Madison Valley (MT) Whitetails?

[Cheater]

Hey there, first-time poster, long-time lurker. Love the site, and the TV show.

I’ve never killed a Whitetail, and I think it is about time (only hunted Mule Deer and Elk). I spend at least every other Thanksgiving in Island Park, and cross the divide over to the Madison to fish quite a bit. I’ve seen a decent amount of Whitetail down on the river (lower in the valley), but haven’t paid much attention to them because I was focused on the Trout. With that said, I was hoping you all could help me get started planning.

1) As far as I can tell, the Madison Valley is a general/OTC tag that I could kill a Mule Deer or Whitetail with. Is this correct?
2) Generally speaking, are there good amounts of Whitetails in that area, or have I just seen some of the few that live close to the river.
3) Is there very much accessible Whitetail land in the area, or is it locked up privately.
4) I only single out the Madison Valley because I have somewhere relatively close to sleep, should I be focusing my research elsewhere, or is killing a decent buck, DIY, a reasonable proposition for that area.

Thanks in advance Hunt Talkers, you seem like a good bunch, hopefully I can add some value to the site.

 

[belly-deep]

It is general tag, mostly private, most whitetails are in the riverbottom.

If I wanted to kill a whitetail, I probably wouldn't pick the Madison valley unless I had an "in" but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try.

 

[CabinFever]

As he said, access to hunt those river bottoms would be tough

 

[Cheater]

Thanks guys that is good to know. Sounds like I ought to start looking elsewhere to get a Whitetail killed.

Based on the same questions in my original post, how would a Muley hunt be in the mountains in that area?

 

[belly-deep]

Thanks guys that is good to know. Sounds like I ought to start looking elsewhere to get a Whitetail killed.

Based on the same questions in my original post, how would a Muley hunt be in the mountains in that area?

There are muleys around. Its not a great hunt, but if you're stuck on the Madison Valley then give it a go.

 

[RobG]

Thanks guys that is good to know. Sounds like I ought to start looking elsewhere to get a Whitetail killed.

Based on the same questions in my original post, how would a Muley hunt be in the mountains in that area?

Getting access to good bottomland that will produce a decent WT buck is going to be hit/miss anywhere in the state unless you have a personal relationship with the landowner. You can hike into public land for Muleys, which will be more rewarding.

 

[----]

You can hike in to public land and shoot whitetail too.

 

[RobG]

You can hike in to public land and shoot whitetail too.

Yes. Also I misread Cheater's post. If he wants a whitetail then I wouldn't recommend hunting the Madison back country for mulies. . You can find public and private places to hunt WT with enough research and door knocking, especially in places that don't have as many hobby ranches as the Madison.

 

[Bambistew]

I'll be tough as a non-local to get on private. Most either don't allow hunting, or only allow shooting does. The ones that allow hunting get hammered, and the "locals" poach the living shit out of everything close to the road.

Not sure I'd call the majority of the ranches on the Madison "hobby" ranches. Many are over 1000 acres on the river, and still run as cattle ranches. But what would I know.

 

[Cheater]

Thanks for the input guys. I'm never opposed to killing a Muley, just have a hankering to go after a Whitetail. I might have to broaden the areas I look at a little. At the very least, I can still fish ;-)

 

[mtmuley]

There is a lot of places in Montana these days where a guy can hunt a mountain muley and a whitetail at the same time. mtmuley

 

[JohnCushman]

Whittetails are for Easterners

 

[track1]

Just follow Buzz from the Wyoming border. He knows all the good Montana whitetail spots.

 

[L. I. Yankee]

Thanks for the input guys. I'm never opposed to killing a Muley, just have a hankering to go after a Whitetail. I might have to broaden the areas I look at a little. At the very least, I can still fish ;-)

You want to kill a good whitetail...anywhere from western Kentucky west will be fine....

 

[L. I. Yankee]

Whittetails are for Easterners

Thanks John....Remember where you came from...........

 

[----]

If you're willing to rotate through really small pieces of property, you can definitely take a good whitetail out of the river bottoms of SW MT in region 3.

There's a lot of little slivers of block management, state and blm that border really great private property, and the way bucks cruise in November they don't stay in one spot.

 

[huntRme]

I killed my first whitetail in The Breaks. A fun place to hunt, but a long way from SW MT. Deer are good size, but can get hit by disease. Hunt the river bottom for whitetails and the top of the breaks for mulies. Mud can be a problem if the weather is wet and above freezing. Beautiful country and I can't wait to go back.

 

[track1]

Put a dot on Lincoln on your montana map. Stay north of I90 and west of Lincoln, all the way to the idaho border and the canadian border. Any public land in this area will have whitetails. Any river will have fish. If you actually get out of your truck you won't see many people. If you get more than a mile from your truck you may not see anyone.

 

[mtlion]

In the Madison valley I've had no problem getting access to shoot does, bucks is another thing though. Find a guy with a bunch of deer in his field, go for the place with the rusty truck or tractor parked by the barn, not the Steven Seagal type millionaire homes you should have no problem.

 

[Cheater]

Thanks for all of the responses. I'm going to do some more research, and see if I can put together a game plan.