Mule Deer Fanatic

Nonresident Hunting Information

For more info – MONTANA

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As a nonresident, you can apply via Montana’s special drawing for a general license to hunt deer, elk, or deer and elk statewide and according to specific hunting-district regulations. Nonresidents can apply for deer, elk or deer/elk combination licenses online or mail in a paper application (see below).

March 15 is the deadline to apply.

* Apply online
* Print a paper application

If you draw a license, you will be notified in mid-April. Also, if you are successful in obtaining a license, you could then apply for special permits and purchase a bow and arrow license, if you wish to do so. If you do not draw a license, you will receive a refund minus the $5 drawing fee.

The tentative 2008-2009 deer, elk and antelope regulations are posted under Regulations. The FWP Commission will determine the final 2008 deer, elk, and antelope regulations in late February. The final 2008 regulations will be posted on the website in early March. Print copies will be available by late March.

Here is a general summary of nonresident elk and deer hunting license fees:

* Deer combination—$343
* Elk combination—$593
* Big game combination (deer & elk)—$643
* Landowner sponsored—$343
* Youth combination—$324

300 Nonresident Youth Big Game Combination Licenses
will be sold for $324, first‑come, first‑served, beginning
March 1 to nonresident youth who have an adult immediate
family member who possesses a current resident deer or elk
license or a nonresident big game, elk combination or deer
combination license. Applications are available from FWP’s
website and will be processed at the FWP headquarters in
Helena.

Conservation Non-resident $10 -Nonresident prerequisite for all licenses. Includes the state lands license (for hunting, fishing and trapping

Archery $10 – Required for Archery Only Season and/or areas. Specific rules apply to purchase a bow and arrow license.

Hunting Access Enhancement $10 – This is an annual fee and will be charged at the time the hunter purchases his/her first hunting license (including upland and migratory bird).

Big Game Combination (General Elk/Deer) NR$643 -Nonresidents applying for any other combination license may not apply. Includes a conservation, state lands, deer A, and elk license and authorizes fishing and hunting of upland game birds, excluding turkey. 11,500 licenses available. Deadline to apply is March 15.

Big Game Combination – Outfitter Sponsored NR$1500 – Nonresidents applying for any other combination license may not apply. Includes a conservation, state lands, deer , and elk license and authorizes fishing and hunting of upland game birds, excluding turkey. Outfitter certificates should be obtained from your outfitter sponsor. All big game hunting with this license must be done with a licensed outfitter. Issued to all valid applicants sponsored by a certified outfitter received by March 15.

Big Game Combination – Youth NR$324 – Limited to 300 nonresident youths 12-17 years of age who have an adult immediate-family member who possess resident deer or elk license or a nonresident big game elk or deer combination license. First-come, first-served. Application available online.

Deer Combination – General NR$343 – Nonresidents applying for any other combination license may not apply. Includes a conservation, state lands, and deer A license and authorizes fishing and hunting of upland game birds, excluding turkey. 2,300 licenses available. Deadline to apply is March 15.

Deer Combination – Landowner Sponsored NR$343 – Nonresidents applying for any other combination license may not apply. Includes a conservation, state lands, and deer A license and authorizes fishing and hunting of upland game birds, excluding turkey. Landowner certificates should be obtained from your landowner sponsor. 2,000 licenses available. Deadline to apply is March 15.

Deer Combination – Outfitter Sponsored NR$1400 – Nonresidents applying for any other combination license may not apply. Includes a conservation, state lands and deer A license and authorizes fishing and hunting of upland game birds, excluding turkey. Outfitter certificates should be obtained from your outfitter sponsor. All big game hunting with this license must be done with a licensed outfitter. Issued to all valid applicants sponsored by a certified outfitter received by March 15.

Deer B NR$80 – Licenses limited to specific districts. Deadline to apply is June 1.

Deer Permits NR$5 – Must be used with a general Deer A License. Nonresidents must hold a Big Game or Deer Combination License to apply. Deadline to apply is June 1.

Archery season: 5 week period from late Oct to late Nov for rifle, shotgun, muzzy, handgun, crossbow, or archery equip. Proposed 09/01 to 10/09. Was: 09/06 – 10/19.

