Montana Mule Deer Raffle

[antlerradar]

For me this tag just doesn't make sense. I highly doubt that there is a unit closer then 500 miles from me were I could have a better hunt then if I walked out the door and hunted the same country I have hunted OTC for the last 46 years. This is not a brag on where live. The mule deer hunting here is a weak shadow of what I grew up with. Even if I was to travel to the best units in the state, I would still likely do better at home. My time hunting would be very limited by the distance from home and I have zero knowledge of those units. Decades of experience in a poor unit is going to trump limited time and knowledge in even the best units every time. Better that someone other than me get this tag.
Now if you some how had a tag that could get me back to 1987, I am emptying the bank account to buy chances. With the knowledge I have now there is a good chance I would take a buck as impressive as the best bucks from the current best units in the state on my OTC tag close to home.

 

[Nameless Range]

I'm buying a couple.

There is a LE mule deer area an hour north of me that though I don't think it has giant bucks all over the place, it does have a lot of deer of an age I just never see anymore in my neck of the woods. But that's almost ancillary to what the miniscule daydream of winning the raffle would mean to me.

It's different to hike somewhere than to hunt somewhere. You could walk a path on a June morning and see all sort of critters and earth, and then repeat that same walk in early November with a rifle in hand and the possibility of being excited enough by what you see and can legally kill that the experience is wholly different.

So for me, this permit would chiefly be a Geographic Experience I would like to have on a chunk of earth I am intrigued by.

Good luck to all!

#BurningUnits

 

[Elky Welky]

So for me, this permit would chiefly be a Geographic Experience I would like to have on a chunk of earth I am intrigued by.

Good luck to all!

#BurningUnits

Way cool @Nameless Range.

To avoid any appearance of impropriety, myself and nobody else on the MT-BHA board are putting in for this tag. It just isn't a good look. Our sole purpose here is to operate the raffle and raise as much money as we can for mule deer conservation in the most equitable way we know how. I'd love to see one of my friends on HT or elsewhere draw this tag. @Randy11 I did want to clarify for you: the money from this and the money from the supertag go to very different places. The supertag is not earmarked specifically for species management and conservation like this raffle tag. And, when all is said and done, the odds of drawing this are still likely higher than the supertag.

I understand and respect @antlerradar's position on this, and as I've said elsewhere, that's okay. I don't want this tag to go to someone who doesn't see value in having it. But I don't have the benefit of big tasty bucks in my backyard. I grew up shooting dinker, and frankly, not very tasty, mountain muleys off my back porch (literally) in district 380. But since I moved to the "big city" for work, I've had to spend far more time on pavement if I want to hunt public.

Which, to @Nameless Range's point, I greatly enjoy. I don't mind covering miles and exploring all over this state, which anymore, I consider my backyard. I get restless only hunting one spot, and even if I get skunked, part of hunting for me is just as much about discovering where they are not before I can figure out where they are.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Super Tags go towards access programs & law enforcement.

87-1-271. Annual lottery of hunting licenses -- proceeds dedicated to hunting access, MCA

leg.mt.gov

This was one of the reasons some folks opposed the "free supertag chance for everyone" bill that passed last session.

 

[Forkyfinder]

Way cool @Nameless Range.

To avoid any appearance of impropriety, myself and nobody else on the MT-BHA board are putting in for this tag. It just isn't a good look. Our sole purpose here is to operate the raffle and raise as much money as we can for mule deer conservation in the most equitable way we know how. I'd love to see one of my friends on HT or elsewhere draw this tag. @Randy11 I did want to clarify for you: the money from this and the money from the supertag go to very different places. The supertag is not earmarked specifically for species management and conservation like this raffle tag. And, when all is said and done, the odds of drawing this are still likely higher than the supertag.

I understand and respect @antlerradar's position on this, and as I've said elsewhere, that's okay. I don't want this tag to go to someone who doesn't see value in having it. But I don't have the benefit of big tasty bucks in my backyard. I grew up shooting dinker, and frankly, not very tasty, mountain muleys off my back porch (literally) in district 380. But since I moved to the "big city" for work, I've had to spend far more time on pavement if I want to hunt public.

