Mba fall 2017 issue

VOL. 45 #1 Fall 2017

A SERIES OF

ADVENTURES – PAGE 20

MBA Member Spotlight! – PAGE 14 Bowhunting - a Completely Pointless Endeavor – PAGE 15 History of Making Bowhunting – PAGE 16 2017 Canyon Ferry Carp Safari – PAGE 18

Return service requested Montana Bowhunters Association PO Box 23611 Billings, MT 59104

Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit # 120 Bozeman, MT 59718

MBA

Regional Representatives

www.mtba.org

MBA officers PRESIDENT

Region 1

Al Kelly

Mike Shephard 351 7th Ave East N., Columbia Falls, MT 59912 ................ 406-250-9806

PO Box 219, Libby, MT 59923 ............................................ 406-293-2900 alman@frontiernet.net

michaelshepard7@gmail.com

Region 2

Neil Maier

Region 3

Brian Koelzer

Barrett Haugan 560 Clovehitch Road Belgrade, MT 59714 ......................... 406-539-0602

16200 Roman Creek Rd Frenchtown, MT 59834 ............... 406-546-6013 nam56@yahoo.com 80 Jansma Lane Manhattan, MT 59741.............................. 406-570-7997 rocknrollbowhunter3@yahoo.com btreasurestate@aol.com

Region 4

Stephen LePage 2574 Divide Rd. Lewistown, MT ....................................... 406-535-5636

Roger Licht

mbaregion4@yahoo.com PO Box 189 Stanford MT 59479.... 406-566-2693 — Cell 406-366-1580 Licht@Roger@yahoo.com

Region 5

John Grimstad

Richard Lewallen 4234 Audubon Way Drive Billings, MT 59106...................... 406-690-0854

2031 Poly Drive Billings, MT 59102 .................................. 406-252-3620 twingrim@bresnan.net

Marlon Clapham 4455 Hoover Lane • Stevensville, MT 59870 mbaregion2@gmail.com • 406-777-2408 1ST VICE PRESIDENT

Steve Schindler 134 Sawney Drive • Glasgow, MT 59203 sas@nemont.net • 406-228-9024 2ND VICE PRESIDENT

Mark Schwomeyer 60 Hruska Ln • Lewistown, MT 59457 markschwo@gmail.com • 406-350-0173 TREASURER

Jenn Schneider PO Box 23611 • Billings, MT 59104 mtba@mtba.org • 406-697-7668 SECRETARY

Beckie Doyle P.O. Box 136 • Conner, Mt 59827 mybluewalker@yahoo.com • 406-531-4060

rpdlew@aol.com

Region 6 David Moon Region 7 Region 8

PAST PRESIDENT

97 Aberdeen, Glasgow, MT 59230...................................... 406-942-0659 djmoon9876@gmail.com

Bob Morgan

6963 York Road • Helena, MT 59602 jselkmt@gmail.com • 406-422-6798

P.O. Box 1995 Colstrip, MT 59323...................................... 406-749-0706 robertredface@gmail.com

Jerry Davis

Joelle Selk

725 Middlemas Road, Helena, MT 59602........................... 406-475-2226

MAGAZINE CO-EDITORS

Teri and Al Kelly PO Box 219 • Libby, MT 59923 teray1979@yahoo.com

pipelinejerry@gmail.com

AT LARGE DIRECTORS EVEN YEARS

Roger Peffer 2517 9th Ave So., Great Falls, MT 59405 – regorp77@msn.com..........................................406-452-0911 Seth Rogers 1425 Prickley Pear, Billings, MT 59105 – srogers@lamar.com.............................................406-670-5435 Tim Roberts 2410 Chouteau St, Fort Benton, MT 59442 – timr59442@gmail.com..................................406-220-2051 Paul Martin 110 Sage Lane, Kalispell, MT 59901 - paulhmartin99@gmail.com........................... 406-261-4456 Ray Gross 355 Antelope Drive Dillon, MT 59725 – raygross0144@gmail.com......................... 406-660-1019 Kent Brown PO Box 160803 Big Sky MT 59716 - kdbrown7@msn.com...................................... 406-321-1059

The MBA Magazine is a quarterly publication of the MBA and is intended to inform, entertain and educate its members on happenings within the organization and to bowhunting in general.

PUBLICATION DATES AND DEADLINES

FALL ISSUE, DEADLINE, July 15 WINTER ISSUE, DEADLINE, October 15 SPRING ISSUE, DEADLINE, January 15 SUMMER ISSUE, DEADLINE, April 15

Liberty Brown Branding Iron Marketing Brandingironmarketingllc.com 406-581-7216 MAGAZINE DESIGN

K Design Marketing, Inc.

ODD YEARS

EDITORIAL COMMENTS

WEB DESIGNER

Stories, photos, or cartoons should be sent to Al or Teri Kelly at PO Box 23611, Billings, MT 59104 or email teray1979@yahoo.com. All materials are the opinion of the author unless otherwise stated, and are subject to being edited. All photos will be placed in the MBA Photo Ablum and can be viewed at the annual conventions. Any questions as to policies of MBA please write the President.

MEMBERSHIP INQURIES

Please send new memberships or renewal memberships to MBA Tresurer, PO Box 23611, Billings, MT 59104 or call 406-697-7668, register online at www.mtba.org or ask a member.

1613 South Ave. W. • Missoula, MT 59801 kim@kdesignmarketing.com 406-273-6193

For all those who purchase the plate, the MBEF would like to invite you to send us a photo of your plate on your vehicle.

Be creative, include yourself, pets, family, trophies of all sorts, etc.

Photos will be posted on the website. www.mtbowhuntermuseum.org

Fall 2017

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Teri & Al Kelly

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hat is the role of the MBA? I’ve thought a great deal about this question in the last week or so. The Montana Bowhunter’s Association was established in 1973 as a nonprofit organization, by and for Montana’s bowhunters. Its sole purpose: To unite the state’s bowhunting sportsmen to work towards a common goal of preserving and promoting the sport of bowhunting in Montana.

