Welcome, lots of great sportsman on the Eastmans forum. I hunt Montana. Elk in the West part of the state and mule Deer out East. We hunt an area southeast of Glasgow. and also the Ekalaka area. Ekalaka seems to have a better quality of bucks, and less hunters. we didnt see as many bucks there (maybe 8-10 bucks per day, and 1 good shooter buck everyday) Lots of good block management. we hunted a BMA just northwest of the town of Ekalaka and had to sign in at the ranch house, but we saw 15 bucks in one afternoon out there. Never saw any large bucks there but that was three years ago. Numbers have really gone up.
There is a ton of public land in Montana. FWP website is really helpful, get familiair with the different areas. I have also called Biologists many times as well as BMA coordinators. Mosyt FWP employees are awesome sources of info. We hunted an area west of Glasgow a few seasons ago, there was a limited number of deer and tons of hunters. we decided to move and go on the south side of Fort Peck Lake. better terrain, more deer and less hunters.
One more suggestion. Buy some quality glass. out in the open, you should be sitting behind your glass for hours everyday. I have a vortex viper HD 15-45 spotter and wish I had bought the bigger version 20-60. I use it all the time and feel its a necessity. the ability to pick out a buck at a mile is a huge advantage.
Good luck on your research. have fun.
