mi_fiveo

I am planning a mule deer hunt in Montana for late November. I am planning on hunting in the Custer National Forest near Ashland. I'm looking for any advice as this will be my first trip to Montana. How is the deer population in the Custer National Forest? Any recommended places to try hunting? So far the plan is to camp in the forest and hike in to look for deer. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

MontanaMuleys84

First off you picked a great spot for a do it yourself hunt. Having been born and raised in Montana, and hunted the Custer National near Ashland with my father since I was just a little hill romper, its a great place. The Varrying density of the forest offers manny different hunting opportunitys.In the 2005 seasonagood family friend killed atall, heavy horned 190 class Muley right there, a great buck, my father and I have had the good fortune of taking many beautifullbucks... with alot of hard work.
Now the thingyou have to realize, pardon meif I offend,but not knowing where your from.. in the mountain country the deer population is more spread out, so be prepared for long, sometimes steep climbs, miles and miles of country and many hours glassing and ifyou take that bruiser he might bedeep in the back country so be preparedto quarter and packhim out.In lateNovember theres usualy a pretty decent amount of snow acumulated so prepare accordingly, and it can get a littleslick and sloppyso 4 wheel drive is a must and chains are recomended. As far as where to hunt, thats a personal preference. My father and I usualy try to get asfar in the back country as we feel necisary, late in November the rut should be in full swing if not close so we have found situations where the big bucks had moved lower to find hot does,so dont head deep right away, take your time and glass... ya never know and thats the biggest portion ofhunting Mulies... good optics, an absoulute must. I hope I have atleat given you andidea of what to expect. If you have any other questionsfeel free to ask.
Good Luck!

mi_fiveo

Thank you for all of the great information. We have been planning on doing just what you recommend but are still looking at where to start in the forest. We hope to hike in somehwere and glass until we find somehting worth stalking. Do you have any suggestions of where to try hunting? Alsohow much snow can we expect around midNovember? We will be packing clothing and gear for any situation but it is nice to have an idea of what to expect.

maritime363

MontanaMuleys84-- sounds like you have some hunting experience in SE MT.. just posted re pronghorn... maybe you could comment. I believe custer national forest is in zone 7. With your experience, are there many pronghorn in that area? What do you think of my BLM vs private land question...Also trying to decide on the Broadus area, or Ekalaka-- Is the pronghorn habitat pretty much the same...? Any insights would be helpful. Thanks.