NR Upland Seasons (LC3901)

[Hobbes]

Agreed - the amount of NRs I come across forest grouse hunting (which I do more than any other kind of hunting, honestly) is effectively 0, and that's all over central and western MT. Pheasant hunting has this weird culture of seeking or maintaining status/image that grouse hunting thankfully seems to lack. God save us if forest grouse hunting ever becomes cool to rich/wannabe-rich people.

Forest grouse is even less than sharpies and the bill does not apply to forest grouse.

 

[texwest44]

Forest grouse is even less than sharpies and the bill does not apply to forest grouse.

I know, I was just tossing a couple of pennies into the conversation.

 

[Birdbander]

I promise as a NR that I will never hunt pheasant in MT. I'm planning a future mountain grouse hunt instead
And WY and UT and....

 

[Hobbes]

I know, I was just tossing a couple of pennies into the conversation.

Okay. I thought maybe you weren't aware that they aren't included. I hope to never see crowds hunting mountain grouse. They'd make a mess of Archery elk.

 

[OzWildlife]

You have to be talking the grouse opener and not the phez opener. The grouse opener is really mild compared to pheasant.

Yes, that’s what I’m talking about. I don’t ever really target pheasants. I guess I didn’t realize pheasant hunting was so popular in MT.

 

[BuzzH]

I wouldn't be against the first 3 days of any big-game hunting in Wyoming being Resident only, wouldn't be against it in Montana either.

 

[brockel]

Yes, that’s what I’m talking about. I don’t ever really target pheasants. I guess I didn’t realize pheasant hunting was so popular in MT.

It was that way around here for a while. Grouse opener wasn’t busy but pheasant season was ridiculous. Now the grouse hunting is getting busy too.

 

[wpbx2]

I really hope this bill passes. One thing I would love to see that doesn't take any legislation is aggressive enforcement of possession limits. I think a lot of NR would think twice about making a long trip here if they really thought they were limited to the possession limits. There is no way the NR's who are coming early season and hunting every day for a week or longer are abiding by possession limits.

F&G should be stopping at every camp site and checking coolers.

 

[Up_A_Creek]

I really hope this bill passes. One thing I would love to see that doesn't take any legislation is aggressive enforcement of possession limits. I think a lot of NR would think twice about making a long trip here if they really thought they were limited to the possession limits. There is no way the NR's who are coming early season and hunting every day for a week or longer are abiding by possession limits.

F&G should be stopping at every camp site and checking coolers.

I've had the same discussions with g&f about enforcing possession limits in OK.

 

[brockel]

I really hope this bill passes. One thing I would love to see that doesn't take any legislation is aggressive enforcement of possession limits. I think a lot of NR would think twice about making a long trip here if they really thought they were limited to the possession limits. There is no way the NR's who are coming early season and hunting every day for a week or longer are abiding by possession limits.

F&G should be stopping at every camp site and checking coolers.

Lots of morning hunts and afternoon hunts happening as well. Guessing the daily limit is being abused a little

 

[BuzzH]

Lots of morning hunts and afternoon hunts happening as well. Guessing the daily limit is being abused a little

You would need almost 1 warden per bird hunting party to enforce that.

 

[Eric Albus]

What would that do?

Keep a lot of NR home.

 

[Forkyfinder]

Keep a lot of NR home.

Hmmmmm. Why not just establish a max/cap of them?

 

[Eric Albus]

Rather than limit number of NR’s, I’d start with limiting days. Sell them license with different length date period. One license for 7-9 days, then another couple license for 3-5 days. This would ensure them not camping for a month straight pounding an area. I’d imaging that there would have to be some NR landowner exceptions made, allowing a NR landowner to hunt his own property for the season, but no public.
Maybe what we need are private land only license that are good for the season for NR, and the limited days license good for public/private?

 

[Highwood]

I have pics of a guy that was camped at the Plentywood fairgrounds for two straight months (August and September) with 57 dogs in a horse trailer. Training on public land sharpies because “they hold nice”.

The 10 day resident only opener is the same thing they do in ND. Seems like it is a decent compromise, and they don’t see nearly the same dog training shenanigans as NE MT does.

I saw that outfit with all the dogs at Plentywood.
A different outfit near there ask
Me where to go where they wouldn't come across young pheasants, but would have Shaptails. His dogs caught some young pheasants.
I wish this dog training would be banned, at least in August and September.

 

[huntin24/7]

I saw that outfit with all the dogs at Plentywood.
A different outfit near there ask
Me where to go where they wouldn't come across young pheasants, but would have Shaptails. His dogs caught some young pheasants.
I wish this dog training would be banned, at least in August and September.

The big shot dog trainers with lots of dogs have overwhelmingly been an overall negative to the area.

 

[Hunting Wife]

I saw that outfit with all the dogs at Plentywood.
A different outfit near there ask
Me where to go where they wouldn't come across young pheasants, but would have Shaptails. His dogs caught some young pheasants.
I wish this dog training would be banned, at least in August and September.

If they are catching hatch-year pheasants, they are catching hatch-year sharptails. Hell, my dog has caught hatch-year sharpies on the opener. I struggle to see how they aren’t negatively impacting those public land birds at a vulnerable time.

 

[406dn]

If they are catching hatch-year pheasants, they are catching hatch-year sharptails. Hell, my dog has caught hatch-year sharpies on the opener. I struggle to see how they aren’t negatively impacting those public land birds at a vulnerable time.

I have had a horseback field trial habit, going on for over twenty years now. In all of that time, no dog of mine has caught a young bird. I am sure it has happened, somewhere, at sometime. It is a training setback, whenever a dog does manage to catch a bird. It gives the dog the idea that pointing is optional, and catching the bird is the better end goal.

One of the major advantages of training on wild birds, is that is very difficult for the dog to catch one. The other big advantage is that wild birds teach a dog to point them from some distance away. Another reason that young sharptails attract trainers from far away, is that their flush is usually staggered. That is a bird or two flush, at a time. This gives the trainer the opportunity to correct the dog, if it breaks at the flush, then have a chance for the dog to get it right, when later birds flush.

My speculation is that a flushing dog will catch more birds than will a pointing dog. A half decent pointing dog, is at least half conflicted, about trying to flush the bird.

In my case, where I train, it is on sharptails, with a few huns thrown in. Young sharptails will fly a hundred yards or more, by the third week in July. By the end of August, they can fly a quarter mile or more.

Two of my dogs, each pointing sharptails on an August morning.



Here, I am getting ready early in the morning, to run the dogs, from horseback. This was in early September, and I did kill a couple of birds, over the dogs. The horse is Smokey. He is now gone, but never forgotten by me. He was a good one.