Okanogan
Well-Known Member
So I just finished up my first antelope hunt in the 705 unit which is far SE Montana. My basic plan and techniques closely followed a video recently released by Onx hunt. I hunted block management properties and had a great time and met some extremely nice land owners who made their properties available to hunt. I was able to successfully harvest a decent meat buck on the second day of the season. My out of state hunting buddy, who didn't have a tag, managed to pull a limit of sharptail two days in a row. Overall, it was a great trip that we both completely enjoyed.
Now for the downside. Every single day in the field, I encountered issues with other hunters. (3 days total because I also had a doe tag.) My first day, myself and another hunter both spotted a lone buck on the block property I was hunting and he appeared to act first so I gave it a pass. On day 2, my buddy and I set up over a group of 20-30 antelope before dawn. We watched the group for over an hour as they edged closer from 700-800 yds to just over 600 yds. I was planning to shoot at about 500yds but a pickup pulled up on the road 800 yds away and unloaded 8-10 rounds on the group while still inside the truck. A lucky break had the group circle the hill I was on and I shot the best buck in the group from about 225 yds. The next day we went to another block management property that provides access to a single lane track out to BLM land. We showed up just after first light and headed out stopping to glass at each rise. After about 30 minutes another truck with hunters shows up behind us and procedes to motored on past to get ahead of us, effectively ruining any hunting opportunities ahead.
My question is directed to people with more MT block management hunting experience than I have. Are these kind of issues with other hunters to be expected? I'm a resident and retired so if it takes me a week to fill a tag that I should be able to get every 2-3 years it's not ideal but not insurmountable. However, for my hunting buddy whose draw chances are low and for who time and travel constraints are more severe, it might be enough to suggest abandoning DIY so I'd like some input from others.
Now for the downside. Every single day in the field, I encountered issues with other hunters. (3 days total because I also had a doe tag.) My first day, myself and another hunter both spotted a lone buck on the block property I was hunting and he appeared to act first so I gave it a pass. On day 2, my buddy and I set up over a group of 20-30 antelope before dawn. We watched the group for over an hour as they edged closer from 700-800 yds to just over 600 yds. I was planning to shoot at about 500yds but a pickup pulled up on the road 800 yds away and unloaded 8-10 rounds on the group while still inside the truck. A lucky break had the group circle the hill I was on and I shot the best buck in the group from about 225 yds. The next day we went to another block management property that provides access to a single lane track out to BLM land. We showed up just after first light and headed out stopping to glass at each rise. After about 30 minutes another truck with hunters shows up behind us and procedes to motored on past to get ahead of us, effectively ruining any hunting opportunities ahead.
My question is directed to people with more MT block management hunting experience than I have. Are these kind of issues with other hunters to be expected? I'm a resident and retired so if it takes me a week to fill a tag that I should be able to get every 2-3 years it's not ideal but not insurmountable. However, for my hunting buddy whose draw chances are low and for who time and travel constraints are more severe, it might be enough to suggest abandoning DIY so I'd like some input from others.
