A Missouri Break’s History Lesson
The Missouri Breaks of North-Central Montana has always held a special place in my heart. The landscape is breathtaking - rugged, untamed, and once teeming with mule deer.
As a kid, this place felt like it was overflowing with wildlife. The crisp morning air carried the distant bugles of elk, the rustling of whitetails, and the unmistakable silhouette of mule deer moving along the ridges. This was a hunter’s paradise, a land where every season brought new opportunities and new challenges.
But today, the Missouri Breaks tell a different story. According to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP), the mule deer population peaked in 2017 at around 400,000 animals. Fast forward to 2024, and those numbers have plummeted to well below 250,000. That’s a drastic decline in just a few years—leaving many to wonder, What’s happening to our mule deer?
A Harsh Reality: The Struggles Mule Deer Face
There’s no single cause for this sharp decline. Instead, it’s a perfect storm of factors - harsh environmental conditions, devastating diseases, and predation all colliding to create a crisis for mule deer populations.
1. Extreme Weather: Droughts and Brutal Winters
Montana is no stranger to tough winters, but recent years have been particularly brutal. Deep snow, bitter cold, and extended winter conditions make survival difficult, especially for young fawns. At the same time, prolonged droughts have left water sources dry and forage scarce. Mule deer rely on diverse, nutrient-rich vegetation, but when droughts hit, food sources become depleted, weakening the herds.
2. The Silent Killers: Disease in the Herd
If extreme weather wasn’t enough, mule deer are now battling deadly diseases that are wiping out entire populations.
Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) and Blue Tongue
EHD and Blue Tongue are two of the biggest threats facing deer today. These diseases are spread by biting midges - tiny insects often called “no-see-ums” or gnats. They breed in small, stagnant pools of water, making drought conditions even more dangerous.
Once infected, deer suffer from symptoms such as swollen tongues, eyelids, and heads. Many become feverish and disoriented, often seeking out water before collapsing. With a 90% fatality rate, EHD alone can wipe out large portions of a herd.
Though both diseases are similar, they impact different species - EHD primarily affects white-tailed deer, while Blue Tongue is particularly lethal to mule deer.
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD): The Unseen Epidemic
While EHD and Blue Tongue strike quickly, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a slow, creeping killer. CWD is caused by a misfolded protein called a prion, which attacks an animal’s nervous system. Unlike bacterial or viral diseases, prions can’t be destroyed by heat or disinfectants, making CWD nearly impossible to control.
Infected deer experience drastic weight loss, disorientation, and eventually death. Worse yet, the disease spreads not only through direct contact but also through contaminated soil, saliva, feces, and even carcasses left in the environment. There is no cure, and every infected animal is doomed.
3. Overhunting: A Delayed Response with Lasting Consequences
For years, the Missouri Breaks was known as a mule deer stronghold, capable of sustaining a high number of hunting tags without significantly impacting the population. However, wildlife management must be adaptable, responding swiftly to changes in habitat conditions, disease outbreaks, and fluctuating herd numbers. Unfortunately, adjustments to tag allocations in the Breaks came too late.
When early warning signs—such as consecutive harsh winters and the emergence of diseases like EHD and Blue Tongue—began taking a toll on mule deer populations, hunting quotas remained largely unchanged. Instead of reducing pressure on an already declining herd, tags continued to be issued at high rates, even including doe tags for several years. With fewer deer able to survive and reproduce, the population decline only accelerated.
Now, in response to the crisis, tag allocations have been dramatically reduced. While this is a necessary step, the question remains: Is it too late? The long-term effects of overhunting, combined with natural challenges like habitat loss, predation, and disease, may take years—if not decades—to reverse. Without strategic conservation efforts and continued monitoring, the mule deer herds of the Missouri Breaks may never return to their former strength.
4. Predation: An Increasing Threat to Struggling Deer Herds
If you’ve visited the Missouri Breaks in recent years, you’ve likely noticed the same thing I have—fewer deer and coyotes seemingly around every corner. While predation is a natural part of any ecosystem, the balance has shifted in a way that further threatens an already struggling mule deer population.
