SE Montana winter kill

Ya, not buying the doom and gloom. Sometimes I wonder if its a tactic to keep People away. But to declare this winter as bad as 2010 when the temps were in the negatives and feet of snow was piling up in early November through April, its hard for me to call it anything but a scare tactic.

Its not even April yet and temps have begun consistently getting into the 40s. I'm sure some deer will die, but its not going to be the worst thing ever after so many consecutively easy winters in se Montana. Just my opinion:cool:
 
I’ve talked with a half dozen locals spread out in those parts and the word is the toughest winter since the late 70s. On of my very best friends has been taking photographs the last couple days there and described it as “Armageddon”. Truly a bummer for me as I was just finding new and great antelope hunting after area 701 was destroyed 8 years ago. Back to the drawing board. With the way FWP handles things, I doubt region 7 will be good hunting for a decade at best for antelope- and something would have to change in a big way, in addition to some mild winters. I won’t hold my breath. I’m applying in 5 other states for antelope this year. Have no idea where to apply in MT now.
 
I guarantee there will be no fewer people hunting here next year. I live here I’ve seen dead bodies there will be fewer deer. Just my opinion.
 
In the little time I have spent in the field this spring I have found 10 dead deer. When the snow melts I will certainly find a lot more.
 
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timmy said:
I guarantee there will be no fewer people hunting here next year........
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You might be correct, but I know there will be two fewer people who hunted there last year; me and a camera guy. In my podcast we recorded today, I warned people of this harsh winter in SE MT, hoping it will cause them to consider other ideas. In another comment in the podcast, I mentioned that I might apply for a Region 7 pronghorn tag and burn it, out of anticipation that FWP will be slow to correct tag numbers as they were after the winter of 2011.
 
Mule Deer said:
Ya, not buying the doom and gloom :
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Call it whatever you want i highly doubt my half dozen posts on this topic is gonna change anyone's mind on hunting SE MT or NE MT for that matter. Whether it be resident or non res. I'm just stating what i have seen so far being that i go through that country quite a bit for work and while i don't know everyone I've talked to a few people that are in the loop and I'm just passing along what they've said. It isn't good, it hasn't been good and I hope people will reconsider but, they won't. I already don't agree with how Eastern MT is regulated and managed anyways as a "free for all zone" this will definitely have a highly negative impact on a already bad deal. But, in a lot of people's mind it's still the best way to "head out west for their first western adventure"

Greenhorn is right it'll take years to rebound, I myself won't be joining Randy either. LET THEM REBOUND
 
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Listen guys not all of us out of town guys are idiots . Some of us use discretion and only shoot decent bucks . I get that it sucks to have outsiders all over your home turf but it really sucks for some of us to hear all this oofta talk . A majority of us come there and be as respectful to the locals as possible and spend a lot of money in your state and at the local stores and do our very best to leave the places we camp better then when we arrive .

I still hope to come back again but if Colorado decides to let me hunt maybe I'll return my MT tags this year . Idaho is always an option too .
 
Now combine that with this:

Montana-Drought-map-08-31-17.jpg

Poor forage production followed by heavier than normal snow pack is not good. The snow may not be as bad as some previously exceptional years in many places, but the compounding effects of back-to-back severe to extreme conditions is probably going to be hard on animals across a wide portion of eastern Montana. Anecdotes aside, the full impact probably won't be known until the snow melts.
 
oldschool.06 said:
Listen guys not all of us out of town guys are idiots . Some of us use discretion and only shoot decent bucks . I get that it sucks to have outsiders all over your home turf but it really sucks for some of us to hear all this oofta talk . A majority of us come there and be as respectful to the locals as possible and spend a lot of money in your state and at the local stores and do our very best to leave the places we camp better then when we arrive .

