High Country WT Tips

Joined
Aug 14, 2016
Messages
1,451
Location
Great Falls MT
I grew up hunting whitetails on my uncles ranch in North Central Montana, love it! But man it's definitely not to challenging to pattern them or spot them. Not saying it isn't a challenge, but it's not mountain hunting.

So my elk spot has some whitetails. Id only seen a few does and dinks.

I checked my trail camera and sure enough there's a absolute giant on there! He's got to have 6" G1s and a big forked G2. Not wide but just tall as heck!!!

Then walking out Monday night I was bombing down the trail and I saw a deer to my left in the timber. I put my range finder on him and was like wow, 130". He was at 65, too far for the struggle stick. As he turned and ran off he gained atleast 10"! He was a big old deer! I marked the spot on my OnX. I'd also saw some does run that same way hiking in.

Is there anyway to pattern these mountain deer like on the praire? Would I be better off waiting until November and rattle them in? I'm guessing stalking would be almost impossible? There's no way to really glass them because it's so thick.

Where my camera is, it's a natural pinch point so I might be able to ambush one there if they move the cattle out.

Just neat to see bucks bigger than what's on your private land or just as big! Also neat seeing whitetails at 7000'!
Thanks!
 

young7.3

WKR
Joined
May 16, 2017
Messages
444
Draws, saddles, benches, and edge transition cover


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Eye

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Feb 8, 2017
Messages
187
Location
Kenai Peninsula
I cant help you with any tips, but I am going to be getting a crash course myself pretty soon.

I was out looking for elk in my neck of the woods, and kept bumping whitetail does and yearlings. Well this morning, I went to get an early morning glass in across a drainage I was scoping last night. Saw a few does on the side of the saddle that I was on, and it was too foggy and snowy to glass, so I just did a sneak across the topside of the burned out clearcut I was in. Directly on the other side of a replanted section, I saw a really nice white tail buck, creeping out of the timber into the burn. I don't know anything about scoring, but he was 4x4 and really tall like you said too.

He saw me, I coo'd at him and he twitched his ears for a minute. 80 yards away. When I simulated bringing my rifle up he took off, but I watched where he went, straight down the saddle into the creek bottom.

I am wondering what the chances will be of him being there again next weekend. Like you alluded to, patterning plains and Midwest WT's isn't too difficult. But it will be interesting to see if I can catch this guy in a routine. I had planned on going after muley's later in the season after chasing elk the first couple weeks. But I might change my plans and go put a stalk on this buck instead.
 
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