MT region 7 rut hunt

[johnsd16]

Well my buddy and I took the leap and bought deer combos for MT this year. It will be our first trip out west. I had to put in for vacation very early so we have settled on November 14-22. We initially narrowed things down to region 7 and are now settling in on the SE portion of R7, perhaps around Baker, and south and east of there. I know the weather can be variable and we have both hunted in most temps imaginable, from 90sF to -35F, but I anticipate there could be more wind than we have seen before. I am also scared of this gumbo everyone talks about and am praying for single digit temps to keep the ground firm. We do not plan on trying our luck or taking the risk of leaving unsightly ruts, let alone getting stuck.

We are planning on talking to some biologists and wardens if we can get ahold of them over the next month or so and looking forward to the BMAs to come out, and start making calls on that first day you can call. Also planning on getting BLM maps and a landowner chip for the Garmin (any tips on which chip, and when/where to buy are much appreciated).

Our plan is to stay in a motel and hit the road every morning in the dark and hike in to start glassing at sun up. My hope is to have some public/BLM that holds deer overlooked by others unwilling to walk a few miles, but the goal is to secure some type 2 BM property for our planned time.

We will have optics including a new vortex razor spotter to help us out. We are planning on using a 270wsm and 6.5x284 as primary rifles and will bring my 280 as backup and probably a second backup. We are zeroed at 200 and practicing out to 400 but realize wind may shorten our capabilities on any given day.

Our goals are not too lofty, and any decent 4x4 140" or better will definitely have us considering punching the tag. Even though we've both killed whitetails in the 140s-150s, I wouldn't hesitate to take home a WT in the 135"+ range either. Not sure if those are attainable, but we are willing to hunt all day and get off the road.

We are both respectful guys who have both grown up as sons of landowners and have had plenty of interactions with trespassers on our family ground. I'm the kind to leave it better than when you got there or like you were never there. My wife hates trapping opener (for a multitude of reasons) because I always get home with a truckload of trash picked up from climbing in and out of the ditches setting water traps. I just can't walk by it. Nothing worse for all of us than slob hunters, and just because its a place you've never been, may never go back to and has more open space than you've ever seen, doesn't mean you can make a mess of it. I have heard great things about the people of SE MT and MT in general and am excited to go. My brother lived in Bowman ND for a time and every one I encountered on my visits there was great.

Any tips, advice, insights, pitfalls, etc with our plan are welcome.

 

[Againstthewind]

Baker is a few hours North of me, but I think that is a pretty darn solid plan. I think its pretty close to right in the middle of the rut from last year around here it seemed like. I think AT Hiker was up that direction last year. He got a couple nice ones. I don't know much about the BLM there, but if the deer around Biddle are any indicator, I think that you have a good chance at that size mule deer. I don't even have a guess at scoring whitetail, but some of the ones I have seen have antlers that you can see from a couple hundred yards away there. That's plenty big for me, lol. Weather wise, I think you have it pretty nailed down also. It can 30 below or 60 above in November it seems like. The spring is a lot worse for the gumbo, but you are right, it can grab ahold and keep you if it gets warm enough to thaw. It seemed like last year there wasn't enough frost in Nov. to freeze things enough for some traffic, but it might have gotten colder up there. In Dec. we got a pretty good cold spell, though. Good luck

 

[Tim McCoy]

We'll be in the same general area this year, be my first time there. That said, I've hunted MT a bunch, a bit to the west, and have hunted SD just to the east. The problem we had last year was just below freezing at night, 45-50 by 9am, with frozen earth underneath. 1/2" of wet gumbo over ice will end your day in a truck on any off camber road, and most are. Chains are your friend, but will likely get you in trouble on private. Your trophy expectations seem very reasonable for that time and area with access, based on my experience in E MT/ W SD. PM me and I'd be happy to talk about any questions you have. I'd highly recommend securing BMA access.

 

[Hoytfanatic]

I know chains are great, but don't plan on friendly locals if they see you with them on, same goes for a mudded up truck, they take bending grass very serious out there. R7 has the potential for some dandies, both species. Traveling from town can get old everyday, keep in mind it's big country, easy to travel 40-50 miles one way. Also, pretty much everything that looks good on the map in that country looks good to every other, Wisconsin, Minnesotan, ext.... I would venture to bet that the area around there is could possibly be the heaviest nonresident hunted area in the state. I like your plan about getting off the beaten path, there is some knarly buttes in that country and the vistas can often times be several miles long.

 

[sneakypete]

Buy the hunt on x Montana chip, it'll give everything you need, stat, BLM , & private land. RMEF gave a free subscription for one year for your phone or iPad.

 

[AT Hiker]

I hunted close to Ekalaka last year, it was on a ranch though. We were there around the same time your going, weather was nuts. It never got about 5 and the snow was almost blizzard like with the wind. The deer were in rut like nothing I have ever seen, literally we were able to hunt all day because you never know when one was going to chase a doe out of a coulee. My granddad killed his first muley, the buck charged us twice because we accidentally got between him and his does. The wind was in our favor and the buck had one thing on his mind, protect his does!

We left and Thanksgiving week brought them sun shine and 50 degree weather, go figure.

I know the public land will not have the quality/quantity of animals as our ranch did but with the rut peaking and the right weather Im sure you could set your sights on a 140", but dont hold your breath. Those deer have little mass and tight racks from my one year experience, I only seen one true bruiser on the ranch and I hope to set my eyes on him again this year (we are going for the opener this year).