“Unite the state’s bowhunting sportsmen…..”. It doesn’t say, “Unite the state’s traditional bowhunting sportsmen or Unite the state’s compound bowhunting sportsmen or Unite the state’s bowhunting sportsmen depending on what kind of equipment you choose to shoot or technology you choose to use”. It simply says, “Unite the state’s bowhunting sportsmen”. Is there a divide in our country, our state and even the individual regions of Montana about what kind of equipment a bowhunters chooses to use? You bet there is, so let’s just call a spade a spade and be done with it. We have a divide because people can’t seem to respect that we all have a choice. Rather than respect that choice, we choose to mock or demean the ones who do things differently than ourselves. Sound familiar? People have preferences and they also have opinions and they generally aren’t afraid to vehemently express those preferences and opinion or feel that others should be likeminded. We often feel that “our” way is the right or best way. But in reality, it boils down to personal choice. And that ability to choose also exists in bowhunting. I drive whatever brand I like to drive. I prefer to cook with certain brands or have a particular brand of boot I like to wear. I have certain things I believe, and things I believe in. We are often judged by the choices we make. If I told you who I voted for in the last presidential election, would that change me as a person or change your opinion of me? Maybe … maybe not. But I’d still be the same person I was before you knew that particular fact about me.

Ask yourself this question and you only have to be honest with yourself because you’re not telling anyone your answer. Do you, or have you ever assumed things about a bowhunter based on what kind of equipment they may shoot or use? My guess is that at one time or another we have all been guilty of it. I imagine that other sports have the same issues. Should fishermen judge one another? My husband gives me grief about fishing with worms while he fishes with a fly rod. Is one better than the other, is he the better fisherman than me because he does it one way and I choose another?

No, it’s just different options for the same end goal, catching fish. If you use a fish locator in your boat does that make you less or more of a fisherman?

No, you might know where the fish are but you still have to get them to bite.

So how does this relate to bowhunters? Practicing, keeping your equipment in good shape, your arrows sharp, and taking well placed shots are a few of the things that contribute to your success as a hunter. Are there going to be bad hunters out there? I don’t care what sport you’re in, there are always going to be a faction that takes every short cut possible and will do anything to make sure they come out on top with the biggest score, most fish, or biggest set of horns, but should we judge the whole lot of hunters based on what a few might do?

So how do we close this divide? We are bowhunters. We are the Montana Bow Hunters Association and we represent bowhunters. Our membership is made up of bowhunters. You see where I’m going here. We are united in bowhunting and we need to continue to be. And more importantly, we need to be respectful of one another as bowhunters. We can begin to close the divide by meeting on common ground. We can close the divide by conducting ourselves in our conversations and attitudes as bowhunters rather than defined by our equipment choices. We are bowhunters.

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Montana

BOWHUNTER

Teri Kelly WWW.MTBA.ORG

www.pronghornbows.com 307-234-1824 evenings 2491 West 42nd Street Casper, WY 82604

TABLE OF CONTENTS VOL. 45 #1 Fall 2017

18 PAGE

20 PAGE

13

PAGE

2 On the Cover

EDITOR’S NOTE

Teri Kelly

4

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Marlon Clahman

5

1ST VICE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

SteveSchindler

2ND VICE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Mark Schwomeyer

TREASURER’S MESSAGE

NEWSLETTER ISSUES

Jenn Schneider SECRETARY’S MESSAGE

Becky Doyle

6 REGIONAL REPORTS

10 DO YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS Cover Photo Brian Koelzer 425lb Saskatchewan black bear.

SUPPORT HUNTERS, WILDLIFE,

HABITAT AND ACCESS?

13 YOUTH CONSERVATION &

EDUCATION EXPO

YOUTH SHOOTING SPORTS EXPO

by Marlon Clapham

14 MBA MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

BLAST FROM THE PAST

15 BOWHUNTING - A COMPLETELY

POINTLESS ENDEAVOR

by Stephen LePage

16 HISTORY OF MODERN BOWHUNTING

by Marlon Clapham

18 2017 CANYON FERRY CARP SAFARI 20 A SERIES OF ADENTURES

by Brian Koelzer

22 MBA 40TH CONVENTION &

45 YEARS OF THE MBA

23 BUSINESS & CLUB MEMBERS

FWP COMMISSIONER CONTACTS

24 MBA MEMBERSHIP FORM 25 MEMBER GALLERY Fall 2017

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OFFICER’S REPORTS

MBA Committees

PRESIDENT - MIKE CLAPHAM 1ST VICE PRESIDENT - STEVE SCHINDLER 2ND VICE PRESIDENT - MARK SCHWOMEYER TREASURER - JENN SCHNEIDER SECRETARY - BECKY DOYLE

Legislative:

Jerry Davis, Chair Steve Schindler • Ray Gross • Mike Shepard Marlon Clapham

Tentatives:

Ray Gross, Chair Paul Martin • Mark Schwomeyer • Steve Schindler John Grimstad • Kent Brown • Marlon Clapham

President’s

Z

Message

Financial:

ERO! That’s a nice round number for all the tags I’ve drawn so far. Well there’s always next year I guess. I have heard of a few lucky Bowhunters who were successful drawing one of their tags.

Now all we need is a good hunting story for the winter issue, Hint, Hint.

Marlon Claphman The Carp Safari went off without a hitch, well sort of. Joelle did a great job of setting everything up. The hitch was the weather; it was a bit cold and windy. The carp were deep, few and far between. We had a few first timers that tried the event out for their first time. Jerry Doyle shot his first carp and remember when you took a young kid fishing for the first time… and they hooked their first fish… and instead of reeling it in they took off running up the shore pulling the fish out of the water….. It still happens when they’re forty. Even though the shooting was slow in the lake the campfires made up for the lack of fish. There was no need to take off the waders as the BS flowed plenty deep well into the night. And we took video and pictures of the Carp Queen and her court followers searching for one last brew. (Those pics could be of good use some day.)

The first MBA Youth Bowhunters Camp is coming together nicely. Beckie and her crew have been working very hard to pull it all together. We are starting to get the campers registered from across the state from your regions. We still are waiting for the last few to commit a camper.

I want to thank those who have helped with the financing of a youth. We have Great Falls Archery Club, Don Helmbrecht, Barrett Haugan, Paul Martin MBEF, and Traditional Bowhunters of Montana. These and others helped get the project off the ground.

I hope some of you have been following the MBA web site and MBA face book. We are trying to get fresh information posted as often as we can gather it up. We have posted as many of the 3D shoots as we could find. If you have something you would like to get posted get the information to me or your rep.

We also started a new Committee for the youth of the MBA. We are looking for several youths from across the membership to get involved and let the Board know what’s on their young minds and possibly getting articles for the newsletter from our youth and finding out what they want to know. So any of the youth that would like to have some input or get involved contact the Youth Committee chair posted in the committee column. (Beckie Doyle) On a personal note, Merri and I spent the spring hunting Black Bears in Idaho.