Which, to @Nameless Range's point, I greatly enjoy. I don't mind covering miles and exploring all over this state, which anymore, I consider my backyard. I get restless only hunting one spot, and even if I get skunked, part of hunting for me is just as much about discovering where they are not before I can figure out where they are.

Will BHA publish the data for the sales??

 

[Elky Welky]

Will BHA publish the data for the sales??

Yes, we will absolutely be letting people know how much this raffle makes when all is said and done.

 

[MTelkHuntress]

Yes, we will absolutely be letting people know how much this raffle makes when all is said and done.

I hope it's a lot. I'd also like to see this approach more for the state wide tag.
I bought a few tickets to help increase that number

 

[Ben Nicholson]

Bought my tickets! BTW: We (Iowa BHA) will have an Iowa deer tag very soon in case anyone is interested.

 

[LQ9]

there are alot of units in MT that require a permit issued in a special draw after you get your deer tag.Some parts of the state are open to mule deer hunting just check the regs for the area you want to hunt.Good Luck.HUNT

 

[Elky Welky]

Latest Montana Untamed Podcast with Kevin Farron discusses how MT-BHA acquired the tag, what the logic is behind it, and also includes a discussion about mule deer in MT. The whole podcast is great, but if you are specifically interested in learning more about the mule deer tag, tune in at 01:00:30.

https://shows.audiocdn.com/s/leeenterprises/montana-untamed/public-land-policy-how-b-e35d50

 

[Forkyfinder]

Latest Montana Outdoors Podcast with Kevin Farron discusses how MT-BHA acquired the tag, what the logic is behind it, and also includes a discussion about mule deer in MT. The whole podcast is great, but if you are specifically interested in learning more about the mule deer tag, tune in at 01:00:30.

https://shows.audiocdn.com/s/leeenterprises/montana-untamed/public-land-policy-how-b-e35d50

Think you mean Montana Untamed

Thanks for posting, though!

 

[Elky Welky]

Think you mean Montana Untamed

Thanks for posting, though!

Fixed it! Thanks!

 

[Elky Welky]

Hey all! There are only a few more weeks to put your name in the hat for this opportunity! Links are all listed at the top of the thread.

 

[Forkyfinder]

Hey all! There are only a few more weeks to put your name in the hat for this opportunity! Links are all listed at the top of the thread.

Just want this to pound the auction prices and supertag sales. I think it will.

 

[mtmuley]

What happens with a general tag if you win? What happens if you draw an LE unit and win? mtmuley

 

[Elky Welky]

What happens with a general tag if you win? What happens if you draw an LE unit and win? mtmuley

If the second scenario happens, that makes you one lucky s.o.b.

But to answer: you get to keep and use your general tag, and if you have a permit you can only fill your general tag in the permitted area; those rules don’t change.

But this is a wholly separate tag that you still could use to hunt anywhere.

 

[Forkyfinder]

If the second scenario happens, that makes you one lucky s.o.b.

But to answer: you get to keep and use your general tag, and if you have a permit you can only fill your general tag in the permitted area; those rules don’t change.

But this is a wholly separate tag that you still could use to hunt anywhere.

So - youre saying a MT forky double is possible?

Brb buying more chances!

I kid - that would be awesome to have both. And its awesome this in addition.

 

[mtmuley]

If the second scenario happens, that makes you one lucky s.o.b.

But to answer: you get to keep and use your general tag, and if you have a permit you can only fill your general tag in the permitted area; those rules don’t change.

But this is a wholly separate tag that you still could use to hunt anywhere.

Think I'll roll the dice with my 20 points and not buy any. I'd hunt the same unit anyway. mtmuley

 

[DFS]

Think I'll roll the dice with my 20 points and not buy any. I'd hunt the same unit anyway. mtmuley

The smartest play is to wait until the draw comes out and see if you get a decent elk tag or the muley tag. After you don’t you could consider donating to a state that hates their mule deer.

 

[mtmuley]

The smartest play is to wait until the draw comes out and see if you get a decent elk tag or the muley tag. After you don’t you could consider donating to a state that hates their mule deer.

Just what we need. Someone holding two premium mule deer tags. mtmuley