SE Montana Rut/Nov weather

[AT Hiker]

Thinking about taking my grandfather to MT unit 705 this fall. It will be a private ranch mostly.

I am thinking about going around Nov 15, so here are my questions/concerns;

1.) What could I suspect for weather? I know its a crap shoot guess, but historically would we be OK? Our dates are flexible for the most part as long as no other hunters are out we might be able to change at the last minute.

2.) Mainly looking for mulies, but a good whitetail is not out of the questions. So, are the mule deer starting to rut and hang out with the doe groups good this time of the month or would we be early? late?

One other thing, does anyone know the draw odds for the general deer tag and the landowner sponsored tag (if those odds are on their website, then I cannot find them anywhere)? I know its a safe bet to apply for the combo, but $976 will take a chunk of change away from the overall spending of the trip and we will be nowhere near a elk.

 

[NDHunter]

The weather can really vary widely. Could have sunny and 50 degrees or snow and below 0. If it's "normal" I'd say highs in the 30's and lows in the teens overnight. That is a bit of a guess though as I grew up farther to the north in ND. Will you be in a wall tent or maybe staying at the ranch you mentioned?

Last year their were leftover deer tags up until maybe September or so.... Can't quite remember when they finally sold out but their were leftover tags for quite some time after the draw.

By early to mid-November the mule deer should definitely be rutting although I've heard a few guys say that the later in November the better.

Are you going to get the elk/deer combo tag or just the deer? The deer tag only is about $560 or so.

 

[PlainsHunter]

I have hunted SE MT in the past around Nov 15 and did see many bucks that were follwing does. This last year I was in MT the first few days of Nov and did not see any rutting activity. Temps have been between -5F and 60F while I was out there. I'd say as far as rutting activity- the middle of Nov should be pretty good. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Umpqua Hunter]

Yeah…I have also heard there have been leftover deer tags since they raised the tag fees a couple years ago. I would hunt as close to Thanksgiving as possible for the best hunting though the time we went to SE Montana was about when you plan to be there and we had a great hunt.

 

[Musket Man]

There have been leftover deer/elk combo tags since they raised the price but I dont think there have been leftover deer only tags or that everyone that applied drew the deer only tag although the odds have been much better for it since the price went up. Ill try to look up the odds for you. As for the rut it usually takes some cold weather to really kick it off so it kinda depends on the year as to when it will start but I think it would be starting or very close by 11/15. The last time I hunted there was around that time and the older mature buck I killed was rutting but the younger bucks I saw werent yet. From my experience there I think NDHunter is spot on about the weather.

 

[Musket Man]

I cant find anything on their site on the drawing odds for any of the general tags either. I sent them a couple emails

 

[Musket Man]

They emailed me back and said drawing odds last year for the general deer tag and the landowner sponsored deer tag were both 100%. Im still trying to get them to show me where to find the stats on their site.

 

[Musket Man]

This is the reason you cant find it in their site.....

FWP License info
To Me
Today at 2:50 PM
I don’t believe that info is on the website.

 

[AT Hiker]

This is the reason you cant find it in their site.....

FWP License info
To Me
Today at 2:50 PM
I don’t believe that info is on the website.

Haha! Thank you for emailing them, I guess I could have done that but Im used to most info being online.

We will likely be staying in a old ranch quaters. I usually like to hunt public land and tent it, but I was able to sway my grandfather in to going. So I got a hold of the ranch and secured us a spot.

I think we might go ahead and apply for the general deer tag, especially if it was 100% last year. That way we are not limited to one ranch, I would hate to see a bruiser on some public land and not be able to hunt him!

Thank you all!

 

[Musket Man]

I was surprised how fast they responded and replied to additional questions I asked. I figured I must have been missing it on their site too. I asked them to break down the 2 draws for me and I was told "That information will not show up on our web site" and basically no info on the general draws is available on their web site. They did not answer as to why.

 

[AT Hiker]

The MT draw was hard for me to figure out, not sure if I got it figured out right now to be honest. Thats why I am leaning towards the pricey combo tag (which we dont need), but then again that is more than we would spend in gas!

