2020 Montana Deer Hunt

Well I’m finally getting around to a quick write up of my dad and I’s first ever Montana deer hunt. We decided to finally give the general hunt a shot after a couple years of talking about it and with some prodding from a friend of ours with experience in the area we ended up hunting.

Day 1: we pulled into town in the morning and grabbed a room at a small local hotel. We did some grocery shopping and then decided we would go for a drive just to get the lay of the land where we planned to hunt. I was surprised by the number of white tails in the river bottoms around town and on our way out to our area, including some really nice bucks. After driving around the chunk of ground we liked, we decided to do a quick 30 minute hike up on to a ridge line to do some glassing for the last hour or so of light. I split from my dad, and as I walked up into the saddle I was aimed at, I immediately started seeing deer. I sat down and watched a couple of does, a small forky and a small 4-point that was harassing the does. I took a couple pictures and starting looking at some other draws when I started hearing a bunch of grunting down by the deer I had seen. When I looked back, I saw a buck that got my heart pumping chasing a doe. I slipped my pack off and settled in for a 250 yard shot as he stopped broadside. First shot was great, but he didn’t move so I gave him 1 more right next to the first and he stumbled down over the hill. I ran off the saddle to find him piled up only 25 yards past where I had last seen him, and boy was I excited. It was the second biggest deer I had ever killed! Dad eventually found his way over the ridge to where I was at. We boned the meat out and packed it all out that night, only about a mile back to the truck. View attachment 178546View attachment 178548View attachment 178549View attachment 178550
Heck of a story! Thanks for sharing.
 
Well I’m finally getting around to a quick write up of my dad and I’s first ever Montana deer hunt. We decided to finally give the general hunt a shot after a couple years of talking about it and with some prodding from a friend of ours with experience in the area we ended up hunting.

Day 1: we pulled into town in the morning and grabbed a room at a small local hotel. We did some grocery shopping and then decided we would go for a drive just to get the lay of the land where we planned to hunt. I was surprised by the number of white tails in the river bottoms around town and on our way out to our area, including some really nice bucks. After driving around the chunk of ground we liked, we decided to do a quick 30 minute hike up on to a ridge line to do some glassing for the last hour or so of light. I split from my dad, and as I walked up into the saddle I was aimed at, I immediately started seeing deer. I sat down and watched a couple of does, a small forky and a small 4-point that was harassing the does. I took a couple pictures and starting looking at some other draws when I started hearing a bunch of grunting down by the deer I had seen. When I looked back, I saw a buck that got my heart pumping chasing a doe. I slipped my pack off and settled in for a 250 yard shot as he stopped broadside. First shot was great, but he didn’t move so I gave him 1 more right next to the first and he stumbled down over the hill. I ran off the saddle to find him piled up only 25 yards past where I had last seen him, and boy was I excited. It was the second biggest deer I had ever killed! Dad eventually found his way over the ridge to where I was at. We boned the meat out and packed it all out that night, only about a mile back to the truck. View attachment 178546View attachment 178548View attachment 178549View attachment 178550
Fanatastic bucks! Nothing beats Eastern MT Mule Deer hunting in my book. Congrats!
 
A big thanks to the state of Montana for the opportunity, this was an extremely memorable trip for both of us. My dad even said out loud “this is the best deer hunt of my life” which isn’t something I have ever heard from him. Probably not the biggest deer in the area, but these were 2 absolute trophies for us. Thanks for reading View attachment 178555View attachment 178556View attachment 178557View attachment 178558View attachment 178559View attachment 178560
My dad and I are going for our first time to Montana this year, I would be happy for half of your success. Sounds like a great trip
 
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