Montana Deer Hunt- Help

[Duckhunter14]

I have been hesitant to post this, but I figured what the heck. So here it is; myself and several other members from this site are planning a hunting trip to Eastern Montana for deer next fall. We have been pouring over maps, Google earth, asking around for others experience, researching online, etc. We have tentatively decided to head over to the Fort Peck Reservoir area and give that a try. None of us have ever been over there; we are going in blind. Especially if we cant get over this summer to do some scouting, which with our work schedules may prove to be impossible. So we were curious if any members on here could give us any insight? It should go without saying we are not looking for your secret spot to find big bucks, or anything super specific, I'm not asking for GPS coordinates. But if anyone has ever been to the area and had success and could offer any kind of advice it would be much appreciated. Anything to help with the learning curve would be great. I looked up a couple of older threads on HuntWa that were helpful, and we are really looking forward to the hunt! If you would rather PM myself or Johnnyaustin44 any information you share and would like to remain confidential will stay that way.

As I mentioned we have obtained maps of the area, I will be getting a Hunt MT chip for my GPS to help with public and private land ownership, I was planning on calling the local biologist/game warden to pick their brain, also planning on contacting the Charles M. Russell Refuge headquarters to make sure we understand all the guidelines for being on the refuge and camping near the reservoir. Anyone I'm forgetting?

One of the things I have heard from talking to a few people who have hunted that country was if rain is in the forecast forget about driving or riding a quad...or even hiking for that matter. Which I have experienced in WY before and understand how nasty that clay gumbo can be. Also if we plan to use a boat for access on the lake be mindful of high winds because that water can get extremely nasty in a hurry?

Any tips on good places to camp, jump off points for areas to hunt, an item you couldn't have gone without over there, what was your most successful style of hunting (glass early and late, pushing canyons, etc), anything really. Thanks in advance guys. I will be sure to document the trip; and provide a write up with pictures to share once we get back (with hopefully a punched tag or two). 

Clint

[Bigshooter]

Bring some extra gas cans.  The CMR closes in most units earlier than the general season.  What unit do you plan on hunting?  I like the units on the south side of the lake more than the units on the north side.

[Bwana Bob]

Hunt the rut if you can. Find a good vantage point and glass for an hr or 2 in the am. If you take a boat walk far up into those draws away from other hunters and sit and wait for deer to move to you. I hunted the breaks 5 times from my friends place and the best  time to see a lot of bucks was during the rut. Walking on the jumbo sucks but driving on it may be impossible. Shoot the first 160 inch buck you see.
Good luck.

[Duckhunter14]

Thanks for the info guys. We were planning on hunting as close to the rut as possible depending on the CMR closure. We're not sure about which units to focus on yet. Obviously 652 is out because it's draw only. So we were thinking 631, 632, and/or 700? We have thrown the idea around of taking a boat but have also heard many others also deploy that tactic that time of year? Have you guys that have hunted the area had to deal with a lot of competition?

[Magnum_Willys]

pm sent.....

[WoolyRunner]

Nice picture 

[Duckhunter14]

That is an awesome pic Magnum thanks for sharing. Really gives you an idea of how big and open that country is. Thank you to the guys who have PM'd information. I love this forum more and more every day. You guys rock 

Clint

[opdinkslayer]

Sent you a pm DH14

[The scout]

hunt there each year, the best advise is glass. witch is kinda obvious for mule deer. and wait till it's frozen to go or you wont get around in the bentonite, probably the best advise is bring sets of chains for front and rear.

[Brushbuster]

When you call the bio ask how the deer numbers are doing. There are still some areas struggling to recover from the bad winter they had 3-4 yrs ago. I know the units on the east end of the lake were devastated.

You may also want to get the Block Management Catalogue for the region. I believe they come out in August. Listed are private ranches that you can get permission to hunt. Some are as simple as signing in at an access gate.

Weather can make or break the hunt. I try to go as late as possible but with these weird winters we've been having it is no guarantee.

Good Luck. Hope this helps. 

