I have been dreaming of doing a western hunt for a long, long time. And this is the year I am finally going to buckle down and commit. This whole process is fairly intimidating for me as the only out of state hunt I have ever done is a lease down in Illinois. I am from Wisconsin, and want to head west. For my first hunt to get my feet wet I really want to do a whitetail hunt in Montana. From what I have seen, it seems as though whitetails are overlooked in that area, and there is a pretty target rich environment. I am trying to do this on a budget, and really have no clue where to start. I know the application deadline is March 15th, so I am going to buy my tag by then. But as far as even beginning to start planning when and where, I am doing my best but i am looking for some guidance. Have any of you had any experience hunting Montana and could give me any pointers or things to look out for? Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated. If anyone is interested in doing this hunt as well please let me know! I would love to plan and scout with you.
Start by figuring out where you want to hunt, what unit. Are you going to camp, tent or camper? Stay in a hotel? Lots of questions to look at. Have a plan A,B and C. I’ve never hunted Montana. Idaho and Colorado mainly, and it is addictive. I don’t hunt WT out west, I figure why drive 17 hours to hunt what I can shoot out my back door. It’s BIG country out there, so be prepared.
Go check out Mark Kenyon / Wired to Hunt on his website and podcasts. He's done PIY Western Whitetails the last 2 seasons and chronicled it a good bit
I second this. If you are going to take the time and money to hunt out west, hunt a species you can't at home. Even mule deer can provide a different hunting experience.
I've hunted both mulies and antelope out West, but really have a hankering for an early season whitetail hunt as well. I definitely get the attraction - even if you can hunt them in your back yard. I would say the biggest thing to be prepared for is to chalk up year 1 as a learning experience. You'll learn where other hunters are at, where animals are at, how to hunt them, etc. If you are successful that's just a bonus IMO. Going across the country and hunting an area you've never seen in real life is a big challenge and while you plan all sorts of details and envision how the hunt will go, it rarely works out that way. Seems like it takes a couple trips or a couple years to really get things figured out.
Next to lopes whitetail is a very easy diy hunt to pull off outwest. Montana, WY and CO all have good acess and whitetail hunting in the eastern parts of the states. Dont discount DIY cous deer either in AZ and NM .
I agree with you Justin. Even though it is the same species, I feel as though an early season Montana hunt would offer a very different experience. Muleys don't really get me too excited yet. I'm not sure why. I would just rather pursue a whitetail. This year is for sure going to be a learning experience. From buying tags, planning, budgeting money, and a full trip out west. It is going to be very different, but that's the main reason I want to do it. I would really like to find someone to go with me who either has a little experience, or is just down for a DIY adventure. As for right now though, my plan is just to save money and start my digital scouting and planning. I may even try to head out there this spring to do a shed hunt/scouting mission. I think it would be fun to bring the family for a little camping trip and then do a whole lot of walking to narrow down the public pieces I find. I also have listened to the Wired 2 Hunt podcast episodes on this topic several times. And one of the big things I was trying to do that they recommended was try to look at the harvests rates by county and deer population numbers. Does anyone have experience finding these resources?