The bears are a lot like the carp, far and few between. Mostly they were nocturnal and those that did come in the daylight were youngsters. Rain you ask. By the inches, we sat through most all spring in rain gear. As of writing this article no shootable bears had been found and since Merri has no quit in her when it comes to hunting we’ll hunt on to the end.

By the time you have this newsletter it will be time to be preparing for the hunts we have all been planning for since the end of last season. Check the condition of your treestands and safety harness. Don’t let a slip mess up the rest of your hunting season.

Remember to pull out all your stands at the end of the season; they are becoming a problem in some public hunting areas. One last thought, try to get up close to your next critter and make that shot inside of twenty yards, the adrenalin rush up close is awesome!!

Well Keep-Em Sharp and Shoot-Em straight.

4

Marlon

Clapham

Montana

BOWHUNTER

WWW.MTBA.ORG

Jerry Davis, Chair Jenn Schneider • Seth Rogers Ray Gross • Neil Maier

Landowner/Sportsman:

Mark Schwomeyer, Chair David Moon • Neil Maier • Bob Morgan Barrett Haugan • Tim Roberts

Nominations:Steve Schindler

Steve Schindler, Chair Al Kelly • Paul Martin

Awards:

Roger Peffer, Chair Al Kelly • Steve Schindler • Rich Lewallen Mike Shepard • Marlon Clapham

Membership:

Chair, vacant Jenn Schneider • Seth Rogers • Ray Gross Kent Brown • Barrett Haugan John Grimstad • Tim Roberts Joelle Selk – Membership Assistant

Convention 2018-Region 2:

Neil Maier, Chair Beckie Doyle • Brian Koelzer Marlon Clapham

Convention 2019-Region 4 NStephen LePage, Chair To be determined

Magazine:

Al & Teri Kelly, Co-Chairs Steve Schindler • Roger Peffer • Joelle Selk Brian Koelzer • Jerry Davis

Website:

Liberty Brown • Jenn Schneider • Lyle Hebel

Carp Shoot:

Joelle Selk, Chair Roger Licht • Stephen LePage

Bow-Ed:

Al Kelly, Chair Brain Koelzer • Bob Morgan • Mark Schwomeyer David Moon • Ray Gross • Marlon Clapham

Youth Membership:

Becky Doyle, Chair • Roger Licht This is a new committee and will involve the youth from every region for their input. All area reps. will try to recruit youth from their region to get involved with the MBA’s decision making process. This will mostly be done through the e-mail contacts. They may want to attend the Board Meeting on occasion and we can get them ready for the future. We will try to keep their ages from 16 to 25 or so.

Reg. 1 – Vacant Reg. 2 – Jackie Doyle, Callie Stevens Reg. 3 – Vacant Reg. 4 – Vacant Reg. 5 – Vacant Reg. 6 – Vacant Reg. 7 – Vacant Reg. 8 – Vacant

Steve Schindler

OFFICER REPORTS

Treasurer’s Message

H First Vice President’s

Report

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ummer is in full swing and of course summer fun things, like 3 D shoots. I have just returned from a 3D shoot in the Beautiful Bears Paw Mountains just south of Havre/Chinook, wow over 350 shooters and all having a great time. A great thing about 3D shoots is that it’s a great family outing; there were kids of all ages out shooting bows… yes they are a great event. Speaking of great events I have also just returned from the Carp Safari at Canyon Ferry, the weather has a lot to do with how the Carp hunting is and well, the weather was not great for this year’s Carp Safari but it was doable. Once again there were kids of all ages, hunting scaled targets this time, instead of foam. BUT don’t worry and don’t berate yourself for missing these life changing events, there are more to come.

By the time we get this edition of the newsletter most of the shoots will have happened but there are a few more. Just off the top of my head the Lewistown Bonanza shoot will be sometime in the middle of August and it’s also a great time.

As usual the weather is also playing a big role in our Montana lifestyle, some areas people are growing webbed feet and some parts people are spitten dust… I’m spitten dust. I have traveled from one end of the state to the other for various bowhunting events and it’s easy to see the parts with good moisture. Fire danger over most of Montana is not a real concern right now but things change, so be aware and pack the right tools when you are out and about, you know, a shovel and axe and if you got room a 500 gallon water tank with sprayer.

Steve Schindler

Second Vice President’s

Report

S

ummer league, bowhunter safety, 3d shoots, trail cams oh my!

It’s been a busy summer in central Montana. We have a small group of bowhunter safety students (6) with a full field with the addition of 30 online students. I’m amazed every field day on how many adults are taking up bowhunting. Our summer league has had less than usual participation this year. With t-ball fishing and just being summer it seems the bows were put on the back burner (including mine). With the anticipation of archery season rapidly approaching the bows are making their way back into the routine.

Congratulations to all who drew one of the coveted tags (I didn’t want one anyway). Besides, I will be plenty busy hunting elk. I recently spent the weekend looking for elk and even hung a few trail cameras. What I noticed was 1 it was extremely dry. 2 The game movement was extremely slow. Hopefully both of these will change before start of archery season. I hope you all enjoy your season! Be safe and remember what Smokey the bear says!

Mark Schwomeyer

oping you‘ve all enjoyed the heat of summer and are settling into your fall routines again. As you are thinking about Christmas gifts, please check out the huge selection of merchandise now available on our website! This new system set up by Liberty and Branding Iron Marketing allows you to order all those different goodies without the commitment of inventory for us. We make a couple bucks and you get lots of choices, so please think of the MBA for those on your Christmas shopping list.

Enjoy your hunting season, as we are welcoming a baby girl in November, it’s not likely that I will be climbing any mountains or crawling into a tree stand this fall, so please send stories and pictures so that I can live vicariously thru your adventures.

Jenn Schneider

Secretary’s Message

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ello everyone! As we are gearing up for the MBA’s Teen Bowhunter Camp I am reminded of why we are doing this. Bowhunting is awesome! Regardless of what equipment an individual uses, the enjoyment of why we bowhunt should always be what unites us. At the August camp we will have young adults shooting compounds, long bows, and recurves.

Their excitement should be what motivates us to share our knowledge, our passion for Bowhunting. I’m looking forward to reporting in the next issue all the fun and great stories we I’ll have to share from this camp!

Beckie Doyle

NEWSLETTER ISSUE Hopefully any of you who missed any of the last few issues have finally gotten this one. On behalf of the MBA we sincerely apologize. When we were made aware of the issue we quickly looked into the cause and at this time we believe the issue has been resolved and we should be back to normal print and delivery. The issue appears to have been mailing addresses that were lost in the process of getting them from point A to B and then to C. If you did not get an issue please contact your area rep, Marlon or the MBA and we will do our best to get you copies from the limited supply we have on hand. The area reps might have a few left over and you can find the copies on our web site.