Deer/Elk backcountry Season: Was: 09/15 – 11/30. New proposed – same as general season

Deer/Elk General Season: Proposed:10/25 – 11/30. Was: 10/26 – 11/30

10% limit on Non-residents

Regulations

• Only one license or permit of any type may be purchased each
  year, unless otherwise specified and allowed in the regulations
  (i.e., you may purchase more than one deer B license).
• Hunting License: A hunting license authorizes the holder
  to hunt the species identified on the license according to the
  regulation.
• Some licenses and permits are valid only in a portion or portions
  of a hunting district. Carefully review the legal description of
  the district for which you are applying.

Types of Licenses and Permits: All licenses and permits that
can be used in a hunting district are listed in the regulations for
that hunting district. Licenses and permits that can be used in
a hunting district are grouped by license/permit type (general,
special license, special permit, 2nd antlerless elk, etc.) and
whether they are available for purchase from FWP License
Providers or through the special drawing only.
• Conservation License: Prerequisite for all resident and
nonresident licenses. Includes the state lands recreation
license (for hunting, fishing and trapping purposes).
• General License: Resident general licenses may be purchased
from any License Provider, including online at fwp.mt.gov. They
are available to all residents and may be used throughout the
state according to the regulations. Nonresidents may apply
for/purchase general licenses specified for nonresidents in the
Licenses Available Chart. Please refer to the hunting district
regulations to see how, when and where a general license
may be used in each hunting district or portion of a hunting
district.
• Deer A License – The deer A license is Montana’s general
deer‑hunting license valid for one deer. Hunters may
purchase only one deer A license. It can be used as indicated
under the “General Deer A License” heading on the Deer
& Elk Hunting Districts pages of these regulations.
• Deer B license – valid for one deer during a specific time
period, or for a certain species and sex, and in a particular
hunting district or group of districts. May be offered through
a special drawing or over‑the‑counter.

Special License: Special licenses are generally available
through the Special Drawing. It allows you to hunt in an
otherwise restricted area or time period, usually for a specific
sex and age class of animal. A special license generally (but
not always) allows you to harvest an additional animal over and
above the one you may harvest with your general license.

Special Deer or Elk Permit: The permit must be used with a
specific hunting license. A permit is not a second license and
does not allow the holder to kill an additional animal. Rather,
it expands the opportunity to hunt for a species in a particular
hunting district.

Special Licenses and Permits:

• You may apply for a special permit and/or license that allows you to hunt in an otherwise restricted area or time period. You may also decide to participate in the bonus point system.
• Nonresidents must hold a Big Game Elk/Deer or Deer Combination License before applying for a special deer permit.
• Nonresident holders of a Landowner‑Sponsored Deer Combination License are reminded that the license (including B licenses) entitles them to hunt deer only on the deeded lands of the sponsoring landowner. This license may not be used on lleased or public land. However, the license is valid statewide for fishing and hunting upland game birds.
• Nonresident holders of a Landowner‑Sponsored Deer Combination License may apply for a special deer permit or deer B license only in the hunting district where they are authorized to hunt deer.
• Applications for deer, elk and/or antelope special licenses and permits must be postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service on or before June 1. Hunters may apply online no later than June 1 for special permits/licenses for deer, elk, and antelope.

Bonus Point System: The fee to participate in the voluntarybonus‑point system is $2 for Montana residents and $20 for nonresidents, payable with the license and application fees. You must pay the participation fee when applying to use or gain bonus points. When participating in the bonus point system, here’s how it works:
• Applicants accumulate one bonus point for each unsuccessful
year. Each bonus point essentially becomes an extra chance
in future drawings. For example, applicants would have one
chance to be drawn the first year they apply. If unsuccessful,
they would have two chances to be drawn the following year
and three chances the next year, and so on until they received
the license. Once successful, the applicant loses all bonus
points for that species.
• Bonus points are accumulated independently for each species
and only apply to “first–choice” districts. An applicant may
skip two consecutive years of participation without forfeiting
accumulated points, but if an applicant skips the third year—or
has errors that eliminate the applicant from the drawing—all
accumulated points for that species will be lost. There is an
exemption for Montana residents with full‑time active military
status.
• Rejection of an application because of applicant error is
equivalent to failure to apply.
• Points are non‑transferable.
• Applicants cannot apply just for a bonus point. You must
apply correctly for the license and be unsuccessful to get a
bonus point.
• Bonus points are not used or lost in 2nd or 3rd choice
drawings.
• FWP will contact bonus‑point participants each year by
postcard to report their accumulated points. Bonus‑point status
is also available online. It will be the applicant’s responsibility
to report AND provide proof of any discrepancies.
The number of bonus points applicable to applicants applying as
a party is the total number of bonus points held by the members
of the party, divided by the number of applicants in the party,
then rounded to the nearest whole number. When two or more
persons apply as a party and choose to participate in the bonus
point system, all party members must pay the bonus point fee.
If one or more party members do not pay the bonus point fee,
but the other members pay the fee, those who have not paid
the fee will be taken out of the party and one of the following
shall occur:
• If one individual is removed from the party, that person is
entered into the drawing as an individual applicant.
• If two or more individuals are removed from a party, these
individuals are entered into the drawing as a separate party.
All nonresidents who are unsuccessful in the nonresident
combination license drawing are mailed a form that must be
returned if they wish to accumulate bonus points for special
deer and elk permits. If you did not receive this form and wish
to participate in the bonus point system, please contact FWP at
406‑444‑2950.

