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Here at Montana Whitetails we can
offer fantastic rifle hunts for whitetail deer on our
private ranches outside our dedicated 8 miles of archery
only riverbottom area! With over 20,000 acres of private
land we can offer a very successful rifle hunt from spot
and stalk and tree stand hunting, to natural terrain
ground blinds watching brush choked coulees and travel
corridors in the open prairie where some of these big
bucks call home and are tough to bowhunt!
We do specialize in archery hunts and
focus most of our advertising to that market. However,
we can provide an awesome whitetail deer rifle hunt on
our private leases. We do have some river bottom that
can be hunted with either bow or rifle. Don’t be
fooled by the small percentage of river bottom land
available to rifles, there are an abundance of mature
trophy class whitetail bucks in these areas where
archery hunting them is difficult. Large areas of thick
willows and tag alders broken up by small meadows and
few trees, bordered by vast expanses of agriculture,
make for some awesome big buck habitat. This also
creates tougher bow hunting conditions, but awesome gun
hunting. Most rifle stands are set along the edge’s of
large thickets bordering open meadows where whitetail
movement can be observed in these openings between
willow thickets.
We also have large tracts of more open habitat outside
the river bottom that holds some impressive trophy
whitetail bucks. These areas are most productive when
sitting on hillside watches overlooking brushy creek
bottoms surrounded by more open prairie or sage brush,
or draws leading from bedding cover to agriculture in
our vast prairie land outside the river bottom. Early
morning and evening watches are the most productive
during late October. During November, all day can be
very productive when mature bucks try to nudge estrous
does into these smaller secluded thickets in these vast
open areas outside the river bottom.
Limited Rifle Hunters: We take up to 8 rifle
whitetail deer hunters per year. With this limited
number of gun hunters on a vast area of approximately
20,000 acres of private property, we have the luxury to
gun hunt several areas in the same day or try to hunt
one particular buck. Some areas never even get hunted
certain years do to most of our clients archery hunting
our bowhunting only riverbottom areas. This gives our
gun hunters a really good opportunity to harvest bucks
that haven't been pressured all season!
What to Expect: Our land has an
excellent whitetail deer population with a buck-to-doe
ratio that is very healthy, mature bucks being the rule,
not the exception. Very limited pressure ensures a
quality hunting experience in which hunters should
expect to see between 50-100 bucks during their weeks
hunt with us. By limiting this hunting pressure, we are
able to increase the age structure of our bucks in the
3-1/2 to 5-1/2 year age class. We have now reached a
point where we have a very healthy, sustained age group
of mature bucks of this caliber on our leases. This
unique opportunity gives our rifle hunters a high
success rate on trophy class bucks along with the
interaction of observing a large whitetail deer herd in
a relaxed atmosphere. |
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Success Rates: We've enjoyed 100%
shot opportunities on our Montana whitetail deer gun
hunts. Average shots in the field can range from 50
yards out of tree stands to 300 yards in the open
prairie. So bring a flat shooting rifle sighted in I
would suggest 1 inch high at 100 yards should be
perfect. Most shots will range between that 75 and 200
yard range depending on which situation your faced with
from day to day.
Your Hunt: Once hunters arrive in
camp, each whitetail deer hunter will be assigned to a
ranch through a drawing and can hunt that ranch through
the week. Gun hunters will be placed in our rifle
hunting areas. All stands or ground blinds/natural
blinds on every ranch will provide opportunities on one
day or another. We are strongly focused on increasing
opportunities for our hunters. These are wild free
roaming whitetails and different bucks will be passing
through these areas with each new day. Being patient is
certainly hard when hunting is narrowed down to a short
period of time. Gun hunters have the peace of mind that
once they see a buck there looking for, the odds are
good your going to get that buck if you make the shot
count. Rest assure that your guide will do everything
within his knowledge and experience to allow you to
harvest your buck within your 5 day hunt. You will be
placed according to wind direction, pre-week &
current observations, crop rotation, up-to-date buck
sightings, past travel recurrence such as yearly travel
corridors as in fence lines, field edges, brushy creek
draws, & river bottom willow thickets. Hunters will
benefit from long distance scouting by the guides after
hunters are dropped off to pin point new buck (daylight)
travel patterns that are changing and can be adapted too
quickly under the right conditions.
Antler Restrictions: We do have a 115"
minimum here at Montana Whitetails, Inc. as proper buck
management is vital to the success of our future
clients, and business goals. A buck is just reaching its
potential at 3.5 years of age and is most evident at 4
and 5. It is our intent to give each one of our clients
an opportunity at a buck of this size or larger. This will assure our age
structure of mature bucks to be sustained for years to
come and to give future hunters the same rewards of
harvesting a mature trophy Montana whitetail buck as you
have today. A good rule of thumb to stick with: A buck
with an inside spread that is to the tips of it’s ears
is 15-16", along with good mass, and better than
average tine length should put the buck at 120" or
better which is what we encourage our hunters to shoot
for. This may help you in the field when considering a
buck is a shooter. As far as field scoring a trophy
whitetail buck on the hoof, this only comes from
experience. Young bucks have long legs, a thin neck, a
slim body and an overall lanky appearance.
Characteristics of a older whitetail buck often appear
more structurally mature, fully muscled shoulders, legs
that appear more proportional to their increased body
mass and heavy swelling in their necks during the rut.
They also may have a sagging back and a belly line even
with their chest. Following these guidelines and
management principals, combined with our experience and
resources allows Montana Whitetails, Inc. to provide one
of the most rewarding hunting experiences in the country
today! There is no trophy fees applied for harvesting
any buck over the 115" minimum. Bucks under the
115" minimum are subject to a $500 charge.
Please contact
us with any questions about our Montana
whitetail deer rifle hunting trips as we are very
flexible to accommodate your needs and interests.
DATES & RATES
Prices include meals, lodging, and transportation
pick-up/delivery to camp from Bozeman airport.
License cost are the responsibility of the
hunter/client. License costs subject to change yearly
outside the control of Montana Whitetails, Inc.
5 Day Rifle Trophy Whitetail Deer Hunt: $3,495.00
TYPICAL HUNT DATES:
Hunts are from Saturday to Thursday. From the
last week in
October through November ~ 5 weeks.
RIFLE WEEKS
Hunt #7 Fourth week in Oct.
Hunt #8 First week in Nov.
Hunt #9 Second week in Nov.
Hunt #10 Third week in Nov. (Rut Hunt)
Hunt #11 Fourth week in Nov. (Rut Hunt)
(Please check with
us for the current dates set by Montana FWP) |
