Unit 705

Key features for navigation and strategy include the Ekalaka Hills and Flattops for scanning country; Stack Rocks, Chimney Rock, and Roosevelt Rock serve as distinctive landmark pillars. Major reservoirs—Eureka, Hondu, Forsgreen, Sanburn, and several others—concentrate water and serve as landmarks. The Devils Backbone and Rustler Divide mark major ridge systems useful for glassing.

Drainages including the Powder River corridor, South Fork Three Bar Creek, and various named draws provide natural travel routes and timbered cover. Medicine Rocks offers distinctive terrain; Trenk Pass and scattered other features aid cross-country navigation.

Entirely below 5,000 feet, this unit runs between 2,400 and 4,400 feet elevation across a gently rolling prairie landscape. Lower elevations dominate the western and southern portions, while scattered ridges and the Ekalaka Hills, Flattops, and Long Pines add topographic relief. Sparse forest coverage means predominantly open grassland and sagebrush flats with cottonwood draws along creeks and ponderosa scattered on north-facing slopes and ridge systems.

The Devils Backbone, Belltower Divide, and Rustler Divide mark prominent ridge lines. Vegetation transitions between prairie, shrubland, and riparian timber dictate habitat quality rather than dramatic elevation changes.

Limited road density and sparse highway access mean this unit remains less pressured than more developed areas, but navigation requires knowledge of ranch roads and county routes. Highway 12 provides east-west corridor; the Broadus-Powderville Road and Broadus-Moorhead Road offer primary north-south access. Most hunting occurs from vehicle-accessible points near reservoirs and established parking areas, leaving ridge systems and remote draws underutilized.

Roads exist (2,800+ miles total) but concentrate on low ground and valley routes; reaching high country often requires foot travel. Early season tends to see more hunter presence near accessible water.

Unit 705 occupies parts of Carter, Custer, Powder River, and Fallon Counties in southeast Montana, a vast swath of high plains and badlands country. The boundary follows the Montana-Wyoming border west, the Montana-North Dakota border east, and encompasses terrain along and north of the Powder River drainage corridor. Major reference points include Broadus, Powderville, and Locate on Highway 12. The unit sprawls across classic northern Great Plains terrain—open prairie punctuated by isolated buttes, ridge systems, and timbered draws rather than contiguous mountains.

Water is limited and scattered, making reservoirs and spring-fed sources critical to hunting strategy. Eureka, Hondu, Forsgreen, Sanburn, CCC, Trout Pond, Tepee Butte, Dead Cow, Pentecost, and Evans Reservoirs dot the unit and concentrate wildlife. Major creeks include South Fork Three Bar, Pinto, Wild Bill, Spring, and T A Creek—most seasonal or running low mid-summer.

Springs like Edwards, Dunbar, Church, Foster, and others provide reliable water sources in specific locations. The Powder River itself flows north through the western portion. Success depends on locating water and understanding its draw on game.

Elk, mule and white-tailed deer, and mountain lion inhabit this prairie-badlands mosaic. Elk use timbered draws and ridge systems, especially the Ekalaka Hills and Long Pines, moving between open grazing flats and cover. Mule deer favor sagebrush slopes and coulee bottoms; whitetails concentrate in cottonwood drainages and timbered breaks.

Early season strategy focuses on glassing open country from ridge vantage points, then working timbered draws and water sources. Mid-season shifts to ridge systems as herds retreat to thicker cover. Late season concentrates animals near reliable water—reservoirs and spring areas.

Limited water scarcity can funnel game into predictable patterns; patience and observation of animal movement from distance pay dividends in this sparse terrain.