Fees and Refunds: In addition to the cost of each permit or
license, there is a $5 nonrefundable drawing fee for each license
or permit you apply for. The $5 fee covers the cost of printing
and processing the application.

Party Applications: For a few special drawings, two or more
applicants may apply as a “party.” If you apply as a party, each
party member must list the identical license/permit choices in the
identical order on his/her application. If one or more party member
does not pay the bonus point fee, but the other members pay
the fee, those who have not paid the fee will be taken out of the
party. It is unlawful to loan or transfer a license to another or to
use a license issued to another.
Either everyone in the party is successful in obtaining a license
or everyone is unsuccessful. A party of individuals is assigned
one random number in the computer. If that number is drawn,
each member of the party receives a permit/license.

Deer B Licenses: A deer B license is usually a license for
antlerless mule deer or white‑tailed deer, depending on the license
type and hunting district. The deer B license allows you to kill a
deer in addition to the deer you could harvest with your deer A
license. There is no particular order in which the A and B licenses
must be purchased or used. Most deer B licenses are available
through the June 1 special drawing but some are available for
purchase at License Providers, including FWP Online Licensing.
A hunter may only possess a total of seven Deer B licenses in
any combination.

Single-Region Antlerless Mule Deer B Licenses:
• Check the hunting district in which you will hunt for specific
regulations and valid dates for the single‑region license.
Resident
• Region 7: 007‑13. All Region 7 HDs. Not valid on CMR
refuge.
• Region 7: 007‑14. 2nd MD B License. All Region 7 HDs. Not
valid on CMR refuge.

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Special Deer Permits
• Hunters who receive a special deer permit must use it with a
current deer A license. A deer permit does not allow you to take
a second deer.
• Hunters who receive a special deer permit valid for taking an
antlered buck mule deer (with their deer A license) are restricted
to taking an antlered buck mule deer only in the district or portion
of district specified on the permit. They may not hunt antlered
buck mule deer anywhere else in Montana even if the General
Season or Archery Only Season is open to mule deer buck
hunting with a deer A license. This applies to all special deer
permit areas, whether limited or unlimited, for antlered buck
mule deer.
• The following special deer permits are available through the
June 1 special drawing to Residents and/or Nonresidents. Be
sure to check individual hunting district regulations for specific
special deer permit details.

Mule Deer permits
• R1 100‑60 103‑60 104‑60 121‑60 122‑60
123‑60 130‑50
• R2 202‑50 204‑40 210‑50 240‑40 250‑40
261‑50 270‑50 281‑40 291‑50 291‑51
292‑40
• R3 300‑50 312‑50 318‑40 319‑40 324‑50
335‑40 339‑40 343‑40 380‑40 390‑40
391‑40 392‑40
• R4 441‑50 455‑70
• R5 510‑40 530‑50
• R6 652‑50

Deer Permits –
2006 Drawing Statistics
LPT – Apps – Suc – % Suc

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100-60 32 32 100
103-60 58 58 100
104-60 17 17 100
121-60 21 21 100
122-60 18 18 100
123-60 3 3 100
130-50 151 10 6.62
202-50 426 200 46.95
204-40 203 203 100
210-50 617 100 16.21
240-40 139 139 100
250-40 117 117 100
261-50 563 25 4.44
270-50 5820 100 1.72
281-40 397 397 100
291-50 727 100 13.76
291-51 71 25 35.21
292-40 707 707 100
300-50 857 40 4.67
312-50 927 125 13.48
318-40 196 196 100
319-40 251 251 100
324-50 551 50 9.07
335-40 378 378 100
339-40 373 373 100
343-40 456 456 100
380-40 1156 1156 100
390-40 96 96 100
391-40 418 418 100
392-40 758 758 100
441-50 904 50 5.53
455-70 740 50 6.76
510-40 308 308 100
530-50 536 536 100
652-50 878 100 11.39

