Extreme hunting pressure in region 7.

[bigsky2]

There’s been so many discussions on deer hunting and management that I’ll stay away from specifics, but something I agree with you on, Doug, that I think about a lot:

Be it hunting or really any outdoor recreation, economics, passions, and many other things, in this rapidly changing West it will be rural locals - demographically a minority but culturally not so - who will be disproportionately affected as their historic and local experiences are diminished and in some cases extirpated by the hordes who travel from more densely populated areas to share in what those rural locals have loved for generations sans the outsiders.

Very well said. Over the weekend, my dad took my step mom antelope hunting to the area where I grew up hunting. He hadn’t hunted it in probably 10 years, but he was blown away by how much the hunting pressure had changed. I haven’t looked at permit numbers to see if they have changed much, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they are pretty similar as back when I used to hunt it. It’s likely that hunting pressure has seemingly increased just due to the fact that hunters coming from western MT are taking it more serious. He said he ran into multiple camps, which was unheard of when we used to hunt that area. Finding antelope carcasses next to the trail wasn’t a thing either because most of the people with antelope tags were locals and if they shot something they’d have the entire antelope hanging in their garage. I know a region 7 antelope tag has become harder to come by too. I don’t ever remember not drawing when I used to put in for it. Those western MT residents have just as much of a right to hunt there as the locals, but things are certainly different than they used to be. He said the antelope numbers were terrible too.

 

[cgasner1]

I'd agree to disagree. The way I look at it is if I had drawn/bought a tag in a different state, I'd want to "fit" in and try to harvest a mature buck, bull etc. It shows respect for the resource and respect for the state that you're hunting in. I'm not knocking on youth hunters and elderly hunters that want to fill their freezer but there comes a point in your hunting "career" where you care less about the "kill" and more about harvesting a good representation of the species. Maybe it's just me? There's something about hunting a mature mule deer for 20 days and finally killing it that dwarfs going to Glendive to kill 5 2-point bucks with your buddies. I think that in and of itself shows the real conservationist or who is actually interested in it. "There's always next year". Just my two cents.

@Nick87

 

[brockel]

@DFS can you take pictures or try to describe what you are seeing more?

I believe you - but im sure youve said this or similar things in years prior and in general feel this way - so i think for more people to believe you evidence and/or context would help make your case.

You mean pictures like the BMA down the road from my house already onto its 3rd booklet for the year?

 

[Forkyfinder]

You mean pictures like the BMA down the road from my house already onto its 3rd booklet for the year?

Thatd work in addition to what youve posted. Like i said. I believe you.

 

[brockel]

Thatd work in addition to what youve posted. Like i said. I believe you.

There was an fwp employee at it on Saturday but I’ll stop tomorrow and see if the spent books are still there

 

[Johnny Bravo]

Let's face it,, $$$$$ trumps ANYTHING these days....you will never fix what ever you are bitching about.

 

[Lota lota]

Let's face it,, $$$$$ trumps ANYTHING these days....you will never fix what ever you are bitching about.

Unfortunately you're right, but to keep BITCHING about everything won't fix anything either.

 

[jmcd]

Maybe someone should do a hunting show to show what a disaster it has become….. you know, kind of like a before and after?
Probably be lost on most.

 

[Hem]

I’ll be pithy because I’m on the phone and don’t want to derail the thread, but I’d argue that the foundational collection of behaviors, values, and beliefs( the very definition of culture ) that people live here for - move here for, visit here for - is dominated by the rural. Even as Montana’s towns explode in population, those folks doing the exploding are dreaming largely of experiences found in the rural. They travel to the rural on weekends. They zip to the rural after work. They hope to retire to the rural. They want to raise their kids in a place with rural values… I’m of course oversimplifying a delineation between the urban and the rural, but I’ve lived here for 40 years and watched it change and I see it and I feel it and it exists and is similar to the delineation between the old and the new.



Of course there’s culture and a lot of good and a lot of community in the urban areas of Montana, but I think if you surveyed the ideals of those who visit here, live here, and have recently moved here, the experiences the majority of those folks did so and do so for - occur beyond the valley they bought their house in. The scaffolding that holds up the chief reasons they love this place exist in landscapes occupied by a small minority of human beings who disproportionately feel the impacts of the desires of those who don’t live there.

The effects of urban Montana on rural Montana are really a microcosm of the effects of the rest of America to Montana at large right now.

So much of your post rings true.
All of the local events in my town are now flooded by people coming from Bozeman . Looking for the small town charm apparantly,...to celebrate, but still happy to be roughing it in Bozeman.