Due to the expense of reprinting those issues we are limited to the stock we have on hand but we’ll do our best. And please if you ever lack issues in the future make contact as soon as possible so we can correct any errors or issues in the future.

Unfortunately we were unaware of the missing addresses until two issues had gone by. Again, we apologize for the inconvenience.

Marlon Clapham

Fall 2017

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REGIONAL REPORTS REGION 1 AL KELLY MIKE SHEPHARD (NO REPORT)

REGION 1 REGION

REGION

REGION 2 NEIL MAIER DON HELMBRECHT

1

4

REGION

2

REGION

8

REGION

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REGION 3 BRIAN KOELZER BARRETT HAUGEN REGION 4 STEPHEN LEPAGE ROGER LICHT REGION 5 JOHN GRIMSTAD (NO REPORT) RICHARD LEWALLEN REGION 6 DAVID MOON REGION 7 BOB MORGAN REGION 8 JERRY DAVIS

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REGION

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At the Carp Sarfari

AL KELLY MIKE SHEPHARD Fellow Bowhunters, ow! As I write this summer is more than half over. Here we go, before you know it hunting season will once again be upon us. I don’t know about you, but fall is my favorite time of year. I need to get busy getting stuff ready for the upcoming seasons. There is archery Elk, Deer and Bear seasons and I have a couple of pointers that live for Grouse, Pheasant and waterfowl. There are enough seasons to a keep a guy busy until December. Did I mention how lucky I am to live in Montana?

The weather did not make for a lot of success at the Carp Safari. Fish harvesting success that is because the family and friends camping experience was a huge success. We spent a week camped at the Hellsgate campground. My oldest son Allen, his beautiful bride Tiffany and my grandson Odin flew into Helena to spend the week camping with us.

My youngest son Trevor and his sweet pie Melody joined us and we had our friends from Libby, Ken and Ruth Miller, our oldest granddaughter Morgan and of course our dog boys, Moose and Bolt. We also got to meet up with old friends as well as meet some new ones. Helena, what a great place to play and spend time with family and friends.

Besides enjoying the lake and several trips out to “harvest” some carp there were other adventures to take in. While I was at the board meeting the family wandered around Helena to the museum and capital building and other downtown sites. On Tuesday we headed across the Highway from the camp ground to participate in some rock climbing with our good friends Ken and Ruth Miller. Ken and Ruth are avid climbers and brought enough gear for all of us to give it a try. That was quite an experience, especially as it was the first time for some of us.

Wednesday we had us a hike up on the Prickley pear trail system, hiking up to Ascension Peak to look out over the city of Helena. What a great trail system to have so close and accessible. Thank you Jerry Davis for the great hike! And to top the day off we joined Jerry and Claudia for Music in the Park, which I hear occurs every Wednesday evening around Helena. I am sure I left out something but you get the gist.

And I would like to thank all of our friends who shared the campfire and made this a very memorable trip for the whole Kelly family.

Wishing all happy adventures and a great hunting season.

W

Odin fishing

Hiking to Ascension Peak

Al Kelly

Touring the Capital

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Montana

BOWHUNTER

WWW.MTBA.ORG

Hiking the canyon

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REGION 2 REGION

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NEIL MAIER DON HELMBRECHT

Don Helmbrecht

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wish to inform the membership and Region 2 members that I have stepped down from my position as one of the two representatives for the region. Certain health and family matters have developed that require my full attention and with appointments, tests, follow ups I cannot concentrate on much else. I am unable to perform the duties necessary and devote the time it takes to do a good job and therefore have resigned.

It’s time for some new blood and fresh ideas to do the job necessary. I know I’ve disappointed many and wish to apologize especially to Marlon and to Neil Maier for letting them down. They have always treated me well and as everybody knows are stand up men. I’ll continue to maintain my membership and to support MBA.

Don Helmbrecht

REGION

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6

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REGION REGION

REGIONAL REPORTS Neil Maier

Marlon Clapham made a presentation honoring all of the Bowhunter Education Instructors that started teaching after being taught by Bill Wadsworth in 1978. This was also the 30th anniversary of the state running the program and the 60th anniversary of Hunter Education in Montana. Yes there were three instructors that have been teaching hunter education for 60 years. Pat McVey and Bob Larsson were in attendance. Don McKey did teach for 60 years but passed away before he could attend the session. His family was awarded the plaque and flag posthumously. Pat and Bob were both given plaques and a flag that was flown over the capital building, folded and put into a presentation case. Pat and Bob were also presented a rifle made by Henry Firearms and that was engraved with the Hunter education logo and had the serial numbers 001 and 002 in the .357 magnum caliber. This was a very special honor to be present and listen to these gentlemen and their families.

Neil Maier

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REGION 3 REGION

i All - What a busy year so far between Rock Club, Paso Fino Horses, Hunter and Bow Hunter Education and planning for the 40th convention.

It’s that time of year to start thinking of the hunting season tentative for your hunting areas.

Don’t wait to see what the FWP biologists come out with later in the year. Call them and start the conversation with them. In area 290 the Archery only area it is being discussed to have 50 rifle permits for whitetail deer due to a couple of land owners. There have been quite a few e-mails back and forth concerning this. There is a meeting on July 27th to sit down and talk about this. It has been stated to Scott the biologist for the area that the MBA will not go along with this. Unfortunately the meeting will be over by the time this gets to print.

Remember when talking to anyone be respectful but state your opinion and concerns The Carp Safari is over for this year. I did not shoot very many carp (2) but I did get a lot of shooting. The carp were staying deeper this year.

The wind was just enough that it was hard to see them while wading. If you were on the leeward side of a bank or in some coves you could see them better. The boats were not doing too badly but they said they were shooting deeper also. If they could keep the wind at their back a calm shadow was on the leeward side and they could see them to get a shot. I had a little excitement on Saturday morning when a cookie bandit set my truck alarm off at 5:45 am. I was definitely confused as to what was going on until I saw that the cookies were missing from the front seat of my truck. I did find the culprit and we had a good laugh. It was a great time around the camp fire Saturday night with good friends.

If you have not heard I am looking for someone to be the second representative for region 2. Don resigned do to health reasons. If you are interested please give me a call or any other board member and see what is involved. Don will be missed as a board member. He will continue as a member.

