Montana muleys

R

rockymtn_hunter

Guest
I'm a new MT resident - moved from OR to Billings last year - really looking forward to hunting here this fall. I've lived/hunted in NM, AZ, UT, WY, CO and OR. Been lookin' at maps, the reg's and talking to folks trying to get an idea where to hunt this year. I've hunted with bow, rifle & muzz. Anybody care to share a thought or or two? I like the look of the country in SE MT - Custer NF/Tongue River/Powder River areas. I like to hunt on foot-spot/stalk - trying to get a nice 30"+ for a wall mount. Willing to share info about places I've hunted over the years - including the No. Kaibab, which I've hunted many times. Thanks.
 
>I'm a new MT resident -
>moved from OR to Billings
>last year - really looking
>forward to hunting here this
>fall. I've lived/hunted in
>NM, AZ, UT, WY, CO
>and OR. Been lookin'
>at maps, the reg's and
>talking to folks trying to
>get an idea where to
>hunt this year. I've
>hunted with bow, rifle &
>muzz. Anybody care to
>share a thought or or
>two? I like the
>look of the country in
>SE MT - Custer NF/Tongue
>River/Powder River areas. I
>like to hunt on foot-spot/stalk
>- trying to get a
>nice 30"+ for a wall
>mount. Willing to share
>info about places I've hunted
>over the years - including
>the No. Kaibab, which I've
>hunted many times. Thanks.


We're all trying for that 30"er ;) ... Good luck and you're on the right track/area for lots of deer. If you can get away from the atv's out there you'll see lots of deer, and may even run into a realy wall hanger...
 
Thanks-my personal best is 28" 7x7 from CO (rifle) and 27" 6x7 from North Kaibab (bow); check out the photo gallery for "Tom's Oregon Hawg" to see what my hunt partner got last year. I've seen 30"+ bucks in all the states I've hunted, but have never been in the right place at the right time to get the drop on one when I've had a permit - I've had opportunities, but that's a whole 'nother story. I've been with other hunters when they scored big; like 38-1/4", 36", and 31" No. Kaibab bucks in '90. ATV's - the more I see them when hunting, the less I like them-it's so hard to find places outside of wilderness areas where I can go one-on-one with a big muley and not have ATVs ruin it for me.
 
Those are good areas you mentioned. I hunt Pine Unit area in the areas where Dawson and Prairie counties meet up. There is some rough country out there. The big ones are there, you just have to hunt hard for them. Seems like they are always where I don't expect them to be and have been surprised a few times by bucks over 28" when I was moving into an area to glass. They don't stick around long once spooked.
 
I have hunted The Tongue River aria for over 25 years.I also hike it all summer long and scout all winter. I know it as well as any one. Two people have asked for Info on this aria so here is my opinion. First The walk in arias. The Three walk in arias on the Custer N/F were established in 1984. At first almout no one hunted them. 1987 was the best year I have ever had for seeing big bucks in the walk in Two of the best were over 30 and another may have scored over 190. The next year was a hard drought but I got a 31 inch buck and my brother got a 29 incher. By 89 the word was out and people started to move in from all over the state. The hunting pressure was heavy and for all of the season. By 91 it was hard to find a nice buck. Hunting pressure has now slacked off to more tolrable levels but is still much higher than in the mid 80s. I don't want to be to negitive but a quality 30 inch buck is not real realistic. I have only seen one since 1990. I person that hunts hard and puts a little time in has a good chance at a 24 to 26 inch buck. The genetic are just not here for wide bucks. Sure some buck will get wide but most bucks tend to grow tall antlers. The walk in arias are a nice place to hunt and you can get away from the 4x4s. The type of people that now hunt the walk in arias are a cut above average. They are more likly to walk in the dark and spend alot of time glassing with good binos instead of a beer bottle. There is not as much pressure in the walk in arias as the rest of the forest but the people are better hunters. This and the hunting during the rut is why the walk in arias are no better than the rest of the forest. The walk in aria are just not big enough to ensure that a buck stayes in a hard to get too spot when the rut starts. There in no place on the forest that a person can't get to in two hours of hard walking. A ruting buck can cover the same ground in less than 30 minutes. I can think of at least a dozen nice bucks that lived on remote ground all of Oct. and were shot from the road in Nov. Also many of the bucks move off of the forest in Nov to the does in the alfalfa. The outfiters and landowner get these bucks if they have any size to them and they don't make it back to the forest. This is expecialy true if there is little snow. A good friend of mine once gave this advice, " throw a dart at the map and start hunting". That advice isn't as bad as it sound if you hunt during the rut. My advice is to find a spot with steep hills and alot of timber and move very slowly. The tounge river is great country and fun to hunt. I hope you have fun.

Antlerradar
 
Thanks - just the type of info I'm looking for. Sorta sounds like the Kaibab in some ways - i.e. lots of hunters & roads; but I was always able to find big bucks by getting off the road & hunting, even when everybody was saying there weren't any big bucks-I was able to find them consistently in the same places over a 27-year period, sometimes just by walking 1/2 mile instead of sitting in the truck or ATV.
 

Click-a-Pic ... Details & Bigger Photos
Back
Top Bottom