If I wasnt going with my grandfather again, I would go Mid November and hunt the public land as hard as I could. For no other reason than I like to explore.

 

[johnsd16]

Thanks to all for the advice so far. We will definitely be getting a chip and looking at the huntxmap site, probably the smartphone app as well. AT, thanks for the local insight. My hope is getting reservations for some type 2 BMA surrounded by private and letting the rut move the bucks around. We will have to see what we dig up. I hope it is 5 degrees the whole time. Won't bother us from MN and it will keep the deer up and possibly other hunters in their trucks. Did you see many white tails?

 

[sambo3006]

I'll be hunting SE MT for deer for the first time myself this fall. I don't want to miss rifle season at home in Missouri which starts Nov 14 so I'll be hunting Nov 3-9. Pretty much the same plan as the other guys. Onx map for gps, lots of online research to locate public land. I'm hoping for a decent mule deer in the 140 class but really just a buck that catches my eye. Not really interested in a whitetail unless it is 150+. Can I expect to see some bucks cruising for does that early in the month?

 

[Tim McCoy]

I'll be hunting SE MT for deer for the first time myself this fall. I don't want to miss rifle season at home in Missouri which starts Nov 14 so I'll be hunting Nov 3-9. Pretty much the same plan as the other guys. Onx map for gps, lots of online research to locate public land. I'm hoping for a decent mule deer in the 140 class but really just a buck that catches my eye. Not really interested in a whitetail unless it is 150+. Can I expect to see some bucks cruising for does that early in the month?

Critters do things on their own time. So maybe or maybe not. Seeing some cruising, meaning running/trotting or what ever, sure, peak rut would be unlikely. All that said, I've seen some chasing in late Oct, some not in late Nov. Odds are you will be a bit early for peak rut, but will see rutting behavior. I'd guess on average most doe groups will be tended and probably harassed by bucks, but they are unlikely to be the big boys. But they may be big boys... No pat answer.

What I'd call bucks cruising for does has generally been later in Nov than earlier. Just my experience, yrmv. Matters not really, hunt when you can and enjoy.

 

[AT Hiker]

Did you see many white tails?

I did not see one single whitetail, water was very scarce where I was hunting so I assume that is fault why I didn't see any in the area. Actually only seen a 1/2 dozen or so Pronghorn. Dont let that discourage you though, I spent my time in one very specific area and sadly did not get a chance to explore that part of MT due to the weather. SD was actually closer to us than most of MT, haha.

Another important note to consider; in your planning make sure you know where fuel, lodging and groceries are. We were over 30 miles of gravel and dirt backroads from a gas station, make sure you have a full tank!

 

[MAKAIRA]

You will have a blast! We go every year and hunt it all from private to blm and have had success on all of it.The gps will help a lot as private and public seem to alternate sections.If you have a quad bring it-a lot easier to get around areas that a vehicle would get stuck in deeper snow like last year.Opens up a lot of country.A quad is also handy when you are the one in charge of game recovery- my dad and his friend are in their 70's.
Bring a shotgun as last year there were more upland birds than we had seen in all of the other trips combined.

 

[Hoytfanatic]

Keep in mind that quads don't give you permission to go off the road, you still must operate them as if they are a car or truck. Another thing that will get the locals on your bad side.

 

[MAKAIRA]

They allowed us to use roads that vehicles could not get through with the depth of the snow.In the past the land owners have given us permission for game recovery.Some years it doesn't even come off of the trailer and years like last year it is worth its weight in gold!!!

 

[Hoytfanatic]

They allowed us to use roads that vehicles could not get through with the depth of the snow.In the past the land owners have given us permission for game recovery.Some years it doesn't even come off of the trailer and years like last year it is worth its weight in gold!!!

Ya I figured that's what you were implying, just wanted to clarify for anyone else that may be new to the area.

 

[johnsd16]

We do not have an ATV. I agree with what was said as well regarding risk of damage to the land.

 

[lostinOregon]

I have hunted around Broadus MT in region 7 for the last 30 years or so. You are on the right track. I have observed hard rut from the 10th of November all the way to the week after thanksgiving. I could never figure out the difference from year to year. The locals always told me to go after the full moon. The genetics of the are area narrow and tall and usually without eye guards. There are a few giants around, but mostly are 20 inch wide 4x4's. I attached a picture of a picture of my wife's deer from 2 years ago. Pretty good representative of a mature buck from the area. I do love their coloring there. It is a lot lighter than other places I hunt like CO. Often they have a very white face that extends down into their neck. Good luck and enjoy your adventure.

Rich

 

[TimberJunkie]

We have some family in the Ekalaka area. Hunted out there a few times. We were east of Ekalaka in the Mill Iron area. We killed some nice bucks. Nothing huge. One Whitetail in 2012 that scored close to 150. Don't be afraid to knock on doors. One rancher offered his land up to hunt. 22000 acres. He only let's one group in at a time and he had to leave before the other group was done. He told us to come back next year. PM me for the ranchers name. There is also a good block management parcel just NW of Ekalaka. We hunted out there one afternoon and saw 6 bucks all smaller, but good numbers. We had to sign in at ranch house with the owners. They were very helpful too.

Good luck. I can share more in a PM.