Has anyone here hunted in unit 700 in Montana for muleys. Just wanted some more info on population. how they are rebounding from bad snow a few years ago. Is the EHD there yet? what kind of hunter pressure you will see there towards the end of the season? just anything in general I can learn about it. I no this is a ruff unit near the river but im looking at getting off the beat and path. Thanks Matt Allen

Matt, the numbers are down. I have been hunting that country for 10 years. My personal experience is I would not waste my time at this point. They need a few years of no hunting.

Matt_allen: I began Hunting Unit 700 for Deer back in 1969. I have never seen Deer numbers as low there abouts as they are of recent - and I have Hunted thereabouts virtually every year since 1969.
I can not recommend you invest and travel to that region for Deer this coming year!
I did not even Hunt there last fall!
I chose to Hunt elsewhere.
I just got a notice from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks today that they have stopped issuing Mule Deer B tags (doe tags!) virtually everywhere - if these folks would have done this five years ago I do not think that region 700 would be in such a dire situation as it is now?
I believe your time, efforts and money can be better "spent" somewhere else.
Sad that!
Best of luck to you this coming season.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Matt, you can still find little 'pockets' of mule deer in northeast MT but it is tough.

I don't want to discourage you from trying but finding a mature buck on public land is going to be fairly difficult.


That said I did see a few 3-4 year old bucks last Fall that hopefully survived hunting season. Open winter here for the most part so that will help with the current numbers.

would you guys have any other unit that would be a better recommendation? I am gonna just try and draw a general tag so it would have to be one of the general units. this is what im doing for my to me from me graduation present. im not worried about seeing huge numbers of deer. im hoping for a shot a decent buck. to me 150 buck is gonna look like a monster beens I have never even seen a mule deer in person. I have several nice whitetails on my wall im just looking for a new challenge and great experience. its not always all about killing a monster

I would just shy away from MT in general for the next couple years. Not only for your sake, but for their deer too.

Lots of hunting to be done in CO and WYO.

Tanner

my main issue is I need the season to be long like montanas. I cant go until thanks giving break. We will be picking corn till then. So I wont be able to get away

The number of hunters out on Thanksgiving weekend will be like the stars in the sky.

That's when everyone in Montana's long lost relatives show back up and attempt to gut shoot every spindly antlered 3x3 mule deer in the state. In some areas they've done a pretty good job of doing just that.

So what would you guys recommend?

Hunt in Colorado, Wy.'s deer are in tough shape due to that deadly predator the BIOLOGIST... THEY HAVE DECIMATED OUR DEER HERDS..

You can go to the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Website and decide for yourself. They will post kill stats, success rates, etc. for the last few seasons. Prior to the season, they will post their predictions, etc.
As to 700, I understand from my conversations with the FWP people that 410 might be a better bet. Alot more private land that allows the public to hunt there, etc. I have also noted that the refuge is closed to hunting the last week of the season. So you might want to see if that's still true, etc. E

You guys say the number are way down. Whats way down if your out walking in just decent country. What could someone expect to see per day just on a sheer numbers side? I have no idea what to expect I am used to iowa when we will do a deer drive and you can easily have 100-200 head come out.

Eremicus: If you are referring to the Charles M. Russel National (Federal!) Wildlife "Refuge" the Rifle Hunting seasons in the 700 Units there on that "refuge" are THE SAME as the Montana State seasons at 35 days long (last year!) or 5 weeks long!
On the NORTH side of the Ft. Peck Reservoir in Hunt Units 621, 622, 631 and 632 the season was just 21 days long (3 weeks) last year.
These are NOT 700 units.
There is also one other Hunting District on the north side of the Missouri/Ft. Peck and in the "refuge" its is also in Region 6 (the 600 units) - this Hunting District is #652 and its opening and closing dates for Rifle Hunting also coincide with the state seasons (at 5 weeks long).
So your understanding of the seasons on the "refuge" is incorrect.
I hate having to "hire a lawyer" just to interpret game regulations - I guess the reason they are "complex" though is to benefit the fish and game?
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Is there a reason you are just looking at the 700 district?

Nope im not stuck on one particular unit im just looking for the best route to get a shot at a decent buck

If you head down to the southeast corner of the state by ekalaka there is quite a bit of good public land. Lots of hunters but most don't leave the road much so if you do some hiking you can find bucks. There is the Ekalaka Park, Custer National Forest, Chalk Buttes and Opechee Park that is all public land and good hunting if you get off the roads. Winter hasn't been bad here so the deer numbers should be better than last year.

Numbers are down, but if you put forth almost any effort in any unit in the state you'll find bucks, and have a decent chance at finding something mature.

The further you get from a drivable road the better your hunt will be. You should be planning on backpacking the deer out.

Thanks guys

Colorado deer numbers are down too, not sure what everyone is smoking. Going to be a tough one after this winter. Three feet of crusted snow on the winter range isn't good.

On a good year, seeing 100-200 deer in a week would be great! The last two years I didn't see 100 deer over the course of the season while hunting. Try finding one with a decent set of antlers and the count drops to almost nothing on public land. Depending where you go, plan on seeing anywhere from 0-15 deer a day. Mature bucks..next to none. That said, I agree with the others, don't spend your money on a trip to Montana.

A guy could see 100 deer a day, but 97 of those will be on inaccessible private land.