In the northwest corner of Montana, the last two winters have brought harsh conditions and deep snowfall across much to the region, creating challenging conditions for recruitment of big game populations in some areas. The snowpack in many areas was above-average late into winter, making for difficult hunting conditions a year ago and low survival… Read More »
Mountain Grouse Mountain grouse, including ruffed, spruce, and dusky (or blue) grouse, are fun to hunt and good to eat. The last few years have been good for these birds in FWP Regions 1 (northwestern Montana), 2 (western Montana), 3 (southwestern Montana) and parts of 4. In Region 5, Mountain grouse fared better than prairie… Read More »
To improve habitat for upland game birds, landowners can apply to enroll in a variety of cost-share programs under the Upland Game Bird Habitat Enhancement Program (UGBHEP) to develop, enhance, and conserve Montana’s upland game bird habitats. Part of the agreements for these programs is that the land in the project area remains open to… Read More »
Montana’s millions of acres of private land offer some excellent hunting opportunities—the only catch is gaining the landowner’s permission to hunt. It is Montana law that hunters obtain landowner permission to hunt on all private land. Here are a few things to keep in mind that will greatly improve results when attempting to secure hunting… Read More »
With fire season underway in Montana and several counties already implementing fire restrictions, hunters should be keenly aware of the regulations in place in the locations they plan to hunt, at least until the weather begins to cool. FWP urges hunters to check in with the regional FWP offices or online about potential closures before… Read More »
The 1,200 volunteers who teach Hunter Education remind all hunters there are four basic rules of gun safety. Always point the muzzle of your gun in a safe direction. Always treat every gun as if it were loaded. Always be sure of your target and beyond. Always keep your finger off the trigger until ready… Read More »
The Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks toll-free hotline for reporting wildlife poaching, property damage, and violations of fish and game laws is in operation 24 hours a day. TIP-MONT is the acronym for Turn in Poachers—Montana. Poaching includes: hunting out of season or at night using spotlights taking more than one’s legal limit nonresidents who… Read More »
Following are all the dates from FWP for the 2018 hunting season…
With Montana’s bow hunting and upland game bird seasons opening Sept. 1, remember that slow moving, quiet or game-calling, scented and camouflaged hunters will soon be sharing the landscape with the state’s even stealthier bears that may be stalking similar prey. It may not be an encounter one hopes for, but all hunters must be… Read More »
Elk shoulder seasons began Aug. 15 in several hunting districts around Montana. Elk shoulder seasons are firearms seasons that can occur as early as Aug. 15 and run as late as Feb 15 depending on the hunting district. While most shoulder seasons focus on antlerless elk harvest on private land and are not intended to… Read More »