Montana HD 704

[BuckeyeHunter]

Hey all, I'm looking into a muley hunt with my dad next fall and I was wondering, what the number and quality of deer in 704 is like. We're looking into hunting Custer National Forest because it's the largest patch of public land, but we're also willing to check out the blm areas too. We're not afraid to get out of the truck and walk where no one else wants to get to, 2 years ago we followed mine for 3 miles through the foothills. Any advice about the HD or Custer NF would be greatly appreciated, thanks very much to any who reply.

 

[Stubaby]

LAST EDITED ON Feb-19-13 AT 10:51AM (MST)[p]Everything north if Ashland and a large chunk south of the highway burned to a crisp last summer. I found a good buck(171) but it was not where I thought a good buck would be last fall. The fire reallly put lots of guys focusing on the non burned areas. Lots more orange vests than I'd seen in years past.

Lots of guys wait till rut, but I don't for 3 reasons:
1.Im way too trigger happy : )
2. The guys who know what they are doing have killed a good share of the good deer by the time the 15th or so had come around.
3. Most important... There is a ton of agriculture that's almost all private on the lower elevations and river bottoms. These alafalfa fields and stuff hold tons of does and they suck the bucks down away from where you can hunt. ESP in a dry year like last year.

Try driving the tongue or powder river roads the week before thanksgiving and you will see what I mean. This makes it easy for the Jackie bushmans of the world.

What I would do is hunt hard the second week of the hunt. Get a good gps and hunt the edges of private. Nothing wrong with catching a nice deer when he makes a mistake heading to and fro the private areas. Just know where you are at all times. If you hunt the NF get as high as you can and glass your butt off. Sweet country out there.
"That's a special feeling, Lloyd"

 

[tagsoup]

Don't over look those burns. Even the areas that burned really hot I found that the bottoms of the draws didnt burn and were full of deer this year.

"Go hunt for meat at Walmart."

 

[beech18]

Some good bucks lurking in those hills. Deer numbers are down but still provide a very good hunt. Esp if your willing to work alittle for it. As one said, drive those roads esp at night and you'll see lots of deer but like what I use to a few years ago. My truck grill shows evidence of what can happen not paying attention when driving. Im kinda excited to see what the hunting will be like in those burns this fall, esp if we can get some timely rains.

 

[DnkyPunch]

Deer numbers were way down the last couple years out there. Hunt hard and you'll find some and don't be afraid to hit the burn areas this year. There'll be good forage there if we get decent moisture.
Lots of young bucks last year compared to years past as the herd tries to recover. I saw more forkies last year than ever and fewer mature bucks but there were a few to be had.
Definitely noticed a ton of out of staters rolling in around thanksgiving with their quads and trailers full of toys. Early season is just as good or better as bucks aren't getting sucked down to the private to chase the does that hang their all year. I've hunted that area for 10 years and see very few hunters off the roads. Great country even if there aren't a ton of big ones out there.

We need to pray for a mild winter and some moisture!!