Anyone hunt montana?

[tony04]

my wife informed me today that for my birthday, i can go hunt out of state. i was thinking montana for muley. from what i understand its draw only for non-resident? but i really have no clue on where to go and have never hunted out of state before... im just looking for general info about hunting in that state, maybe what countys are best hunting or places to check out. thanks

[bearpaw]

Tony as a general rule go east of the rockies to get into higher deer numbers, almost any county in eastern MT has great deer hunting. Lots of public land around the Missouri River breaks. Another good bet is to get onto some of the block management land (private land open to public hunting via non-resident license sales). There is some good hunting on the right pieces of block management, just get back into it away from the heavy use areas. GOOD LUCK

[Magnum_Willys]

In Montana you have to draw a tag unless you go with a guide.  Outfitter deer tags are about $1000 in 2010 which is less than 2009.   On a DIY hunt you have a 25% chance of drawing a deer tag first year going up to 33% second year.  You can apply for a deer/elk combo tag for about $650 and your odds increase to 50% first year and 70% second year after accumulating a point.   You have to purchase the outfitter tag before the draw so you can't wait to see if you get drawn - kindof a bummer.

Eastern Montana has a lot of Mule deer - with an outfitter you are practically guaranteed of bringing a 4 pt back - mainly because you can access the private land.    Look at the Broadus - Powder River areas for tons of deer.   These are easy hunts.  If you want to hunt hard on horses and spend a little more there are a ton of outfitters across the state that can get you into deer.  

We did a DIY on the Breaks near Jordan last year and saw a lot of deer but never a good shot at anything over a three point.    Had a guide on the lower breaks the year before and brought home wall hangers and had a lot of fun making friends with the guide.   The locals around there all had forkies.  

[Magnum_Willys]

The block management programs were nice - just show up and sign in at the box and start hunting.  Our problem was we hunted the last week of the season and those block management areas were pretty pounded by then - what animals we saw were very spooky - its so wide open over there you can see the deer move out ahead of you at 1000 yards.  We had chances at a number of 2 and 3 pts though but the big boys always seemed to be just on the private land.

[Aneoakleaf]

Tony I just had an outfitter call me tonight and ask about bowhunter education for a client. He said the deadline was march 1 . I looked up last year and it was march 16th,  I'd call them to find out. There may be over the counter archery tags if you're going that direction. I think Bear Paw guides there too?

[tony04]

 

Tony I just had an outfitter call me tonight and ask about bowhunter education for a client. He said the deadline was march 1 . I looked up last year and it was march 16th,  I'd call them to find out. There may be over the counter archery tags if you're going that direction. I think Bear Paw guides there too?

im going to be hunting modern rifle.thanks for all the info everyone and keep it coming. ill be doing a DIY hunt, no guide (if i get drawn). and as for hunting out of state, is montana a good choice?  should i try idaho, wyo, oregon??

[huntnphool]

Go to the "search" box and enter Montana, you will find all kinds of information. Do it in specific areas deer, elk, etc.

[bonkellekter]

What type of hunting do you prefer? Spot & Stalk high hunts, Spot & Stalk Desert (flat land, rolling hills) hunts, Stand hunts? I prefer Spot & Stalk high hunts So I would choose northern Idaho or northwest montana. Montana offers a pretty good season that runs basically from sep. 1 thru nov. 31 with a small break between archery and rifle. I will likely be hunting Montana this year if drawn.

[andrew_12gauge]

apply for montana and if you dont get drawn you can buy a hunting license and deer tag otc in idaho that way if you dont get the mt tag at least you can take advantage of this birthday gift from the wife

[Pathfinder101]

apply for montana and if you dont get drawn you can buy a hunting license and deer tag otc in idaho that way if you dont get the mt tag at least you can take advantage of this birthday gift from the wife

 

Like Andrew said, You can hunt Idaho OTC if you don't get drawn for MT.  I hunted MT last year, public land.  It was my first out of state hunt.  My buddy and I were both successful (4x4 muleys), not huge bucks, but respectable, and we were happy.  We did a lot of research, and got a TON of good info from searching this site and asking questions.  Good luck!

[high country]

if you are going to eastern mt, you might as well have a speed goat tag too. as said, explore all the bma's. you can only get so many per day so call early and get em all.

[tony04]

apply for montana and if you dont get drawn you can buy a hunting license and deer tag otc in idaho that way if you dont get the mt tag at least you can take advantage of this birthday gift from the wife

i didnt realize ID was OTC. thats good to know

[Dmanmastertracker]

 The Montana FWP web site has a lot of good resources on the better mule deer areas, lands open to hunt, etc.. I'm going back this year myself.

[andrew_12gauge]

apply for montana and if you dont get drawn you can buy a hunting license and deer tag otc in idaho that way if you dont get the mt tag at least you can take advantage of this birthday gift from the wife

i didnt realize ID was OTC. thats good to know

i would still put in for montana though, deer quality is better in most places in mt and if you dont get drawn you get points for the future, so when the wife gives you another out of state hunt birthday gift you can eventually hunt mt

[Magnum_Willys]

Hunted the lower breaks two years ago.  Only saw a couple bucks in 3 days - felt lucky to get this one.  Probably look at the Miles City - Broadus area next year.