2020 MT mule deer.

[Tbob]

Last year was my first time hunting Mule deer in MT. I went solo and missed a few good bucks and passed up a descent one on day 2. I ended up bringing home 2 very nice does.. I’m definitely going to try my luck again in the draw this year. Who else is headed out to MT for some Mule deer action?
   I’ll definitely be practicing my rifle shooting out to 300 yrds a crap-ton this year!!

[CaNINE]

I’m going. If I draw the tag. 

[Stein]

Yeah, I’ll be there.  I should draw antelope this year too.


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[jstone]

I didn’t get drawn last year, I sure hope I do this year!!

[KB88]

I will be... if I’m drawn. I’d rather spend more time filling an elk tag and stumble into a buck. Just not sure of where. I saw more mule deer than white tails where I was at. Everyone I knew out there shot muleys

[HillHound]

 Hopefully. We got lucky three years in a row and then we struck out and did not get to go last year. We’ve brought our bucks home every year and most shots of been between three and 500 yards. Although we have had a couple close ones where they jumped out of the draw and was only a 50 yard shot.

[D-Rock425]

im tossing my name in the hat this year for deer and elk.

[buckfvr]

Hopefully. We got lucky three years in a row and then we struck out and did not get to go last year. We’ve brought our bucks home every year and most shots of been between three and 500 yards. Although we have had a couple close ones where they jumped out of the draw and was only a 50 yard shot.

Throw some pictures out there for us........Im also thinking about it but after seeing this post and looking at their last mule deer harvest report, it leaves me kinda cold........

[mburrows]

Moved back from Montana unfortunately but here is my buck from last year. The red X is the knob I shot him from 368 yards away, he reared onto his back legs at the shot and then dropped in is tracks.

[jstone]

I can’t see??

[grundy53]

I'll be putting my name in the hat again this year.

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[RightPlace-RightTime]

Montana

[Karl Blanchard]

Haven't been back there for a few years but if I don't smoke these points this year I'll lose them so I'm diving back in. Gonna hit it for for a few weekends in between other hunts and see how some of my old haunts are doing. Ill get my daughter a tag as well and see if we can't get her her first muley buck. My last MT buck from a run and gun trip over thanksgiving with my nephew Hunter and my dad. It was -20 that afternoon and my camera wouldnt work so no field photos. By the time I got back to my dad and the truck that whole 80lb bag of neat in my pack was frozen solid

[HillHound]

A couple from our last trip

[C-Money]

This is great! I'd love to hunt Montana. I have a few cousins over there that I don't see much. Hope to talk to them at the family reunion about deer hunting.

[Onewhohikes]

What are you waiting for then?

[dvolmer]

I love Montana!!! 

[dvolmer]

More!

[dvolmer]

More!

[dvolmer]

Montana is great, but........

You still need to do your research and you PR (personal relations) work.  It is not opportunity rich unless you really work at it.  Also the tags are getting harder to draw each year as more and more demand for tags are had.  (Good) Block Management property is harder and harder to find with the best areas needing reservations and are tougher to get each year.  Don't forget your Washington apples and salmon either.  That can go along way with landowners and get your permission early.  Don't just think you can show up in November hunting and find good ground.  It doesn't work that way.  At least my experiences have shown that.

[Onewhohikes]

Have you been hunting the same property for quite a while?

[Stein]

Montana is great, but........

You still need to do your research and you PR (personal relations) work.  It is not opportunity rich unless you really work at it.  Also the tags are getting harder to draw each year as more and more demand for tags are had.  (Good) Block Management property is harder and harder to find with the best areas needing reservations and are tougher to get each year.  Don't forget your Washington apples and salmon either.  That can go along way with landowners and get your permission early.  Don't just think you can show up in November hunting and find good ground.  It doesn't work that way.  At least my experiences have shown that.

Yeah, my experience is that guys that have a dozen big heads at camp are in the very slim minority.  There are many more opportunities there, but the success percentages are still very low and they still call it hunting not shooting a B&C animal from the side of the road off Exit 1.  I know and see tons of guys over there warming up the pot for tag soup every year.

[mburrows]

Definitely good opportunity in Montana to harvest a buck but agreed, it takes some serious discipline and knowledge of an area to find a bruiser, its not like once you cross the state line and bucks are frolicking around every where.

Its possible to get lucky buts its far from easy to turn up good bucks on heavily hunted public land over there and just about all the easy to access land gets heavily hunted.

[2MANY]

That last whitetail is awesome.
The piano in the background seems outta place though.

[dvolmer]

That last whitetail is awesome.
The piano in the background seems outta place though.

That's what I get having 6 daughters!  A small price to pay to offset my hunting tags!!!!  haha

[dvolmer]

Have you been hunting the same property for quite a while?

