t1c3

I recently got out of the military and am thinking of moving to Montana. I would like to live somewhere I can hunt. I would like to know if there is public land to hunt in Montana. I enjoy deer hunting the most, but also would like to elk hunt. Do the land owners allow hunting on their property? Also, I want to go into law enforcement (prior experience) and am wondering what the job market is like there.

TxTravelPro

First off.. we appreciate your service to this country!
My husband is retired from the Army and my son is headed back to Iraq this month.

During the last few years of my husbands career he was a recruiter. One of the recruiters in his office got reassigned to recruiting duty in Miles City, Montana.
He is an active outdoors type and really thought it would not be that bad.
After 17 YEARS in the Army, he quit after one year in Miles City because he was going to be stuck there for a long time to come. That's 18 years down the drain... 2 years away from retirement. A good indication that Miles City is pretty darn bad.
He HATED the place for too many reasons to list.
So if you are looking to head to Montana, be sure it is NOT Miles City.

MarthaB

t1c3, some land owners own HUGE tracts of land and probably would never even know you're out there, but with that said, it's probably best not to trespass. There are plenty of legal areas to hunt out there.

The job market in Montana tends to be tight. I'm not sure if law enforcement is different. There was a police officer at www.bozemanonline.com who may still be answering questions at the forums there. You could try posting questions to him. (Bozeman is in south central Montana near the mountains and is where Montana State U. is located.)

Good luck!

repete

There are a lot of great places in Montana, but Miles City is not one of them -- although a hard-core hunter would thrive there. It's a huge state with varied topography and generally the farther west you go, the better chance you have of landing in a nice spot.

The main college towns -- Bozeman and Missoula -- are both very nice, but the closer one is to bigger cities the farther a hunter would have to travel for open land.

johnthedorf

All posters have it nailed. Miles City is a pit however...if you like big Mulies and Antelope (they taste better when eating the Rancher's Alfalfa)then you'll love hunting there.
The Fish and Game department can put yopu in touch with Rancher's who will welcome you onto their property. A bottle of Jack Daniels always help when you knock on doors also.

NorCal_Jo

I assume you've researched the demographics of MT? I grew up there and it is a great state although you need to be aware of the cold winters, small population, etc. Billings is the largest city and might have the most opportunity for law enforcement. My Dad was a huge hunter and flyfisherman and it is very easy to get deer permits and generally elk permits for hunting on public/nat'l forest land. He frequently hunted in the Bozeman/Big Sky area on Nat'l forest Service land(Gallatin mountain range) as we had a cabin there. You can also get permission to hunt on private land but need to make friends with some locals to get the invitations! Miles City is yucho IMO as other posters said but the eastern part of Montana does have HUGE ranches and lots of areas to hunt. My Dad hunted eastern MT some but he preferred the challenge of hunting in the mountainous western portion of the state. Bozeman, Missoula, and Helena might have job opportunities and there are many small towns but openings are probably far and few between.

talltraveler

I realize this is an old thread, but just wanted to post an alternate view of Miles City. I spent most of my childhood in Miles City (moving from the East Coast as a child) and it is a friendly, small western town that even has some interesting things to see. While it may not be a place for everyone, it is a great small town (8,500+ people) to raise a family. The job market isn't the greatest, but housing is very inexpensive (and there are jobs in law enforcement there). Miles City is home to the world famous Bucking Horse Sale (3rd Saturday in May every year). Main Street has a large number of turn of the century 'mansions' that are on the Historical Register and there is a wonderful Range Riders Museum has a wonderful display of Old West memorabilia. You'll find friendly and down to earth people there. Famous Miles Citians include George Winston, a noted American pianist, who grew up in Miles City and studied piano at a local conservatory and Maurice Hilleman who created the vaccines for measles, mumps, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, chickenpox, meningitis, and pneumonia.

Miles City is a great town to visit if you are in the area and want to experience some western hospitality.

TxTravelPro

Miles City is the place the Army sent a recruiter friend of ours when they wanted to force him to retire (Clinton administration).