 

[ismith]

So much of your post rings true.
All of the local events in my town are now flooded by people coming from Bozeman . Looking for the small town charm apparantly,...to celebrate, but still happy to be roughing it in Bozeman.

Don’t even get me started about Ennis.

 

[BourbonSnowCone]

How about the dumb shits that clean their birds right at the sign in boxes for BMAs. Nothing like trying to screw it up for everyone else. Here in my slice of eastern Montana any area that’s in blm that has birds on it also has a shit pot full of feathers and wings right by the boxes. Is this a normal thing to do in other states?
View attachment 345299

Called a warden about one of those this weekend in Region 7. Feathers and carcass weren’t there when I signed in. Only one other party that day. Warden said he figured out who it was pretty quickly and they got ticketed for littering. Sometimes providing a very minimal amount of info to the warden gives them enough evidence to hold people accountable.

 

[cgasner1]

Called a warden about one of those this weekend in Region 7. Feathers and carcass weren’t there when I signed in. Only one other party that day. Warden said he figured out who it was pretty quickly and they got ticketed for littering. Sometimes providing a very minimal amount of info to the warden gives them enough evidence to hold people accountable.

Thanks for that. My personal experience with wardens in 7 is they are solid guys that will do the leg work if you make the call.

 

[EYJONAS!]

Spent 3 days out there this weekend the amount of hunters was pretty wild. It is what it is though, they're all doing the same thing I was doing. My mindset might be different than some on what we look to harvest. I'm finally coming to the realization of accepting that and there isn't much I can do about it.

FWP never had a check station setup which blows my mind they had 2 Aquatic checks though. I'll bet money they don't survey us either on what we harvested or didn't harvest.

If they continue to have a free for all mentality in the majority of the state you can pretty well bet that it's not gonna change anytime soon.

 

[cgasner1]

Spent 3 days out there this weekend the amount of hunters was pretty wild. It is what it is though, they're all doing the same thing I was doing. My mindset might be different than some on what we look to harvest. I'm finally coming to the realization of accepting that and there isn't much I can do about it.

FWP never had a check station setup which blows my mind they had 2 Aquatic checks though. I'll bet money they don't survey us either on what we harvested or didn't harvest.

If they continue to have a free for all mentality in the majority of the state you can pretty well bet that it's not gonna change anytime soon.

I didn’t see one either when I rolled thru weekend prior

 

[EYJONAS!]

I didn’t see one either when I rolled thru weekend prior

Pretty unreal when easily the 3 busiest weekends of the season are in full swing and they aren't even out there checking hunters. Absolutely wild to me.

 

[Forkyfinder]

Pretty unreal when easily the 3 busiest weekends of the season are in full swing and they aren't even out there checking hunters. Absolutely wild to me.

Could be a resource problem - i have no idea if they have the man power to even do it.

Ive seen and stopped at one game check station.

 

[cgasner1]

Pretty unreal when easily the 3 busiest weekends of the season are in full swing and they aren't even out there checking hunters. Absolutely wild to me.

Hopefully the check was just in a different part of the region and you missed it with that new split. Also idk about you guys but I usually keep an extra monster and Gatorade in the cooler for those guys. They are about to get run ragged don’t forget to thank them for the efforts. These guys in the field are the good ones

 

[Raisin Bran]

How about the dumb shits that clean their birds right at the sign in boxes for BMAs. Nothing like trying to screw it up for everyone else. Here in my slice of eastern Montana any area that’s in BMA that has birds on it also has a shit pot full of feathers and wings right by the boxes. Is this a normal thing to do in other states?
View attachment 345299

Same experience as you opening weekend of Antelope but wasted animals. We found 3 dead antelope within 1000 yards of each other. 2 of the 3 had just the back straps cut out and left the rest to rot. The third Antelope was shot and not retrieved. We were able to salvage and tag it. All on public land way the heck out in no man’s land. Razors and side by sides everywhere. Never seen anything like it in my 47 years of hunting Eastern Montana.

Something has to give!

 

[brockel]

Not my picture but I know the people that took it. Always nice to have right at your gate

 

[Forkyfinder]

Not my picture but I know the people that took it. Always nice to have right at your gate
View attachment 345385

Maybe im feeling particularily forgiving/understanding today - but is it possible theres just a lot of folks around that simply dont understand some of the etiquette? I imagine if someone moved out here recently from Ohio - they might innocently have no idea.

Honestly just a list of things that are rude to the landowner/public like this somewhere in the regulations might be helpful.