June 23rd thru 25th was the state wide Hunter/ Bowhunter Education training and awards program.

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5

BRIAN KOELZER BARRETT HAUGAN

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o by the time you all are reading this summer will be winding down and archery season will be upon us. Wishing everyone a safe, successful, and exciting season.

Keep’em sharp and pick a spot!!!

Brian Koelzer

Dan Moore Brian Koelzer

ello everyone. I hope 2017 has started off great or you. Spring weather puts me to work so hunting gets put a little on the back burner for me. Although I just finished up a great hunt up here in Alaska. I’m writing this from the Anchorage airport on my way home to Bozeman. I just spent a week out in the wilderness chasing brown bears with my bow. Unsuccessful on punching my tag but, was very successful in making new memories. I got to see several sows and cubs at very close range, just not the big boar we were after.

I’ve been on many hunts in my life where I’ve come home with a trophy but this time no arrow flew but that is what will bring me back to this place. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking. Getting to watch wildlife in such a majestic place on earth is priceless.

The day never ends this time of year. The sun went down at 12:30 a.m and came back up at 4:30 a.m but never gets dark.

I literally watched a sunset turn into a sunrise on one horizon while a moose swam across the river towards me. I saw seals swimming in the river chasing fish; King Salmon were starting to migrate up river.

Absolutely beautiful! We are so fortunate in so many ways in Montana to have the opportunities we have.

However, if you ever get a chance to hunt other States or places on the planet I suggest you give it a shot. I have been very fortunate to have had many opportunities in many other places. But don’t just go on the hunt without asking how they manage their wildlife and fisheries. I have found that everywhere has its struggles. Not one place is run perfectly. But maybe if we could all collaborate with our ideas, we may be able to come up with a better solution for the areas in which we live.

There are many factors that hold the keys to successful wildlife management. Mother Nature

Barrett Haugan holds the biggest. I see so many things work well and many that don’t at all and some just need a little tweaking. It’s been very interesting listening to the ways other states do things and why. Somehow I think that a mixture of ideas from many parts of the world could help resolve a lot of management issues we are facing in Montana. So please if you have some ideas or have heard something you like out there please share them with people so we can work towards a solid management plan for all wildlife and fisheries. Sorry for rambling, I’m exhausted from hunting all night and am now flying home with no sleep. As I write this summer is just starting and as you read it, it will be almost over. I hope everyone had a great summer.

Barrett Haugan Fall 2017

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REGIONAL REPORTS REGION 4 REGION

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STEPHEN LEPAGE ROGER LICHT

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t has been a cool, wet and windy spring here in Central Montana. Things are quiet here. I hope some of you got the permits you were dreaming of. I will keep dreaming till next year. Spring turkey and bear season came and went with no luck. It was fun to get out and try though. I did get to spend a week on Prince of Wales Island with a young hunter who was luckier than I; he drew a spring bear tag.

With the help of some locals (Rosey and Don D) my young friend Nathan was successful. (That story later) Speaking of permits, there has been some talk about splitting up the season in the breaks. There would be three weeks for residents and three weeks for non-residents. Another option being discussed is that if you draw a tag for a special bow permit area like the breaks you can only hunt that area with your bow. I have been hunting the breaks for years now and the current system seems to work fine. I have

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JOHN GRIMSTAD RICHARD LEWALLEN

believe I joined the MBA in the 1980s after returning to Billings where I was born and raised after completing undergraduate, graduate school and postgraduate training.

My father Robert Lewallen was 1956 Montana Wyoming State archery champion. He shot tournaments with the 64 pound Bear Kodiak Hunter recurve and Cedar shaft arrows. I was born in Billings Montana in 1953 and remember spending afternoons and weekends at the Black Otter Bowman archery range where the Billings Rod and Gun Club is currently located. I had a bow when I was six years of age and started archery big game hunting when I was 14. We archery hunted and rifle hunted as a family through the years. My father harvested two four point Muley bucks and a bull elk one season and only shot three arrows with his recurve. I got to help drag out his first archery elk. When I was college aged, I archery hunted 2 to 3 weeks in September before going to school in Chicago .On one of those trips, I took my first elk with a recurve and shot a coyote on the run. I have harvested elk, mule and whitetail deer, black bear, turkey and a moose with my bow.

talked to a lot of non-residents and they feel that it makes the breaks a trophy area. I have to agree with them.

The 2017 Carp Safari Weekend went in favor of the carp. Rain, hail and wind made it tough for the hunters. I saw a lot of happy young hunters and their families flinging arrows. My six year old grandson is hooked. I will probably lose my spot up front in the boat next year.

I hope everyone has a good summer and gets some camping in with family.

God Bless our Troops,

Roger Licht Stephen LePage

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t’s summer time and everyone is busy. Kids have camps and sports, your spouse is busy enhancing your chore list, you have to make time for fishing, you probably have planned a summer vacation or road trip and on and on… It becomes very easy to forget to make time to shoot your bow. I am as guilty as the next guy, in fact, last year my family did not attend one single 3-D shoot, not even my own local club’s shoot.

This year I am making a concerted effort to shoot often in the yard and to make it to a few 3-D shoots. Here in Lewistown, we are planning a great shoot the weekend of August 12th. Several creative people are planning unique fun shoots and we are

I have had the privilege of archery hunting over a span of 50 years in the state. I have elk hunted one area continuously over a span of 48 years. I witnessed the death of white bark pine groves to fungus, the introduction of wolves, and the return of grizzly bears to that mountain range.

There is nothing like being able to hike around the mountains in September with your bow and an elk, deer, and bear tag in your pocket.

I appreciate the job MBA has done to protect this opportunity and advocate for bow hunters. I particularly appreciated the legislative updates. I want to help in this ongoing effort.

Montana

BOWHUNTER

WWW.MTBA.ORG

Stephen LePage

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DAVE MOON

David Moon

Richard Lewallen

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Richard Lewallen 8

BBQing a whole pig Saturday night for everyone who is staying late or camping out. If you can make it, it will be a good time.

I hope this update spurs you to dust off the bow and get out to shoot. We have a responsibility to be at the top of our game when it comes to bowhunting and that is only accomplished with dedicated practice.

I hope that everyone has good luck this fall and please contact me with any success photos that you would like to share.

Sincerely,

he season is coming up fast as it always does after summer. Everyone has been getting all the equipment tested and ready to go.

Due to an injury I had been unable to shoot a bow for a few months. I sure did miss it during that time and did not want to read about bowshooting and hunting to remind me. Going from shooting a bow most days, to nothing was no fun but did help me to look at my form and make some adjustments when I was able to shoot again and started out with a real light bow.

