Montana Antelope area 701

[The Hedgehog]

This is a sub-unit in the region 700 area for MT. Basically Custer to Miles on the I-94 and north to highway 200 (Jordan and south).

By far and away the largest chunk of record book pronghorn from MT have come from this area, primarily due to the high numbers and good antelope habitat.

Anybody here hunted it in the last 5 years?

 

[The Hedgehog]

What I'm especially curious about is, if anybody has seen any decent numbers outside this green circle in the last few years.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

I sent a guy out there about three years ago and he could hardly find a goat. Hard to believe, given they used to be like fleas out there.

 

[----]

What I'm especially curious about is, if anybody has seen any decent numbers outside this green circle in the last few years.

I haven't been over there since 2013, so this might not be what you're after, but the numbers were increasing each year up to that point. I think it was headed in a good direction then, and I wish I could confirm it stayed that way. This was due north of Miles.

 

[----]

I haven't been over there since 2013, so this might not be what you're after, but the numbers were increasing each year up to that point. I think it was headed in a good direction then, and I wish I could confirm it stayed that way. This was due north of Miles.

The bucks I killed 2010-2013.

 

[The Hedgehog]

Nice bucks Randy. Maybe 701 isn't as bad, outside that circle I drew.

All I know is inside that circle, 1995-2010, is where I'd had considered the best place in MT, hands down, for an antelope hunt. There were a couple bad bouts of EHD starting in '06 that started knocking the numbers down. Then in the fall of 2011, it was pretty terrible due to the bad winter prior. There were still some around - my friend and I found a few groups with bucks during the rut and each arrowed one, while joking that it felt like we were killing the last 2, or endangered species. I'd say that year (2011) we saw certainly less than 10% of what was there a few years earlier. I went back in 2012 and noticed it was dismal. One rancher who owns around 140 sections told me they had about 25 head on the place and I thought he was kidding until I went looking. I laid off them 2012-2015 and decided to check things out over the weekend. I heard the "they are coming back slowly" from a few sources over the last couple years. I burned through 2 tanks of gas this weekend in that green circle. I can say, they certainly have not come back. In fact, they are in a terrible state. I can't comment on outside that green circle, so maybe there's a place in 701 that's "coming back".

FWP gives out 5000 permits to be used wherever a hunter who draws wants to in region 7. It'll never come back in my life, and I just don't see how anybody could believe otherwise. Why is it so hard for FWP to segment out the antelope management by district? There should not be any, even minimal, antelope hunting there.

 

[The Hedgehog]

This might put it into perspective. It's really easy to glass, wide open and unbroken for the most part. This time of year, very green, antelope are simple to find with good glass. It's not an exaggeration that pre-2006, similar conditions, I'd see 200-300 buck pronghorn in a single weekend. That's buzzing and glassing from roads, good conditions. This weekend, in that area, I saw 5.

 

[schmalts]

I burned through 2 tanks of gas this weekend in that green circle.

The real question is Cold Smoke or Mountain man? Why do you think the recovery is so bad there compared to where we messed around last year? That area seemed to be coming back compared to some other areas.

 

[cowboy]

I get through that area throughout the whole year. People say that the antelope are gradually coming back - I say they are gradually coming back from damned near zero. Between EHD, the 2 consecutive bad winters and the coyote population I want to go after our G&F with the attitude Buzz has in that the whole east side of the State. The antelope season should have been shut down completely until they had a chance to rebound. The worse thing that could happen now is a long, cold, snow packed winter.
PS: A long time rancher over there used to have 5-700 antelope on his property. He says they are coming back - now he sees 30-50.

 

[antlerradar]

" why is it so hard for FWP to segment out the antelope management by district?"

IT is the "law of diminishing returns" management philosophy region 7 is so fond of.

 

[HalfAce]

Never been in any part of that green zone you marked, but used to spend a little time looking for Antelope outside of it back when I used to hunt Antelope out there. In 2012, I got to talking to some local guys at the bar in Jordan, they said they didn’t think there were 300 antelope combined in all of unit 700. 2013 didn’t seem any different. Didn’t make it out in 2014.

