Otter Creek Outfitters is located in south central Montana and offers various hunting and fishing trips. I hunted mule deer with owner Jim Wilkins in November 2008. This was a one-on-one rifle hunt scheduled for five days. Jim wants to only shoot bucks 4 1/2 years old or older. Typically, you see 50 to 100 deer every day, but getting into position for a good shot at an old mule deer is never easy.
On the morning of the third day, we were driving along a creek when Jim spotted a buck and doe on the far side of the creek. While Jim sized up the deer, I got out of the pickup and laid down with my Winchester Model 70 .270 WSM and got the cross hairs on the buck. Jim called out the range of 302 yards and said it was a good buck. Jim won’t tell you to shoot, that decision is yours, but he will tell you not to shoot. I could see tall, heavy G2s, G3s and G4s. I aimed for the high shoulder, expecting to get a few inches of bullet drop, and hit him where I had aimed. The deer went down in his tracks and green scored 169 inches. This is a typical mule deer buck for the Otter Creek Outfitters hunt area.
There are record book bucks in this area as shown by the pictures on the wall in the hunting lodge. I have just got to learn to pass up the big bucks and wait for that really big one. This is a small family run outfit that works very hard to cater the hunt to your ability. This was my second hunt with Jim, and I have signed up again for 2009. The food is very good, the lodge is very comfortable and the creek bottoms, cedar ridges and rolling plains have lots of game for any hunting ability. Jim leases private land, which is surrounded by national forests. This a great place to hunt mule deer and I highly recommend it.
Contact Information:
Otter Creek Outfitters
PO Box 7
Otter, MT 59062
406-784-6185
www.ottercreekmontana.com
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