small wood blocks and big Ag country in the area this buck was found so he would have been a fairly visible deer and likely killed had he not been in a protected area.
From what I learned this year, unfortunately easy access and good hunting are polar opposites in those units unless your just looking to shoot a doe. Typically, the BLM properties with easy access get hunted pretty hard and the age structure or lack of animals on those units are reflective of...
Honestly there’s a reason why Eastern MT gets sooooo much bad press on this site...I will tell you that the buck to doe ratio in Eastern MT is so far out of whack it’s not even funny. Honestly, I would say 50 to 1 from what I observed this fall.
It really just depends on what you are looking...
I appreciate the kind words, like I said, I couldn’t be happier with that buck. In fact, he is at my taxidermist as we speak. Hard to kill a mule deer like that in Ohio 😉
And Yes, this was a DIY hunt and all scouting & planning was done from 1,500 miles away via internet scouting and advice...
My SE MT mule deer from this year. I know he’s not the biggest buck out there but he was an old, fully mature animal and my first mule deer so I couldn’t be happier. He certainly made me work for it so that made the hunt that much more memorable. I now have a truly deep respect and admiration...
I was actually referring to that area above the Spine (tenderloin shot) as “No Man’s Land”.
it’s just muscle and ligament up there with some small spinous process bone. Any way you cut it, it’s a non-lethal shot with a bow.
Now if you hit him there with a 300 Win Mag there maybe enough bullet...
Sorry to say but that I agree that that is a high hit in “no mans land” / tenderloin shot. As others have said, the silver lining is that is a highly survivable hit for that deer.
I say this with fair certainty as I have picked up an arrow before that looked exactly like yours. Coated with...
I drove out 23 1/2 hours from Ohio to hunt eastern MT this year and had a very similar situation unfold as to the one described. I literally just laced up my boots, took my rifle out of the case, and took about 10 steps into a BLM unit I was planning to hunt for the evening and a small buck and...