I still hope to come back again but if Colorado decides to let me hunt maybe I'll return my MT tags this year . Idaho is always an option too .
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Sorry we hurt your feelings, I wonder where the "majority" of these guys are hunting because the "majority" that I've ran into over the years quite frankly show some of the worse hunting etiquette I've ever seen. I could go on and on and tell stories, but it's effn ridiculous. I'm not saying its only N.R. people either it could be people from right here at home. The free for all mentality that eastern Montana presents is outta control and soon it'll come to and there wont be much left to chase.
Hey if you come out and are respectful and leave it better then you found it then good on ya. If you wanna come out and spend some money great. I respect that very much and i thank you, and i know our small towns and rural areas appreciate the business. anymore though I'm just not seeing the respect whether it be res or non res folks.
 
Look at the highway cams. Granted that's not the whole story, But every highway cam i look at is already showing significant melt. The weather going forward looks fine. We're not even into the really dangerous parts of the year yet for high rates of winter kill to take place. The biologist i spoke to out of miles city was relatively unalarmed.

Is there going to be winter kill, of course. Is it comparable to years of large die off. I'm not seeing it. But I'm no expert, just basing my opinion on the truly bad years i have seen.

The antelope could be a different story, but I don't think the deer are going to take a significant hit.

If im wrong and the reports come off that the die off is anywhere near what it was 8 or so years ago, please rub it in my face.
 
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Mule Deer said:
Look at the highway cams. Granted that's not the whole story, But every highway cam i look at is already showing significant melt. The weather going forward looks fine. We're not even into the really dangerous parts of the year yet for high rates of winter kill to take place. The biologist i spoke to out of miles city was relatively unalarmed.

Is there going to be winter kill, of course. Is it comparable to years of large die off. I'm not seeing it. But I'm no expert, just basing my opinion on the truly bad years i have seen.

The antelope could be a different story, but I don't think the deer are going to take a significant hit.

If im wrong and the reports come off that the die off is anywhere near what it was 8 or so years ago, please rub it in my face.
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January and February were so bad it doesn't matter what happens going forward. If you don't think the animals heading into 300%+ snowpack with numerous -20 below days and nights after an extreme drought will have much die off, than I'm not sure what else to say.
 
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No reason to be optimistic. Drive the tongue river road south of miles city and do a body count. It's really ugly just from the road. If you like dead antelope your going to really enjoy it. You will also see multiple deer laying in stack yards to weak to move far. Worst winter by far I have lived through but I wasn't alive in the late 70s.
 
oofta...haha! never heard that before outside of my mother in-law (Norwegian roots). Funny how we are a community of hunters unless someone is hunting the same species and land you want to. I have seen my fair share of idiots and don't think it is much different out of state hunters or residents. Frustrating each time and in some ways it seems to be getting worse. Or I am getting less patient. But like I tell my kids, can't control what other people do, can only control what you do. The precipitation and drought maps were pretty telling.
 
Sad deal to hear about. Seems the winters in E. Montana can be more brutal than anywhere else in the lower 48. The 4 legged animals out there have earned my respect.

But It'll be 4 years before the numbers start to come back, and add a few more before a guy will start seeing a buck or two of some size with some kind of consistency (besides the few holdovers). Just when things will start to look good, winter will hit the reset button again. I thought the hunting out there in the mid 2000's was the norm, now i see it was just a lucky perfect storm of events that made it what it was = Amazing. I am grateful that i was able to experience it while it was what it was.

Side note: I used to be one of the eternal optimists, thinking guys would be posting doom and gloom just to throw you for a loop. My stubborn attitude changed after wasting a few good seasons chasing animals guys said were not there. Turned out the advice given was true, any in most cases the hunting was worse than stated. Taking free advice never hurt me. Rejecting it did.
 
Another 4”-8” inches coming Sunday night with up to 13” in some parts of south east montana
 
Kinda hard to expect us “shoot everything” NR people, that sent their money in a couple months ago for a $675 tag(with pp), not to come hunt regardless of the conditions. If FWP would give me a 100% refund I would definitely hold off , but they love our money too much.
 
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