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Looking for Guidance

peterk1234

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 9, 2019
Messages
460
This is my first year as a resident hunter in Montana. I got my general tags and got a couple of B tags, but I really had no plan when applying for them. I did not go for a bear or pronghorn tag because I did not feel like I was ready this year to hunt them. I figured baby steps.

I don't care much about the size of an antler. I just like the experience of being out there and I want to provide some good tasting meat for the family. I have my first overnight solo backcountry hunt under my belt, which was just a ton of fun. Gear works, clothes work. Also have done a multi day, camp/hunt near the truck hunt. That is just luxury living. So, I have the basics down and I am comfortable now in my element.

I know we have a lot of hunting yet this season, but I am slowly starting to plan for next year. This year I have learned the value of a good B tag. By pure chance, I drew a B tag for a zone near me that allowed me to take an antlerless mule deer. I had no idea how valuable that tag is for a guy that loves to hunt deer with a bow until the opportunity was staring me in the face, broadside at 20 yards.

So I am looking for some general guidance. This is not a "where should I go" question. This is a "How do you guys make the choices you do" question when applying for certain tags. For example, some B tags are for a specific zone, but some are for an entire region. It would seem to me that I should go for the region B tag if the zone I would hunt in is in that region. But then the question is how does it affect my odds, and how do I figure that out? What about strategies for first, second and third choices when applying?

For a person that is willing to drive anywhere in the state for whitetail, muley, elk and now bear and antelope, and is not focused on mass and size, how and where (what resources) are you going to analyze the data?

What else am I not thinking about?

I know I am asking a lot of questions here and appreciate any input. For a guy that has been limited to hunting public land usually under 100 acres most of his hunting life, the experiences here so far have been nothing less than remarkable. I'm 56 years old and every day I go out is a new learning experience. This old dog is still willing to learn new tricks :)

Thx Pete
 
I think it's too late this year, but in the future even if you aren't going to hunt antelope that year, buy a point. Not many (if any) HD's in the state that have a 100% draw with zero points even for doe. The regs each year publish tables with the number of tags and applicants for each A and B tag, but the link below lets you view details in the Bonus Point Drawing Statistics report. In desirable units, the draw odds may look better than they actually are when you look at the bonus points and see that everyone who drew had several. Region-specific whitetail B tags are a no-brainer, and since they're OTC you can figure out what elk tags you've drawn before you choose which region. That's about all I've got; I've had a different elk B tag every year I've hunted so still figuring out the balance of draw odds vs where I like to hunt and am most likely to get a cow.

 

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