Region 7 Montana

[Sasquatchewan]

I hear ya. I’m going to be a little pickier than that though. I guess I won’t really know until I get up there and start looking at deer.

If I can’t find the mulie I want I may just end up shooting a nice whitetail if I can find one.

It's all relative to how you feel about your hunt. I've seen some tiny 5x5s and I've seen and killed big 3x3s before. I've told myself plenty of times before "okay, I'll shoot the first...... I see" only to pass similar or bigger because I didn't feel like it in the moment. Sometimes I regretted making that decision, sometimes it paid out and I shot something much bigger. You could very well get there with a goal in mind and end up shooting a twig sized 2x2 because you felt like it in the moment. It's your hunt and you decide what YOU want it to be.

Personally, if this were my first mule deer hunt I wouldn't waste my tag on a whitetail unless it's a big one. But again, that's me.

 

[brownbear932008]

The number in my head is 170. I should be arriving in my hunting area mid day on November 1st and departing for home on November 12th.

Edit: I am not hung up on score. I am just trying to set reasonable expectations for myself. If I take a 160 or 150 or whatever that does it for me I will be ecstatic.

Trust me I'm surely not trying to burst your bubble but I feel your expectations are way to high for MT. On PUBLIC lands. Not saying it can't happen it does every year. But understand that is a big deer on public land in MT. or any state for that matter. I honestly feel if you hunt really hard and look over a lot of deer you could come away with a nice 130-140(on average) buck. I hunted the state for about 15 years and my best were a mid 160s and a mid 150s. The latter came off private. Now I will say I did see a few nicer well 2 to be exact 170-180" range but not in that region and that was when the hunting was better than it is today.
Here is how the average first time muley hunt goes. Guy rolls into town ready to rock. After 3-4 days of seeing forkies he pops the first 3 or 4 point he runs across and in that region it tends to be a 2 year old that may score 120" if your lucky. But go have a great time the country is beautiful and if your really really lucky you may get the buck of your dreams that's why we enjoy hunting . Just my two cents man go get em.

 

[EYJONAS!]

If you gotta talk yourself into thinking he's big or should I?...... then I probably wouldn't do it. You'll know when you see "him" good luck

 

[Shangobango]

Out of curiosity, during your several years of research, why did you pick SE MT for your 1st western public land mule deer hunt?

I hope that you and your crew have a great hunt and enjoy the western hunting experience, you will see deer, both muley and whitie!

Thank you so much.

There were several reasons.

Most importantly I have dreamed of seeing that part of the world ever since I watched Gus and Woodrow drive cattle into it in
“Lonesome Dove” lol.

The relatively low elevation was another major factor. I live at 60 feet. My son will be along. I want him to have an enjoyable experience. I figured being wet behind the ears when it comes to potentially very cold weather camping it would be better to initiate myself in milder country such as that. Snow is practically foreign to me. I ran a 100 mile long trapline in a foot of snow down here for about a week a few years back and it threw me for a loop. Never had that much snow on the ground for that long down here since I been hunting and trapping. If for some reason we are not properly prepared, getting right would not be such a challenge.

Then my research also showed a decent deer and antelope population. There is also possibly some elk around as well. I figured it would be a good place to go to get started on learning the behavior of the animals by observation.

 

[brockel]

If you gotta talk yourself into thinking he's big or should I?...... then I probably wouldn't do it. You'll know when you see "him" good luck

If you have to do that dump a whitetail buck instead and give the young rut dumb mule deer a break

 

[brockel]

Thank you so much.

There were several reasons.

Most importantly I have dreamed of seeing that part of the world ever since I watched Gus and Woodrow drive cattle into it in
“Lonesome Dove” lol.

The relatively low elevation was another major factor. I live at 60 feet. My son will be along. I want him to have an enjoyable experience. I figured being wet behind the ears when it comes to potentially very cold weather camping it would be better to initiate myself in milder country such as that. Snow is practically foreign to me. I ran a 100 mile long trapline in a foot of snow down here for about a week a few years back and it threw me for a loop. Never had that much snow on the ground for that long down here since I been hunting and trapping. If for some reason we are not properly prepared, getting right would not be such a challenge.

Then my research also showed a decent deer and antelope population. There is also possibly some elk around as well. I figured it would be a good place to go to get started on learning the behavior of the animals by observation.

Camping or staying in motel? Is your son hunting too or just along for the ride? What part of the season are you planning to come

 

[Shangobango]

Camping or staying in motel? Is your son hunting too or just along for the ride? What part of the season are you planning to come

Camping. Yes my son has a tag as well. We will be there basically the first two weeks of November.

 

[Dwreckers]

Nothing to contribute as I’ve never been there but good luck to you and your group and looking forward to some pics!

 

[8andcounting]

I’d back it up atleast a week and hunt the 2nd and 3rd week . 10-20th usually is about peak rut

 

[8andcounting]

That will up your chances of seeing MR Big , if he exists

 

[EYJONAS!]

If you have to do that dump a whitetail buck instead and give the young rut dumb mule deer a break

YES!

 

[Shangobango]

^^^ That’s the plan. I’d rather shoot a nice whitetail than an immature mule deer even if this is my first opportunity at a mule deer.

