Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Montana DIY deer hunt

CGPAUL

The deer hunting in the area just west of the town of Ft Peck is better now than in the 20+ years I have been hunting it. We used to see the occasinal deer, but now they seem to be all over. The F&G were practically giving away mule deer doe tags to NR this past season as they feel there are too many deer.

If it rains it is best to stay off the dirt roads, but the state has been doing a good job of graveling some of the roads. Have you ever experiance gumbo mud? It will cake up on your vehicle until it seems like you will need a chisel to get it off once dried and a thick mess when wet.

I don't know if there is a better area than another anymore due to the amount of deer. I only hunt BLM or block management when over there and you can hunt the CMR Wildlife Refuge the first 3 weeks of the season than they close it down to mule deer hunting and you can't use your doe tag in there the whole season.

Like has been said it will take some major foot work to get a good deer usually. I remember some years ago there were people elk hunting who said there were no elk in the area (West of Ft Peck). Well, my uncle and I had seen all kinds of elk,but you had to bust the brush for them. It is the same way with the deer. The juniper is so big that it easliy hides an elk let alone deer. The juniper gets big and thicker the closer you get to the resevoir. Farther out is rolling hills and sagebrush flats with big open valleys. The deer use that expance quite well to get away from hunters.

This year I saw several NR hunter push deer from one side of a valley to the other with their vehicles because they wouldn't get out and walk( I have seen resident hunters do the same thing.) My wife shot hers at 60 yards after walking and sneaking a mile.

The odd on drawing are better if you put in for an elk/deer combo tag from what I hear, but that is quite a bit more expensive if you don't plan on going after the elk. One thing about it should you draw a deer A-tag you can hunt anywhere in the state that doesn't require a permit.