Montana Whitetails

[jsc]

Hey guys,

Me and my dad were fortunate enough to draw a deer combination tag and are looking forward to the opportunity to hunt whitetails. We have both taken mule deer before, but neither of us have taken a whitetail. We are hoping for the chance at some decent bucks. If there is any advise or tips that you might be willing to share it would be greatly appreciated. I am not looking for your honey holes, just some places to start my research and narrow it down. I am planning on sometime in the middle of November. I understand that alot of whitetail country resides on private property and we are willing to pay a tresspass fee if it is reasonable. PM me if you would be willing to share your experience about Montana whitetail hunting and hunting access.

Thanks,
Curt

 

[hillrunner]

Eastern MT has some BIG whitetails, that is where I am from. However, access is very difficult. Much of it is leased out, but I suppose for a trespass fee one may be able to secure a spot. Anywhere along the Yellowstone is good, also along the Powder and Tongue River's. Along the Tongue could be pretty tough getting on. No idea what a trespass fee may run you. Most rivers in central and eastern MT would be good. Check out around Two Dot, lots of whities there, access may prove a problem there though, historically it has always been tough there. NW MT has some big ones on public ground, I have never hunted there, have friends that have and they have taken some nice ones.

 

[270XBolt]

I live here in NE MT and there lots of good whitetail hunting here. Around Culbertson on the Missouri there is alot of land that is enrolled in the Block Management Program where all you have to do is sign into a box beore you enter the land. There are maps in the box that will help you stay within the boundaries. Lots of CRP that hold lots of BIG, Smart bucks. Also the riverbottom and islands are a good bet. Just check out my pic of The One That Got Away-NOT!!! in the Non-Contest photos. That one is from the riverbottoms here.

 

[knthartter]

You might want to look into the Northwest corner of MT, lots of whitetails up there as well and lots of public land. It is thick and steep woods country up there.

 

[Randy11]

FWIW, The whitetail numbers have plummeted here in NW MT the last 2-3 years. Way too many lions, and way too many doe tags.

There's still been some great bucks killed the last couple years, but honestly, there's maybe 30% the whitetail there were five years ago.

 

[montanamuley85]

>FWIW, The whitetail numbers have plummeted
>here in NW MT the
>last 2-3 years. Way too
>many lions, and way too
>many doe tags.
>
>There's still been some great bucks
>killed the last couple years,
>but honestly, there's maybe 30%
>the whitetail there were five
>years ago.

I couldn't have said it any better. The whitetail hunting in NW MT is in a severe hole right now...you'll see more "decent" bucks on a hunt in eastern MT...but the better genetics are in the NW. I'd wait on NW MT right now and see if it turns around in a few years of better management.

 

[Randy11]

Which it should, fish and game completely cut out doe tags, and is starting to up the quota's on lions.
Wolves do affect the deer, but no near as much as the lions do.
You can still have a good hunt in NW MT right now for whitetail, but it's not as good as it's reputation right now.

 

[jsc]

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the posts so far. When is the peak of the rut up there in Montana? As for NW Montana, that is where we were leaning towards, however with the bad winters maybe we should try more to the east. Are there any areas in the eastern portion of the state that have good access?

 

[MTCOWBOY]

Not sure how the Eastern MT whitetail hunting will be this fall as we got hard hit by Blue Tongue last fall. I have a 145 class B&C 4x4 and a 160 class B&C 4x7 deadhead I found here on the ranch killed by BT. If this spring fawns do well it will help over all but we still lost a lot of prime age deer.

 

[Randy11]

What part of Eastern MT are you in MTCowboy?

 

[montanamuley85]

>Hey guys,
>
>Thanks for all the posts so
>far. When is the peak
>of the rut up there
>in Montana? As for
>NW Montana, that is where
>we were leaning towards, however
>with the bad winters maybe
>we should try more to
>the east. Are there any
>areas in the eastern portion
>of the state that have
>good access?


You won't find a huge concentration of public land in eastern MT. BMA, State, and BLM land is scattered throughout that part of the state. I wouldn't say there is any one place in particular, but just remember that whitetails like river/creek bottoms with good cover and agriculture...so you can rule out the sagebrush flat and alot of the cattle country.

I'd also stay away from heavily outfitted areas as you are not likely to gain permission on private there.

One tip I would give is to look into getting some B tags. Many ranches will let you hunt, but only if you fill a few B tags first. There is some good hunting to be done in eastern MT, but you have to get out the magnifying glass and look it over a bit first.

 

[Gator]

I use to hunt around Fairview and I got in touch with the chamber up there and they hooked us up with a local rancher it was a great hunt we saw tons of deer, Now that same area got hit by Blue Tongue so I don't know if those same ranches are having problems with too many deer.It was on the banks of the Missouri river and we saw deer swimming the river every day coming into beet fields. It wouldn't hurt to give them a call and see if they can hook you up. Good Luck.


"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".

 

[jsc]

Hey guys,

Thanks again for all the help it is greatly appreciated. As for the blue tongue is this something that takes years for the deer herds to recover. Also how big of an impact has it had on eastern Montana. I am unfamiliar with blue tongue and its effects and how wide spread is it. I know that when we get a big winter in Utah like the one 3 years ago there can be mass die offs. In some areas the winter kill was close to 75-80%. Can I expect the same kind of results with last years blue tongue outbreak?

Thanks again,
Jsc

 

[MTCOWBOY]

I am south of Poplar in Richland Co.

 

[MTCOWBOY]

The blue is something that takes years for the population to recover from. It is similar to the winter kill you speak of, it covered most of eastern MT from the far SE up to the Missouri River, north of there it was not hit as hard.

 

[Lifetimehunter]

I've been up in the Whitefish area for the last couple of weeks, and Ive seen a lot of deer and even a moose. There were lots od does in the area I was at and maybe a dozen bucks in this time period . But all the bucks were in velvet and only showing forks nothing looked like it was going to be any thing great