Hunting Montana

[Craig]

Just a few question? How hard is it to get a combination tag for Elk,Deer. Also for Antelope. The reason for Montana, a friend has family there and we have some where to stay or camp. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Craig

[Randy Morin]

This year and probably next you should be able to get a deer/elk combo tag.  There were surplus tags this year (never heard of in Montana)because of some non-resident hunter regulation changes.  Antelope may be difficult to draw a buck tag.  Doe antelope tags may also be hard to come by in many units because of the huge die-off we had last winter.  The number of available Antelope tags was sharply decreased in many units.  You should be using the Montana FWP Web-site as well.  Get to reading and looking at draw stats etc.  

Good luck.

[Montanawidower]

Yep what randy said....  You may want to enter into the draw system for the combo license just in case there aren't surplus tags.  There is some talk of decreasing elk permits due to the herd decline.  That process gets started in jan so don't delay .  Refer to the fwp website as randy said.

[Craig]

Yes, I have been on the FWP site and in contact with them to put me on there mailing list. My friend doesn't have the internet. Sounds like non residents don't want to spend $900 for 1 week of hunting. My friend and I are both retired and are planning for a 3 week stay. Any special units do you guys recommand to keep a look at. We were told to hunt in the east.

Thanks, Craig

[Prairie Drifter]

I live in eastern Mt. We were hit VERY hard for 2 winters in a row. Numbers are WAY down on antelope and mule deer. Gonna take a few years to come back.

[Shinken]

Friends just returned from hunting central Montana and found the elk numbers to be strong (no wolves yet where they were hunting), but both mulie and whitetail numbers were down.

Good luck with the tags!

Shoot straight, Shinken

 

[kojac]

don't plan on hunting deer on the milk for a few more years, it's still way down.    good luck

[Dan Adair]

Numbers are down pretty much everywhere in Montana, that and the changes and price hike of NR tags makes them easy to get.

I live in NW Montana, and between the severity and duration of winters, and predation the numbers are pretty low.  Bow for Elk, your best odds are probably around Bozeman or Butte, middle of September.  Odds for a mule deer are so low anywhere it's not worth arguing over.  Whitetails, they're no different than anywhere else in the world.  Lean your bow against a tree and walk 5 yards away and hang your butt over  tree, and a buck will magically appear.

[Dan Adair]

Just ask Brad...  He made a whitetail magically appear smack dab in the middle of The Bob doing just that  

[TURKEYFOOTGIRL]

A 900 statewide archery antelope tag is almost a guarantee, and a combo deer elk tag has been since they raised the price.  March 15th to apply for deer/elk and June 1 for antelope I think.  They changed some dates last year so I would double check if applying.

[Dan Adair]

True...  900 goat tags are pretty much an NR gimmee.

Region 7 is where the biggest numbers of antelope are, and there's some block management country to hunt there too.

[Tim]

Hey Craig.   Don't hesitate to pm Randy, he's my buddy and will point you in the right direction.  Tim