Montana deer 2024

[vandeman17]

$1400 for a deer/elk combo with pref point and archery endorsement. Good grief

[Sakko300wsm]

Ya I was 1700 and change with combo , extra point and elk B tag

[Taco280AI]

Never have hunted MT. No idea where to go, what to apply for, and these costs... maybe one day, maybe not 

[MADMAX]

Don’t do it
It’s habit forming 😂

[elkrack]

Never have hunted MT. No idea where to go, what to apply for, and these costs... maybe one day, maybe not 

That’s the cool thing about Montana! Pick a spot and go and likely there’s deer around

[grade-creek-rd]

To kick the hornets nest on the "don't shoot mule deer does" thinkers...well, in 600 and 700 series units mule deer does can only be killed on private lands, and believe it or not, some land owners don't want deer on their property so killing mule deer does to them makes sense. A "small" ranch is still a few thousand acres and the landowner might not actually own the wild game on their ranch but that doesn't mean they can't use means to get rid of the wild game (deer specifically). Opposite problem with elk as there are too many elk in Montana BUT the areas with too many are mostly private lands (ranches) and those landowner complain about the problem but rarely allow hunters to cull the elk herd (cow B tags)...so back to my swift kick of the hornets nest, if a landowner wants the deer gone then by all means fill that B tag, and hopefully that land owner allows the hunter to fill a elk B tag as well...it's not like the mule deer can simply just move to another parcel of land since it's likely that land is owned by a landowner too (this is eastern MT where its limited...where ranches can exceed 10,000 acres). MTFWP should maybe limit ALL mule deer harvest on public lands in the eastern part of the state to help rebuild the public land herds...we often think of mule deer as a whole group when in reality it is sub-populations we are really talking about.

Grade

[dvolmer]

To kick the hornets nest on the "don't shoot mule deer does" thinkers...well, in 600 and 700 series units mule deer does can only be killed on private lands, and believe it or not, some land owners don't want deer on their property so killing mule deer does to them makes sense. A "small" ranch is still a few thousand acres and the landowner might not actually own the wild game on their ranch but that doesn't mean they can't use means to get rid of the wild game (deer specifically). Opposite problem with elk as there are too many elk in Montana BUT the areas with too many are mostly private lands (ranches) and those landowner complain about the problem but rarely allow hunters to cull the elk herd (cow B tags)...so back to my swift kick of the hornets nest, if a landowner wants the deer gone then by all means fill that B tag, and hopefully that land owner allows the hunter to fill a elk B tag as well...it's not like the mule deer can simply just move to another parcel of land since it's likely that land is owned by a landowner too (this is eastern MT where its limited...where ranches can exceed 10,000 acres). MTFWP should maybe limit ALL mule deer harvest on public lands in the eastern part of the state to help rebuild the public land herds...we often think of mule deer as a whole group when in reality it is sub-populations we are really talking about.

Grade

Some good things to think about for sure Grade. One of the big issues is that elk can devastate farm/ranch land. Mule deer, not so much. the footprint of elk is much bigger than mule deer. Elk compete with cattle for food and a herd of elk can really take a toll on a ranchers fields and feeds. Mule deer are browsers and don't compete much with cattle for food. I don't know all of the answers but I would start with states making laws that no rancher can claim damage money from the Game Dept unless they open their lands to public hunters to control the situation in some form or way.

[huntnphool]

To kick the hornets nest on the "don't shoot mule deer does" thinkers...well, in 600 and 700 series units mule deer does can only be killed on private lands, and believe it or not, some land owners don't want deer on their property so killing mule deer does to them makes sense. A "small" ranch is still a few thousand acres and the landowner might not actually own the wild game on their ranch but that doesn't mean they can't use means to get rid of the wild game (deer specifically). Opposite problem with elk as there are too many elk in Montana BUT the areas with too many are mostly private lands (ranches) and those landowner complain about the problem but rarely allow hunters to cull the elk herd (cow B tags)...so back to my swift kick of the hornets nest, if a landowner wants the deer gone then by all means fill that B tag, and hopefully that land owner allows the hunter to fill a elk B tag as well...it's not like the mule deer can simply just move to another parcel of land since it's likely that land is owned by a landowner too (this is eastern MT where its limited...where ranches can exceed 10,000 acres). MTFWP should maybe limit ALL mule deer harvest on public lands in the eastern part of the state to help rebuild the public land herds...we often think of mule deer as a whole group when in reality it is sub-populations we are really talking about.

