Podcast 30 – Montana Mule Deer Madness with Jackson Ryley and Joe Umphries

Out of state public land hunting is tough and more times than not, tags go unfilled but this story is different. On today’s show, we have my good friends Joe Umphries and Jackson Ryley on to recap their recent public land rifle mule deer hunt in Montana where they went 4/4 on bucks. This was truly the trip of a lifetime and the memories they created with their fathers is something they will never forget.

We talk about their planning process and how they were able to digital scout months in advance, giving them plenty of options and backup plans in their selected hunting area. We also covered their strategy for getting on deer and what a typical day looked like during their week-long hunt. To round out the podcast, we recap each hunt in detail and the reasons why they were able to have so much success on their very first trip to Montana.

Topics Covered In This Episode Include:

• Recent whitetail hunts in Indiana and quartering deer to get them out of the woods
• The background of how this Montana mule deer hunt came to fruition and the initial steps of planning
• The draw/application process for non-resident mule deer hunting in Montana and the cost of the tag
• How they selected a hunting unit and what features they looked for in hopes of avoiding hunting pressure
• Reading topo maps and finding pinch points on public land between private parcels
• Marking waypoints and having backup plans for each area during the planning and digital scouting process
• Getting creative with lodging and renting a house off of Airbnb in the nearest town as opposed to staying in a motel or camping
• Major gear purchases such as clothing, packs, binoculars, trekking poles, and tripods that were better suited for western hunting as opposed to stationary whitetail hunting
• Joe’s gun selection and going too big and heavy for a western hunt
• Preparing physically for mountainous terrain and higher elevation
• Terrain features and areas where they found the most deer with the least amount of hunting pressure
• What a typical hunting day looked like during the first part of the week and how that changed as the week went on
• Adapting to hunting mule deer and figuring out their movements versus what they have known with whitetail hunting in the midwest
• The highlights of Joe’s deer and how the hunt quickly unfolded right off the bat
• Joe’s dad’s hunt and how he was able to get on a good buck the following day
• How they utilized a crosswind to get within range and why thermals were not a factor
• Jackson’s father in law’s hunt and going back to the same area where they killed deer previously
• Getting down to the wire with Jackson’s hunt and finding a good buck that he wanted to shoot
• Having an encounter with a 180” buck and watching him move onto private land where they couldn’t go after him
• The last day and making the decision to go back to where their Father’s had killed bucks earlier in the week
• Jackson’s mule deer hunt and how everything unfolded on the last day where he was able to take a great buck
• Dissecting the area they were hunting and determining the reasons why they were killing all their bucks in the same small area