Montana breaks, weather, deer behavior discussion

[Neckbone]

Leaving for MT 11/8/24 for a mule deer hunt. Plan is to head to the breaks, its an area I've always wanted to explore. Looking ahead at the weather, it seems to be relatively warm and mild. 50s-60s days and low 30s at night. Sunny and clear. While this is great camping and hiking weather we were hoping for some cold and snow and early rutting...

Last year we hunted the Boise National Forest and we had very warm weather in the day and we were only seeing deer movement very early morning and just before dark. It was downright hot on the sunny hillsides. So we would glass from dark morning until it got hot, then we would move spots and regroup for the afternoon/evening glass. We spent some time trying to glass into the shadows during the day but didn't have much luck. The breaks has a very different landscape...do those who hunt it have good luck mid-day glassing?

Are there mule deer in the breaks year round or is it pretty scarce in the area until the cold sets in and deer migrate to lower elevations?

From my understanding our dates are on the early side of the rut, we will be hunting 11/9-11/16. Will the warmer weather push the rut later into the season? Or will we have a chance to see rutting activity?

While I do want to visit the breaks I don't want to be hunting in no mans land where the deer just simply are not present. Any insight to what we can expect would be greatly appreciated. Good luck to all this season.

 

[bigsky2]

Assuming that you're talking about the Missouri Breaks, just a reminder that a lot of the Breaks on the south side of the river are special permit for mule deer as of this year.

 

[Fire_9]

No sure what unit you're thinking of hunting but I would double check the regulations as there have been some changes made to those units

 

[MTJake]

The breaks hold deer year round, and you should at least have deer thinking about the rut by that time. Early and late are the best times to glass, but in the breaks if you take your time you can also glass up bedded bucks because it is a little more open country.

A couple things to keep in mind. The regs changed this year, and some of the HD's around the breaks now require a LE tag for a mule deer buck. Also, if you have never been in the breaks before - watch for moisture. The roads there deteriorate quickly when it gets wet. That gumbo is no joke and every year guys end up walking out or staying longer than they were planning because it gets wet.

 

[sickles107]

It will seem like no man's land, but don't be fooled. You will see big horns where you think you deer should be, and deer where you think big horns should be. Expect a surprising amount of hunting pressure from the river.

 

[Poser]

Weather does not "push" the rut. You may see more deer movement when its cold making rutting activity more visible, but its does not effect when the rut happens in a particular area. Rut timing was established during the last ice age when fawns had to be born in a narrow ~2 week window in the spring. If they were outside of this window, they would have difficulty surviving the conditions or have enough time to put on fat for the following winter. 10,000 years with no ice age isn't enough time to really change that rut timing.

 

[Neckbone]

Thank you for the replies, I did see the regs south of the Missouri changed, north of it good to go with general tag. Cuts out hunting area in half, but hey. Looks to be plenty of land out there..

 

[Neckbone]

Weather does not "push" the rut. You may see more deer movement when its cold making rutting activity more visible, but its does not effect when the rut happens in a particular area. Rut timing was established during the last ice age when fawns had to be born in a narrow ~2 week window in the spring. If they were outside of this window, they would have difficulty surviving the conditions or have enough time to put on fat for the following winter. 10,000 years with no ice age isn't enough time to really change that rut timing.

Makes sense. I believe photo period has a lot to do with rut timing...

 

[Neckbone]

The breaks hold deer year round, and you should at least have deer thinking about the rut by that time. Early and late are the best times to glass, but in the breaks if you take your time you can also glass up bedded bucks because it is a little more open country.

A couple things to keep in mind. The regs changed this year, and some of the HD's around the breaks now require a LE tag for a mule deer buck. Also, if you have never been in the breaks before - watch for moisture. The roads there deteriorate quickly when it gets wet. That gumbo is no joke and every year guys end up walking out or staying longer than they were planning because it gets wet.

I hear the gumbo is other worldly...

Thank you for the tips!

 

[Neckbone]

It will seem like no man's land, but don't be fooled. You will see big horns where you think you deer should be, and deer where you think big horns should be. Expect a surprising amount of hunting pressure from the river.

It would be super cool to see some big horns...

We are east coasters that get a week/year to hunt out west. Just happy to be out there

 

[GoBig]

You are probably a little too early for the rut. Quality and numbers of deer have done way down, and number of hunters has gone way up. you can try and get away from people but it's pretty hard with the number of roads that are in that country.

And like has already been said, the gumbo is real, and it doesn't take much moisture to booger up the roads. That shit doesn't come off easy and will stain your gear for years to come.

 

[AHayes111]

It would be super cool to see some big horns...

We are east coasters that get a week/year to hunt out west. Just happy to be out there

I would concentrate on the "Just happy to be out there", Probably going to have to stop at Cabela's to see so big horns.