Utah is first out of the chute:

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Must apply by Jan. 31

Applications for 2008 Utah big game hunting permits will be accepted until Jan. 31. You can apply through the Internet (wildlife.utah.gov) until 11 p.m. on Jan. 31.

You can also apply over the phone at (801) 538-4700. Phone-in applications will be must be received no later than 5 p.m. on Jan. 31.

For more information, call the Utah Wildlife Administrative Services office at 1-800-221-0659, the nearest Division of Wildlife Resources office or the DWR’s Salt Lake City office at (801) 538-4700.

Nonresident Any-Deer Bow Licenses Issued March 1

From North Dakota Game and Fish Department

— The North Dakota Game and Fish Department will have 1,252 any-deer bow licenses available to nonresidents in 2008.

The number of nonresident any-deer bow licenses available is 15 percent of the previous year’s mule deer gun license allocation. The Game and Fish Department issued 8,350 mule deer licenses in the 2007 deer gun lottery.

The department will begin issuing any-deer bow licenses March 1. All applications received on or before March 1, 2008, will be treated equally. If more applications are received than there are licenses, each application will be assigned a number. Numbers will be drawn to issue the licenses. Applicants who request to apply together as a party will receive one number.

Additional numbers will be drawn to establish a waiting list. If returned licenses become available, these applicants will be offered the licenses.

If licenses remain after March 1, these will be issued daily on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information, visit http://gf.nd.gov/.

Kit Maxfield, a Hunting Sports Plus Member and his big Kansas Buck for 2006

Here is his story:

I left the HSP office on Thursday night after work in the middle of the big snow storm for the opening weekend of the KS 06′ deer rifle season. After a long white knuckle drive out to North Western Kansas I arrived at my motel which was only about 8 miles from the farm that I had reserved.

Each day I saw a ton of Mulies (30-40), and was trying to locate a trophy buck to put a stalk on. I had seen plenty of bucks each day, almost pulled the trigger on a few. I had held out until the third night of my hunt (had to get back to work), when I was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time. One after another Mulies were appearing out of what seemed to be nothing. That evening I had been watching an absolute monster for about a half an hour, when two others stepped out. They meandered about in the alfalfa and the second largest of the group broke off from the main herd to tend a small group of does that were headed East of my location. The small group of does walked up and over a hill right in front of me, and the buck followed suit. Once this buck crested the hill it was the first time in the trip that I had a real opportunity to close the distance between myself and a shooter buck.

Do I wait for the biggest buck of the group to come closer when I only had about a half an hour of legal shooting hours, or do I leave all of my gear behind and make it happen with the buck that just went over the hill. In my head these thoughts were racing, then all I could think was “GOGOGOGOGOGO”. I left my gear behind and made a b-line to a point where I thought I could get a shot off. As I approached the apex of the hill I could not see any deer, and then as the buck lifted his head, all I saw was bone. The buck in the picture was the second largest of the three trophy animals that I saw that evening. The largest is still running around, and at least survived the opening weekend of the season.

“Kansas deer hunters boast about having record numbers of “Huge Bucks.” It certainly cannot be denied, but there could be an underlying reason — for years, non-residents were not allowed to deer hunt in Kansas! Now that the state has allowed non-residents in on a drawing basis, those that received the lucky draw, can attest to that fact — Kansas has an abundant number of huge bucks.

You’ll like this:

Big Mule deer in Old Mexico

If you live in the United States, you may be surprised about the manner in which  mule deer hunting is handled in Alberta, Canada.  Alberta is divided into five big game zones: the mountain zone in the west, the foothill zone to the east of the mountain zone, the parkland zone to the east of the foothill zone, the boreal zone in the north,  and the small southern plains zone.

It may surprise you to know that there are some real bruisers in the southern plains.  In Alberta, outfitters may control 10% of the available tags.  Tags aren’t abundant anywhere, but especially on the southern plains, consequently Muley bucks can grow to trophy class.

