Available Montana Mule Deer Hunts --- Search HF Aventures
Montana manages the majority of the deer units for hunter opportunity. Montana’s general deer tags provide a great opportunity for hunters to harvest a nice mule deer or whitetail buck. This year, the season dates are as late as they ever will be in the rotation. The archery season is September 7-October 20, rifle season is October 26-December 1, and muzzleloader season is December 14-22. The rifle season dates allow hunters to hunt the rut. The downside of hunting the rut is that most of the mature bucks are harvested every season and it does not allow for many older age class bucks on the landscape. This can make finding a 160" mule deer buck difficult to do on public land. The eastern side of the state provides the best general mule deer hunting. There is a lot of private land, but there is plenty of Block Management and public land for anyone to have a good hunt. The muzzleloader hunt falls post rut with bucks feeding hard to put some body weight back on for the winter. This is the best time to be out in the field if you do not want to see a lot of other hunters. Be prepared for a cold weather hunt if you plan on hunting the mid-December muzzleloader hunt.
There are a handful of good limited-entry units, and most of them give a hunter a good hunt for an average buck. The Bitterroot Valley has long been known as the best place to take a trophy buck, and it is no secret as the draw odds have been horrible for units 261, 262, and 270. Units 261 and 270 have plenty of public land and are quality units. In 2022, all of the non-resident deer permits drawn in units 261-50 and 270-50 were drawn by non-resident landowners. In Montana, 15% of all permits for elk and deer can go to landowners. The landowner draw takes place before the regular draw. Any special permit that a non-resident landowner draws will count against the 10% non-resident quota for that unit. Over the last four years, all non-resident permits were drawn by non-resident landowners in unit 261, and 8 out of 13 tags for unit 270 were drawn by nonresident landowners. Unit 262 is still producing a couple really big bucks a year, but if you don’t want to hunt on private land around houses, don’t apply for this unit. This is not going to be a fun hunt for a self-guided nonresident as access is typically granted to local hunters who spend the spring and summer months knocking on doors to secure areas to hunt. Access is getting harder to come by as many landowners in the area have grown tired of being asked for permission to hunt their land. Finding a top end buck in unit 262 is getting more difficult because of the higher permit allocations over the past few years.
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There are a handful of good limited-entry units, and most of them give a hunter a good hunt for an average buck. The Bitterroot Valley units of 261, 262, and 270 have long been known as the best place to take trophy bucks, but like everywhere else in the West, these units have been struggling to produce the big bucks they are known for. Units 261 and 270 have plenty of public land and are quality units. In 2023, all of the non-resident deer permits were drawn in unit 261-50 and three of the four 270-50 tags were drawn by non-resident landowners. In Montana, 15% of all permits for elk and deer can go to landowners. The landowner draw takes place before the regular draw. Any special permit that a non-resident landowner draws will count against the 10% non-resident quota for that unit. Over the last five years, all non-resident permits were drawn by non-resident landowners in unit 261, and 11 out of 17 tags for unit 270 were drawn by non-resident landowners. Unit 262 is still producing a couple really big bucks a year, but if you don’t want to hunt on private land around houses, don’t apply for this unit. This is not going to be a fun hunt for a self-guided nonresident as access is typically granted to local hunters who spend the spring and summer months knocking on doors to secure areas to hunt. Access is getting harder to come by as many landowners in the area have grown tired of being asked for permission to hunt their land. Finding a top end buck in unit 262 is getting more difficult over the past few years.
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The 2023 mule deer population estimate was the lowest since 2013. The units in Eastern Montana have taken the biggest population hit, especially in region 7. Hunters are having to work a lot harder to fill their tags. The herds in Western Montana are small but stable. The central and eastern parts of the state are showing declines in the mule deer population. The 2023 statewide estimate was 255,989. They further broke that number down into each region as follows: region 1 with 7,419; region 2 with 11,423; region 3 with 41,574; region 4 with 51,044; region 5 with 26,457; region 6 with 62,468; and region 7 with 55,604. Thankfully, Montana finally started cutting mule deer doe tags.
New for 2024, all mule deer doe permits will only be valid on private land in regions 6 and 7. Also, adult rifle hunters will no longer be able to harvest a doe mule deer with the general deer tag in most of the units in the state.
Montana estimates its whitetail population to be at 193,475, which is down from the population estimate in 2022 of 206,653. The 2023 population estimate is still below the 10-year average of 206,645. The breakdown of whitetail per region is as follows: region 1 with 62,878; region 2 with 37,700; region 3 with 21,464; region 4 with 33,902; region 5 with 12,448; region 6 with 12,706; and region 7 with 12,377. The more popular areas for whitetail are along the river systems and large agricultural areas throughout the eastern part of the state. Private land is the key to hunting whitetail, unless you are hunting the mountainous regions in Western Montana. The majority of whitetails are found on the west side, but the highest scoring bucks are typically taken on the eastern half of the state.
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Montana has always been a fun state where you can go and hunt rutting deer. It is still a fun state to go on a deer hunt as long as you keep your expectations in check and don’t compare it to how it used to be. If you have any questions about the general deer hunting opportunities or outfitters in Montana, give us a call.
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The Montana application deadline for deer is April 1, 2024.
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Up-Front Fees |
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|---|---|
| Big Game Combination License (Elk & Deer) | $1,274.50 |
| Deer Combination License | $756.50 |
| Youth Big Game Combination License | $653.50 |
| Youth Deer Combination License | $394.50 |
| Special Deer Permit Application | $5 |
| Bow and Arrow License (mandatory for all archery hunts) | $10 |
| Preference Point Fee for Combination License (optional) | $100 |
| Outfitter Preference Point Fee for Combination License (optional but must hunt with an outfitter) | $100 |
| Bonus Point Fee per Species (optional) | $20 |
| *All Combination License prices include the required Base Hunting License, Conservation License, Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Pass, and Application Fees. | |
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