I made a quick trip out there last November looking for a Mule Deer, and saw that the Antelope have come back a little, but it’s still a far cry from what it used to be. I’ve noticed that some of the places where I used to see groups of Antelope have none now, then, in one spot I saw more than I have ever seen in that place, but still only about 45 head. Didn’t see any decent bucks, but they may have shed already.

I used to hunt a certain good piece in 701 a few years back but haven’t checked it out since the bad winters. If I get out that way this fall ill do a drive by and check it out, it would give me a better idea of how the Antelope are coming along. I spent most of my time in the broken country when I was up there last year, so im definitely not the person that can paint the exact picture how it really is out there right now. But if you burned 2 tanks of gas and only saw 5 bucks, I think you could do better elsewhere. Unless your only counting 80 inchers…

 

[The Hedgehog]

Why do you think the recovery is so bad there compared to where we messed around last year? That area seemed to be coming back compared to some other areas.

Where we hunted was nowhere near there and they avoided both EHD and heavy winter kill. 8-10 years ago it wasn't uncommon to see several 80" caliber bucks on a weekend of looking.

 

[teamhoyt]

There are certainly more goats around my area of 700, and I see a few driving from here to Winnett but nothing like it should be. I work a lot in North Dakota and see as many or more there than here and they still don't have an open season in most of the state. By comparison compared to area 700, how many tags does Wyoming give out state wide?

 

[shoots-straight]

I wish that what I had to add would be more positive than other posts. The truth is Antelope across the state are still down. In the SouthWest (closets to me). It was never EHD or winter kill, it was heavy doses of lead flying around that have reduced the lope populations. They are where they will be forever according to Debbie's law. No where are they going to be allowed to exceed populations that are socially acceptable. This goes for all our wildlife. Good luck waiting for rebounding to take place. This is what happens when sportsman don't vote for our past time. I've turned into a one issue guy these days, and work my ass off to get sportsman friendly people in Helena. Hope everyone votes tomorrow.

 

[brockel]

Not in the green circle but heading north of Miles City to Jordan there used to be antelope everywhere. They seem to be recovering but still not even close to the numbers they used to be.

Same with around Baker here. A few years ago you could go to a high hill and glass several different groups of antelope and could find a couple nice bucks. Now it takes some looking to find groups of antelope and nice bucks are few and far between but they are better this year than last year and the year before that. Starting to see lots of little ones running around. Hopefully we will get a couple more mild winters to help keep them on the right track.

 

[brockel]

Here is probably the nicest antelope buck I've seen in 3 years. Picture doesn't do him justice. You can't see it with the schitty cell phone picture but his prongs are massive.

 

[NKQualtieri]

I put in for that 700 tag, but mostly bc the harvest numbers for both antelope and deer were high in those areas for our state, and I also have always wanted to check out the Charlie Russell refuge. Nearly 700 antelope were harvested & 1800 deer came out of 700 in 2014.

I'm going to go up there and check out the refuge regardless, have any of you guys hunted it & had success? Perhaps historically those numbers were a lot bigger, but looking at it right now, that area seems to be pretty fruitful. 701 itself only had like 270 come out that year, for comparison.

Also, do you guys know when draw results come out? I'm excited about antelope and Elk B prospects

 

[The Hedgehog]

Made me go look back at the FWP harvest stats for area 701...

2004: 3843
2006: 3427
2009: 2482
2011: 610
2013: 208

Ugly ending to such an awesome place.

 

[----]

Made me go look back at the FWP harvest stats for area 701...

2004: 3843
2006: 3427
2009: 2482
2011: 610
2013: 208

Ugly ending to such an awesome place.

That's incredible....

The drop between 2011 and 2013 is more depressing than anything.

 

[BlakeA]

Made me go look back at the FWP harvest stats for area 701...

2004: 3843
2006: 3427
2009: 2482
2011: 610
2013: 208

Ugly ending to such an awesome place.

Wow. That is ugly...