Non-Resident Mule Deer Hunt

[canadian_eh]

As I alluded to in my "welcome" post, I am at the early stages of planning a DIY rifle mule deer hunt for next year. I have Montana set in mind as it has always been at the top of my list of states to visit for a trip like this, but am open to other suggestions. I want to do this without professional assistance so I have researched and it seems that as a Canadian I am able to hunt Montana without a guide (of course after purchasing the applicable licenses and permits). Being from Canada, I am not well versed in the process of planning a hunt like this in the US. I was hoping that someone may be able to shed some light on a few questions I have, as a non-US resident:

Public Land Access -Where to Hunt??
I'm not looking for GPS coordinates here. Just some direction towards where I should be looking to "internet scout" a piece of land to focus in on. My ideal location is somewhere we can drive the truck (we will be driving from home), park somewhere, and pack in a few miles to setup a basecamp. Explore the area from there, moving as required, but sticking within 4-5 miles of the truck so as to not get too carried away with my first time packing out an animal (potentially) in the mountains. We are young and relatively fit guys (there will be two of us) with experience backcountry tripping, but would be considered mountain amateurs so i would say I am looking for a medium-difficulty sort of setup.

Could someone refer to me to a map database of sorts showing public land that is accessible for hunting? We have something similar in Ontario. I have heard the terms BLM, and others, and will continue to research, so any sort of tips of where to look would be appreciated. If someone is gracious enough to suggest a unit somewhere within 200 miles of Bozeman (just because that's where I have been looking and Bozeman is familiar to me), or another area I should be considering, that may or may not have a few good Muley bucks for me to chase, that would most definitely be appreciated aswell! We are already driving 30 hrs so somewhere out of the way is relatively simple.

Licenses, Permits, Etc
As a non-resident, I read online that I have to buy a "Combination Deer License" for $597. Is that all I need to be legal (to hunt)? Depending on where I go is there any regional permits that I would need to get aswell?

Firearms
Is there anything I need to get to make my Canadian firearms license translate to prove me legal for possessing? I am not sure how the gun laws vary state-to-state.. Also, I'm sure there is some sort of form that we need to get from our gov't in order to bring our weapons across the border. Does anything have to be done through the US gov't? I am going to research this more through the gov't websites. I know the process, however slow and painful as with all gov't processes, is in place and accessible. However any tips are helpful.


Any advice is helpful guys. I have been fascinated with the western US for some time now, and have no connections to anyone local, so I have to resort to trusting the internet and my fellow outdoorsmen who may be willing to help out a rookie.

Cheers

AR

 

[Hunting Wife]

A few answers to get you started...

Yes, you can hunt without a guide in Montana.

In some areas, particularly around Bozeman, you need to draw a permit to hunt mule deer bucks, in addition to your general non resident license. You'll want to figure out what the regulations are for the specific area you want to hunt. Plenty of other areas in the state allow you to hunt them on just your general deer license.

Public lands that are available for hunting would include most Montana state school trust lands, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), US Forest Service (USFS) and possibly US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS, but these may have special regulations).

Getting across the border with hunting firearms is not particularly difficult but you'll want to have all necessary paperwork in order prior to travelling. Check with US Customs and Border Patrol. They should have the forms you need in their website.

 

[zachthebowhunter]

You'll want to start with the district maps, pick an area and look at the Individual Hunting district regulations and see what you can hunt with your general deer tag because as Hunting Wife said some of the areas around Bozeman require a permit to hunt mule deer. I live in Butte and I know there are some districts to the south/ southwest of Butte that do not require a permit and hold decent deer. Another good area is eastern Montana for decent amounts of deer, so regions 6, 7 possibly 5.

I would suggest getting either the Insider by GoHunt or the OnX maps so you can view public lands/ private/ BLM etc.

 

[canadian_eh]

Thanks for the responses guys. I have purchase OnX Maps Basecamp app. Heard Randy talk about it on a few of his podcasts and was intrigued by the detail that it was supposed to go into. Will be messing around with it shortly.

Zach, thanks for the nudge in the right direction, gives me someplace to start!

 

[Trigger50]

Give Idaho a serious look !!! Really

 

[zachthebowhunter]

Thanks for the responses guys. I have purchase OnX Maps Basecamp app. Heard Randy talk about it on a few of his podcasts and was intrigued by the detail that it was supposed to go into. Will be messing around with it shortly.

Zach, thanks for the nudge in the right direction, gives me someplace to start!

For sure man! I hope your hunt goes well and you get a good area picked out.

 

[Duck-Slayer]

Yes on checking out Idaho! Good luck!
Matt