moving to BOZEMAN

[RobG]

I might wish I was that lucky... A young guy with a completely trashed car moved in the other day. Oh sh*t, I thought, one of those, and he probably has five roommates and seven girlfriends. That afternoon I saw cops at the place. Good grief. Well, it turns out the person didn't have authorization to move in so they booted him.

So even a guy from Florida would be better than that .

 

[RidgeRoamingRichard]

Congrats on getting out of the East coast

Left the East Coast to move to CA!

I just left Bozeman. Plenty of pretty places, just lots of people. Check out the West side of the bridgers for mountain grouse. Plenty of elk south of town if you can escape the crowds (and beat the wolves). The Norris area holds a lot of elk in the shoulder season, and I've jumped a few covies of grouse out that way too. Lots of mules....everywhere! Never got into the real huge ones though.

Good luck. I hope you get to some other places in MT while you're here and see what the state is all about.

 

[frenchflorida]

Thank you all for the help in navigating the residency issue. I certainly hope we would not have to test interpretation of the statutes in court

 

[frenchflorida]

Left the East Coast to move to CA!

I just left Bozeman. Plenty of pretty places, just lots of people. Check out the West side of the bridgers for mountain grouse. Plenty of elk south of town if you can escape the crowds (and beat the wolves). The Norris area holds a lot of elk in the shoulder season, and I've jumped a few covies of grouse out that way too. Lots of mules....everywhere! Never got into the real huge ones though.

Good luck. I hope you get to some other places in MT while you're here and see what the state is all about.

Thank you for the Beta on the grouse. With the move, the new job, etc... my expectation for this season is to do plenty of hiking with a shotgun and the dog. Just getting acclimated and used to navigating the mountain. At this point, I have no idea how difficult it is to kill a deer or an elk in the area, let alone pack it out. A few months of scouting will teach me a lot.

 

[Elkhunter24]

welcome from PA!

 

[amo16]

Welcome. You'll love it here. All you need for is some documentation to show that you live here. Go talk to the people at FWP after you get here and see what they say. If you have a lease agreement or closing paperwork on a house that will do. You will have to change your drivers license before getting a resident tag, but the 180 days starts once you physically reside here, not when you get your license. It was really easy when I went through this.

 

[LuketheDog]

I might wish I was that lucky... A young guy with a completely trashed car moved in the other day. Oh sh*t, I thought, one of those, and he probably has five roommates and seven girlfriends.

No dude with a trashed car has seven girlfriends, even in Bozeman...

 

[Big Sky Guy]

100% I’m not giving the what could be argued in court narrative. I’m outlining the best way to navigate the bureaucracy.

You forgot pay stub. I second getting your plates done but if you are coming to Bozeman the DMV will probably be booked a month out at least - you have to make an appointment which is different than many states (or drive far to a rural DMV). I recommend going to Sportsmans Warehouse or some other licensing place other than FWP. I followed their guidelines to a T and took all my documentation to Sportsmans and they never even asked, they just ask how long you’ve been a resident and as long as you are truthful and tell them 6 months or longer and you’ve actually been here that long and have some way to prove it you’ll be fine. Kid I know that moved here last year went to the FWP office and had to go round and round and talk with a game warden and didn’t end up getting his license and tags until after the opener.

 

[Big Sky Guy]

Actually since it’s going to be printable online this year you may just be able to do it all online.

 

[Doublecluck]

Welcome, I’ll hunt with anyone who hunts with a golden.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

You forgot pay stub. I second getting your plates done but if you are coming to Bozeman the DMV will probably be booked a month out at least - you have to make an appointment which is different than many states (or drive far to a rural DMV). I recommend going to Sportsmans Warehouse or some other licensing place other than FWP. I followed their guidelines to a T and took all my documentation to Sportsmans and they never even asked, they just ask how long you’ve been a resident and as long as you are truthful and tell them 6 months or longer and you’ve actually been here that long and have some way to prove it you’ll be fine. Kid I know that moved here last year went to the FWP office and had to go round and round and talk with a game warden and didn’t end up getting his license and tags until after the opener.

Pretty much what you described is my experience, Walmart will just hand out a license to anyone, FWP will grill you.

Interesting I didn’t think a paystub counts as it has nothing to do with residency. I was payed by a CO company for 3 years while in MT.

As far as the DMV, you can just show up in person and wait, that’s what I did. Honestly if you show up at like 9:00am on a Thursday it’s not that bad of a wait. Did the whole appointment thing with my wife... what a joke.

 

[rwc101]

Interesting I didn’t think a paystub counts as it has nothing to do with residency. I was payed by a CO company for 3 years while in MT.

Did you change your address with HR? My Colorado paycheck still has my WY address on it.

 

[rwc101]

Gotcha. I'm not disagreeing with anything you've written. This will be my first year with a partial CO/WY tax filing and I'm a tad curious how its going to all shake out.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Gotcha. I'm not disagreeing with anything you've written. This will be my first year with a partial CO/WY tax filing and I'm a tad curious how its going to all shake out.

Once you get your location of work sorted it's not that big a deal, can be a little murky if you are being paid as a contractor.

That said filing the partial return is easy. I find CO's return to be extremely straight forward.

 

[frenchflorida]

Welcome, I’ll hunt with anyone who hunts with a golden.

I may take you up on that

 

[daltrix99]

Welcome! I've been in Bozeman for six months now, but moved from Missoula, so I am familiar with the area and this side of the state. Shoot me a PM whenever and I'd be happy to grab a beer!

 

[frenchflorida]

Welcome! I've been in Bozeman for six months now, but moved from Missoula, so I am familiar with the area and this side of the state. Shoot me a PM whenever and I'd be happy to grab a beer!

I'd love to! I'll reach out once the moving dust settles.

 

[RobG]

Pretty much what you described is my experience, Walmart will just hand out a license to anyone, FWP will grill you.

Interesting I didn’t think a paystub counts as it has nothing to do with residency. I was payed by a CO company for 3 years while in MT.

As far as the DMV, you can just show up in person and wait, that’s what I did. Honestly if you show up at like 9:00am on a Thursday it’s not that bad of a wait. Did the whole appointment thing with my wife... what a joke.

I also just showed up one and didn't have that long of a wait. If you want to make an appointment Bozeman DMV is booked out until April. However Helena has lots of openings since they deleted all their redundant ones. https://mt.sts-scheduler.com/mvdpublic/

When out in the field you should carry ID that shows you have more than 6 months Montana residency. A friend didn't have his drivers license showing 6 months and a game warden gave him a ticket.

 

[Big Sky Guy]

Pretty much what you described is my experience, Walmart will just hand out a license to anyone, FWP will grill you.

Interesting I didn’t think a paystub counts as it has nothing to do with residency. I was payed by a CO company for 3 years while in MT.

As far as the DMV, you can just show up in person and wait, that’s what I did. Honestly if you show up at like 9:00am on a Thursday it’s not that bad of a wait. Did the whole appointment thing with my wife... what a joke.

My pay stubs have always had my address on them and are dated. I like the appointment because I know I will be in and out, but didn’t realize you can just show up.

 

[frenchflorida]

Well, I went to livingston in the middle of the afternoon yesterday and got my MT license in 15 min.
I randomly met with a person who cautioned me about big predator in the Bridgers he strongly suggested carrying a pistol. I was going to carry only bearspray. Do you guys typically carry a pistol? If so, what caliber? I realize I am probably starting a ford/chevy debate here but i d like to know. Thanks in advance.