Unit 670

Key features for navigation include the Milk River as the southern boundary, Nelson Reservoir and Thirtymile Reservoir as reliable water reference points, and the scattered hills and buttes—Haystack Butte, Coal Mine Hill, and Pikes Peak (Pillar)—providing visual anchors across open country. Porcupine Creek and its West Fork offer drainage corridors for navigation and potential water sources. The Dahl Hills and Opheim Hills breaks provide minor elevation change useful for glassing.

Sleeping Buffalo Hot Springs marks a known landmark in the western portion. These features are spread enough that navigating requires attention but terrain complexity is low.

The entire unit sits in low prairie and benchland terrain between 2,000 and 3,300 feet, with most country clustered around 2,600 feet. Vegetation is sparse—open grassland and sagebrush dominate, with minimal tree cover except in scattered draws and near water. Benchland breaks the monotony of the prairie, creating subtle elevation changes that offer some topographic relief and glassing vantage points.

The landscape is characterized by dry country with limited natural tree cover, making it classic northern prairie elk and deer habitat where visibility is often high and shelter is limited.

Fair road density with 2,828 miles of secondary roads threading through ranch country means logical access points but also straightforward navigation. US Highway 2 and MT Highway 24 provide primary corridors. Most access is via ranch roads requiring permission or public easements.

The unit's vast size and low complexity suggest pressure clusters around roadside country and known water sources; deeper benchland and coulee systems likely see less hunting attention. The Canadian border and Fort Peck Reservation boundary create geographic limits. Strategic hunters can move away from highways into less-pressured prairie, though cover options are limited.

Unit 670 occupies portions of Blaine, Phillips, and Valley counties in north-central Montana, bounded by the Canadian border to the north and the Milk River to the south. The unit spans from the Harlem-Turner Road in the west to MT Highway 24 and beyond to the east, encompassing ranching and agricultural land interspersed with public holdings. US Highway 2 and secondary routes provide primary access corridors.

The unit's vast size contains the towns of Harlem, Dodson, and Nashua as reference points, with the Fort Belknap Indian Agency and Fort Peck Indian Reservation boundaries influencing access patterns.

Water is limited and scattered. The Milk River forms the southern boundary and provides perennial flow, though access varies with private land. Reservoirs—Nelson, Thirtymile, Blue Stem, Ethel, Frenchman—are irrigation infrastructure offering reliable water sources but often on private or controlled land.

Natural lakes like Carter Lake and Horseshoe Lake exist but are limited. Springs including Sleeping Buffalo Hot Springs, McChesney Springs, and several others dot the unit but may be seasonal. Coulees and creeks (Porcupine, Savoy, Forgey, Black Creek) provide drainage routes and occasional water; reliability varies.

Summer hunting may depend heavily on reservoir access.

Unit 670 holds elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, and mountain lion in low-elevation prairie and benchland habitat. Elk here are migratory and typically concentrate near water and cover—coulees, reservoirs, and the Milk River corridor. Early season allows glassing open benches; rut activity pushes animals toward drainages and scattered brush.

White-tailed deer favor coulee bottoms and riparian cover, especially near water features. Mule deer use open bench country and breaks. Mountain lion follow deer and elk.

Success depends on locating animals near water sources or in coulee systems where cover provides refuge. The straightforward terrain favors spotting from distance but offers limited stalking cover; early mornings and evenings near water access points are productive.