Another surprise for you, may be the fact that the prarie hunting season is four weeks long, but you may only hunt from Thursday through Saturday of each week.  Now, that’s interesting, don’t you think?  The deer get a breather, and they may not know if it’s hunting season or not.

This year, 2007, both Alberta and Montana are having unusually warm weather which is impacting the deer harvest in a negative way. If the mild weather continues through the winter though, it should make for better hunting next year.

Mule deer are found throughout the province, but are most plentiful in southern and western Alberta. They are more common in mountainous areas than white-tailed deer. The Fish and Wildlife Division estimates the provincial population (in Sept.) to be about 133,000 animals. This estimate is based on population counts in selected areas and hunter harvest information.

Seasons

Every year, while I’m hunting, I have experiences which remind me of something I had already learned, but forgotten. This year was no exception. When you are still hunting, it is a good tactic and habit to look behind you on a regular basis. I don’t know about you, but once in a while, I just get a premonition to look behind me. On one such occasion, I had been sneaking down a ridge with deer on both sides of me, hoping to get past them all without being detected so I could slip quietly out onto some ledges and shoot at the bucks bedded below them. After a successful sneak, I peered down at two bucks, but they weren’t the ones I was expecting. Without any identifiable reason, I turned around and glanced behind me. There, on the skyline, in a spot where I had been standing only a few moments before, was a large male cougar. I put the binos on him. I could practically count his whiskers. Those eyes were riveted on me and yet staring right through me. There was no doubt about where they were focused. For about five minutes he watched me. I began to get uneasy. I clocked him at 123 yards and calculated that he could be on me in about 3 seconds. I knew he could smell me and see me, and it didn’t seem to bother him. One of the bucks spooked and ran up towards the cat, during which time, the lion continued to stare at me rather than at the buck. Apparently, the buck spotted or smelled the cat, and subsequently ran for about 3/4 mile uphill without stopping. Shortly afterwards, the cat disappeared without a sound. Because of this tactic and for my effort – I did get him on video tape.

On another note regarding this same topic, last year while bowhunting in Southern Utah, I was cruising around on the ATV when I got this peculiar notion to look behind me. To my surprise, a very large buck was watching me drive by from his bed. I had already driven past him and I wondered how often he had successfully used that tactic – since he was obviously old and, by inference, wise. Because I looked back, I was able to video tape this buck for about 3 minutes. I estimated him to be about 3 feet in width. Had I been armed and legal, I believe I could have ended his long and successful career of evading hunters. I would guess that buck to be at least 7 years old. As it was, I was able to put my hunting parters onto him, though they did not kill him. I am working on a DVD called Amateur Velvet. If you are lucky you’ll get to see this muley buck on DVD.

Kirt Darner reportedly used a technique he called the J-hook tactic which is akin to looking behind you. Mule deer often have a habit of circling around you ( especially in heavy cover ) and returning to their original location which is where they wanted to be in the first place – until you interrupted. To use this technique, you walk back over ground you’ve already covered and then hook to the left or right – wherever you think the deer might be circling.

As hunters, especially as bowhunters, we get fairly focused on what is ahead of us and sometimes to the side of us.  It can be interesting how much is going on behind us. Do you know what indian britches are? They are the kind that sneak up on your behind.  Keep eyes in the back of your head and don’t let anything sneak up on your behind.

Good luck.

Two deer hunters were standing on a ridge near a highway in rural
>> > Texas on
>> > the opening day of deer season.
>> > They both spotted a large trophy class buck meandering towards them.
>> >
>> > As the one hunter raised his gun to shoot, a funeral procession
>> > came slowly
>> > by.
>> >
>> > The hunter lowered his gun, took off his hat and stood with his
>> > head bowed
>> > until the procession was past.
>> > Of course by then, the deer was gone.
>> >
>> > The other hunter exclaimed “Wow! That was the most sportsmanlike
>> > act I’ve
>> > ever seen! You allowed this trophy buck to escape while showing
>> > such compassion and kindness toward someone’s dearly departed.
>> >
>> > You are a great humanitarian and a shining example to sportsmen
>> > throughout
>> > the world!”
>> >
>> > The first hunter nodded and said, “Well, we were married for 42
>> > years.”

Saturday, October 20, begins the Utah Rifle season for mule Deer. 

 Good luck Utah hunters – you’ll need it.