Missouri Breaks Mule Deer

[Plowboy85]

Hey guys, new here but have been a lurker for a while. A group of 4 of us are planning to make a trip to the Missouri breaks or Custer NF this fall. is anyone willing to help provide some knowledge of what to expect or any pointers? Certainly not asking anyone to declassify their secret spot but any information you are willing to pass on to aid in our trip will be much appreciated.

 

[realunlucky]

When it rains the roads are nasty out there.

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[Plowboy85]

This seems to be the #1 comment lol. What type of deer should we expect? A friend of a friend told us if we planned to get a mile or better off of the main roads then we would likely not run in to many folks. He said a lot of road hunters around there that don’t like to get out to much.

 

[alecvg]

Honestly in most of Montana, expect to shoot 120” or smaller deer. 130” and up will be the better end of what you realistically will find. There are certainly exceptions, but finding an honest mature buck will take more luck than anything in this state. Expect to see a lot of deer, not a lot of age class.

 

[BFR]

When it rains the roads are nasty out there.

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That is an understatement, I dug that muck out daily just to get around. Still digging it out of tight spots 3 months later. Like driving on black ice or STP covered glass.

 

[Plowboy85]

Honestly in most of Montana, expect to shoot 120” or smaller deer. 130” and up will be the better end of what you realistically will find. There are certainly exceptions, but finding an honest mature buck will take more luck than anything in this state. Expect to see a lot of deer, not a lot of age class.

Thank you for the response sir. Is this primarily because of the abundance of general units and its hunters shooting immature deer?

 

[alecvg]

All of the above- lots of general units, a rifle season that goes through the entire rut, and the majority of people shoot young bucks. I honestly don’t want to see the long season go away, I prefer having as much time as we do to hunt, and hunt every year. I would like to see a point restriction put into effect, which I think would help to some extent. No sign of that anytime soon.

 

[MT257]

Thank you for the response sir. Is this primarily because of the abundance of general units and its hunters shooting immature deer?

Question- have you hunted mule deer before? I ask just to see if you know what a mature mule deer is? I feel a lot of people say they know what a mature mule deer is. But in all reality they don’t have a lot of experience in that area and get excited when seeing that first mule deer that’s 21” and 3 or a four point and whack him.

 

[eldeuce]

Doubt it matters now, but there was a huge population kill In either 2012 or 2013.
Very cold, followed by a thaw, followed by very cold again. Feed was frozen under ice and deer, elk, antelope died enmasse.

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[Selway]

Effin whoppers everywhere. I put 15k miles on my rig last fall driving around the breaks looking at deer. Ended up eating my tag because I couldn't find a buck with a small enough rack to fit in the bed of my truck. Going back next year with a flatbed.

 

[Packin_packout]

There is a lot of people just driving the roads . People driving the roads and looking at each section of public land and shooting the first 3x3 they see even if it is young and has no mass. Be prepared for anything weather wise. I have been out there in November and it has been dry & warm. Next year I spent 45 minutes in 4 wd going up the road with my truck going up the road but the nose at 10 o'clock due to rain and snow melt. Had to get out because my kid had a flight home for school that evening. Lots of rolling hills, hunt the draws and get away from the roads. In many areas you camp you may not be able to get good firewood as a forewarning. Figure out a place to get your skull cleaned ahead of time for transporting across state lines. Turns out there is a police officer in lewistown that will boil stuff out for you. Bring extra gas and the usual recovery gear. Little to no cell service...verizon seems to work better than AT&T out there. Have extra gas cans...couple of times I have ended up at stores out there and either card reader is not working or they are out of gas. Have a good mapping software setup.

 

[HuntingJudge]

There is a lot of information for hunting eastern Montana. A lot of it depends on if you are hunting the breaks or Custer. I would need more information to help you more. Camping/hotel, when you are heading out, if you have much experience out west, I would be more than happy to help you out a bit even if you want to message me and have more specific questions.