[Duckhunter14]

Thanks Scout looks like I'm headed to pick up another set of chains for my truck, I have only ever needed two but you're the second guy that's told me the same thing! All 4 is a necessity! Brushbuster I spoke with the biologist over there on Monday and brought up the winter kill from years recent as well as the Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD). His was response was this; 2010-11 winter kill was the worst he had seen in his career and he mentioned even the old timers said it was the worst they had seen in their lifetimes. He said it was in fact, devastating. But due to the two consecutive mild winter conditions the last two years, they are seeing better fawn recruitment and have been doing some studies on the survival rate of bucks from their first to second year. He said that they are 'hopeful' for a good fall as far as number of bucks and number of mature bucks. But he said that its not back to what it was prior to 2010, and that with more mild winters and ample moisture in the spring they will return to those numbers in the coming years. He didn't want to turn me away from hunting this year, but he was honest in the fact that he thought the coming years would in fact be better than this fall. As far as EHD, he said that two years ago their whitetail population got hit extremely hard (just like it did in parts of Western MT) and that the population of whitetails was still down from years past but in its 2rd year of recovery and they did start to see more bucks last year and they were hopeful that the population would continue to rebound this year.

Ordering the Block Management maps for the area is great advice, we are definitely going to give those a close look. Thanks again for all the information guys. What else are we missing? What else do we need to know? Anybody ever find any monster elk sheds while hunting over there? I know its tough to draw that bull tag, but I hear there are some dandies over there! Be cool to scoop up a couple shed antlers while we're hiking. Anybody ever fish after tagging out or while they were glassing?

Clint

[300rum]

Most of the time it freezes up at night depending on the time of year so if you don't get too excited and can hang out awhile after the sun goes down you will be able to get out.  The outside Temp doesn't matter as much as the sun hitting the roads, if the sun hits the roads, they can get bad even in single digits.  Wait until the sun goes down to get out and get in before it comes up (usually you have a couple of hours in the a.m. before it gets bad).  I carry a stake and a come along as there isn't much of anything to hook up to to pull you out, you should plan on driving something into the ground.  If for some reason it rains, forget about it.  Even the good roads get real bad, real quick.  It can dump two feet of snow quick and has the last two times I was there.  Hopefully the ground has a chance to freeze up before a snow like that hits or the driving is pretty much over.  One place we hunt is about 2.5 hours away from a gas pump.  I always carry 5 gallons in the truck just in case. 

[Carl]

Tagging.  I would love to do this sometime.

[Brushbuster]

You may want to take a shotgun. An upland game permit is included in your license & some areas have good numbers of pheasants.

[Karl Blanchard]

lots of boats.  shore gets a bit shot out and the deer change their habits accordingly.  Also, a vast majority of hunters never leave their trucks because, well, its montana and you can shoot a buck from the truck.  You see enough deer driving around to keep most guys from walking.  Hit the country between roads and the water and you will have a good hunt.  Don't expect to shoot a big deer but a few are taken every year.  Lots of 110-140" deer last year so there should be a good crop of decent bucks this year.  Good luck!

[blindluck]

First year we spent 70% driving and glassing, the advice so far is spot on, If you can hunt the rut for sure. Pic of mine first trip to the Breaks.

[Duckhunter14]

Dandy buck blindluck! Id be stoked to shoot something like that, but we're not going to be too picky. Thanks BLRman, that's what we plan on doing. Burning a little boot leather and getting the most out of the hunt. 300Rum & Brushbuster great advice guys. We'll be throwing some bird shot and scatter guns in and plenty of extra gas cans!

Thanks for all the great info guys! And thank you to everyone who has pm'd me also. I told the guys who are going that we need to stop talking about it so much because we still have 5 months until we go!
 
