SE MT bird hunting

[802flyfish]

A few friends and I are renting an old fire tower for a few nights in SE Montana near Broadus during the middle October. We mainly booked it to do some scouting for deer but I’d like to get my pup on some birds as well. Has anyone done upland around this area? What kinds of birds could we expect to see ?



Thanks!

 

[runningmt]

Sharptails and partridge. Good luck and have fun, that fire tower stay is on my bucket list!

 

[badlander]

There are a few pheasants out there, lots of sharpies.

I've deer hunted the area quite a bit and have thought about bringing my Springer out there too, but I've always been afraid of the cactus and rattlesnakes. Two things she's never had to deal with here at home in MN. Curious, what do you do out in that country to keep the dogs feet free of cactus thorns? I know I cant crawl thru the sage brush without winding up with hands and knees full of the dang things?

 

[MTLabrador]

There are a few pheasants out there, lots of sharpies.

I've deer hunted the area quite a bit and have thought about bringing my Springer out there too, but I've always been afraid of the cactus and rattlesnakes. Two things she's never had to deal with here at home in MN. Curious, what do you do out in that country to keep the dogs feet free of cactus thorns? I know I cant crawl thru the sage brush without winding up with hands and knees full of the dang things?

Dogs will learn to avoid the prickly pear, but even then it still happens. Try to avoid the really bad cactus and pull all the spines that you can, but it’s just inevitable. By late October I wouldn’t worry about rattlesnakes.

 

[802flyfish]

I missed the snake breaking clinic this year so I want to be extra cautious. Rattlers should be long gone I hope by mid October...

 

[antlerradar]

Going to be mostly Sharptails around Diamond. I would look for them in the Chokecherry/plumb thickets. I hope it rains a bunch as we need it bad, if it does the last little bit up the tower might get a bet western.

 

[bullbugle307]

I missed the snake breaking clinic this year so I want to be extra cautious. Rattlers should be long gone I hope by mid October...

Can't speak to SE Montana, but I run into rattlers in SE Wyoming every year in late October and early November. They'll come back out if there's a warmer day, even if weve had snow storms and frosts already.

 

[802flyfish]

I called the closest vet to where we’re hunting to make sure they did emergency calls. She stated that the rattle snake anti venom is not widely carried by vets because it’s 2k a dose and expires after a few weeks..

 

[bullbugle307]

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just try and stay away from open areas where they'll be trying to thermoregulate on warmer days. I figure if the ground where their dens are is colder than they would like and the surface is warm, but not too warm, that's when they'll come out to the surface to try and regulate their body temperature that time of year.