Montana Deer

[Bigshooter]

Some winter kill happening in Montana.



http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20100222/NEWS01/2220302/Tough-winter-killing-off-mule-deer

[DeerHarvester]

Great..... That gives a guy a lot of hope after lying down 650+

[huntnphool]

Great..... That gives a guy a lot of hope after lying done 650+

Its a large state and that is just one small area.

[270Shooter]

Damn, thats the area I'm hunting in.

[Craig]

I hunt east of Lewistown. The snow melts pretty fast out there, or blows away. Looks like for the next ten days temps from 37-44. Still will be plenty of deer to look at. I just hope I draw another tag this year.

[elkaholic123]

Its happening in North Dakota in some areas also!

[muleyguy]

a lot of areas in montana had a pretty rough spring in 2009;  have hunted there a lot of years, and some areas were as down on numbers as I have ever seen.  Areas east of Lewistown were down dramatically in 2009 just from 2008.  I saw lots of tags getting filled with does this year;  that was a big mistake the MFW made in 2009 was to still allow you to fill your tag with either sex and to still give out all the extra doe tags.  I saw one big camp in the breaks east of lewistown that had 19 does hanging in it. 

  It is a big state, and some areas seem to have gotten through it better then others, but, I think it is safe to say that there is going to be many areas that are down pretty severely if they have another bad winter.  The big die offs typically happen in march/april, so we haven't even gotten through that period yet. 

here's an additional article on it:

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20100128/LIFESTYLE05/1280313/Where-have-all-the-mulies-gone

[Pathfinder101]

grrrrr.... not cool.
Like Muleyguy said, they had a tough spring in that part of MT last year.  The worst part is that if the SE doesn't get hit as hard, then a lot of hunters will be headed to that region this fall, where it is ALREADY overcrowded...

[muleyguy]

The worst part is that if the SE doesn't get hit as hard, then a lot of hunters will be headed to that region this fall, where it is ALREADY overcrowded...

that is exactly what happens in MT now;  technology (internet, better trucks, better gear) has made hunter's much more mobile now then in the past; 

[KimberRich]

There's always winter kill..  That's life.  Must not be anything better to write about in Great Falls.  There are tons of deer in/around the populated areas of Great Falls and Lewistown.  Saw a 150+ class buck in a small field 50 yards from a gas station in Great Falls last November.  I hunt my family's ranch just out of Lewistown and there is no shortage of deer in town..  They are a problem there for sure.  I saw no shortage of deer anywhere in the area last year.  Actually I would say I see more and more deer every year over there.  As long as the farmers continue to plant crops the deer numbers will sustain.   

[muleyguy]

yes, there are still good numbers of deer in MT compared to WA state;  BUT, it is down dramatically in some areas;  for the game department to restrict doe hunting means its serious;  game depts love to sell doe tags.

sounds like you are primarily talking about agricultural areas of private ground;  yes, those were less affected for obvious reasons; numbers were higher in those areas to begin with, hunting is restricted, and generally feed is better in ag areas and helps deer get through tough winters easier.

doesn't sound like you get out into the public ground much.....some areas in the Breaks got abolutely hammered;  other areas fared better;  Ag lands always are buffered.  In the Breaks, the further you got away from the ag lands, the worse it got; 

[Bigshooter]

There's always winter kill..  That's life.  Must not be anything better to write about in Great Falls.  There are tons of deer in/around the populated areas of Great Falls and Lewistown.  Saw a 150+ class buck in a small field 50 yards from a gas station in Great Falls last November.  I hunt my family's ranch just out of Lewistown and there is no shortage of deer in town..  They are a problem there for sure.  I saw no shortage of deer anywhere in the area last year.  Actually I would say I see more and more deer every year over there.  As long as the farmers continue to plant crops the deer numbers will sustain.   

You are right there is always winter kill.  In colorado they expect winter kill of 25% every winter.  It's only when its over 25% that you here about it in colorado.  Like in 2007 when the gunison basin was hit with between 75 - 80% winter kill.  If the game department in any state is talking about winter kill it's bad.  And if Montana is already cutting B tags it's probably worse than any of us are thinking.

[bowhunterforever]

What area is it?