Some of the tags are out already and I have talked to a few people who have drawn some good ones. We are hoping to get some rain so the wild fires will not be so bad. I have been seeing lots of twin fawns for deer and antelope. Some were lying right in the road to get some shade from the trees. I hope they quickly learn to stay away from the road.

David Moon

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BOB MORGAN

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t’s plenty hot today as I write this article; in fact, the weather man says it may be one hundred degrees all this week. My wife and I just got back from the Montana Selfbow Jamboree.

There were lots of selfbow guys (that’s what we call each other), as well as new people interested in making a selfbow. All in all it was a great turnout for the first ever selfbow Jamboree in Montana. I would like to encourage everyone to make their own selfbow from a single piece of wood.

My grandson, granddaughter and my son all made bows. It’s just really a great time with family, and of course what brings all of us together...shooting bows, telling hunting stories and meeting new friends.

My cousin and his wife came to the jamboree from South Dakota. There were also flint knappers and even a black powder preacher on Sunday. He gave a message that pertained to all the parts and history of the flint lock rifle. (verse) The landowners had targets set up for both a 3-D shoot and archery golf. We had a great time shooting our bows which as you know is always a great time!

Many thanks to the land owners and Dave Moon the MoJam people for coming up from Oklahoma and helping with the Jamboree.

Get out in God’s creation and shoot those bows, guys and gals.

Thanks,

Bob Morgan

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JERRY DAVIS

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Bob Morgan

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he 65th Session is now over and I will recap some of the bills that MBA was active in.

First though I should mention that during this Session MBA was fortunate enough to be a part of the Montana Sporting Coalition made up of various hunting and fish groups. Groups that comprised the Sporting Coalition were MWF, Mule Deer Foundation, Montana and National Wild Sheep Foundation, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Ducks Unlimited, Montana and National Trout Unlimited, RMEF, Russel Country Sportsmen, Skyline Sportsmen, MSA, and there are others.

We met weekly to discuss and plan strategies.

Though we all did not always agree on issues it allowed us to understand other groups’ stances and come to an understanding outside of the hearing process. I think it worked quite well. Additionally weekly meetings with FWP staff provided valuable information for our organizations’ testimonies and email blasts.

Now for the long but incomplete listing of bills to which we either spoke or followed: HB 5 is the very complex budgeting bill that is heard every session. HB 5 contains funding of all capital expenditures for the State. This session under HB 5 funding was fully restored to Habitat Montana thanks in large part to a combined effort by all conservation organizations around the state.

Additionally the moratorium placed on Habitat Montana money from being used to procure fee title lands was allowed to expire thereby allowing Habitat Montana money to be used for procuring fee title lands once more. Habitat Montana funding is used to procure conservation easements with a public access component and to critical habitat from willing sellers that often leads to WMAs. Habitat Montana funding is comprised of hunting license revenues and PR funds generated from the sale of firearms. These are sportspersons’ dollars.

SB 225 brought by Representative Kary from SD 22 in Billings proposed to codify the use of lighted nocks even after the commission had approved their used during the Archery Only Season. I see this bill as a ploy by those that have grievances with the FWP to take away authority from the FWP Commission. The lighted nocks issue was simply the vehicle. Luckily Joelle did a bang up job of testifying and with the help of Senator Vincent from Libby the bill was tabled in committee.

HB 437 brought by Rep Lavin of HD 8 in Kalispell was another bill with the hidden agenda to legislate season setting and take that authority away from the FWP Commission. It proposed a 4 day youth hunt. The FWP Commission has already set regulations to allow a two day hunt. At present the archery seasons are affected depending on the calendar year and this would have increased that impact from 2 days to 4 days. HB 435 bill was also tabled in committee.

HJ 11 brought by Rep Court from HD 50 in Billings was an effort to preclude the efforts by some to privatize our public lands for the benefit of a few and to the detriment of the many Montanans that enjoy our Federal Public Lands. Sadly that Joint Resolution was tabled in Committee.

HB 568 brought by Rep White from HD 64 around Bozeman, was amended to have required that the full 10% of special draw permits be issued to nonresidents for elk, deer, and antelope. The policy of FWP at this time is to allow up to 10% of nonresidents to draw a permit. Nonresidents and residents applying for these permits are placed in the same pool. Up to 10% of those names drawn can be nonresidents. With this bill 10% of the permits would have been required to be given to nonresidents. This bill not only could have impacted some of our most coveted special draw areas such as HD 380 but it also sought to take season setting and policy authority away from the FWP Commission’s tentative process.

This bill made it through committee by died on the house floor.

HB 651 brought by Matt Regier of HD 4 sought to create a public lands access advocate under the direction of the State Land board. This bill also sought to eliminate the authority of the FWP Commission to obtain wildlife habitat with our hunting license dollars. The bill would have placed sole control of how our hunting license dollars would be used for procurement of lands and easements in the hands of the State Land Board. That move alone would have jeopardized the State’s ability to obtain Pittman-Robertson (P-R) funding. Because of email Blasts by participating organizations within the Sporting Coalition, members of these organizations throughout the state wrote and called to protest to the point of overloading the switchboard at the capital. This bill was initially tabled in committee but it was reconsidered and passed committee only to die on the House Floor. This bill proves that your action makes a difference.

HB 434 brought by Rep Flynn from HD HD 70 from around Townsend sought to create a Wildlife Habitat Improvement Council appointed by the Director of FWP with representatives from agriculture, pest control, State and Federal land management agencies, and sporting groups. The intent is to control the spread of noxious weeds on FWP administered lands. This bill passed committee and the House but in the Senate committee it as amended to incorporate the language from HB 651, after HB 651 was killed on the House Floor.

Though the bill with this amendment passed out of the Senate Committee the amendment was removed on the Senate Floor and the bill passed as originally written. MBA as well as all groups on the Sporting Coalition supported this bill before the amendment was added. After it was amended we again mobilized our memberships and with the help of all of you this bad amendment was removed. The original bill passed and is now law.

HB 566 brought by Rep Redfield of HD 59 from around Livingston sought to penalize those crossing unfenced checkerboarded lands at section corners with fines and jail time. Again the Sporting Coalition mobilized memberships and the response was strong enough to convince Rep Redfield to withdraw the bill.