Yep.  12 years now.  We are like family now.  But it started with just some good PR and lots of ground work.  It didn't start easy but evolved over time.

Two of the elk were taken elsewhere outside of Helena on Block Management land.  Tag was limited entry and took us 6 or so years to draw.

[huntandjeep]

We will be applying again this year , hope to make it 4 in a row

[Tbob]

IDK,
I went this last year solo for the very first time, never been to the area before. I got a few good tips from folks on here as to where to start, then I just used google, onx and the Block management map I got from the state and off I went. I had a great time, had plenty of opportunities and came home with a cooler full of meat. I guess we’re all out there for different reasons. As long as we’re out there though right?! Good luck on the draw this year everyone!!

[Onewhohikes]

Have you been hunting the same property for quite a while?

Yep.  12 years now.  We are like family now.  But it started with just some good PR and lots of ground work.  It didn't start easy but evolved over time.

Two of the elk were taken elsewhere outside of Helena on Block Management land.  Tag was limited entry and took us 6 or so years to draw.

Now that's a definite advantage. Things have changed a lot in 12 years, people have so called "tightened the belt" and gone to letting outfitters lease their properties.

[Karl Blanchard]

IDK,
I went this last year solo for the very first time, never been to the area before. I got a few good tips from folks on here as to where to start, then I just used google, onx and the Block management map I got from the state and off I went. I had a great time, had plenty of opportunities and came home with a cooler full of meat. I guess we’re all out there for different reasons. As long as we’re out there though right?! Good luck on the draw this year everyone!!

  hunted MT for a lot of years in quite a few different regions of the state. All public land or open to hunting. Never been an issue finding mature animals to hunt. It's amazing how little actual hunting that people do in MT. Everyone wants to just drive around classing from the truck. You find a lot when you go on a walk about.

[Skyvalhunter]

Area dependent

[cougforester]

IDK,
I went this last year solo for the very first time, never been to the area before. I got a few good tips from folks on here as to where to start, then I just used google, onx and the Block management map I got from the state and off I went. I had a great time, had plenty of opportunities and came home with a cooler full of meat. I guess we’re all out there for different reasons. As long as we’re out there though right?! Good luck on the draw this year everyone!!

  hunted MT for a lot of years in quite a few different regions of the state. All public land or open to hunting. Never been an issue finding mature animals to hunt. It's amazing how little actual hunting that people do in MT. Everyone wants to just drive around classing from the truck. You find a lot when you go on a walk about.

This is for real. I hunted MT for the first time last year, and actually ran into a guy hiking whose family homesteaded the area a hundred years ago or so. We asked him about a specific area we wanted to explore, and he said he never had gone in there because it was too far and thick.... less than a half mile off the road.

So, we crossed a 10' creek, got through a hundred yards of blowdown, then it opened up into a nice underburn. We got into 6 bulls under 60 yards in the 6 days we hunted that little pocket.

Same deal with rifle season. We glassed a batchelor group of bulls, gained 1600 feet and 2.4 miles, and killed one. We got back to the truck as a group was driving by, and they said they were glassing that same herd and watched us kill him.

My partner and I couldn't figure out why people just like looking at elk but don't want to hike after them....

[grundy53]

IDK,
I went this last year solo for the very first time, never been to the area before. I got a few good tips from folks on here as to where to start, then I just used google, onx and the Block management map I got from the state and off I went. I had a great time, had plenty of opportunities and came home with a cooler full of meat. I guess we’re all out there for different reasons. As long as we’re out there though right?! Good luck on the draw this year everyone!!

  hunted MT for a lot of years in quite a few different regions of the state. All public land or open to hunting. Never been an issue finding mature animals to hunt. It's amazing how little actual hunting that people do in MT. Everyone wants to just drive around classing from the truck. You find a lot when you go on a walk about.

This is for real. I hunted MT for the first time last year, and actually ran into a guy hiking whose family homesteaded the area a hundred years ago or so. We asked him about a specific area we wanted to explore, and he said he never had gone in there because it was too far and thick.... less than a half mile off the road.

So, we crossed a 10' creek, got through a hundred yards of blowdown, then it opened up into a nice underburn. We got into 6 bulls under 60 yards in the 6 days we hunted that little pocket.

Same deal with rifle season. We glassed a batchelor group of bulls, gained 1600 feet and 2.4 miles, and killed one. We got back to the truck as a group was driving by, and they said they were glassing that same herd and watched us kill him.

My partner and I couldn't figure out why people just like looking at elk but don't want to hike after them....

I hunted Montana for the first time this year also, but for deer. Same experience. Hardly saw anyone out walking. Tons of area that was basically unhunted. It was almost overwhelming trying to decide where to hike.

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[Tbob]

Application complete! Fingers crossed!