Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Mulies in SE Montana

I was wondering if anyone can tell me about mule deer possibilities in SE Montana. My son and I are trying to put together an antelope trip this fall to the Broadus area. Are there any good mule deer opportunities in that general area? Would it be worth while applying for an antlered deer tag for that region? What size of buck could one expect to see? Thanks for any info.

There's a lot of BLM land around Broadus but the best area's are along the Powder river and are privately held. Bucks tend to move down onto the river bottoms in the evening and migrate back up to the Bluffs in the morning. If your going to try to hunt the BLM along the Powder River then I think the best thing is to be up on the high ground in the early morning, and let them come to you. There are lot's of deer but you will see most of them down on the river bottom on land that is under lease to Outfitters. Powder River Outfitters is probably the most well known if you prefer to go that route. I'm sure there are others but I don't use outfitters and have little use for them. They tend to eat up the land that you used to be able to hunt just by asking. You most likely will see Muley's, 4x4's in the 22"-26" range for the largest you might reasonably expect, but seldom much larger in my experience. You will see quite a few 3x4's or similarly odd antlers but really nothing for non - typicals.
There are some really nice Whitetails there but there a lot more difficult to lay your eyes on. Call Powder River Taxidermy in Broadus and they can give you a feel for who might be receptive to letting you hunt. Have fun. You should have no trouble putting your tags on a couple of bucks.

I am located just south of " Just South of the Bob" and have hunted the area the Shootist speaks of. He knows what he is talking about.His assessment is spot on. One thing to bear in mind is that a tag to be used in that area covers a goodly portion of the eastern part of Mt. Don't limit yourself to looking strictly around Broadus, there is better access farther north- expect the same kind of deer, but better chances of getting on.
Ingwe

Deer tag is good for the whole state with the exception of the special permit areas. Generally speaking you will have a LOT easier time getting private land access to hunt antelope as opposed to deer. Your chances of drawing both a deer tag and an antelope tag aren't extremely high but there is that chance. I would suggest making a trip out during the summer and looking things over before heading out blindly to hunt. You'll waste a lot less of your limited hunting time if you already know where you plan to hunt.

Thanks all for sharing your info with me. I'm planning on making a scouting trip down there as soon as I find out if we're drawn. Regardless we'll probably make the trip and try for antlerless if we don't get drawn and rack it up as an exploratory trip for a future hunt. Does anyone know how the winter has been in that corner of the state?

BTW in general, if you dont get a A tag but get the speed goat tag and yah can generally pick up doe tags for a specific species(whitetail or mulie) for a general area and alot of ppl that wont let yah hunt bucks will let yah shoot as many does as you have tags for...if you want to haul home more meat than just the goat and your there during the time that speed goat and deer seasons overlap.......

That's a good idea. If we are lucky enough to get drawn and tag out on antelope I'd love to haul some mule deer meat home.