I am going to contact them tomorrow as well to ask some specific application questions. For example; my grandfather is a disabled american vet and i am curious if MT disabled license applies to non residents too.

 

[Musket Man]

I have looked into disabled vet discounts in a couple states since I am a disabled vet and everything I have seen is they are only for residents. I would apply for the deer only license and if for some reason you dont draw it Im sure there will be leftover elk/deer combo licenses and you could buy one after the draw. They have had them leftover every year since they raised their prices and the # of leftovers seems to increase each year. No sense giving them money you dont have to. IMO its way over priced already and it most of why I have stopped hunting MT. What else are you not sure you understand about the draw?

 

[kentuckyhunter]

Musket
Say you want to hunt one of their limited entry units sometime in the future 5-10 years... Do you purchase just the points each year and then down the road buy a license and hope you draw a limited entry area at that time. After reading the new mrs and Montana website I couldn't seem to understand the draw stats for the high demand limited entry areas.
What am I missing?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[AT Hiker]

I assume after you draw either a general deer tag or the elk/deer combo that is all you need right?

 

[Musket Man]

I assume after you draw either a general deer tag or the elk/deer combo that is all you need right?

Yes, you dont need anything else, its all included with the license and you can hunt any general unit in the state

 

[Musket Man]

Musket
Say you want to hunt one of their limited entry units sometime in the future 5-10 years... Do you purchase just the points each year and then down the road buy a license and hope you draw a limited entry area at that time. After reading the new mrs and Montana website I couldn't seem to understand the draw stats for the high demand limited entry areas.
What am I missing?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It used to be you had to draw a general license to apply for a LE tag or get a point but they changed it recently so you can get a point without buying a general license. The way I understood what I ran across when I was looking for the drawing odds today was you can buy a point similar to the WY system. Honestly I would stay away from MT all together unless you are going to hunt in the general hunts. Some LE tags can be good but the drawing odds are generally very low and IMO between the wolves, deer and antelope being way down in alot of eastern MT and the odds of drawing a LE tag being so low, you would be alot better off investing your time and money in other states.

 

[Bitterroot Bulls]

Some of the best hunting in the state is still in general districts.

As far as weather, that time of the year is pretty nice in SE MT. I wouldn't expect it to get colder than -20 or hotter than 95. As long as you are prepared for wildfire, drought, flood, rain, sleet, snow, ice, gumbo, or concrete-like drifts, you should be fine.

 

[Musket Man]

BB that pretty much describes eastern MT! But I dont think it will get above 85 in November If it gets much snow or rain I would pray that it stays well bellow freezing! When it starts to thaw your feet will weigh 80 pounds each in 3 steps!

 

[gonhunting247]

Thinking about taking my grandfather to MT unit 705 this fall. It will be a private ranch mostly.

I am thinking about going around Nov 15, so here are my questions/concerns;

1.) What could I suspect for weather? I know its a crap shoot guess, but historically would we be OK? Our dates are flexible for the most part as long as no other hunters are out we might be able to change at the last minute.

2.) Mainly looking for mulies, but a good whitetail is not out of the questions. So, are the mule deer starting to rut and hang out with the doe groups good this time of the month or would we be early? late?

One other thing, does anyone know the draw odds for the general deer tag and the landowner sponsored tag (if those odds are on their website, then I cannot find them anywhere)? I know its a safe bet to apply for the combo, but $976 will take a chunk of change away from the overall spending of the trip and we will be nowhere near a elk.

I've been to SE MT 3 out of the last 5 years. I'd say your just about right for muleys, with the whitetails being at least 10 days later from what we've seen and heard from the folks that live there! We've been going the first or second week in Nov. and it seems like that second week things start to get fired up just a little.(muleys)
There was leftover deer combos last year for a short time and the elk/deer combos were available almost up until season because of the big price hike a few years ago.
We've also had good luck with weather and roads the first two weeks, but have been told it was just that, LUCK.
I didn't get to go last year, but a few of the guys on this forum that have great info, have said that the previous winters topped by the recent EHD outbreak has the deer and antelope numbers way down!

 

[PlainsHunter]

I picked up a leftover deer combo two years ago. I did not apply during the draw. I believe there were a few hundred left over. This would have been the 2012 season.