Montana unit 652 buck tag
- Thread starter mlnelson
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Montana Advocate
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New update. 3 more days of hunting in the past 9 days. Another 20 or so different 145-165 class bucks passed up. Still haven't seen anything yet in that 180 range I have been hoping for.
Glad I ran into FWP this weekend. I have to imagine some of the people I am seeing do not have the tag. He also mentioned some group of guys from back east that has been poaching in there for years, and that they were recently caught. Plus I told the warden about someone riding a motorcycle illegally in an area I've hiked into, on two different occasions.
Hopefully I have some pictures in the near future. Good luck to anyone else with the tag.
Glad I ran into FWP this weekend. I have to imagine some of the people I am seeing do not have the tag. He also mentioned some group of guys from back east that has been poaching in there for years, and that they were recently caught. Plus I told the warden about someone riding a motorcycle illegally in an area I've hiked into, on two different occasions.
Hopefully I have some pictures in the near future. Good luck to anyone else with the tag.
Muleyhunter
New member
I was out there the end of October and also witnessed motorcycles on the CMR, tried to get a photo but was unable too.
Good to hear you saw a lot of deer! Will be out this weekend for four days hoping to find the one I jumped back in October.
Cheers to deer hunting this is what makes life so great!
Good to hear you saw a lot of deer! Will be out this weekend for four days hoping to find the one I jumped back in October.
Cheers to deer hunting this is what makes life so great!
Trucker
Well-known member
Finally made it over to hunt. Drove 900 miles and get here around 3:30pm. Have about a hour to look around before dark. 15 minutes later I have a 22"-23". 4x4 crab claw buck at 30 yards for 3 minutes staring at me. I want to move on but he also has a 6" droptine. I am a sucker for droptines. Never seen one and now he is standing in front of me. Well I decided to pass. Hope I don't regret it. Lots of time left to be done in 15 minutes.hope I find something else.
Montana Advocate
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Trucker,
I have seen that drop tine buck twice. Once from the highway and once while driving in on one of the CMR roads. He tempted me for a second too.
I have seen that drop tine buck twice. Once from the highway and once while driving in on one of the CMR roads. He tempted me for a second too.
Trucker
Well-known member
got my buck on Saturday night. The hunting was tougher then I expected but had a fun time. I hunted the South end of the unit that is super rough country all the way to the north end of the unit that is bigger hill country. I seen about 40 bucks. 8 of them I would consider mature deer and 3 of them would be shooter bucks for me. I found a small spot that was a little hard to access and found a nice area with a couple bucks and doe. Right before dark on friday I spotted a big buck. about 600-700 yards away. I didn't want to shoot so I made a move. It took me about 15-20 to change spots and get closer. When I got into position the buck was gone but the does were still there. while waiting it got dark and had to walk back to the truck in the dark. So went back to the same spot Saturday night and got into a better position.It was cold and blowing 15-20mph. Seen a couple small bucks messing with the does. Right before dark I saw some commotion of to my left and this buck was chasing a doe crazy. I didn't get a great look at the antlers except the were dark and looked kind of heavy. Only had about 10 seconds to get into position and shoot before this buck chases the doe over another hill. I hit him with the first shot and he went down with the second shot. Got to him and had enough time for some pictures and clean him out before dark. Walked back to the truck in the dark and went to town and had a nice steak dinner. Went out the next morning with my game cart to get him out. GPS said a mile as a crow flies and about 550 feet elevation difference to where he was from the truck. 3 hours later i carted him back to the truck.
Thanks for everyone on this site that helped and answered all my questions it was a ton of help. This unit is big and tough to hunt. All the bigger bucks i seen were away from the roads. walked many miles and lots of glassing and you will find them.
my steak dinner reward
Thanks for everyone on this site that helped and answered all my questions it was a ton of help. This unit is big and tough to hunt. All the bigger bucks i seen were away from the roads. walked many miles and lots of glassing and you will find them.
my steak dinner reward
Trucker
Well-known member
My son also got his 1st buck ever on this trip. ( he did not hunt unit 652. different area )
El Jason
Well-known member
Nice buck! The steak doesn't look bad either.
mdunc8
Well-known member
Couple nice bucks. Congrats
teamhoyt
Well-known member
Very nice! Also not much better than a steak at the gateway
Muleyhunter
New member
Nice buck. Congrats on the hunt! I shot a nice buck on Friday night tried to post. Can't figure how to post picture.
Big Slick
Well-known member
12 years = "a few"
Look it up.
12 beers= "a couple"
Nameless Range
Well-known member
That's a good couple of bucks. That steak too...... Congratulations!
Montana Advocate
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Great buck.
My brother and I both tagged out Sunday/Monday as well. I'll post up some pics shortly
My brother and I both tagged out Sunday/Monday as well. I'll post up some pics shortly
Montana Advocate
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After looking over well over 100 bucks, a lot of which were dinks, my brother and I both tagged out the past two days.
Sunday morning my brother did a 7 mile loop to the south, and I did a loop about the same length to the north of the road we drove in on. I saw 13 bucks on that loop, and my brother saw 1. I passed on 2 small 4 pts, and saw one dandy at about 700 yards cruising in full rut mode. I moved in but he gave me the slip. It is amazing how easily deer can disappear in what appears to be relatively open country.
