Elk changed everything for R7. Resident guys would draw a trophy elk tag and come out with 2 or 3 buddies, each with at least a buck tag but usually would also buy the 2 additional mule deer doe tags, and would stack up the bed of a truck with deer on their way back to wherever they came from.
The deer hunting was good as elk numbers were coming up, at least better than Western MT, so guys would continue to make their mule deer trip even on years they didn’t draw an elk license, and continue to stack up bucks and does.
Antelope have been affected too. You used to rarely see anyone hunting the Custer for antelope. Elk hunters came from all over, saw an abundance of public land where they didn’t have to knock on a door to ask permission, and began hammering the antelope as well. Especially when it could line up with their last weekend of archery hunting, or a mule deer buck and 2 does type trip. An antelope buck does not stand a chance there anymore, and opening weekend is absolutely nuts.
Combine that with wild fires opening up the area and removing cover, and huge increases in technology and overall general hunting knowledge availability (social media), and you have a recipe for the disaster we are currently seeing.
People forget that SW MT and areas around Butte and others used to be primarily mule deer and fantastic mule deer hunting before the elk really established there and everything tanked. It was long ago enough that most folks just assume that it’s always been poor for mule deer and better for elk, but that hasn’t always been the case. A family friend with a ranch near Butte was telling me how it used to be rare to ever see an elk on the place and that they primarily had an abundance of mule deer. They also had a giant mule deer mount hanging in the house. Now, it’s rare to see a mule deer and the ranch is crowded with elk at all times. I don’t know how to fix western MT and don’t spend enough time there, but making that place better too would help relieve some of the pressure R6 and R7 are receiving.
