Hello, I am 43 years old and live in Washington. I will be coming to Montana with a buddy and our sons for the first time. My main goal is to get our boys their first mule deer, us getting one would just be a bonus. My son is 13 and will be in high school next year which will make it virtually impossible to get back anytime soon. Too many sports. I have talked to several guys locally and they all go to different spots. I settled on the Malta/Saco area because my friend doesn't hunt there anymore. Too expensive for him. We are all in good physical shape and it's nothing for us to walk several miles, so walk-in areas are preferred. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. We have been told of a couple Block Management areas. Are these overcrowded? Is this a descent area to hunt or are we way off? Also, where would be a good place to get maps? I was thinking of getting the OnXmap app. on my android. I am a teacher so this is a one time deal, have been saving for this trip. Also, new to forums so sorry if too many questions. Thanks again.
Montana mule deer rookie
- Thread starter mike1556
- Start date
I guess I can't give you any advice on the area but at least both 611 and 620 are either sex districts. I've got the onX map for montana. Works really nice. Tells you all public land, private land and Block management and a lot of other features. I would start with that and go from there.
This years block mgmt guide is out. If you have not reviewed it already, you should to make sure the BMA's you were told about are still enrolled. Each property will have rules to review. The ones that take reservations tend to be less crowded, but may be filling quickly. Have fun!
TimberJunkie
Active Member
Hey there. Hunting in Eastern Montana is a truly fun experience. I love the ability to spot a buck from two miles away, and be able to close that far in 30 minutes if I need to. I have hunted the Saco area several times. It's not as good as it was in 2010. We d8d great that year and it's been a slow recovery. Sorry for that bad news.
I would still give it a look, but we have moved to the north and hunt near the Canadian border. Another great place for young hunters would be district 650 and 652 I believe. It's east of the Fort Peck dam. We went out there last year and killed two decent bucks off of block management in an afternoon. One was a 22 inch 4x4. Respectable. Another area worth checking out is near Winnett, MT. It's east of Lewistown and south of Fort Peck. One place we still check out every few years there is called the Teigen Ranch. It's block management and we have killed many bucks in there over the years. Especially the area west of war horse reservoir.
You have to understand that these areas are all still recovering from awful winter kill and disease outbreaks 3 to 5 years ago. Mature bucks are not common and the genetics aren't great to begin with, but the populations are rising slowly.
If you see a camp with a grey ford diesel with Oregon plates it's us. Stop by and say hello. Beers and sodas for everyone
Good luck out there. Take good glass. It's the best tool you can have.
I would still give it a look, but we have moved to the north and hunt near the Canadian border. Another great place for young hunters would be district 650 and 652 I believe. It's east of the Fort Peck dam. We went out there last year and killed two decent bucks off of block management in an afternoon. One was a 22 inch 4x4. Respectable. Another area worth checking out is near Winnett, MT. It's east of Lewistown and south of Fort Peck. One place we still check out every few years there is called the Teigen Ranch. It's block management and we have killed many bucks in there over the years. Especially the area west of war horse reservoir.
You have to understand that these areas are all still recovering from awful winter kill and disease outbreaks 3 to 5 years ago. Mature bucks are not common and the genetics aren't great to begin with, but the populations are rising slowly.
If you see a camp with a grey ford diesel with Oregon plates it's us. Stop by and say hello. Beers and sodas for everyone
Good luck out there. Take good glass. It's the best tool you can have.
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Wow thanks for all of the information TimberJunkie. I will check those areas out tomorrow (see what I can dig up). We aren't tied to anything yet. I did make hotel reservations in Malta but I could cancel if I had too. It's nice to have some options . The biggest dear my son has got is a fork-n-horn so anything bigger than that and he'd be thrilled. He absolutely is a hunter for life. He loves being outdoors.
HD 652 does not allow the harvest of mule deer unless you have one of the 50 permits drawn earlier in the year. Careful what you tell people, know for sure the facts.
TimberJunkie
Active Member
That's why I said I believe. Can't remember exact unit numbers. It's been a year or two since I was there. It's a hunters own due diligence to know that stuff before they enter a unit. If they follow blind advice bore hunting an area, they should not be hunting to begin with. We went over there after talking to FWP bio and he suggested that we check it out. I use Onyx maps, and have the regs. I think it's a great tool.
Thanks for the heads up on the mistake.
Thanks for the heads up on the mistake.