HUNTING GUIDE FALL/WINTER 2021 - A SPECIAL PUBLICATION OF - townnews.com
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Fall/Winter 2021 Hunting Guide • 1 Two bull elk spar. Drought likely to shape big game seasons Hunting a tale of mild and getting those young ani- mals into adulthood.” winter, dry summer Montana’s wide expanses mean a variety of habitats and TOM KUGLIN different species handle tough tom.kuglin@lee.net conditions better than others. Northeast Montana has seen Hunting this fall could a surge in mule deer popula- be largely shaped by the tions so numbers likely remain widespread drought hitting favorable, Wakeling said. the state this summer, from In the southeast, mule deer potential access closures to numbers are not quite as rosy. impacts on wildlife fitness and Whitetails overall seem to location. be doing better than mule While some early hunts deer. Elk tend to be less sensi- start in August, Montana’s tive to extreme summer con- hunting season really begins ditions, Wakeling said. USDA NRCS in earnest Sept. 4 with the Lush grasses in the spring A bachelor group of mule deer bucks near the Missouri River in Chouteau County. start of the six-week archery and summer are when animals season. On Oct. 23, general bulk up for the stresses of fall season kicks off for five weeks success hovered around aver- Management Bureau chief ruts and winter, said Butte- and ends the Sunday after age levels in most parts of the with Montana Fish, Wildlife & area FWP biologist Vanna Thanksgiving. And new for state. Parks. “We did see a relatively Boccadori. this year, traditional muzzle- Persistent drought this mild winter and were looking “Any calves or young born loader hunters will have their summer affected green up forward to that with fawns this year are probably going to own nine-day season to chase with many areas of Montana and calves hitting the ground. be pretty darn light going into elk and deer in December. reporting stifled grass growth. But the real challenge for that the fall,” she said. “Adults just Most big game herds fared That can mean less nutrition of course is we’re also dealing won’t have the fat, which can pretty well following a mild for elk, deer and other wild- with drought (and) fires. So affect breeding potential so winter by Montana standards. life. while we might’ve seen some you could see this affect two Cold snaps remained relatively “I think we’re seeing that favorable winter survival, we generations of animals.” short-lived with little lower doubled-edged sword,” may see some reduced sur- elevation snow. And hunter said Brian Wakeling, Game vival in terms of recruitment SEE BIG GAME, Page 2
2 • Hunting Guide Fall/Winter 2021 Big Game From 1 While animals may see reduced weights due to the drought, Boccadori says hunt- ers should still see solid num- bers of deer and elk bolstered by the mild winter. She hopes that translates to some high hunter success rates to reduce competition for food during the winter. “I hope we get a good har- vest because if we have a hard winter we’re likely to have pretty decent winter kill,” she said. In the Helena area, biologist Jenny Sika said it will remain to be seen how much the drought will affect big game numbers. Preston Keres “The mild winter was A mule deer makes his way near Reservoir Lake/Lemhi Pass, Dillon Ranger District of Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. certainly good for fawn recruitment – mule deer numbers looked good in the Wildfire danger can mean access issues Elk and deer spring although numbers Wildfires and fire danger could leave some hunters unable to access season dates are still down so there aren’t their favorite areas. Federal and state authorities may close areas due to an active Archery: Sept. 4 – Oct. 17. many (antlerless) tags,” she said. “We probably won’t wildfire or in some extreme cases, simply due to fire danger. Two-Day Youth Hunt: Hunters could see access to private lands limited as well. In the bad Oct. 21 – Oct. 22. know until we fly again next fire year of 2017 nearly 80 block management areas enacted closures spring how much the drought due to fire danger. General: Oct. 23 – Nov. 28. affected fawns or adults. We Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks offers some recommendations to are seeing some loss, it’s been Traditional Muzzleloader: avoid starting wildfires: Dec. 11- Dec. 19 a rough year for critters this summer.” Park vehicles on bare ground After leaving an area, wait for *Does not include elk shoulder Sika added that elk numbers or ground completely void of few minutes to make sure that seasons which vary by district remained solid around the vegetation. a fire has not started where a Helena area. vehicle was parked. Townsend-area FWP biolo- Drive only on paved and well Biologists have also been gist Adam Grove anticipates graveled roads. Smoke only inside buildings