ND Badlands

[Rooftop]

Has any one hunted the west central badlands of northdakota around madora? and if you have can you give any advice on hunting around there. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks, Rooftop

 

[NDBadlandsbucks]

I thought that this was a message addressed to me. Ha Ha. Anyway, I haven't been able to draw a tag in the badlands yet (maybe this year!), but I did work for the Forest Service as a summer job while going to college. I spent three sumers in that area and know it pretty well. Picked up a few good sheds in that area, noting huge, but would be some good bucks for ND, also saw some bucks in velvet that would have a lot of potential. Anythig specific that you want to know?

Keep the Sun at Your Back and the Wind in Your Face

 

[Eastwood]

rooftop,

I would not bother with ND unless you are a ND resident. They only give out 1/2 of 1% of their mule deer tags for unguided nonresidents. It's not worth the effort to gather preference points. I have considered it often, but wisely stayed out of their game.

 

[MNHunter]

As these guys have indicated, thwe hard part is getting the tag. Their point system is relatively inexpensive so it might be worth your while to apply. You really don't have a chance until the 5th year and beyong when they cube your points. I still put in, my buddy's dad drew in 04 with 5 points.

"Whatever you are, be a good one."
- Abraham Lincoln

 

[NDElkChaser]

I live in Medora and hunt the Badlands every fall. Yes it is hard to draw a firearms tag as a resident and extremely difficult as a non-resident. Actually now to think of it I have never drawn a tag yet! But as a resident I can archery hunt every fall, and in my opinion the best muley hunting is from the beginning of September to the opening of the firearm pronghorn season in October. During this time you will see some dandy bucks in male groups running around. It isn't too difficult for a non-resident to draw a mule deer archery tag, but you have to apply in the early spring for one of the limited tags (2 out-of-state friends have drawn tags in their first attempt). So don't just discount hunting in western ND as a residents only game. If you hunt with a stick-and-string too, you are all set. If you have any further questions on ND muley hunting in the Badlands, give a shout.

 

[joebobhunter4]

i hunt out there every year... i have shot 2 bucks out by the belfield area and i hunt antelope with bow and mule deer with bow... i think if you have along time to wait... do the point thing... its cheap for the apps here but takes foreve rbut you get your money back... and if you have a bow... idk if its just where i hunt or if they are like this everywhere... either they are really smart or really stupid because they are easy to sneak up on but hard to see... specially during september... they blend in really good... i coulda touched a buck i was after and i didnt know he was there... my partner was using the binocs on a cliff away and said i almost touched him... of course when i walked up the hill a bit i turned around and he ran away... but thats hunting... if you need any mor ehelp jus ask.

 

[sdmuley]

The entire badlands have alot of deer in the 140-155gross bc. We found a 178 gross 6x7 set of sheds near mikes creek this spring. I would put in for non resident archery. It is a 4 month season and is easy to draw.

 

[sagehnter]

I've got a bow tag for ND and am planning on being there for two weeks during the middle of September. I'm trying to decide wether to hunt south of I-94 or north. I've seen some great deer north of TR in late summer but I'm still curious about the area south of Medora. What do you guys think?