Coyotes are highly adaptable predators, and their impact on deer populations is often underestimated. While they typically prey on fawns in the spring and summer, they won’t hesitate to take down weakened adult deer—especially in the harsh winter months when food is scarce. With mule deer numbers already declining due to disease, overhunting, and habitat challenges, coyote predation only exacerbates the problem, making it even harder for the herd to rebound.
The issue isn’t just coyotes. Mountain lions, another top predator in the Missouri Breaks, primarily target deer as their main food source. A single lion can kill one deer per week, and with growing lion populations in certain areas, their impact on mule deer numbers can be significant. Even wolves, though less common in this part of Montana, are expanding their range and could further strain deer herds in the future.
Under normal conditions, healthy mule deer populations can withstand natural predation, but when deer numbers are already critically low, predator pressure can prevent recovery. If something isn’t done to manage predator populations—whether through targeted control efforts or changes in hunting regulations—the imbalance could push the Missouri Breaks’ mule deer herds to an even more dire state.
Hunting in a Changing Landscape
Despite the challenges, I’m still drawn to the Missouri Breaks. The terrain is unforgiving, the deer are scarce, and the odds were stacked against me - but that’s exactly why I still ventured there September of 2024. Bowhunting isn’t just about the harvest; it’s about the process, the lessons learned along the way, and the connection to the land.
That September, my goal wasn't just to find a mature buck. It was to understand the changes happening in this landscape firsthand. As I navigated the breaks, glassing ridges and searching for sign, I couldn’t help but wonder - what does the future hold for mule deer in Montana? Can they recover, or are we witnessing a long-term decline?
One thing is certain: the Missouri Breaks have certainly changed. And as hunters, conservationists, and stewards of the land, it’s up to us to pay attention, ask the hard questions, and do what we can to protect the wildlife that makes this place so special.
My 2024 Montana Breaks Archery Hunt Recap
I stepped into my September 2024 archery deer hunt in the Breaks knowing full well that things had changed. I embraced the challenge ahead, confident that with the thousands of acres of public and private land I had access to, I could still turn up a mature buck.
But nothing could have prepared me for just how bad things had gotten in the Breaks.
Over the next eight days, we glassed from sunup to sundown, covering roughly 75,000 to 80,000 acres of land. In that time, we counted just eight different mule deer bucks - none older than 3.5 years - along with 35 to 40 does and an alarming 25 to 30 coyotes. I had only two stalk opportunities: one on a mule deer (which, in hindsight, was younger than I initially thought) and another on a whitetail buck - both of which didn’t pan out.
Not exactly what you hope for on an eight-day, out-of-state hunt in what was once prime mule deer country.
While I was obviously disappointed in how the hunt played out, what truly devastated me was the condition of the Breaks. So few deer. So many coyotes. This wasn’t the place I remembered - not from my childhood, nor even from just a few years ago.
Watch the full film of my 2024 Missouri Break's Archery Deer Hunt below.
Final Thoughts: What Can Be Done?
If mule deer populations are going to recover, conservation efforts will need to be a priority. Here’s what hunters and wildlife advocates can do:
• Support Habitat Conservation – Protecting winter range and water sources is key to mule deer survival.
• Advocate for Responsible Wildlife Management – Wildlife agencies need to monitor disease outbreaks and manage deer populations accordingly.
• Report Sick or Dead Deer – If you come across an animal showing signs of disease, report it to local wildlife officials to help track outbreaks.
• Be Selective with Harvest – Targeting older bucks while letting younger deer mature can help stabilize herds.
The Missouri Breaks still hold the rugged beauty I fell in love with as a kid. The future of mule deer here remains uncertain, but as hunters, we have a role to play in ensuring they’re around for generations to come.
2024 Archery Gear List
Below is an extensive list of the gear that I took and used on this hunt.
Archery Tackle:
Carter 1st Choice Release
Easton Axis 4mm Long Range Arrows
SEVR 1.5 Broadheads
Clothing:
Glassing Setup:
Swarovski 10x42 EL Ranges
Swarovski 15x56 SLC
Swarovski 17-40x56
MUTNT Gear Tripod & Head
Other:
Mystery Ranch Metcalf Pack from Smith & Edwards
