Elk Advisory Board - Choose Your Weapon

[Smartweed]

Maybe I am doing the hunting wrong in Montana, but I have, in all my years hunting there as a nonresident, seen three other hunters in the field except for guys I know. And that is on public land. And I hunt for a three week period during rifle season every year, whether I have a deer, elk, or B tag for those. So I do not really understand the overcrowding issue. I do not hunt from the road, I walk in to areas and spend a day hunting. Perhaps I am hunting in areas not considered prime, but the solitude and wild experience is about 75% or more of why I go-and I get that experience every trip as much as I want. And I have filled every tag I wanted to fill over the years-some I let go unfilled just because I did not want to fill them. Is there a component to this issue that hunters are not changing how they operate in response to changes in habitat, human, and animal behaviour? I have seen that in other states over the years, guys in Pennsylvania want to hunt deer the same way and location that they did 25 years ago, but the woods, hunting pressure, and deer themselves have changed dramatically in that time.

Just my thoughts, as I value the opportunity aspect of Montana far more than anything else, which might not be popular in this discussion. But as everything else gets regulated to death having freedom and opportunity like Montana provides is a heck of a thing....

 

[Flatbrimmer]

Take notes from SmartWeed you nagging sissies!

 

[TheJason]

Take notes from SmartWeed you nagging sissies!

#laceemupandgodeep
#thirtytall

 

[mtmuley]

Heavy on the weed. mtmuley

 

[Flatbrimmer]

#laceemupandgodeep
#thirtytall

Is that supposed to be like offensive? Eff yeah bud! if you believe it you can achieve it! Are you from like San Diego originally? Lol you’re attitude kinda sucks man and it’s too bad you find so much enjoyment outta picking old foodismemories apart.. to be honest, i think it’s kinda cool I started my own little “how bow Daht?” If you disliked me y’all would stop using the #30tall thing.. bad publicity is better than no publicity sucka!

 

[mtmuley]

Is that supposed to be like offensive? Eff yeah bud! if you believe it you can achieve it! Are you from like San Diego originally? Lol you’re attitude kinda sucks man and it’s too bad you find so much enjoyment outta picking old foodismemories apart.. to be honest, i think it’s kinda cool I started my own little “how bow Daht?” If you disliked me y’all would stop using the #30tall thing.. bad publicity is better than no publicity sucka!

Once they have something, they run with it. mtmuley

 

[Gerald Martin]

Some folks seem to forget that hunting pressure isn’t only about how many folks are in the woods the same day they hunt.

I hunted the most popular mountain range in SW MT during the first week of October one year. Only saw one bow hunter in the woods in four days of hunting.

The year prior I hunted the other side of the mountain on opening weekend of rifle. When I went in to set up camp on Friday there were legitimately over 150 camps set up. I drove over 25 miles before I found the first flat spot where a person could pull off the road and set up on the sagebrush.

 

[TheJason]

Are you from like San Diego originally?

No, southern Idaho.

 

[TheJason]

it’s too bad you find so much enjoyment outta picking old foodismemories apart.. to be honest, i think it’s kinda cool I started my own little “how bow Daht?” If you disliked me y’all would stop using the #30tall thing..

1. You planted your flag on that hill
2. It’s a joke. LTFU.

 

[Flatbrimmer]

1. You planted your flag on that hill
2. It’s a joke. LTFU.

Hey I’m laughing. You lighten up, chief!

 

[teamhoyt]

Im a firm believer that less pressure on public land will kill more elk(if thats really a concern). I seem to be fortunate in scratching out a notched elk tag most years in what i consider a crowded unit. Granted im not trophy hunting either. If i didnt have to work around a mass populas of waterheads id be much more effective. 10% of the hunters kill 90% of the elk. Im all for limited quota across the board.
Im not necessarily big on all of the copying Wyoming thing either. Some general units im most familiar with have shorter seasons, 9 days. Literally guys on each point. I feel like some of that forces people into over crowding and shooting the 1st thing that moves.

 

[antlerradar]

Is that supposed to be like offensive? Eff yeah bud! if you believe it you can achieve it! Are you from like San Diego originally? Lol you’re attitude kinda sucks man and it’s too bad you find so much enjoyment outta picking old foodismemories apart.. to be honest, i think it’s kinda cool I started my own little “how bow Daht?” If you disliked me y’all would stop using the #30tall thing.. bad publicity is better than no publicity sucka!

