Montana unit 652 buck tag

cowman said:

Howdy fellas, Im new here but just thought Ide offer a little insight. I live and work in 652. Though i moved here just this past spring i have had the opportunity to scout this area intensively while tending to the ranch and our cattle.

My first obvious observation is that deer numbers are drastically lower than what a fella would expect and the neighbors confirm this observation. Deer numbers in 652 are down significantly in this district.

My second observation was far more encouraging. Though numbers are down the numbers of bucks over 200 was incredible. There are true giants here. In fact i saw the two biggest bucks ive ever seen in my 44 years this past fall.

Another observation that i made is that All of these bucks disappeared from Nov.20 th until the end of the season. When I say disappeared, i mean they disappeared from within sight of any of the roadways or two tracks. Fortunately, they didnt truly disappear they simply moved and i was lucky enough to find where many of them moved to.

Starting about a week before Thanksgiving the amount of traffic (hunting traffic) increased substantially and consequently the bucks i had been observing moved to less noisy environments. Of the 50 permits issued I witnessed at very least half of those hunters drive by the ranch within a week of Thanksgiving. Most of the hunters i spoke to complained of not seeing big bucks but alot of little ones and i agree with their findings entirely. Of the bucks i saw that other hunters had taken one broke the 150 mark and all were taken within 7 days of Thanksgiving.

The big bucks simply moved away from the roadways and retreated to areas only accessible by foot. I know this because i found the big bucks while i was tending to the cattle.

From what i witnessed I would say if a guy is a real hunter willing to do a little walking, not just drive around the county roads all day, the best time to have a chance at one of the real trophy bucks would be to avoid Thanksgiving all together. If a guy hunts from say November 10 th to the 17th the big bucks are cruising then and havent been disturbed near as much as they are from the 20th on.

If you are hunting around Thanksgiving sure you will see alot of bucks from the road, but i promise you the vast majority of them will be younger bucks in which case if you see a 150 or better you should take him.

If you want to maximize your chances of taking a true giant, and believe me they are here, I would try to hunt this district well before Thanksgiving. Hope this helped.

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cowman said:

Not enough ice on the dry arm yet. The little ice thats around isnt safe just yet. If youre in the rock creek area feel free to stop in at the ranch anytime. We are the only place on North Rock Creek Rd between the highway and reservoir.

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cowman said:

Beer is always welcome. Preferably Henry Weinhards Private Reserve. My rates are as follows:
one six pack will get you a finger point in the general direction of where the big bucks are hiding.

2 6 packs = a more accurate finger point and a cup of coffee
3 6 packs = ill drive you to the area the big boys are living in + or - 3 miles.
4 6 packs= guide you within + or - 1 mile
5 6 packs= ill guide you to his living room
6 6 packs= ill guide you to his living room with the assistance of a bikini model
7 6 packs or more= ill guide you directly to said buck, locate him for you, point him out to you, and providing you down the big buck, have the bikini model field dress him for you, while in her bikini ofcourse ( regardless of temperature)

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