fort peck lake area

S

southeasternslayer

Guest
Are you allowed to hunt the Wma around the fort peck lake? I think it is called the charles m russel wma. If so what kind of access is there?
 
Yes,several places to access----just be carefull when there is moisture! Can get really slippery and the mud will stick to your boots and you can be stuck for days in an instant.
 
thank you elkaholic123. we may give that a try. what is the trophy potential there? is it possable to find a big mature buck?
 
Sure it is possible to find a mature buck. Bigger question is, "Is it likely to find a mature buck", not likely IMO. That area gets hit hard and often and mule hunting closes on the north side in the CMR on Nov. 15th so you cannot hunt the rut on the CMR on the north side.

Going to be alot tougher hunting this year due to the last winter and the flooding. Still some washed out roads around.

Also the shoulder high sweet clover is posing some real problems for the archery hunters chasing elk it sounds like.

Nemont
 
thanks nemont, i didn't know that about it closing on the 15th, the regs say you do need to call the CMR to check specific rules which i planed on doing. what do you think about accessing with a boat?
 
We hunted the north side three years ago and had a hard time finding descent bucks. Lots of small bucks up to 20" but not many bigger . Lots of people in the areas you can walk into. Guys with boats seemed to do better but you need a good size boat, big water. You will see lots of deer no doubt so a fun hunt but not a trophy hunt in my opinion.nwhunter
 
Actually access is to easy in my opinion. Muleys have little chance of getting to that 4 plus years it takes. Many hunters are happy with the 20 inch 4pt.
I was just in the North breaks and whatever you hear about the Sweet Clover is true. You won't be able to see a deer at all in the stuff.
Not much for deer, elk feed in the SC however so critters will have to feed in the grass areas.
 
If I were going back again for deer (or elk), I would most definitely focus on block management and/or blm ground outside the breaks. The tough part with that will be the fact that every water hole is full, so everything is spread way out. Good luck.

Edpre
 
thanks guys, I really don't know exactly what we are planning on doing this year. We have thought about that breaks areas but really we are open to go anywhere and hunt hard to find good bucks. not interested in the 20 inchers. I know that big bucks are hard to find and we are willing to put in the effort. I will have to continue my research. I am intrigued about the open country of the beaks though, we hunt high country here in ID so maybe a nice change of scenery would be nice.
 
yes, NONYAMT if the CMR closes on the 15th than we would want to look in the areas outside of the north side of the CMR. maybe some of thr BLM tracks in the area. thanks
 
LAST EDITED ON Sep-14-11 AT 03:07PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Sep-14-11 AT 03:01?PM (MST)

There really are no "ifs" about it. Here are the regs right off the Website

The north side closes to rifle hunting on Nov 13th. Now that doesn't mean the adjacent blm lands close down to buck hunting just the CMR proper does. Makes it so at least a few buck survive the season.
____________________________________________________________
From the Regs on the CMR
http://www.fws.gov/cmr/hunting.html

Deer
The refuge has more restrictive mule deer seasons in some hunting districts. All deer seasons start on the date of the state seasons, but may end sooner. Archery only season starts September 3, 2011. Rifle season starts October 22, 2011.


Mule Deer
HD 410, 417 Mule Deer - Antlered bucks only with General License. B License not valid on CMR
Archery Only ? Season dates same as state season.
Rifle - Three week season on refuge. October 22 - November 13, 2011.

HD 621, 622, 631, 632 Mule Deer - Either sex with General Deer License. B Licenses not valid on CMR
Archery Only ? Season dates same as state season.
Rifle - Three week season on refuge. October 22 - November 13, 2011.

HD 652 Mule Deer ? State Permit required with General Deer License. B License valid on CMR
Archery Only ? Season dates same as state season.
Rifle -Season dates same as state season.


HD 700 Mule Deer ? Antlered bucks only on General license. B License not valid on CMR
Archery Only ? Season dates same as state season..
Rifle - Season dates same as state season.

ELK
All elk hunting in HD 410, 417, 621, 622, 631, 631, 700, that includes CMR, is by State Permit issued by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.

Archery Only ? Season dates same as state season.
Rifle ? Season dates same as state season.

HD 652 - Closed to elk hunting on CMR
 
Wow, nemont you are on the ball. I just hadn't looked at the CMR regs yet. thanks for doing that for me. that is what makes this web forum so nice guys help one another out. it looks like i may need to continue to research unit 700 or the BLM. did you find that info on the CMR website? my regs that montana sent me just says to call CMR for regulations that differ.

I am glad they shut some areas down early to help some of the bucks to survive and grow. just as you said, thanks
 
The truth is that the area sucks compared to most of E,SE MT,it gets hammered every year and very few bucks survive to 4 years.Its a neat area and fun to hunt but as far as trophy quality goes its the dumps on public.
 
thanks NONYAMT that is what I need to here. the bottom line is we would like to go for a solid 5-7 day hunt somewhere and we are willing to travel and we are willing to hunt hard, backpack in if needed or day hunts from the comfort of a nice camp we are looking to have a good time but we will not shoot rinky dink bucks we'll eat the tag. now we also aren't holding out for 200" bucks either just good mature animal, you know 24 inches wide or above good tine length. I am sure we would be pleased shooting bucks in that 160-170 range. With a possibility to run into a toad. I may be asking to much never-the-less we will be out hunting and having a great time doing it.
 
If you scratched a honest 150" deer out of there you would be doing something special.You have your work cut out for you if you are holding out for a true 160" deer anywhere on public land in MT.Not impossible but improbable,I would hunt the last week and try to get into some BMAs in SE MT.
 
LAST EDITED ON Sep-19-11 AT 11:10PM (MST)[p]160 is pretty doable in a lot of MT. 180 is a different story. Go big or shoot a old 3 point, or both. :D
 
Oh and my little sister has a deer A tag this year and she's going for her first deer. It will be a 180+.. bets? :)
 
>Oh and my little sister has
>a deer A tag this
>year and she's going for
>her first deer. It
>will be a 180+.. bets?
> :)


If she is a 12 yr old girl, not only will she shoot a 180 but it will surely be just off the road that is the luck of the young girls. :)
 

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