or wrapping up pronghorn similar trends for his manage- Camp only in designated vehicles. counts. Unlike deer and elk ment area in the Big Belts and that are traditionally counted camping areas. Check on any fire restrictions Elkhorns. Hunters saw decent on winter range, pronghorn in place. success last year and elk and Bring along a fire extinguisher are counted during the sum- deer populations continue to or water-filled weed sprayer, Consider limiting activity until mer. Both Wakeling and be robust, particularly in areas shovel or axe. fire danger lessens. Grove reported very low fawn with limited hunting access, numbers likely tied to the he said. drought. Hunters that drew limited availability and mild weather it can really depend on what “The jury is still going to either-sex elk permits for the that left elk and deer widely sort of environment they’re in be out with the effects of the Elkhorns reported 64% suc- distributed. Still, Grove shared with native range quality and drought but we do have some cess with the average age of similar concerns of what the lack of forage in some cases. It concerns with the recruit- bulls being 7 years old. That is drought could mean. wouldn’t be surprising to see ment we’re seeing there,” on par in terms of age struc- “Over-winter survival lower calf and fawn crops.” Wakeling said of antelope. ture and slightly above long- should’ve been good but Wildlife on irrigated agri- term averages for the hunting obviously you may see some cultural lands should be able Tom Kuglin is the deputy edi- district, he said. impacts from the drought to access better nutritional tor for the Lee Newspapers Seasonal population counts conditions out there on repro- feed and probably would not State Bureau. His coverage were difficult this year due to duction and things like that,” see as many negative impacts, focuses on outdoors, recre- a combination of limited pilot he said. “With cows and does Grove said. ation and natural resources.
Fall/Winter 2021 Hunting Guide • 3 Upland bird seasons A tougher upland year Mountain and sharp-tailed grouse: Sept. 1-Jan. 1 Hungarian partridge: Sept. 1-Jan. 1 Sage grouse: Sept. 1-Sept. 30 Pheasant youth season: Sept. 25-Sept. 26 Pheasant: Oct. 9-Jan. 1 Taking weather and habitat conditions into consideration overall production and habitat conditions, hunting success is predicted to be below average Photo Courtesy of Olli Jalonen though very dependent on the While conditions for upland game bird hunting vary widely across the state, one thing is for sure: The current drought has made this hunters’ efforts.” year a lot tougher than recent years for birds and hunters alike. Rodgers advises hunters: “When choosing a place Drought hard on far northeast corner of the state, “They do tend to be a year’s prospects prepared for to hunt, you first need to the agency, FWP’s Evan Rodg- look at your target species. chicks; hunt results little more resilient. We are ers, Region 4 upland game seeing some broods. But brood bird specialist, said, “Based Sharp-tailed grouse will be in the grasslands intermixed ‘dependent on efforts’ survival will still be much less on overall spring lek atten- with farmland and foothills than normal.” dance for sharp-tailed grouse throughout Region 4. They DAVID MCCUMBER It’s a dramatic contrast from and crow count surveys for will tend to day roost on the david.mccumber@ last year, when conditions pheasants ... overall numbers tops of hills and draws with mstandard.com were much better. “Last year are still below the long-term grass and forb cover averag- was a pretty good year,” he average across the region.” ing shin height. On windy While conditions for said. “Sharptails in particular Still, he added, “Even with days they will generally stay upland game bird hunting did really well. Hunters had an the lower-than-average spring on the leeward side of a hill vary widely across the state, above-average year. precipitation, nesting habitat out of the wind. Pheasant will one thing is for sure: The cur- “This one will be below looked fair to good. There generally be closer to riparian rent drought has made this average.” are areas where grasses are areas and farmlands. Cover year a lot tougher than recent But Thompson said many still green and grass hoppers needs vary, but finding areas years for birds and hunters people who come to the region are abundant, but with the with grass higher than your alike. every year will likely still make continued drought conditions, shin, mixed with shrubs and “What it does is impact the trip. habitat quality may decline in small draws, and near a food chick brood survival,” said “The hunting won’t be quite time. Since May the summer source (farmland/shrub ber- FWP wildlife biologist Scott the same. But many people has been very hot and dry. ries) is a good place to start. Thompson, who is based in know and love the area, and “Water is running low for Huns have the ability to thrive Glasgow. “The birds hatched they know they’ll still find many and many pastures, in all of the above habitats fine in late May and early June, some opportunity, and they simply put, weren’t as pro- but are more susceptible to but young chicks met with dry love to get out and walk the ductive as they usually are. extreme weather.” conditions right away in many ground and work their dogs.” areas, and quite a few probably He added that many land- didn’t survive.” owners have a lot of concern We’ve Got Your “Already by that time,” Thompson said, “we were about fires and the drought has been stressful. “More than atv tires MONGREL 489 XT seeing some pretty high ever, we’re reminding hunters SPARTACUS AT489 GRIM REAPER temperatures and not real to be cautious and aware of good moisture to get that the fire danger, and respectful grass cover going. That puts a of landowners.” great amount of stress on the In Region 4, which takes in AmericAn cAr cAre chicks.” much of central Montana and 3600 Harrison • 494-4450 He said that’s true for pretty parts of the Hi-Line and, like LisAc’s Tire 2109 Yale • Butte • 723-4294 much all the upland species — Region 6, traditionally offers LisAc’s Tire pheasant, Hungarian partridge some of the best upland bird Anaconda • 563-6110 and grouse. He said while sage opportunity, the situation is grouse aren’t as plentiful as similar. 441 S. Montana St. • 782-9108 sharptails in his region, the In a brief summary of the
4 • Hunting Guide Fall/Winter 2021 5 tips for every hunter Wardens want you to read this before you go into the field Here are five things Mon- tana’s game wardens would like to tell every hunter before their trip begins. Thanks go to Warden Sgt. Justin Hawka- luk for this information. 1. Have a plan. Know where you’re going — spe- cifically — and what you’re hunting for, and all applicable regulations. Whether a viola- tion is intentional or unin- tentional, it’s still a violation. Inadvertent violations usually stem from a lack of prepared- THOM BRIDGE, Independent Record ness. 2. Let somebody know Hawkaluk checks the tag of a whitetail deer that a hunter shot in the Elkhorn Mountains. Don’t HURT your plan — particularly where you’ll be and when you risk a fine and losing hunt- expect to return. For obvious ing and fishing privileges during the HUNT! reasons. for a year. 3. Its unsightly. 3. Make sure you have A dumped carcass reflects legal access. If you’re hunt- poorly on the hunting com- ing on private land, that munity. means making sure you have up-to-date permission. Carcass disposal Hunting without landowner guidelines permission is the ticket war- To prevent the spread of dens write more frequently chronic wasting disease, all than any other. parts of the head or skull 4. Don’t dump carcasses containing brain material illegally. Here’s the word, and/or the spinal columns straight from Page 4 of the of deer, elk, and moose har- 2021 hunting regulations: vested in Montana must be There are three very impor- left in the field at the kill site tant reasons not to dump a or, if transported for further game carcass: 1. It can spread processing including taxi- chronic wasting disease. Any part of the carcass of an ani- dermy or meat processing, must be disposed of in a class The pros at Pintler can help mal with CWD can transmit the disease for at least two II landfill. 5. Remember it’s been with knee, shoulder, years. 2. It’s illegal. Montana State Law prohibits dumping a hot, dry summer. That’s not only changed hunting and any other pain! dead animals or refuse on conditions and where animals public property, including all might be — it’s also affected state-owned and managed access. Some landowners lands, which includes FWP may not grant the access they pintlerpt.com pintlerpt.com managed fishing access sites have in the past (including and wildlife management block management) because areas. If you are caught, you of concerns over fire. 110 Main St., Anaconda | 406-563-0797
Fall/Winter 2021 Hunting Guide • 5 TAKING BETTER TROPHY PICS THOM BRIDGE, Independent Record Drew Williams, a Missoula hunter, poses with a bull moose he shot in the fall of 2020. THOM BRIDGE Sit down- Having the angles, angles tip. So to avoid dripping from the mouth and Independent Record hunter sit on their butt behind photos where the hunter is set the animal’s tongue back the animal will make them trying to smile but actually in its mouth. Every hunting season I more comfortable, which grimacing because their fore- Avoid mergers- Position share photos from my and makes for a more natural pose. arms are on fire from holding the hunter so they don’t have hunting partners’ adventures It will also draw more focus on the head up, try a kickstand. any trees sticking out of their afield and I always have people the animal if the hunter isn’t Clean the