Montana Mule Deer Mismanagement

[Nick87]

Just curious, who do you think it most likely to lie on the survey, R or NR's?

Im not wallowing into that lol.

 

[Eric Albus]

Seriously? Pennies on the dollar for public land access (exclusive from your competitors, valid for all hunting seasons) compared to private land access cost for hunting rights.

I hunt some BLM, they take a percentage of gross income. Far from “Pennie’s”. Don’t know about state, FS or other public lands.

 

[Eric Albus]

View attachment 416733
Not sure why youd laugh at the survey and sponsor the bill, but here we are.

The people in region 6 probably respect it, given whats happened with harvest there. Resident buck harvest used to run ~3x non-resident harvest in r 6 (2005–08), but by 2022–25 it's nearly 1:1, nr harvest exceeding r in 2025. Non-resident buck harvest roughly tripled over the ~17-year gap while resident harvest stayed flat. NR Hunter days in the region have doubled across the data set, which i understood to be a key metric in evaluating hunting pressure.

I’m still not completely sold on NR harvest numbers.

 

[Forkyfinder]

I’m still not completely sold on NR harvest numbers.

I take it you dont spend a lot of time on accessible public land?

If the margin of error were large (it isnt) it is the same between the two data sets - the fact remains - it shows a dramatic trend shouldnt go left unnoticed. Especially considering it mirrors the experience of many.

 

[Exhausted]

I’m still not completely sold on NR harvest numbers.

I'm still not completely sold on the R harvest numbers.

 

[mtmuley]

It's interesting how the Western side of Montana is virtually non existent in the mule deer mismanagement discussion. mtmuley

 

[Eric Albus]

I would not argue that in certain portions of region six and seven that the NR deer take is higher than the R deer take.
But I find it hard to believe when you figure non-residents hold about 13% of the license sold and residents hold 87% that non-residents are killing way more deer than residents. Are NR better hunters?

Reliance on the “phone survey” for accurate data.
I certainly would not attempt to manage my cattle based on “the phone survey”.

 

[Forkyfinder]

I would not argue that in certain portions of region six and seven that the NR deer take is higher than the R deer take.
But I find it hard to believe when you figure non-residents hold about 13% of the license sold and residents hold 87% that non-residents are killing way more deer than residents. Are NR better hunters?

Reliance on the “phone survey” for accurate data.
I certainly would not attempt to manage my cattle based on “the phone survey”.

I dont - i know of 6 people who have licences who i doubt even get out to hunt.

You bought an elk tag, why?

I suspect for the same reason as everyone else. It costs less than a good 12 pack.

 

[Laszlo Cravensworth]

I would not argue that in certain portions of region six and seven that the NR deer take is higher than the R deer take.
But I find it hard to believe when you figure non-residents hold about 13% of the license sold and residents hold 87% that non-residents are killing way more deer than residents. Are NR better hunters?

Reliance on the “phone survey” for accurate data.
I certainly would not attempt to manage my cattle based on “the phone survey”.

I only check on this thread about every 50 pages so I'm not keeping up with the discussion, but I'll hazard a guess that non resident hunters tend to be biased toward more active/ dedicated hunters, regardless of the state.

Of course, all of the Montana folks here on HT are hardcore guys, but I'm sure there are thousands of Montanans that buy a deer tag and never hunt it. Generally folks don't pay for NR tags to not get after it, but if you can get a resident Montana deer tag for like $3.50 might as well buy it just in case.

 

[cgasner1]

I dont - i know of 6 people who have licences who i doubt even get out to hunt.

You bought an elk tag, why?

I suspect for the same reason as everyone else. It costs less than a good 12 pack.

You need a general elk tag to apply for a le elk tag. I know a lot of people that buy them just because they want to apply for the breaks then don’t elk hunt because hunting elk is hard.

 

[cgasner1]

It's interesting how the Western side of Montana is virtually non existent in the mule deer mismanagement discussion. mtmuley

Elk and whitetail would be my guess. And hard to miss manage something that isn’t really there I suppose

 

[Eric Albus]

I dont - i know of 6 people who have licences who i doubt even get out to hunt.

You bought an elk tag, why?

I suspect for the same reason as everyone else. It costs less than a good 12 pack.

I buy an elk tag to apply for a breaks rifle permit.