Southeast Montana First Timer

M. Ireland

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Nov 12, 2017
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Vacaville, CA
Me and a buddy are headed to SE Montana. It will be my first time there, although he's been (further north in Eastern Montana) a couple times. I've hunted several Western states, but this will be the first time I set foot in Montana....and I couldn't be more excited.

I have watched about every video out there on YouTube, spent hours and hours and hours on OnX, poured over forums, talked to as many localish people as I could that are in the know, and have looked over the BMA booklet. I'm as ready as I'm going to be. I have a fairly good idea where we will start, but we are camping so we will be flexible. There are about a dozen areas that 'look' good, but we really just need to get our boots on the ground. I think I've downloaded about 25 GB's of data for offline maps on OnX.

I'm wondering if there are any other first timers out there that want to compare notes? We are arriving Sunday the 28th and will be there 10 days. It'd be nice to have a few people to compare notes with prior to our trip and while we are there. Habitat, hunting pressure, etc. Just figured I'd throw it out there.

Feel free to PM me. Thanks!
 
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I’m heading out the week before thanksgiving, doesn’t do you much good since you’ll be gone before we get there but I’d love to hear how your trip goes. I’ve also done a fair amount of online scouting and we somewhat have our trip planned out.

Are you planning on going to SE or SW Montana, your post says both
 
Whoops...fixed it.

We will be in Southeast. I'm figuring we will be too early for most of the rut, but we will make the best of it. We have a plan A, B, C, etc....Depending on what we find/don't find, we will keep moving and looking into new areas. Weather looks like it will be getting cooler while we are there with a couple chances for snow at the end of the week. I'd think that will help.
 
Be a NR , I wouldn't take my trip to Montana for deer until atleast nov10. The rut is a whole different ballgame
 
Habitat seems good.
Numbers seem stable.
Pressure increases every year.
Make sure you get out of truck.
I anticpate weather being mild.
 
PM Sent
We will be out there as first timers in the same time frame. We fly into Billings on 10/28. Hunting 10/29-11/3 fly home on 11/4.
 
I know we are early, but other commitments with family and work left only this window. Depending on how the weeks fall, we see a bit of the blacktail rut on certain years, and yes....a WHOLE different ball game. I'm hoping we will still be able to find some decent bucks. I'm usually a meat hunter, but I filled a (rare) California Roosevelt cow tag this year, and my boy got his first buck a couple weeks ago, so I'm actually meat rich right now. I'm not looking for a giant, but something that makes my heart race. I've killed a handful of mule deer before, not nothing other than a small fork or 3 pointer.

Our plan is to hike in 1-3 miles, if possible, and glass. I'm a bit worried about the amount of roads I see on OnX. I have a feeling many of these roads are old two tracks that have grown over, as many don't show up on the satellite layer. I have dozens of areas marked on OnX to check out. Ideally, we find a place we can concentrate on instead of exploring new areas every day. That being said, we are bringing a fairly light camp in order to be able to move fairly easily. We will be in a 12X12 with tent heaters, but no other frills. Only one table and a couple of chairs. We should be able to break camp in less than an hour.

I appreciate everyone's input.
 
I know we are early, but other commitments with family and work left only this window. Depending on how the weeks fall, we see a bit of the blacktail rut on certain years, and yes....a WHOLE different ball game. I'm hoping we will still be able to find some decent bucks. I'm usually a meat hunter, but I filled a (rare) California Roosevelt cow tag this year, and my boy got his first buck a couple weeks ago, so I'm actually meat rich right now. I'm not looking for a giant, but something that makes my heart race. I've killed a handful of mule deer before, not nothing other than a small fork or 3 pointer.

Our plan is to hike in 1-3 miles, if possible, and glass. I'm a bit worried about the amount of roads I see on OnX. I have a feeling many of these roads are old two tracks that have grown over, as many don't show up on the satellite layer. I have dozens of areas marked on OnX to check out. Ideally, we find a place we can concentrate on instead of exploring new areas every day. That being said, we are bringing a fairly light camp in order to be able to move fairly easily. We will be in a 12X12 with tent heaters, but no other frills. Only one table and a couple of chairs. We should be able to break camp in less than an hour.

I appreciate everyone's input.