HB 295 brought by Rep Tom Jacobsen of HD 21 from Great Falls sought to penalize those that gate public roads without written approval of the County

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 Commission. The bill sought a $500 penalty for those that illegally gate public roads. It was heard in front of the Judiciary Committee and despite public support it was tabled. This would have been a good bill as it would have been a deterrent from those that illegally gate our public roads to prevent the public’s access to public lands.

HB 96 brought by Rep Brown of HD 63 from Bozeman sought to allow additional landowner elk tags for those landowners who allow free public elk hunting. Rep Brown brought the bill on behalf of the PLPW (Private Land Public Wildlife) Council.

Though there were stipulations that tried to preclude a landowner from transferring those tags to others not related or working on the land, the bill failed to make it past the Committee. There were differing opinions on the Sporting Council even though all agreed the intent was good. The concern was that this privilege could easily be abused.

HB 97 brought by Rep Loge of HD 14 from around Saint Regis sought to increase block management payment caps from $12,000 to $15,000. There has not been an increase in Block Management payments since the late 90’s. This needed bill passed and is now law.

HB 128 brought by Rep Shaw of HD 71 of Sheridan sought to limit those that have taken a legal ram with an unlimited sheep permit from putting in for another sheep permit for 7 years as well as provided for the study of the interaction of the Tendoy wild sheep population with domestic sheep. The bill passed and is now law.

HB 150 brought by Rep White of HD 64 from around Bozeman sought to clarify resident hunting and fishing license criteria for members of the armed forces and their spouses and dependents.

This bill passed and is now law.

HB 164 brought by Rep Flynn of HD 70 from around Townsend sought to increase the portion of a base hunting license going to hunting access enhancement programs from $2 to $5. A base hunting license is $10. This bill was tabled in committee.

HB 243 brought by Rep Jacobsen of HD 21 from Great Falls would have made it illegal for an outfitter to outfit on state trust land if that land was not legally accessible to the public. This bill was tabled in committee.

HB 318 brought by Rep Lavin of HD 8 would have provided a reduced big game combination license for nonresidents attending a Montana College. It was tabled in committee.

HJ 15 brought by Rep Gunderson of HD 1 from Libby was a resolution urging the delisting of Grizzly Bears. It passed and has been filed with the Secretary of State.

SB 49 brought by Sen Ankney of SD 20 Colstrip sought to make some amendments to the relative of a resident hunting and fishing licensing.

It was tabled in committee.

SB 50 brought by Sen Pomnichowski of SD 33 Bozeman sought to allow for the use of electronic validation of electronic hunting licenses. This bill passed and is now law.

SB 52 brought by Sen Cohenour SD 42 East Helena sought to increase penalties for using a

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BOWHUNTER

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projected artificial for hunting. It passed and is now law.

SB 91 brought by Sen Hinkle SD 32 Bozeman sought to define hunting from a vehicle not to include someone hunting (shooting) from the shoulder, berm, or barrow pit right-of-way of a road that is not a public highway. This bill passed and is now law.

SB 171 brought by Sen Smith SD 27 Billings sought to not restrict the use of a Class A-3 or Class B-7 tag as a result of also being issued an unlimited deer permit. This bill was tabled in the House Fish Wildlife and Parks committee.

SB’s 173 brought by Sen Cohenour SD 42 East Helena proposed to restrict the sale of urine cover scents that did not have a point of origin from Federally accredited source. Urine is a vector source for chronic wasting disease and this bill’s intent was to prevent contaminated sources from infecting Montana’s ungulate population. This bill passed and will be law Jan. 1, 2018.

SB 183 brought by Sen Cohenour SD 42 East Helena proposed to place restrictions whole carcasses and certain body parts (trophies and meat) being transported into Montana from states or providences with documented cases of chronic wasting disease. Again the intent of this bill is to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease into the state of Montana. This bill passed and will be law Jan. 1, 2018.

SB 236 brought by Sen Fielder SD 7 Thompson Falls sought to change the existing constitutional language that gives Montanans the privilege to hunt, fish, and trap to a right to hunt, fish, and trap.

Several legal opinions agreed that making hunting, fishing, and trapping a right may lead to out of state interests in suing Montana for prejudicial actions because a right must be applied to all US Citizens.

Also private property interests were concerned that a hunting, fishing, and trapping right may usurp their private property rights. This was a heated debate but in the end this bill failed to pass with a 2/3 vote in favor and it was killed.

These are just a smattering of the bills that go through the legislature. The legislature consumes a lot of time but it is the price we pay for living in a democracy.

And for those really lousy bills that sought to infringe on our public access, habitat improvement and our ability to hunt and fish I can only say thanks to you out there that wrote and or called your legislator(s). That is how the process is supposed to work.

Thanks.

Jerry Davis

Do your elected officials support

Hunters, Wildlife, Habitat and Access?

How did your legislators vote on issues important to hunters and Fishers in Montana?

The Montana Wildlife Federation has kept track of voting records of our elected officials and just posted this information on their website. It is absolutely essential that sportsmen pay close attention to voting records of legislators. There are many people that run for office and make promises of support for hunters but when the rubber meets the road the screw us over. Some have voted to defund the block management program or fishing access sites, or to undermine funding to FWP management and enforcement. Habitat and access are two issues essentially important for wildlife and hunters. Yet hunters either 1) don’t vote, or 2) vote people into office that screw us over. We MUST stop electing these individuals to office. I urge everyone to check the MWF website for voting records of legislators. Then when these people come knocking on your door asking for your vote you can ask them about their voting record on hunting related issues. When they have town hall meetings, call them on the carpet over their voting records. Let them know that you hunt, you fish, and you vote. Let them know you pay close attention to these issues and your vote will impact elections. Get active, get involved, pay attention, and VOTE for wildlife, habitat and access! http://montanawildlife.org/ mwf-2017-legislative-voting-record/

AT LARGE DIRECTOR’S REPORTS ROGER PEFFER SETH ROGERS TIM ROBERTS (NO REPORT) PAUL MARTIN RAY GROSS KENT BROWN

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DirectorsAt Large

or a number of years I have been keeping track of the annual aerial survey of HD-140 & HD-150 better known as the South fork of the Flathead River, Hungry Horse Dam and Spotted Bear Ranger Station, all are part of HD140. To give you a good idea of the reservoir, to drive the main road of the east shore and the west shore of the Dam is around 110 miles to which we add in the numerous drivable roads, gated roads and trails that you could spend the rest of your life checking out every drainage and hilltop.