Grade

 I don’t know about 600 units, but I know A LOT of land owners in the 700 units, across the border into Wyoming as well…and don’t know a single one that has any issues with having deer on their land. Pronghorn are another story, but not mulies!

YMMV

[Karl Blanchard]

To kick the hornets nest on the "don't shoot mule deer does" thinkers...well, in 600 and 700 series units mule deer does can only be killed on private lands, and believe it or not, some land owners don't want deer on their property so killing mule deer does to them makes sense. A "small" ranch is still a few thousand acres and the landowner might not actually own the wild game on their ranch but that doesn't mean they can't use means to get rid of the wild game (deer specifically). Opposite problem with elk as there are too many elk in Montana BUT the areas with too many are mostly private lands (ranches) and those landowner complain about the problem but rarely allow hunters to cull the elk herd (cow B tags)...so back to my swift kick of the hornets nest, if a landowner wants the deer gone then by all means fill that B tag, and hopefully that land owner allows the hunter to fill a elk B tag as well...it's not like the mule deer can simply just move to another parcel of land since it's likely that land is owned by a landowner too (this is eastern MT where its limited...where ranches can exceed 10,000 acres). MTFWP should maybe limit ALL mule deer harvest on public lands in the eastern part of the state to help rebuild the public land herds...we often think of mule deer as a whole group when in reality it is sub-populations we are really talking about.

Grade

your last statement is not accurate. They aren't sub populations. Mule deer as a whole are way down in numbers in every conceivable way. There isn't a single ranch in MT or anywhere else that has as many or more mule deer as it did pre 2010. Full stop.

[dvolmer]

To kick the hornets nest on the "don't shoot mule deer does" thinkers...well, in 600 and 700 series units mule deer does can only be killed on private lands, and believe it or not, some land owners don't want deer on their property so killing mule deer does to them makes sense. A "small" ranch is still a few thousand acres and the landowner might not actually own the wild game on their ranch but that doesn't mean they can't use means to get rid of the wild game (deer specifically). Opposite problem with elk as there are too many elk in Montana BUT the areas with too many are mostly private lands (ranches) and those landowner complain about the problem but rarely allow hunters to cull the elk herd (cow B tags)...so back to my swift kick of the hornets nest, if a landowner wants the deer gone then by all means fill that B tag, and hopefully that land owner allows the hunter to fill a elk B tag as well...it's not like the mule deer can simply just move to another parcel of land since it's likely that land is owned by a landowner too (this is eastern MT where its limited...where ranches can exceed 10,000 acres). MTFWP should maybe limit ALL mule deer harvest on public lands in the eastern part of the state to help rebuild the public land herds...we often think of mule deer as a whole group when in reality it is sub-populations we are really talking about.

Grade

your last statement is not accurate. They aren't sub populations. Mule deer as a whole are way down in numbers in every conceivable way. There isn't a single ranch in MT or anywhere else that has as many or more mule deer as it did pre 2010. Full stop.

absolutely true statement. Numbers are just about down everywhere!

[jamesfromseattle]

$1,413.93 out the door for the combo...ow.

[Twispriver]

That and a bit more for me because I like to play the super tag lottery. I'm very conservative financially but I don't mind shelling out the money every other year to hunt with the boys and I usually come back with a little something to show for it.

[jstone]

You don’t have to buy the archery endorsement till you draw? Yes No

[SuperX]

You don’t have to buy the archery endorsement till you draw? Yes No

yes  Don't buy it until you draw.  If you don't draw you get your money back but you don't get your archery endorsement money back.

[vandeman17]

You don’t have to buy the archery endorsement till you draw? Yes No

yes  Don't buy it until you draw.  If you don't draw you get your money back but you don't get your archery endorsement money back.

Good to know