Anyone from Montana? I have a question regarding Deer. I know there' s a Deer forum but I figured more of us Westerners would be looking through here.

Here' s my question: I' m packing into the" Bob" in Sept and again in Oct. I have a combo tag Elk/Deer. I would preferrably like to take a Whitey,just due to I have taken a Mulie and the Columbian Blacktail so I' d like to have taken all 3 main Deer species. Do the Whiteys run up high? Around 5 to 7000 ft? Just curious.Thanks, but by no means if a 30 inch Mulie steps out would I pass I just would like the chance @ a Whitetail.

Hey TrapperT,
I' ve hunted in the Bob and surronding areas,yes you will find whitetail in there.There is alot of them on the way in.If you go way back you can find them around water and some of the realy thick stuff.I go in through Agusta and through Gibson Res. or Benchmark.The biggest one I' ve seen killed in there was around 24in wide and a 7x8,he was shot by a guide for one of the outfitters on his way in to camp.His client passed him up for a bigger mulie.

Hey thanks Bare Back, I' llbe heading in from Augusta also, opening week of the early season, sounds good. Good luck to you and yours. Maybe I' ll bump into ya on the trail

No prob Trapper,
Are you hunting with a outfitter or doing it your self.I can give you a few tips if you going it alone.

By the way Trapper T if you going in to the Bob there is a special back-country season for rifle starts on the 15th of September.I' ve done the bow/rifle hunt befor so I thought I would let you know.BBJ

I am from montana, as as a matter of fact, I am working for an outfitter taking people into the Bob Marshal, Scapegoat, Great Bear, and Badger Two-medicine wilderness areas. There are some whitetails back in the Bob, but you are not going to see very many unless you focus primarily on them and forget about elk. The dense forests, HUGE amounts of land, and less game animals per sq. mile make it tough hunting. Unless your going with an experienced outfitter who knows the area, you' re going to have a tough time. If your looking for a whitetail, you picked the wrong area. There are a lot better places on the road INTO the bob marshal. All along the Teton River, Deep Creek, Dupuyer Creek, Wolf Creek, Blackfoot River, any of the lower elevation river/creek bottoms will have much better whitetail opportunities. I' d go down low for whitetails and focus on them or else your probably not going to get one. I' m not trying to put you down or anything, but the Bob is tough hunting and it takes time to get to know the area. I know nothing compared to my boss, and he knows nothing compared to the huge area you have to hunt. Use topo maps, talk to locals, maybe hire a guide, and do some scouting. You will need to be prepared for this trip. One more thing, are you packing mules or backpacking? I strongly suggest packing mules in because it is not fun to carry an elk out on your back.
Hey bareback jack, where are you from? We have our late season hunting camp down there south of Benchmark, and my boss' s dad runs The Benchmark Outfitters. I was down there west of Augusta during hunting season for elk late last year when I had a break, and there were a lot of people. It' s too bad how its getting.
Well, good luck on your hunt, plan well, and you will do great

No outfitter, we have a 4 mule pack team and have been doing some research to try and give us a good opportunity.We are mainly focusing on the early Elk rifle season, I just figured if a Whitey happens by me I' d take him, or a good Mulie for that matter. We plan on focusing more on Deer(God willing we' ve filled our Elk tags) in late Oct when rifle opens up in the other areas.

Thanks for the info guys and any pointers would be much abliged

MT_Hunter_16,I hail out of Centeral MT,I was raised south of GT Falls.I mainly hunt the little belts and the breaks.I do get over to Agusta for a week of hunting,there has gotten to be alot of pepole.

TrapperT if I were you I would tag my elk and focus on deer later,your going in to some good elk country.The better white-tail hunting would be on you way in like MT_Hunter said.Are you heading for the S.Frk of the Flathead or north to the Middle Frk of the Flathead?

Not quite sure, my Brotherinlaw is heading up the logistics dept. But I want to say the S. fork.I know we' re packing through the Game refuge and crossing back over the Divide some where due West out of Augusta.

As far as Elk first. My main goal is the Elk, haven' t taken one since ' 96. Been a bad run of luck, you name it bad timing, quirky wind gust that cause my shot to go awry to getting a lung shotr on a 6x4 and having it run right into a group of 6 " hunters" . Emphasis on the quotes. Pretty unethical and ignorant bunch of yahoos[:@]. So all I' m dreaming of is Elk( Which is pretty much all I ever dream about. Filling my Deer tag would be icing on an extremely Awesome cake this year