scene- Look, we head. While you set up the ask me how to make better hovering over it and it’s antlers. all know hunting is a bloody shot also make sure the antlers trophy photos. So here’s a list Admiration- I think the activity, but that doesn’t mean don’t merge with the hunter. of suggestions to make your strongest trophy pictures are our trophy pictures have to be. trophy pictures look like they when the hunter isn’t look- I always use a bandana, snow Thom Bridge can be reached at belong in a magazine. ing at the camera, but instead or grass to wipe away blood Thom.bridge@helenair.com Find the light- A foolproof admiring the animal. way of setting up a photo is Angles, angles, angles- making sure the sun is at a Whether you have a hunting 45-degree angle in front of the buddy taking your photos or STOP IN BEFORE THE HUNT hunter. If the sun is directly you have a DIY setup with a Hot Breakfasts - Coffee - Snack & More in their face, it will make it tripod, shoot photos from as hard for them to avoid squint- many angles as you can. I have FOOD - FUEL - FUN ing and you’ll be fighting the found that when I go back Come Try Your Luck in the Casino photographer’s shadow in the and look at my photos there’s shot. always one angle that shows Join our new Players Club Get low- If you want the the hunter and the animal the Clean Your Truck After the antlers to look as big as they best. OPEN 24 Hours Hunt in our CAR WASH can(who doesn’t?), then a Kickstand- The head gear low angle will do the trick. So on that giant bull or buck can don’t be afraid to lay down on be heavy, especially when the & Good Tymes Casino the ground and take the shot, photographer spends a lot 2544 Harrison Ave, Buttte • 782-9359 • Locally Owned but look out for prickly pear. of time following the angles,
6 • Hunting Guide Fall/Winter 2021 provide an extra weekend of Duck, duck, goose hunting. “A lot of hunters didn’t think the extra weekend was worth the complication,” Hansen said. As a result, the Pacific Flyway’s split season was can- celed, and the agency also did away with the split season in the northern zone (Zone 1) of the Central Flyway. In Zone 2, the split season will remain. Montana is split roughly in half by the two flyways. The Pacific Flyway includes Hill, Chouteau, Cascade, Meagher and Park counties and all counties lying west of these. In the Central Flyway, Zone PERRY BACKUS, Ravalli Republic 1 (for ducks, coots and geese) Waterfowl hunters are told to expect more challenging hunting conditions for the 2021 season. includes Blaine, Carter, Dan- iels, Dawson, Fallon, Fergus, A challenging a bit because of the drought. “Potholes were drying up, much. They can use the bigger Garfield, Golden Valley, Judith lakes and reservoirs.” Basin, McCone, Musselshell, season awaits and there weren’t as many places for ducks to settle,” He said in a January survey Petroleum, Phillips, Powder in eastern Montana, scientists River, Richland, Roosevelt, waterfowl hunters Hansen said. “We’ll still have a saw record numbers of geese. good number of birds, but not “Many of them haven’t Sheridan, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Valley, Wheatland DAVID MCCUMBER that many young birds. They’ll really left,” he said. “They’ve and Wibaux counties. Zone david.mccumber@ be older and more experienced, got wings and they can choose 2 includes Big Horn, Carbon, mtstandard.com which means harder to hunt.” to fly south, but they stayed Custer, Prairie, Rosebud, Trea- Still, Hansen maintained, instead of going to Colorado sure and Yellowstone counties. There’s no question about it: “There will be good hunting to and Texas. We had mild, snow- As in previous years, there’s Waterfowl hunting is going to be had anyway.” free days in December and a special youth waterfowl sea- be more challenging than usual He warned that a lot of the January. That ended quickly in son the weekend of September in Montana this year. wetlands where hunters are February, but the geese were in 25-26. The regular season Although May surveys by used to going will have big really good shape going into it.” begins October 2. the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service mudflats around the edges, One group that the FWP was Montana has a variety of and the Canadian Wildlife making hunting even more able to survey were the hunters regulations on the types and Service were canceled for the challenging. themselves. And as a result of sex of waterfowl that may be second year in a row because of “Mudflats around the edges questioning 3,000 randomly taken, as well as differences the pandemic, wildlife biolo- make wetlands a lot harder to selected waterfowl hunters, in regulations between the gists know, in large measure, hunt, in terms of hiding from the agency determined that flyways, so hunters should what to expect. the ducks, and setting out many really didn’t care for the