There is roads all over the place there .What you think is old 2 tracks is probably a road . You will definitely need to get away from the road . Also a small part of me thinks the pre rut might have a better chance of something more mature . As the rut heats up the Orange army is all over the roads and hills near the roads . The smart old boys dont hang by the road during the orange invasion . There are quality bucks in there you just have to hunt them up . I saw spooked a beast about 2.5 miles from the road last time I was there spent 2 days trying to locate him . I hope he's still there and even bigger as I want him baaaad .
 
Be a NR , I wouldn't take my trip to Montana for deer until atleast nov10. The rut is a whole different ballgame

I tend to agree with you if you are hunting private. Not necessarily true if you are hunting public. As Oldschool states the orange army is out in full force in the rut and with all the doe tags today, many of the public does are in the freezer or have moved to private. The bucks will follow.

Those grown over two tracks may look unused if the satellite image was taken during the summer. By the end of November they will look as if they were a detour for I90.
 
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I'm also going to be hunting SE Montana for the first time. As of now I'm planning on hunting the week of Thanksgiving, but am really considering the week of the 5th or 12th instead. I feel like the rut may be winding down by the week of Thanksgiving and the hunting pressure will be more noticeable. However, I have no experience with the mule deer rut or SE Montana.

If you had to choose a week to hunt mule deer in Montana this year what would you choose? The week of the 5th, 12th or 19th?
 
Did you not read today's latest thread, on southeast mt. If I could I'd hunt December 1-15:cool: that's when the monsters come out.
 
Did you not read today's latest thread, on southeast mt. If I could I'd hunt December 1-15:cool: that's when the monsters come out.

I've been reading a lot on here, but noticed some mixed feelings on the best time to go and reasons why.
 
Did you not read today's latest thread, on southeast mt. If I could I'd hunt December 1-15:cool: that's when the monsters come out.

There is some truth in this. I have in the past advocated for a Dec season instead of the Nov. Season. The reason is that much of the winter range is on or close to public land. Most mule deer will have left the hay field and gone back in to the hills in Dec. I have never understood why we hold the season when many of the bucks are rutting with the doe herds on the hay fields.
Few if any have found more big mule deer antlers than I in SE Montana. Close to 90% have been on or close to public land. Many of those bucks spent the rut on private.
To answer your question. It depends. If the weather turns nasty and there is deep snow the deer may move to Public by the last week and it will be better. If the weather is nice the early hunt may be better.
 
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There is some truth in this. I have in the past advocated for a Dec season instead of the Nov. Season. The reason is that much of the winter range is on or close to public land. Most mule deer will have left the hay field and gone back in to the hills in Dec. I have never understood why we hold the season when many of the bucks are rutting with the doe herds on the hay fields.
Few if any have found more big mule deer antlers than I in SE Montana. Close to 90% have been on or close to public land. Many of those bucks spent the rut on private.
To answer your question. It depends. If the weather turns nasty and there is deep snow the deer may move to Public by the last week and it will be better. If the weather is nice the early hunt may be better.

I think it's pretty cool to be able to gun hunt during the rut, but as with anything it comes with a cost. I can't say that I would advocate harshly either way as i can agree with both sides of the argument.

Thanks for the input. I'm guessing the bucks would travel a good distance to does on private fields. Or, would the does suck in the ones from the closest terrain only? I get that there's no clear answer to this I'm sure. Thinking out loud here.
 
One of the best bucks I have ever seen on the Forest was shot in late Nov. five miles from where I watched him for four years in Sept and Oct. I think it is quite common for bucks to travel five miles or more in search of does.
 
I wouldn't overlook the smaller chunks of public. Most of the bigger chunks (ie the Custer Forest) where you can get out and hike a mile or three, get more pressure than the little pieces; 2 squares, 1 square mile, or less, surrounded by safe haven of private property Don't be afraid to get out of the truck and hike a quarter or half mile over a hill to look at 300 acres you cannot see from the road.
 
I wouldn't overlook the smaller chunks of public. Most of the bigger chunks (ie the Custer Forest) where you can get out and hike a mile or three, get more pressure than the little pieces; 2 squares, 1 square mile, or less, surrounded by safe haven of private property Don't be afraid to get out of the truck and hike a quarter or half mile over a hill to look at 300 acres you cannot see from the road.

sound advice. With OnX those places are available to even the most inept map reader.
 
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