2020 MT mule deer.

[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.