familiarize themselves with “A lot of the prairie pot- decoys,” he said. “It’s nice to split season, in which hunting the specific regulations and hole country on both sides of have some taller vegetation was closed for five weekdays become proficient with bird the border is very dry,” said around. It certainly won’t be and then reopened in order to identification. Jim Hansen, Central Flyway ideal this year.” migratory bird coordinator for Hansen said populations are the Montana Department of likely to vary widely between RED WRECKER 2021 GUN SHOWS Fish, Wildlife & Parks. This species of ducks. SERVICE For more information, call (406) 633-9333 or visit our website: www.SCIShows.com Billings • 9/10-12 isn’t the Billings-based Han- “They’re all probably going Promoted by Sports Connection, Inc. • P.O. Box 633 • Park City, MT 59063 24-Hour Service Gun Show - MetraPark sen’s first rodeo: In January, he to suffer some,” he said. “But Hamilton• 9/17-19 celebrated 30 years with FWP, those that breed in northern • Damage-Free Towing • 4x4 Wrecker Gun Show - Ravalli County Fair. so he has a pretty good handle Alberta and Saskatchewan, like • Cold Weather Butte • 10/ 15-17 on what to expect this water- scaup and goldeneye, are going Starting Gun Show - Butte Civic Center fowl season. to do a lot better.” • Car Unlocking “We had a good number of Hansen said goose hunting Helena • 11/12-14 Butte’s Oldest Wrecker Service Gun Show - Lewis & Clark Co. Fair. ducks heading back to breed- will the the bright spot again USED PARTS ing grounds last year because this year. Domestic & Foreign Billings • 11/26-28 we’ve had good production for “Canada goose production Jay Richards, Owner Gun Show - MetraPark a couple of years,” Hansen said. is still good,” he said. “They 520 Holmes Ave. • Butte, MT Hamilton • 12/3-5 “But the number of birds actu- are very adaptable, and don’t ally hatched will be down quite depend on small wetlands as 494-3606 Gun Show - Ravalli County Fair.
Fall/Winter 2021 Hunting Guide • 7 FWP updates Montana Hunt Planner with new mapping features TOM KUGLIN tom.kuglin@lee.net A new update for the Mon- tana Hunt Planner offered through Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks means detailed infor- mation on hunting has never been more readily available. The first iteration of the hunt planner launched on FWP’s website about 10 years ago. Hunters could navigate drop-down menus and troves of data on hunting districts, wildlife populations and hunter pressure. But after a decade, it was time for an upgrade. “That’s a long time for any technology to be around,” said Dawn Anderson, FWP’s Geo- graphic Data Service’s Bureau species-specific informa- Thom Bridge chief. “The age of it made it tion are mainstays of the A screen shot of the updated Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Hunt Planner Map. Huge difficult for us to add any new hunt planner. Some new tools functionality or tools and we include GIS layers for harvest also heard from hunters it was opportunity by species, hunter difficult to navigate.” type such as youth or different The newest hunt planner season options, and a license aims to provide hunters better look-up function to see where mapping capabilities including a tag is valid. in v en t ory multiple GIS layers to custom- The program is only avail- ize desired information. It is able on the website as FWP now far more mobile-friendly does not offer a mobile app. of Hunting Boots as well. While use of the website “Then the rise of mobile has requires an internet con- been huge and we just know that from where users were nection, the hunter planner allows creation of a GPX file for and accessories coming to the FWP website for download and use on a GPS. the original version,” Anderson Maps may also be exported as •Danner •C •H rispi ang W ag said. “We’re trying to do a printable PDFs. good job of getting info out to “So far the feedback has •K enetreK •i s risH etter the hunting public.” been really positive,” Anderson A number of mapping said. •M errell programs have come onto the Anderson added that FWP market in recent years. FWP wants to hear feedback from touts its hunt planner as free users to help work out any and offering the most current bugs and optimize the hunt information. As FWP regu- planner function. From within lates hunting in the state, any the map, a drop-down menu changes will be immediately located on the upper left incorporated into the hunt includes a feedback survey. planner, according to informa- tion on the program’s rollout. Tom Kuglin is the deputy editor Hunting districts, land- ownership, block manage- for the Lee Newspapers State Bureau. His coverage focuses on 301 S. Arizona St. ment areas, chronic wasting disease surveillance areas and outdoors, recreation and natu- ral resources. Butte, MT 59701 | 406.782.1306
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