I'm heading to Southeastern Montana in late October to hunt mule deer. The upland bird seasons will be open as well. I would like to hunt some if I fill my deer tag early in the trip. Has anyone hunted there before? Can it be done without a dog? The only birds I've hunted are ducks, geese, and doves so I'm not sure what to expect. I think there will be plenty of public lands to hunt. I will call the region 7 biologist and see what he has to say about the populations in the area. I sure would like to take a few birds as an added bonus to the trip but the first priority will be shooting a mule deer. Thanks for any tips or advice.

sharptails will be coveyed up by then and near impossible to get within gun range. lots of walking if your dogless

Big country, tough without dogs..........

Why would you want to do it without the dog? The dog makes the hunt. Bird hunting is always about the dog. Anything short of this is shooting. The dog completes the circle. It is much more fulfilling with a dog.

Great if he owned one........


To the op, great ready for lots of walking, but very rewarding if you do flush a few

I guess you didn't read the post. I will be going to hunt mule deer and if time permits, try to shoot some birds. I apologize if I have somehow offended the upland bird hunters by wanting to shoot some birds without a dog. So I guess if I shoot a bird without the aid of a dog it is not sporting.? I'm sure it is a blast to watch the dogs work but like Bobo said, I don't own a bird dog.

Odds are I will not shoot a mule deer the first or second day anyway but if I do I'll spend at least one day walking and trying to flush and shoot some birds I otherwise would not have a chance to hunt.

No, I read your post. You missed my point. I would not even consider it without a dog. That is big country up there and to think that you could be just aimlessly walking around looking for an upland bird just baffles me. I would bet that there is a guide with dogs up there that could make your experience a lot more fulfilling.

I hunted the first 20 years of my life without a dog and loved every minute of it. You will run into an elitist every now and then that says it's not worth it. But I say GO FOR IT! You'll have more stories to tell back in camp than the deer hunters. Don't get lost though!

Beats sitting around doing nothing.

I lived in North Dakota for a full hunting season and spent many hours chasing pheasants and sharptails without a dog. Rarely did I return without a limit, sometimes of both species and that was well into December. Yes, it will require lots of walking but there are certainly birds to be found. Get out there and enjoy the experience and scenery, you won't regret it.

Not sure where in eastern MT your deer hunt is and the exact dates. However, if Fort Smith is in driving distance I'd recommend that destination. You can catch monster size trout in the Big Horn river below yellow tail dam and renting a drift boat is very affordable. The surrounding area is loaded with pheasants,sharptail and huns. MT has the block mgt plan so access to private land is fairly easy. We did a cast & blast trip 10 years ago and it was the best trip I've experienced. It's big country but so is Texas so if you're used driving it's no big deal. Good luck on filling your tag you'll find pheasants without a dog just walk the ditches and edges. I have a gsp and bird hunting is much more fun with my dog but it's still fun and good exercise without one. Good luck filling your deer tag and enjoy Big Sky country.

I like to just laugh when folks say its not worth it without a dog. Gonoutbthere and walk what do you have to lose? It will be cool scenery and you never know what you might walk up on. If you kill one bird I'd call it a success and laugh at the ones said it can't be done because the country is too big.

Yep.. beats workin any day

We hunted dove on Weds. (I know there is know dove in MT., but I limited out by 8:30 AM and got a bonus grouse.). The group got a total of 5 grouse and we saw a few more. We did not have a dog.

Got another 13 dove this morning and my partner got 2 grouse.