Montana special draw unit 652 pointers

[MallardSX2]

Lot of people "loose their way" and end up in that unit shooting bucks on the general tag from what I hear.

 

[Mtwood24]

Lot of people "loose their way" and end up in that unit shooting bucks on the general tag from what I hear.

I’ve heard the exact same thing. However the buck to doe ratio was still really high and I didn’t run into many hunters

 

[MontanaBornandRaisedHunting]

Got this guy on the third day of the hunt. Biggest deer we saw but the conditions were tough. There are bigger deer in the unit for sure, even now. He was on a small ridge when I shot him and he disappeared. After searching for over 30 min, we finally found him. He fell in a literal hole.

 

[Mtwood24]

It’s some really neat country out there for sure, and I saw a lot of holes just like that!

 

[Nitro8]

Has anyone ever archery hunted this unit?

 

[Cubby]

I have done it before but prefer rifle hunting.

 

[Nitro8]

I have done it before but prefer rifle hunting.

Thanks. Any insight on the archery hunt?

 

[Cubby]

There's just so much country that I felt it was a waste of time spot and stocking mule deer there, You just have to hunt so slow and do lots of glassing and I only had so much time to spend up there even though I live fairly close and have a friend with a cabin on Rock Creek.

 

[MontanaGuy]

I had this tag last year. It's a fun hunt, we saw around 100 bucks in a week of hunting. Did not archery hunt. We talked to everyone we saw, also the game warden. He mentioned this is not a "trophy unit" like some people think. We probably saw 10 different bucks in the 140 range, shot one in the high 150s, and seen another similar to what we got. FWP guessed my buck at 5 ½ or 6½ years old, and I bet he was done growing his rack. We saw a decent amount of hunters, but nothing like a general unit. This hunt is a fun hunt, don't expect big deer, they can grow old hear, but don't have the genetics or feed to grow like you would expect in a special draw unit. Also they gave out alot more tags last year, so that might be the new trend. I personally would not burn a bunch of points on this unit. The quality of deer is not much better than a general unit, just less people.

 

[OfTheMountains]

I have this tag for this fall. Any pointers are appropriate!

 

[Mtwood24]

Hunt the rut and be patient. You never know what’s going to pop up in that country

 

[Clay Thompson]

Reviving an old thread here. I drew 652-50 on 3 points and didn't know until after I drew that the tag number had been increased to 200 in recent years, and now that I know that, I've been considering turning the tag in to get my points back if that's an option. I'm in school and work plenty to pay for it, so the only time I will be able to get to this unit is Thanksgiving week when I always take the week to try and find the best buck I can. I don't have any big muley bucks killed yet, so not necessarily gunning for a real trophy, just a trophy to me. What are folks thoughts on crowding in that unit since the tag numbers have increased? I usually backpack in a ways and melt snow for water to get away from people in this country, but this unit has only one or two areas that could be useful in. Any insight would be much appreciated!

 

[Clay Thompson]

After taking another look, the 2023 MT regs say there were only 125 permits issued for 652 last year. Was 2021 the only year 200 tags were issued in that unit?

 

[Mtwood24]

I think there are some decent deer in there yet if you hit it at the right time and hunt the way you are talking about

 

[406huntermt]

You will be lucky to see a big deer in there anymore! lots of little ones to shoot for sure though, I’m sure you can find a 150 buck to put your tag on.

 

[Clay Thompson]

Good to hear there are still some good ones in there, even if it requires a little sifting through the little guys. I never minded seeing a lot of bucks, regardless of size!

 

[Cubby]

I drew the tag last year and hunted the unit for 12 days, not in a row but on different 3 day weekends. Wound up getting a mature buck 2nd to last weekend. When I called and talked to Scott Thompson the wildlife manager out of Glasgow after the hunt he told me that even though the regs printed for 2022 said 200 tags they changed that number before tags were drawn down to 125 and spoke like that number very well could go down for the 2023 season even though the regs say 125 still. The biggest thing I noticed last year was with all the snow we received early on in the season really conjested up the only areas that were accessible and the hunters we seen in the mcquire creek area were a lot of out of state hunters that were taking small bucks because their words were they didn't come all this way to go home empty handed. I say they make some limits on what can be taking in this unit. I also recommend that anyone putting in for this tag should put in for a mule deer doe tag as well. Anyways I've drawn that tag 3 times in the past 12 years. Questions just ask

 

[Clay Thompson]

I drew the tag last year and hunted the unit for 12 days, not in a row but on different 3 day weekends. Wound up getting a mature buck 2nd to last weekend. When I called and talked to Scott Thompson the wildlife manager out of Glasgow after the hunt he told me that even though the regs printed for 2022 said 200 tags they changed that number before tags were drawn down to 125 and spoke like that number very well could go down for the 2023 season even though the regs say 125 still. The biggest thing I noticed last year was with all the snow we received early on in the season really conjested up the only areas that were accessible and the hunters we seen in the mcquire creek area were a lot of out of state hunters that were taking small bucks because their words were they didn't come all this way to go home empty handed. I say they make some limits on what can be taking in this unit. I also recommend that anyone putting in for this tag should put in for a mule deer doe tag as well. Anyways I've drawn that tag 3 times in the past 12 years. Questions just ask

Good to hear they haven't actually been issuing the 200 tags. That feels like it would be a lot of traffic for such a small unit. I'm hoping for a similar weather patterns as this past season so that conditions like you described exist to limit roadway travel. I have some additional questions about access to see if I can confirm some more about which areas are as isolated as my e-scouting indicates. I'll PM you. Appreciate the help!