I don't see most of Region 7 being a destination area for people to go hunt whitetails. I think mule deer pressure in October would be less too with the deer not rutting next to the side of the road and hunters not being able to combine their hunt with elk hunting for most of the early season. There will be some landowners that have a 50/50 mix of whitetails and mule deer, but those are the outliers.
In my area a decade ago I would have agreed with you. But not today. I’ve talked to so many non residents the last few years that still come out to hunt whitetail because the mule deer hunting just isn’t what is was but they still love coming to eastern Montana because they can also bird hunt. The 50/50 mix of whitetail to mule deer is way more common around here than it was a decade ago. I see whitetails in places I’ve never seen before in my life.