At about noon I spotted 2 bucks bedded under a cliff at about 1000 yards, and I was able to sneak within 150 yards. One was a 22" heavy fork, and the other was a cactus buck. One side had a 2 feet horn, in full velvet, with about 6 eyeguards in the 4-6" range, and the other side was just a cluster of eyeguards, again all in velvet. I was tempted to shoot this freak, but passed. 90 minutes later I spotted glimpses of a few deer in some chest/shoulder high sage. After moving in, I turned up 3 small bucks and 2 does. Then I saw two whitetail does, and the face of what looked to be a nice buck. I put the sneak on and got within about 75 yards of where I thought the big buck was, when I saw a good 4x4 whitetail buck moving in. These were the first whitetail I have seen in the unit. I decided to pass.
After walking another 10 yards, I spotted the tips of a nice rack above the sage. I couldn't see the deer at all. I moved a few yards and a doe busted out, followed by the nice buck. I got the gun set up on the sticks and waited for a shot, but the sage was so tall I only could catch glimpses of them as they moved off. Finally, at about 200 yards, the buck stopped broadside and I knew the doe had cleared. I couldn't see the vitals, just his head and rack, but made a good estimate on the shot, and double lunged him.
Here is the "as I found him" picture, which is always my favorite pic of a downed animal:
My brother is not the best picture taker, but here are a few more shots:
Luckily my brother was about done with his loop and was able to hike in to help me pack. We quartered the deer, and made our way back to the truck, getting back around 3:30.
With not much time left in the day, we headed to a different area that we have been seeing some good deer in, and a lot of does. We spotted some does and a decent 150 buck, and did a little hike to see what else was in the little bowl, when this guy came charging in chasing a doe. Very unique buck, with amazing tine length.
He was shot right at sunset, and we had him gutted, and loaded in the truck, by about 530.
All in all, it was a very fun hunt. My hunts were limited to 1 or 2 day trips, due to my taking a week off for archery elk which was successful:
And taking a second week off for my mountain goat hunt, and 3 days for archery lopes, which were successful:
I feel if I devoted a solid 7-8 day hunt we could have done a little better, but we are both happy. I rough scored them at 166 and 175. I look forward to drawing the tag again.
Matt
Sunday morning my brother did a 7 mile loop to the south, and I did a loop about the same length to the north of the road we drove in on. I saw 13 bucks on that loop, and my brother saw 1. I passed on 2 small 4 pts, and saw one dandy at about 700 yards cruising in full rut mode. I moved in but he gave me the slip. It is amazing how easily deer can disappear in what appears to be relatively open country.
At about noon I spotted 2 bucks bedded under a cliff at about 1000 yards, and I was able to sneak within 150 yards. One was a 22" heavy fork, and the other was a cactus buck. One side had a 2 feet horn, in full velvet, with about 6 eyeguards in the 4-6" range, and the other side was just a cluster of eyeguards, again all in velvet. I was tempted to shoot this freak, but passed. 90 minutes later I spotted glimpses of a few deer in some chest/shoulder high sage. After moving in, I turned up 3 small bucks and 2 does. Then I saw two whitetail does, and the face of what looked to be a nice buck. I put the sneak on and got within about 75 yards of where I thought the big buck was, when I saw a good 4x4 whitetail buck moving in. These were the first whitetail I have seen in the unit. I decided to pass.
After walking another 10 yards, I spotted the tips of a nice rack above the sage. I couldn't see the deer at all. I moved a few yards and a doe busted out, followed by the nice buck. I got the gun set up on the sticks and waited for a shot, but the sage was so tall I only could catch glimpses of them as they moved off. Finally, at about 200 yards, the buck stopped broadside and I knew the doe had cleared. I couldn't see the vitals, just his head and rack, but made a good estimate on the shot, and double lunged him.
Here is the "as I found him" picture, which is always my favorite pic of a downed animal:
My brother is not the best picture taker, but here are a few more shots:
Luckily my brother was about done with his loop and was able to hike in to help me pack. We quartered the deer, and made our way back to the truck, getting back around 3:30.
With not much time left in the day, we headed to a different area that we have been seeing some good deer in, and a lot of does. We spotted some does and a decent 150 buck, and did a little hike to see what else was in the little bowl, when this guy came charging in chasing a doe. Very unique buck, with amazing tine length.
He was shot right at sunset, and we had him gutted, and loaded in the truck, by about 530.
All in all, it was a very fun hunt. My hunts were limited to 1 or 2 day trips, due to my taking a week off for archery elk which was successful:
And taking a second week off for my mountain goat hunt, and 3 days for archery lopes, which were successful:
I feel if I devoted a solid 7-8 day hunt we could have done a little better, but we are both happy. I rough scored them at 166 and 175. I look forward to drawing the tag again.
Matt
BlakeA
Well-known member
Great stuff! Hell of a year Matt. Thanks for sharing!
Montana Advocate
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I should add that I never saw a single hunter, other than an illegal motorcycle driver, off the road the entire time I hunted. Same with my brother. Lots of road hunters, but no one back in the boonies.
Probably true in most units, but that surprised me.
Probably true in most units, but that surprised me.
Trucker
Well-known member
One older guy With a tag That had a couple friends with him stopped by my truck when I was loading my buck. He said if the buck wasn't within 400 yards of the road he wasn't shooting it.
