montana ?

[calib]

i have a friend who would like to hunt mt. and we were wondering how the draw works for over there. do we have to designate a place to go specifically or a region?

also i was wondering about drawing for antelope hunting there in mt.  i have never done a raffle or draw application. i have a couple buddies over there in mt, but they are not a hole lot of help with the non resident thing.

 anything would be great.

[vandeman17]

unless you are going for a special tag, the montana over the counter tags are good for the majority of the state. As for speed goats, I am not much of a help there as far as places to go but I know a lot of other guys on here can help. PM me if you have more questions about anything.

[engelwood]

Montana has a 2 part system for non-residents. First you must apply for general season licenses. Either Deer, Elk, or the Deer/Elk Combination ($912.00). After you find out about the general season license draw you then have until May 1 to put in for special applications for limited entry units throughout the state. The cost of the LE draw is $5 per species. You will get the results of the LE draw in June and know whether you will be hunting a LE unit or a general unit. Montana has the worst draw system of them all, but overally good general unit hunting. Good luck if you decide to put in for it.

[SuperDave]

LE units this year are due march 15th!

[JLS]

Now the application is all one process.  You do the deer combo, elk combo, and deer/elk combo application on the same sheet as your limited entry deer and elk permit application.  Deadline for all of it is March 15th.  There are some different options if you don't draw your elk permit.  Go the website and there is plenty of reading on it.  You can hunt most of the state on a general deer tag, but there are some units across the state that are permit only.  The western third of the state is pretty much general elk tag, then limited permits as you get to the central and eastern part.

I haven't looked at when the antelope application deadline is, but it used to be June 1st.  For antelope you have to specify a hunting district.  The further east you go, the easier they are to draw, although expect very low quota numbers after the last couple of years of winterkill and blue tongue outbreaks. 

[calib]

i found out that the app for antelope is not available untell april

[huntnnw]

LE units this year are due march 15th!

[huntnnw]

look at MT website they have all the permit elk and deer units highlighted so u know which units are general and they give a quota of each unit below of apps and tags. pretty easy to understand

[dreamingbig]

Being one who has never hunted Montana, I definitely want to in the future, but am a little clueless as where to start.  Are there areas in Western Montana that allow for a DIY backpack hunt for elk without having to hire a guide?  I am willing to put in the leg work and I do have the past issues of Eastmans and their MSR information.

I am looking for a place where I can drive to a trail head and pack in for a week or so and get into some elk!

[boneaddict]

Montana is a big place. 

[coachcw]

you might wanna look into the beaverhead for a dyh .

[deerslyr]

Montana is a big place.

  it still amazes me

[Wtrfowlr62]

if your going to apply for a general tag pay the extra hundred and get the combo. i just did elk and im kicking myself cause i was in 13 yards of a monster deer and saw plenty of other bucks, if your going to hunt the western side of the state theres quiet a lot of options for land to hunt, dont know much about the eastside, i grew up on the western half. A lot of it to is private so some homework will be nessecary, but usually land owners (some at lest) are quiet cooporative with letting people hunt on there land.

[JLS]

Being one who has never hunted Montana, I definitely want to in the future, but am a little clueless as where to start.  Are there areas in Western Montana that allow for a DIY backpack hunt for elk without having to hire a guide?  I am willing to put in the leg work and I do have the past issues of Eastmans and their MSR information.

I am looking for a place where I can drive to a trail head and pack in for a week or so and get into some elk!

Any mountain range in the western part of the state.

[dreamingbig]

Thanks JLS...  I need to bite the bullet and do this one of these years... targeting 2013 as I am hoping to finally draw my bull tag in Washington this year.

[JLS]

You don't need to backpack in umpteen miles either.  Usually three to five miles will lost most all of the crowds, save the horse hunters.  Shoot me a PM when you draw and you're narrowing down some areas.

[dreamingbig]

You don't need to backpack in umpteen miles either.  Usually three to five miles will lost most all of the crowds, save the horse hunters.  Shoot me a PM when you draw and you're narrowing down some areas.

Thank you for the great advice.  I certainly will!  I have been backpacking in for 6-7 miles in Washington for the past 10 years so I know the drill and I am willing to work for it.