 

[WCB]

Weather is like anywhere else in MT....don't count on it. Roads get down right impassable with moisture. It can be very desolate even more so the later in the season. Have extra fuel, a good spare tire, a plug kit and compressor. Maybe want to consider chains. Also, be flexible and understand that you may have to get out of the breaks before weather hits as you could honestly be stuck in them for days.

A lot of other things depend a bit on where in the "breaks" you will be hunting. The Breaks extend most the way across MT. I have hunted a part of the breaks that doesn't get a lot of publicity and saw deer I was surprise hadn't been shot yet as they were visible right off the county road and better than average (150s).

 

[Plowboy85]

Question- have you hunted mule deer before? I ask just to see if you know what a mature mule deer is? I feel a lot of people say they know what a mature mule deer is. But in all reality they don’t have a lot of experience in that area and get excited when seeing that first mule deer that’s 21” and 3 or a four point and whack him.

No sir, not all that competent at live aging mulies. I do however live in big ag land with big framed whitetails and do not get emotional with racks. We all strive to harvest mature deer and will not shoot young deer just fill a tag on the last day. I’d rather go home with memories than shoot a young deer.

 

[Plowboy85]

There is a lot of people just driving the roads . People driving the roads and looking at each section of public land and shooting the first 3x3 they see even if it is young and has no mass. Be prepared for anything weather wise. I have been out there in November and it has been dry & warm. Next year I spent 45 minutes in 4 wd going up the road with my truck going up the road but the nose at 10 o'clock due to rain and snow melt. Had to get out because my kid had a flight home for school that evening. Lots of rolling hills, hunt the draws and get away from the roads. In many areas you camp you may not be able to get good firewood as a forewarning. Figure out a place to get your skull cleaned ahead of time for transporting across state lines. Turns out there is a police officer in lewistown that will boil stuff out for you. Bring extra gas and the usual recovery gear. Little to no cell service...verizon seems to work better than AT&T out there. Have extra gas cans...couple of times I have ended up at stores out there and either card reader is not working or they are out of gas. Have a good mapping software setup.

This is good information sir, thank you very much. Been out west several times for elk & Antelope with outfitters but most of my friends aren’t willing to spend the money so we decided a 7 day trip and the experience together would be a heck of a time. I have a small lightweight 16‘ stock trailer I use to haul cattle when using the big goosenecks isn’t worth it. We were planning to bring it with a little fire wood and 55gal drums of water that we could fill up before we get there for cooking and cleaning.

 

[Plowboy85]

There is a lot of information for hunting eastern Montana. A lot of it depends on if you are hunting the breaks or Custer. I would need more information to help you more. Camping/hotel, when you are heading out, if you have much experience out west, I would be more than happy to help you out a bit even if you want to message me and have more specific questions.

Definitely will PM you sir. We will be taking a wall tent and looking to go 2nd wk of Nov as long as our schedules stay aligned.

 

[Plowboy85]

Guys thank y’all dearly for the comment. Im new here but been on LRO and LRH forums for awhile, decided to join here because it seemed y’all were more about hunting and gear and not so much 1000yd shooting. We don’t have expectations of killing 4 160”+ deer lol, we are just looking to get away and hangout together. Is there anywhere on here where guys have compiled gear or camp lists?

 

[Mt Al]

No matter what, you'll have fun. However, a few friends went to the Breaks last fall and used a boat to try to get away from hunters - and saw hunters all over the place. Not saying you'll have the same experience, but be prepared to see other hunters. A thought would be to bring a shotgun for birds and give coyotes a try to mix things up.

 

[Plowboy85]

Would y’all recommend any specific area of the “breaks” or Custer? I may try to get away for a wknd and fly up there to ride, glass and hike with intentions of having a better plan on arriva.

 

[MT257]

No sir, not all that competent at live aging mulies. I do however live in big ag land with big framed whitetails and do not get emotional with racks. We all strive to harvest mature deer and will not shoot young deer just fill a tag on the last day. I’d rather go home with memories than shoot a young deer.

Well odds are your gonna most likely going home with an unpunched tag if you don't wanna shoot a younger class deer. Are there older ones out there yes, but I would say they are few and far between unless you have access to locked up private ground.