SE Montana

[MTBirdhunter]

I have an option I would add.....No shooting from within 200 yards of any public road. No shooting from 200 yards of any ATV, snowmobile, or any motorized vehicle.

 

[tjones]

Think you are missing my point Buzz. Lots of guys are saying deer numbers are down and FWP shouldn't be selling all the does tags yet the same guy goes and buys the tags. Pretty simple if a guy sees and knows numbers are down don't buy anything the tag and kill the doe just because you can.

We saw this big time time in the Root during the Vore years. Guys were killing cows like crazy, many of those guys see that it was a huge mistake and won't do it again.

Again it would be nice if FWP would do their job.

 

[grandejuan]

Wonder what the outfitters are paying the land owners to put up with all the does eating their seed alfalfa or winter wheat. Most of the farmers/ranchers used to be glad to get rid of them, but if it holds the bucks in the coulees it must be o.k. A lot of these guys still have the first dime they ever made so I'm sure they have found a way to play both sides of the game. The sheriff probably does o.k. nailing trespassers too. GJ

 

[huntin24/7]

Buzz makes a good point in regards to most guys on this site arent the average hunter. Most hunters are just going to go with what their FWP agency tell them. Thats never going to change. I listen to the montana outdoor radio show most saturday mornings on my way to work, and theyre regularly promoting the elk shoulder seasons. How is the average casual hunter to know any different if they hear from every angle that herds are way overpopulated and need reduced.

 

[BuzzH]

Buzz makes a good point in regards to most guys on this site arent the average hunter. Most hunters are just going to go with what their FWP agency tell them. Thats never going to change. I listen to the montana outdoor radio show most saturday mornings on my way to work, and theyre regularly promoting the elk shoulder seasons. How is the average casual hunter to know any different if they hear from every angle that herds are way overpopulated and need reduced.

Bingo...

 

[tjones]

So the average hunter trusts FWP and keeps buying tags for deer that don't exist yet we want that average hunter to hold FWP accountable even though you are saying the average hunter all ready trusts FWP?


Guess that's why nothing gets done.

 

[BuzzH]

Who is responsible for managing Montana's wildlife?

The average hunter?

or

The Montana FWP?

If we're expecting the average hunter to self regulate, then why even hire a biologist? Why do flights? Why set a season? Why are hunters even burdened with buying a license?

What are all the people buying licenses paying for? Pension plans for state employees to do nothing, including their jobs?

Seriously...what are we paying the FWP to do?

 

[tjones]

What needs to happen is holding the FWP leadership responsible for trashing MT's wildlife resources. Hold them accountable for the job you're paying them to do..

Who would you like to hold FWP responsible if the average hunter is buying tags because they think FWP is allready doing a good job? Just the guys on Hunttalk?

 

[BuzzH]

Who would you like to hold FWP responsible if the average hunter already thinks they are doing a good job? Just the guys on Hunttalk?

Nobody, lets just let hunters self regulate how many tags they fill, and self regulate how many days of the 11 week season they want to hunt, and how late or early in the year they should blast a cow elk during a shoulder season.

Its really working well.

I'm just wondering why the MTFWP even exists and why they employ a single biologist? What are they doing to improve management?

 

[tjones]

Happy New Year Buzz!

 

[BuzzH]

Same Tony...Happy New Year!

 

[cowboy]

Maybe it's time to elect our game commissioners rather than have them appointed by the governor - problem as I see it is our biologists are not being listened to when they do their job and it's even worse when you have a worthless biologist in an area.

This whole conversation all comes back to politics - call it something politically correct like land owner social tolerance or whatever you want but if any business was run like our total game system they wouldn't last very long.

 

[longbeard697]

Man guys! It sounds like you guys are in the same exact pickle we're in here in WV. Here residents an nonresidents can, if they buy all the proper tags, can harvest as many as 8 deer which 3 of them must be antlered bucks. Now, in our state antlered is considered to be 3"s above the hair line. An when our traditional "Bucks Only" season has come in for the last 4 or 5 years, one could buy class N tags, Doe tags, so you could basically kill either sex. An some of these counties you can buy as many as 3. So if one would be hunting in one of these counties an buys his or her extra buck tag that's 5 deer in a 2 week season. An we too get flooded by outsiders that come from bordering states that have stricter harvest regulations. Three of the five states that border us have a strict 1 buck limit an those are the more common outofstate tags that flood us during our rifle season. I know my rambling has nothing to do with your guys' situation but I just found it very interesting that it's not just happening in our state.

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

Bottom line is that the management policies for Eastern MT are not sustainable and are outdated at best. There are a lot of options that would take some managerial courage from FWP, which it appears they are short on .

I personally think it would be really fun to have a muzzleloader hunt out there as a lot of the country in the Custer and around the Powder is very conducive to getting pretty close to animals. Parts of 705 might be pretty challenging though.

It's been discussed at length that with the advances in technology, hunters are far more lethal than they were a generation ago so limiting the season length, hunter numbers, opportunity, etc. is going to have to happen at some point or we won't be hunting much of anything out there.

 

[rogerthat]

Montana deer hunting is managed for opportunity. Period exclamation point. As soon as everyone just accepts that and moves on to hunting other states you will be much happier. The mule deer survey solidified what Fwp already knew and you can't argue with that. It is going to get much much worse before it ever gets better. 20 years from now mule deer hunting in mt will be much much worse! Maybe by than we will have a shoulder season for mule deer too!! I can't wait! More opportunity!!

 

[rogerthat]

In all seriousness though, this winter is going to hammer deer and antelope populations in se MT. It is the frozen tundra out there and body conditions are deteriorating fast. Drifting is as bad as I have ever seen and coyotes are running on top. They will be killing deer as they wish in another week or so and no relief in the weather forecast. Just saying... but Fwp will probably sell just as many tags next year. Hope I'm wrong but that's how it's looking out here.

 

[schmalts]

Tjones,

What you're not realizing is that the guys on hunttalk are not the average hunter. Most don't know any better and trust the FWP is doing things right...and those b-tags they fill are the "proof" of that great management.

Again, sportsmen should not have to self regulate...and since when has that ever worked?

Some people know the truth and still buy B tags. Those guys are idiots. Others are like you said, just trusting the inept FWP. This conversation is a rerun of what I had with you last year. Not everyone is uninformed of the situation, but still some of those people refuse to take responsibility for their actions. You could't give me a B tag for mule deer in the Custer, or maybe you could so I could throw it in the trash.

 

[8andcounting]

I bought a B tag this year for deer and just threw it away today , never hunted for it. It was a region 7 mule

 

[antlerradar]

I could be wrong on this as it was thirty years ago. As I remember most of the doe tags were issued for over by Broadus. Back then region 7 was broken up into a lot of small units. The fast majority of the tags were likely filled on private land. I think it was in the 90's that FWP started to issue region wide doe tags.

Really sad if the Custer is the best big block of OTC public mule deer hunting in the state.

 

[Straight Arrow]

Hunting the Bridger Mtns and areas north of Bozeman for decades, it was disappointing to see a decline in mule deer bucks and for awhile, does also. On a positive note, at least from my personal observation the limited antlered mule deer permit system seems to be bringing back greater numbers and even more mature bucks. Although I elected not to take a mule deer this season, I observed relatively more deer and one evening watched six different bucks, two of which were mature four-point bucks, one I had hoped my grandson might take.