 

[Shangobango]

I’d back it up atleast a week and hunt the 2nd and 3rd week . 10-20th usually is about peak rut

I would have loved to do that but I had to adjust to my aunt and uncle’s schedule. They are also making the trip.

 

[SAJ-99]

We will be on public maybe some BMA. We are planning on being mobile so I have no specific area. I have an area picked out where I plan for us to start.

I hope to fly up in September and rent a truck and spend a couple of days doing some reconnaissance. Mainly just finding access points and roads putting eyes on the country to compare the ground to what I am seeing on the maps.

I don’t want to derail the thread, but a good thing to get opinions on is whether to focus on a area or keep moving. There is value to being able to gauge a spot as good or bad by sign and knowing how much time to spend. As someone said, Region 7 is huge. I will add that you should expect to have considerable company.
Regarding judging mule deer, if lucky you will encounter the problem of a really tall rack but not very wide or wide and not tall, or weak backs or weak fronts. It takes a lot of experience to gauge a number, which I don’t have, but some guys on here are very good. I chased the same 4x3 three times last year because he looked good from a distance. Yes, I eventually ate the tag. Good luck.

 

[Shangobango]

One thing I failed to mention is that my son can only miss a week of school so he will either be flying out there or back home halfway through the trip. I suspect he will make the first half of the trip. If that is the case I will be concentrating on getting him a buck during that time which should allow me more time to evaluate what is around before I am actually hunting for myself.

 

[Shangobango]

I don’t want to derail the thread, but a good thing to get opinions on is whether to focus on a area or keep moving. There is value to being able to gauge a spot as good or bad by sign and knowing how much time to spend. As someone said, Region 7 is huge. I will add that you should expect to have considerable company.
Regarding judging mule deer, if lucky you will encounter the problem of a really tall rack but not very wide or wide and not tall, or weak backs or weak fronts. It takes a lot of experience to gauge a number, which I don’t have, but some guys on here are very good. I chased the same 4x3 three times last year because he looked good from a distance. Yes, I eventually ate the tag. Good luck.

Thanks for that. Those are good points. I don’t feel as if that is derailing the thread at all.

I picked up a couple different books on mule deer a couple years back. Both have fairly extensive sections on judging mule deer. I will continue to study those books as well as other resources to try to get as prepared as possible to judge them in the field.

I feel as if my strong suit when it comes to hunting is sign reading and finding game. Scouting is my favorite part of hunting. Honestly. Well, and the food that comes from success. I realize that I am going to be trying to do this in unfamiliar terrain with unfamiliar animals so it will be challenging. That‘s going to be a huge part of the fun.

 

[LostinOregon1]

Shangobango,

You should look at powder river outfitters and gardner outfitters who are based in Broadus. They lease some of the better properties in that area. Take a look at the photos and see how many 170 bucks you see on their website. A 170 mule deer is a big deer and most that you see on the internet claiming to be 170 are really 140-150ish. I have hunted that area for many, many years and the genetics tend to be ear width or a little more, tall deer with little or no eye guards. Doesn't mean there are not great deer out there, because they are. If is an awesome area to see and enjoy the hunt with your son, don't get hung up on any numbers and have a great time. Your plan for hunting a week will pay off as the deer will begin wandering around the first few days of November.

Rich

 

[Old man bob]

I hunted it in 2012 ,13 ,and 14 ,when I left Phoenix and was working oilfield in North Dakota. It was better back then , from what every one says here. If You don't hunt the rut , its gonna be tough. And You can be in some very cold weather too. Camping in that makes hunting no fun unless you have an outfitter tent with a stove. The last year I hunted it with a Buddy from Minnesota and we got caught in 5 days of -20 degrees. The first 2 years I found decsent bucks. 3rd year I came home empty ,buddy shot a 3 x3 meat buck I found for Him. the first year I took 2-3 scouting trips. So I knew where to go. take 15 power optics (good ones) and a tripod and that will be Your best friend. I found a good number of locals just road hunting. I allways found get back in aways and up High and glass and they would get em moving to me. Another tip , if You have to plan around others schedule You are hurting Your chances of finding Quality Animals.. If your coming from back East leave your 8 power Bushnells at Home ..Good Luck ,Have fun but at least try to hunt the rut. ...................BOB!

 

[timmy]

Shangobango,

You should look at powder river outfitters and gardner outfitters who are based in Broadus. They lease some of the better properties in that area. Take a look at the photos and see how many 170 bucks you see on their website. A 170 mule deer is a big deer and most that you see on the internet claiming to be 170 are really 140-150ish. I have hunted that area for many, many years and the genetics tend to be ear width or a little more, tall deer with little or no eye guards. Doesn't mean there are not great deer out there, because they are. If is an awesome area to see and enjoy the hunt with your son, don't get hung up on any numbers and have a great time. Your plan for hunting a week will pay off as the deer will begin wandering around the first few days of November.

Rich

It’s not necessarily the genetics the genetics are there for good bucks it’s more the season structure that prevents us from having very many good deer. Every year a couple lucky hunters shoot a 170 but you would be well ahead of the curve if you found one.

 

[LostinOregon1]

We have shot some great bucks, but also 5 to 6 year old deer that were 140 type deer and wouldn't have gotten any bigger. I wish I lived there, because I think that if you were able to spend a bunch of time you would be rewarded.

Rich