montana area 270
Mule Deer
Drew this area and am hoping there are some here who are willing to and have some info on this area and where to start my looking. i will be hunting with archery equiptment and rifle if necessary. also am very able to go anywhere.thank you for any and all info..
Hear there are some good bucks there good luck. HUNT
no i havent.. i hunt a lot in the state just not ever up the bitterroot .. i have been looking at maps and google earth and trying to get info from you guys.. thanks
no i havent.. i hunt a lot in the state just not ever up the bitterroot .. i have been looking at maps and google earth and trying to get info from you guys.. thanks
I know every inch of that unit. Feel free to PM with any questions. Without question half of it is elk only country worthless for mulies. Lucky for you the deer country is easier terrain and also good for glassing. But like Hunt said... it's a big area.
One thing is for sure it's not what it used to be. You'll actually have to hunt now. Not so long ago you could spot wall hangers from the roads.
well thank you mule power,i will take you up on that as soon as i have some more specific questions. mostly that was what i am trying to avoid is spending time and money that i dont have to find out i am in an 'elky" area.and i figure my time on google earth and the internet can put me into areas that are more worth my time to start scouting.to huntman,, while i am glad you are in a position to scout all the areas you put in for ,,i luckily have 2 children with one on the way that take a lot of my time and attention and i personally am not going to take the time from my family to scout all the areas i put in for.. during season i take quite a bit of time to hunt and help others find game they are looking for and am glad my wife and children give me this time.. also doesnt make a lot of sense to me to spend much time scouting an area that has a 1 in 1000 or worse draw odds..anyway Thank you for all that have helped so far i am looking forward to the hunt ,also anyone who wants to come along on the hunt you are welcome too.. thanks all
It won't be hard to figure out what is and isn't deer country. Pretty much all the burned stuff and open grassy slopes will have deer.
Be patient, lots of nice bucks start coming out if the woodwork in November.
The number of high end bucks has definitely nose dived the last 5-8 years, but there's still some monsters killed in there every year. You'll likely run into lots of 3-4 year old bucks and mature bucks that are missing back forks or something else that's let them get some age on them. Lots of people are shooting young 160 inch buck that would be a monster in a couple years.
Personally if I ever draw I'd try to put as many days possible in I could for a really special buck, and plan on "settling" on a 160 inches or an older character deer.
You're going to have a blast no matter what you kill, there's a ton of bucks to look at. Too many tagholders put pressure on themselves to kill a 200"er and don't appreciate the hunt for what it is.
Randy is right when he said there are lots of giant bucks with no rear fork. Huge 3 points that holders of that tag would and should pass on. I'd set my standards at 180 but there is also the "character factor": lots of awesome non-typicals in the unit.
It's understandable not so take time to scout an area you may never draw. Also now that you have the tag you could go have a look at the area but all you'd really do is learn the lay of the land. I doubt you'd find the big bucks during the summer. They seem to vanish until the rut in November. Whatever you do make sure you plan for as much time as possible to hunt to do that tag justice. I'd kill for that permit!!!
Here's some bucks that made it through last season. I think they're pretty typical of the types of deer you should probably pass on if you want a crack at something special, but also the type of buck most people notch their tag on.
It's amazing how people waste prime tags. I guided a teacher from Kalispell with the 270 deer tag one year. He never drove down to check it out. Wanted to pay by the day while having me commit the week to him "if need be". Then he said he could only hunt Thanksgiving week. When he showed up he said he couldn't miss Thanksgiving dinner so was limited to three days to hunt. Jesus!
I'm 5 foot 6 and he was 6 foot 2 and couldn't... more like wouldn't keep up with me. Lazy as could be.
On day one we spotted a 32 inch wide 190+ buck but he didn't think it was a big deal... so he took his time getting into position and we never saw the deer again. On day 2 he paid a lady to shoot this buck on private property because it had 1 sticker point and he wanted to go home. Missed the buck at 75 yards with a .300 Win Mag. Then spined it at 100 yards and had to walk up to 20 feet to finish it off. Do I look more sarcastic than happy in the pic?
The year before he drew moose. The year before that him and his son both drew mountain goat. To him the limited tags most of us will never draw were no big deal. WTF!
You'll never see that tag again MTHunter so make it count!
Congrats on drawing a great tag mthunter22. My childhood buddy from Ohio that now lives in The Big Sky State shot a 211 6/8 gross and 203 5/8 net in that area in 2005.
Im not really sure why anyone thinks i am going to waste this tag because i posted a question on the internet but i dont plan to waste it,on the other hand who is to say that a 3 point or whatever is not a trophy to someone.. i have shot some good mule deer before and will eat my tag before i shoot one that i am not happy with and will do as much scouting as possible,which is why i started my scouting on the internet as soon as i drew because i didnt have the time and doesnt make sense to me to drive up there quick throw my boots on and start hiking. i would rather glean what information i can from the internet and proceed with my scouting more in the summer when i have a informed place to start and the deer are back in their fall areas.Randy thanks for the pics and that last buck looks like he has some great potential.. mule deer,, i have worked for an outfitter before and know what you mean,, as far as shooting one they are happy with that is up too them, but i am amazed at the people who pay lots for a hunt and then dont get into any kind of shape or practice with their weapon..Hunt man while your contributions to this post have been mostly useless,, i hope you get a dandy and cant wait to see the pictures..good luck, and thank you to everyone who has contributed..
mule deer i sent you a few pms..