30 tall is a pet peeve of mine, I am going to stick a stake in it every time. You are right though, if we didn't like you, we wouldn't raze you.

 

[Flatbrimmer]

30 tall is a pet peeve of mine, I am going to stick a stake in it every time. You are right though, if we didn't like you, we wouldn't raze you.

I know now, and I remember talking to you about it then. I still look at the pic and surely feel silly because it’s an exaggeration no doubt. Regardless, he was a big ass deer, that traveled daily into public land. For sure. Just cuz he was pictured in the ag field it got blown so out of proportion and I got fighting mad-quick, as usual.

I do not and cannot be offended at all at seeing the #30tall in any context, and I feel honored to have started the trend- as I’ve seen a half dozen of you turds using it! As always I appreciate your insight, Sir and always look forward to reading a response left by you! Happy hunting this year!

 

[brockel]

Are you from like San Diego originally?

Isn’t that you?

 

[Flatbrimmer]

Isn’t that you?

 

[MTGomer]

I think BHA has some good ideas here such as getting rid of a lot of NR tags, but I think their opposition is really unfortunate.

I have to wonder if some of it is shifting baseline syndrome from the fact that a lot of Montana BHA is made up of relative newcomer, transplants that don’t have much familiarity with what it used to be like or could be like.

Seems like “my way or no way”

Kevin Farron: Pick or choose: Montana hunters lose

Their proposal to “pick your season/weapon” misses the mark.

helenair.com

 

[Irrelevant]

I fell off on this one as I thought this dead horse was still dead, but @GLA-FLA seems to offered a pretty stellar season structure, where everyone gets a better experience and MT likely gets to sell more tags.

And @seeth07 you're drunk as shit thinking WA is better than MT for elk. I mean we have plenty in most places. But killing an elk in WA is a helluva accomplishment. I have never drawn a bull tag for the east side, even after 15 years. There's a reason MT fills up with WA plates every fall.

 

[MTelkHuntress]

I attended a presentation yesterday with some local biologists talking about elk in the region. There was a question about what the ideal bull to cow ratios are and the biologist's answered was essentially that it depends on what the social aspects are. This answer was interesting to me because biologically the ratios could be different than what say hunters or other groups wants. This further highlights the balance between what are biological goals and social goals. I do have concerns when some biologists aren't being listened to though.

Also I don't know if anyone knows this....but you don't have to hunt all the time in order to be outdoors. I know, it's a crazy idea. These long seasons are great and all but if changing season structure and other changes means potentially better hunting (that is sustainable), it sounds worth it to me. Although with more success comes more elk harvests so I don't know what would have to change in the future to account for that.

And to MTGomer's point, I hear more and more every year from people coming here to hunt and saying how much better hunting is in Montana than where they came from. Where my family has hunted for generations is absolute garbage compared to what it used to be. I understand factors change but how low do we let the bar get?

 

[Unlucky]

I think its a step in the right direction. But i would also add on choose otc or apply LE.

 

[Eric Albus]

Maybe I am doing the hunting wrong in Montana, but I have, in all my years hunting there as a nonresident, seen three other hunters in the field except for guys I know. And that is on public land. And I hunt for a three week period during rifle season every year, whether I have a deer, elk, or B tag for those. So I do not really understand the overcrowding issue. I do not hunt from the road, I walk in to areas and spend a day hunting. Perhaps I am hunting in areas not considered prime, but the solitude and wild experience is about 75% or more of why I go-and I get that experience every trip as much as I want. And I have filled every tag I wanted to fill over the years-some I let go unfilled just because I did not want to fill them. Is there a component to this issue that hunters are not changing how they operate in response to changes in habitat, human, and animal behaviour? I have seen that in other states over the years, guys in Pennsylvania want to hunt deer the same way and location that they did 25 years ago, but the woods, hunting pressure, and deer themselves have changed dramatically in that time.

Just my thoughts, as I value the opportunity aspect of Montana far more than anything else, which might not be popular in this discussion. But as everything else gets regulated to death having freedom and opportunity like Montana provides is a heck of a thing....

You’re obviously it hunting in region 6 or 7