Montana deer 2024

[bugs n bones]

Frankly I can’t believe they havent shut down antlerless harvest yet. I’ve only hunted Montana three times and there has been a dramatic decrease in deer numbers from what I’ve seen

    STOP SHOOTING MULE DEER DOE'S! Just because the state puts out the tags doesn't mean we should be filling them. You can't expect to grow a herd if your shooting out the baby makers.  Grab some whitetail B tags instead 

my dad told me when I was a kid he would kick my ass if I shot a Mule deer doe

[dvolmer]

Totally agree, mule deer doe tags need to be abolished. No need to shoot them.  Mule deer number are struggling.  I can’t believe the mule deer quotas that Montana maintains. Absolutely no need or reason to hunt Muley doe’s.  As far as that goes, Muley doe hunting needs to be abolished nation-wide except in some extreme situations. Washington definitely shouldn’t be harvesting any!  If they do need harvesting, they should be left to youth hunts only.

[Slamadoo]

Do you think it has anything to do with CWD and keeping deer numbers lowish?

[Mtnwalker]

Totally agree, mule deer doe tags need to be abolished. No need to shoot them.  Mule deer number are struggling.  I can’t believe the mule deer quotas that Montana maintains. Absolutely no need or reason to hunt Muley doe’s.  As far as that goes, Muley doe hunting needs to be abolished nation-wide except in some extreme situations. Washington definitely shouldn’t be harvesting any!  If they do need harvesting, they should be left to youth hunts only.

I think they should offer a first deer either sex voucher for youth hunters. Once you’ve tagged a kill, no more does. Also, just speaks to what a deer factory Montana is and how amazing it could be if they’d do away with the insanely generous season dates and durations

[dvolmer]

Do you think it has anything to do with CWD and keeping deer numbers lowish?

Very small affect in my opinion. Bad winters, predators, reduced habitat , and too many mule deer doe permits are much bigger factors. I’ve hunted Washington, Wyoming, and Montana for many many years and I have never seen a symptom expressing sick deer or signs of lots of carcasses in my years. I’ve seen the devastation one year after a blue-tongue epidemic that was unbelievably devastating. I’m sure CWD kills some but I don’t think it’s a major factor in the area that I hunt mule deer in Montana in unit 401 that is supposed to be a hot-spot for it. The rancher that owns the 11,000 acre ranch that we hunt on has never seen any sick deer or considerable carcasses either.

[Slamadoo]

I meant, do you think they are maintaining doe permits/tags to keep deer densities lower in order to be proactive with CWD?

Sorry for confusion.

[SuperX]

They may be offering doe tags because the ranchers don't want so many animals competing with their cattle for food.  Especially true for elk, they've sued the FWP for allowing elk to grow over their stated goals. 

[CarbonHunter]

Somebody had to have been mistaken with what they had for points. A 1pt holder cannot draw before a 2pt holder. If true your buddy should have called and gotten his tag.

That was my thought exactly. 
Crazy that one point had 0% chance and 0 points had 60% chance but thats the system.   Different buddy with zero points bought a point before the draw 2 years ago - essentially eliminating his chance of drawing.

Possibly had 1 bonus point and zero PP’s. It still shows as zero points on the results and they are entitled to 25% of the tags without the PP buyers being included.

[ganghis]

I feel like these game agencies are a slow ship turning course.  They feel like they can't go from a bunch of doe tags to no tags in a single year - you see the reductions, but they're probably not enough.  The problem is, lots of locals will be like 'I used to always get a doe tag and now there are none, wtf?'  It goes beyond that, some units were 100% draw for bucks with a resident license but aren't anymore.  It all has to do with populations, but not everyone gets that.  If I didn't know any better I'd start pointing fingers too.

[elkrack]

I feel like these game agencies are a slow ship turning course.  They feel like they can't go from a bunch of doe tags to no tags in a single year - you see the reductions, but they're probably not enough.  The problem is, lots of locals will be like 'I used to always get a doe tag and now there are none, wtf?'  It goes beyond that, some units were 100% draw for bucks with a resident license but aren't anymore.  It all has to do with populations, but not everyone gets that.  If I didn't know any better I'd start pointing fingers too.

I’m sure you are 100% correct! But with how easy it is to give and recieve information now days the game department should be able to let hunters know these are temporary moves to let the herds rebound. Unlike Washington where there are purposely destroying the herds. 

[High Climber]

I can’t remember how Montana works. If I have 1 preference point from last year, will I have 2 going into the draw or 1?

[Karl Blanchard]

I can’t remember how Montana works. If I have 1 preference point from last year, will I have 2 going into the draw or 1?

Only way you'll have two going into the draw is if you buy one when you apply this month.

[High Climber]

10-4, thanks

[Sakko300wsm]

You will only have 1 unless you purchase one
Just applied yesterday and bought one
Prices sure seemed like it went up again

[elkrack]

You will only have 1 unless you purchase one
Just applied yesterday and bought one
Prices sure seemed like it went up again

These prices make me wanna 🤮