The one thing we're discussing right now is whether to tent camp, drag a trailer over there, or stay in a hotel and drive out every day. Some of our issues; if we get nasty weather will we be able to get a travel trailer out? Driving for 15hrs with a trailer in snow and wind could be miserable. If we get nasty cold weather will staying in a tent be miserable? Will the wind wreak havoc on the tent? Will we be able to find a good spot where we can get the tent stakes in the ground and will they hold? We are just weighing out options. Trying to figure out the best route to go. A couple people have already weighed in and we are taking their advice into consideration. Any other experiences positive or negative are welcome. 

Clint

[300rum]

I take a trailer and am going to again this year.  I like getting there about November 10 or so.  Depending on where you go you will have 3-4 mountain passes to go through and it can be bad.  I always plan on pulling over if I need to but haven't had to yet.  I should have a couple of times but didn't.  Each year we come back in a storm or two but we just take our time when we need to.  I also have chains for the trailer.....

There are lots of places to pull over if you need to with a trailer.   We lost most of a day when we had to hole up in the trailer during a blizzard, two feet of snow dumped and then it started to blow all at -3 degrees.  I always spend the night at the Great Falls Wal-Mart.  You can camp on BLM land, your gps will help. 

I wouldn't tent it in November, too much work.  I would also try to stay mobile (trailer) and plan on moving around if you need to.   You will want to get as close to where you are hunting as you can and from there, in parts of that country , you can still be an hour or more drive from where you want to hunt. 

[Karl Blanchard]

I go the opposite route.  I always take the wall tent set up.  Its pretty minimal but very comfortable.  You don't have the trailer towing to deal with and I get 16mpg vs. 7-8mpg when I tow.  A few -25* days last year but we made it.  Long stakes are a must with a wall tent setup though.  We had some hard winds last year that tried real hard to send my tent into orbit.  Ive done the trailer deal and it is more comfy, (especially the movies and popcorn at night ) but if you have more than a few guys, it gets real crowded with gear and such on a late season hunt like that.

Hotel is a large added cost and also adds time and money via driving to and from town to where you want to hunt.  Any way you end up doing it, you will have a ton of fun.  Just take your time while driving and be smart and safe.

[elkaholic123]

 

[Pathfinder101]

This was central Montana, but we did fine with a wall tent and a stove, and it was -20

[Duckhunter14]

Both good points BLRman and 300Rum we are leaning towards a tent just for the reasons BLRman mentioned, but it is definitely going to be more work. I guess we'll ultimately decide as a group what we want to do. But having some personal experiences to go off of really helps. I cant thank you guys enough for all the critical info and everyone who has shared pictures has really lit the fire for us! 3 out of the 4 guys going have never been to Montana before and I cannot wait to get them over there so they can see how beautiful Montana is. I just hope I can get them to leave at weeks end! 

Pathfinder those are some dandies! If you could just give the GPS coordinates for where you got those we'd be set!  Nice work! Love the tent set up too! I took my Alaknak to Montana last year in November on an elk hunt when it was down in the double negative temps and it definitely made things difficult. Like having to line the beers up under the wood stove at the end of the day because they froze solid in the cooler.  but we still had fun and killed a bull, it was just a lot of work keeping the stove stoked all night and sleeping fully clothed with toe and hand warmers. Hopefully we get lucky this year and the temps wont be as brutal. We'll definitely come prepared.

Clint

[NRA4LIFE]

The buck in my avatar was from SE MT a couple years ago.  Heed those who speak of the wind and gumbo mud.  Both can be nasty, real nasty.  And hunt the rut as others say.  If you've never done a prairie rut hunt, you're in for a treat.  The term "chasing does" is a spectacle to witness first hand. 

[Karl Blanchard]

That's a stud Montana buck pathfinder!

[Karl Blanchard]

Few E. Montana bucks

[johnnyaustin44]

Nice looking bucks blr. These pictures aren't helping. Five months seems like an eternity right now. Thank you to all who have posted and pm'd.  Feel like we are already as prepared as we can be for going in blind all thanks to you guys.

[Duckhunter14]

Nice looking bucks blr. These pictures aren't helping. Five months seems like an eternity right now. Thank you to all who have posted and pm'd.  Feel like we are already as prepared as we can be for going in blind all thanks to you guys.

