Montana Resident MSG Free Lottery

It's the Montana way. mtmuley
Gotcha. I don't think this has much to do with opportunity. Again, with those draw odds and a tag rotating every three years there's not really much of an opportunity being given here. Giving a tag to one person out of 140,000 isn't really managing for opportunity. Maybe just an opportunity for the Regiers to make political points, but again, who for? Hunters by-and-large don't seem to be excited about this. Many residents who buy deer/elk tags aren't committed hunters and they probably don't put in for MSG every year, so it can't be them.

It's a question I asked earlier in this thread: the bill was met with a collective shrug, and here it is, now the law, and we're still shrugging.
 
Only once every three years, and only if that person and all the other folks who draw supertags choose to hunt the Bitterroot (someone drawing a sheep tag is far more likely headed to the breaks).

Theoretically, maybe, but realistically? I’m just not too worried about it.
But if one tag isn't that big of deal, why didn't they offer it in the draw then?

Wyoming uses the same "logic" all the time and my question is always, when is one more, just one too many?

Finally, you say it's no big deal, but for a guy that applies for a specific tag for a low quota unit, burns a lifetime opportunity, and then finds out one additional tag was issued, that becomes a pretty big deal for the guy that applies thinking he was going to be the only hunter.

Further even in higher quota areas, if the guy that got this giveaway tag, kills the ram, goat, or bull moose you have scouted and waited 30+ years for...yeah, good luck convincing him it's "no big deal".
 
Gotcha. I don't think this has much to do with opportunity. Again, with those draw odds and a tag rotating every three years there's not really much of an opportunity being given here. Giving a tag to one person out of 140,000 isn't really managing for opportunity. Maybe just an opportunity for the Regiers to make political points, but again, who for? Hunters by-and-large don't seem to be excited about this. Many residents who buy deer/elk tags aren't committed hunters and they probably don't put in for MSG every year, so it can't be them.

It's a question I asked earlier in this thread: the bill was met with a collective shrug, and here it is, now the law, and we're still shrugging.
I just have to question why Montana has to continually find ways to give out more hunting opportunities. No matter how infinitesimal it seems to you. mtmuley
 
I just have to question why Montana has to continually find ways to give out more hunting opportunities. No matter how infinitesimal it seems to you. mtmuley
It's a fair question. I feel like I've made it clear I think this one is particularly dumb, and I'm right there with you that I have no clue why they legislated for this. It didn't get the support of any conservation orgs or hunters.
 
Has anyone seen any language on how they're deciding what species is up each year? The bill doesn't say anything that I'm finding.
 
Has anyone seen any language on how they're deciding what species is up each year? The bill doesn't say anything that I'm finding.
It's at the discretion of the commission.

(4) The commission shall establish rules regarding:
(c) The rotation between the three species each year.

So we just have to keep our eye on the commission agenda for when they choose to make the rules.
 
Would have made more dice to do it for hunters that apply for all of the big 3. At least it could avoid grannies November goat hunt
doesn’t seem like there is a good reason to even issue issue the tag.
 
To @BuzzH's point, (which I just noticed), it would also be better if this came out of the already existing supertags. Since those already exist, they, theoretically, cause the potential problems he flagged. I've never heard someone complaining about an animal they've been putting in for and scouting for years getting killed by a supertag holder (which is not a points draw system, but just as dumb of luck as this), but that scenario does already potentially exist.
 
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Would have made more dice to do it for hunters that apply for all of the big 3. At least it could avoid grannies November goat hunt
I agree, I told the wife this year when I do her tags she is going to be entered into a msg draw automatically. Her reply " That's stupid, if I wanted to hunt moose, sheep, or goat. I would put in for them." she likes to go out for a whitetail and a cow but that's about it.
 
The "ahh shucks it's just one more tag" is one of the reasons we have ended up with the least amount of MSG permits ever.

We all heard the same thing last year when FWP messed up the MSG drawing and added a bunch of permits and let it slide.
 
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I agree, I told the wife this year when I do her tags she is going to be entered into a msg draw automatically. Her reply " That's stupid, if I wanted to hunt moose, sheep, or goat. I would put in for them." she likes to go out for a whitetail and a cow but that's about it.
Desperately i want one of those types to win a goat/sheep tag and give an interview and say how dumb it is and they wont use it.

Could be me if i won... but it wont be ;)
 
Took the time to watch the Senate F&G hearing on this one:

No proponents were present. Marcus Strange with MWF did a good job expressing many of the concerns raised in this thread at the Senate F&G hearing ("unintended consequences" potential to take funding from existing supertag and draw programs, etc.). MSA testified online and asked what the purpose of the bill was. The answer given at the end of the hearing that the bill "was a good way to give back to Montana residents" and then he went on to defeat his own point by pointing out that the odds of drawing are still incredibly low.

Technical note postulated that there would be no change in supertag lottery funds raised with the incorporation of this law. The license bureau employee testified that 293,000 resident deer and elk tags were sold, and that more supertags chances are sold than that.

She also clarified that deer and elk tags come with the opportunity, so I misunderstood this earlier in the thread. To clarify: each of those licenses comes with a drawing chance, so you can purchase two chances.

So I was also incorrect about the draw odds, which are 1/292,000, or .000003%, not .000007%
 
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