  Dang BLRman that looks like one heck of a trip! That's what we're shooting for, thanks for sharing, some studs right there!

[Karl Blanchard]

Thanks!  That was three different years.  Until Montana changes their greedy, money grubbing ways, I am done with that state.  We must have all been there the same week last year if we all endured the negative double digits together!   with the pellet stove raging, our tent was a cozy 40°!  It felt great though!!!!

[Pathfinder101]

Thanks!  That was three different years.  Until Montana changes their greedy, money grubbing ways, I am done with that state.  We must have all been there the same week last year if we all endured the negative double digits together!   with the pellet stove raging, our tent was a cozy 40°!  It felt great though!!!!

Yup.  Same year. Last year it was "only" $368 for a deer tag.

 Doesn't everyone who hunts Montana have a story about being there "When the Big One blew in"...? 

That's not snow on my jacket.  It's frozen sweat from hiking into the hell hole I killed him in.   

I had to shoot him offhand.  My bipod froze and wouldn't come down.  Good thing he was less than 100 yards.   

[Duckhunter14]

That's what we'll be looking for Pathfinder! That's a solid buck for sure. BLRman I looked back at my pictures and it looks like I was over there last year the second week in Nov. like the 11th-15th. I was hunting western MT though. I remember they were calling for close to -20 below plus with the big arctic blast coming out of Canada. It got so cold we could hear the trees popping and cracking in the night, the one night we accidentally let the fire die I woke up and my hair was frosty.  Good times. Hopefully it doesn't get that bad this year while we're over there. 

[Pathfinder101]

We had to hike up through these chalk cliffs to get to the sheltered canyon where we killed my buck.  2+ hour climb in -20.  Best hunt of my life...   Good thing we didn't need the truck to get anywhere until temps went back down to a balmy 10 degrees the day we left...

[Duckhunter14]

Wow! Way to get it done! The ol' diesels don't like that bitter cold do they! 

[Pathfinder101]

Wow! Way to get it done! The ol' diesels don't like that bitter cold do they! 

Nope, Ole' Red was a little bit cranky for a few days.  We had to tow it to the ranch and plug it in for a few hours before it would start. 

[Karl Blanchard]

In 2012 we went to bed friday night and it was tshirt weather.  We woke up to 18" of snow and it was -14!  The old 7.3 was NOT happy!  We had to tarp the front of the truck and run the cook stove underneath it to get it warm enough to finally fire up.  Get it warmish, then fire it.  Took about 10 turn overs to finally build up enough heat to start!  Cannot tell you how happy of a guy I was!  Closest house was 14 miles away and town and a tow truck was 40!

[Pathfinder101]

In 2012 we went to bed friday night and it was tshirt weather.  We woke up to 18" of snow and it was -14!  The old 7.3 was NOT happy!  We had to tarp the front of the truck and run the cook stove underneath it to get it warm enough to finally fire up.  Get it warmish, then fire it.  Took about 10 turn overs to finally build up enough heat to start!  Cannot tell you how happy of a guy I was!  Closest house was 14 miles away and town and a tow truck was 40!

I'll have to remember that trick....

[Bill W]

There's two reasons for two sets of chains in Montana.  Snow and mud.  The mud is the worst.

[Karl Blanchard]

In 2012 we went to bed friday night and it was tshirt weather.  We woke up to 18" of snow and it was -14!  The old 7.3 was NOT happy!  We had to tarp the front of the truck and run the cook stove underneath it to get it warm enough to finally fire up.  Get it warmish, then fire it.  Took about 10 turn overs to finally build up enough heat to start!  Cannot tell you how happy of a guy I was!  Closest house was 14 miles away and town and a tow truck was 40!

I'll have to remember that trick....

. Not sure how much the stove helped but we called a friend who is a diesel mechanic and he told us the turn over trick.  Fire it, turn the key off, fire it, turn the key off, repeat.  It will eventually create enough heat from friction to turn over.

I have learned that if its muddy, you just hunt from camp or if your hunting from town then you park on asphault