Why do I cocern myself with this part of our state? Because this is the place where I learned by much trial and error how to hunt elk. We go back to 1977 when I packed my two horses in to HD-150, the north end of the Bob Marshal wilderness and killed my first elk with a rifle by calling the little 3 by 4 in with a pvc pipe whistle and then in 1989 bugled in my first bowkill elk, a pope & young 6X7 bull in HD-140. The South Fork taught me how to call elk in close and up until 2009 enjoyed some of the most amazing screaming elk encounters in my life, with the exemption of a bull I killed in 2010 up the North fork, the story you can read on the MBA website “Almost Wolf Bait”. We haven’t spent much time in those favorite haunts because of the continued dwindling numbers of elk from the surveys every year and in line with some predictions I made in 2006.

This amazing part of our state where elk numbers from the late 80’s to 1990 survey for the 140 & 150 were in the 1200 to 1400 number to May of 2017 with 306 total and only 40 of the 306 in HD-140 I hope you were sitting down when you read this. We believe there are more elk than that but the other part of the bad news is the 9 calves per 100 cows, better known as unsustainable. In 2014 our region one biologist Kent Lauden had confirmed 63 packs of wolves in region one.

Due to the loss of funds Kent has found work in a different state. The east side of our state enjoys elk herds flourishing in some areas while region one is more than suffering and the loss of our elk & deer to predators is no different than terrorists in a third world country and I write this in hope’s that something can be done about it. FWP will only do so much, or they have done all they can in fear of a lawsuit and I would like to remind everyone of how the MBA got started, it was because the FWP didn’t even put a bow season in the hunting regulations. I want something done about our elk & deer herds in region one. Is it time for some kind of private enterprise or drastic measure or how are we going to correct this for our future generations to have the legacy I had, so let’s hope this gets to the right people.

On to a different subject of the Big Creek Youth camp where Larry Rattray, Bob Howard and I or the Three Amigos gave an introduction to bow hunting on June 21st to 30 kids at the camp. It was once again a lot of fun with the 9 to 11 year olds, the generation we talked about earlier in my report.

A few weeks ago I was at the Army/Navy store and was checking out all the military camo patterns so I ended up with 4 new outfits for hunting I think it is more of my way of supporting our troops and all branches of the military.

Good luck hunting and God Bless..............>>>>------->

Paul Martin

BIG CREEK YOUTH CAMP

Paul Martin

Ray Gross

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ontana… what a great place, especially if you hunt and fish.

Springtime in the mountains is beautiful. The snow is melting and the wild flowers are blooming. There is turkey and bear hunting. The elk, deer and antelope are moving back from winter range.

The wildlife seems to be celebrating spring. And then summer. Floating the rivers, hiking to high mountain lakes and scouting for fall hinting season.

We are so fortunate to live in Montana! We need to be engaged and fight to protect what we have.

Ray Gross

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Roger Peffer

AT LARGE DIRECTOR’S REPORTS

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ith summer upon us and the Legislature safely adjourned, I thought it might be useful to look further into the issue of public lands and organizations that share some of our core values of wildlife management, habitat enhancement and public access. I should state right now that what follows is simply my own opinion and does not reflect any policy on the part of the MBA. Although I am a member of a number of hunting and conservation related organizations, one of my favorites is the Montana Wildlife Federation or MWF. I think some hunters likely overlook this organization for the simple reason that its name unfortunately conjures up images of some left-wing environmental group. While the MWF is deeply concerned with habitat, it has always had the best interests of Montana’s hunters and anglers foremost in its mission and those of us who value the outdoors should give it a serious look The MWF was founded in 1936 by a coalition of hunters, anglers, conservationists and landowners and is the oldest and largest conservation organization in Montana. They have 15 local affiliate chapters that are well known and respected around the state.

Of interest to us as MBA members, is the MWF’s mission to conserve and enhance habitat and to keep Montana’s public lands accessible and in public hands.

A joint effort of MWF and the Public Land/Water Access Association produced the 2014 report “Roadblocked and Landlocked” that details illegal attempts to prevent access to public lands and waters. Much of what follows is directly from their website at www.montanawildlife.org . The ugly truth is that some people are simply intent on privatizing public properties and wildlife by blocking roads, fencing around public access points at bridges and intentionally mislabeling the boundaries of public lands with “no trespassing signs”. If you wish to be depressed, look at this report for a listing of access battles fought by MWF and PLWAA. It’s truly disheartening and at least one of these areas is likely one that you are personally familiar with. These illegal activities only compound the fact that an additional 1.9 million acres of public land are landlocked by private holdings, unavailable for public use, but legally accessed by landowners and outfitted clients.

A 2014 poll conducted by the Colorado College found that Montana has a higher percentage of anglers and hunters (63%) than any other state. With the changing demographics of land ownership in Montana, adequate access to healthy public lands will be absolutely crucial in the future. Not only for hunting and fishing, but also for hiking, backpacking, skiing, horseback riding and other pursuits such as mountain biking, snowmobiling and ATV use. Multiple use of public land is part of the DNA and lifestyle of Montanans, with 38% reporting that they visited public lands greater than 20 times per year in the 2014 poll.

Of utmost significance to MBA members is the role that Montana Wildlife Federation and other organizations play in monitoring and lobbying the biennial legislative sessions. We’re all familiar with the overwhelming stream of emails we receive during these sessions. Our Legislative committee truly does an outstanding job of alerting and informing us of important bills. Don’t take these for granted; someone has to wade through mountains of information to pick out and dissect those bills that might impact our bowhunting and public land use. Jerry Davis told me that the MBA is part of a coalition of sporting and conservation groups that conference weekly on upcoming bills and their positive or negative consequences to those activities we love. With differing missions, these groups sometimes disagree, but the cooperative effort is indispensable in sifting through this immense amount of material. The next time you see Jerry and the other members of the Legislative Committee, be sure and thank them for all their hard work.

As members of the MBA, I think you can be proud that you have chosen to step up and be part of the effort to protect and promote bowhunting in Montana. Very few of the tens of thousands of Montana bowhunters ever care enough to participate. There’s more that you can do, however. Investigate and join other groups whose missions align with those things you hold dear – hunting, fishing, wildlife and habitat conservation and most of all public lands.

They’re fighting the good fight and they need our help.

Thanks for listening

Kent Brown

Conservationist- noun1. a person who advocates or acts for the protection and preservation of the environment and wildlife.

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ast month I was at a meeting of a local conservationist organization that I belong to. A guy I know showed up but after the meeting made numerous derogatory comments about some of the conservation fights this organization is involved in.

He said- “I am a conservationist but I don’t agree with what was being promoted!”

So I asked him- “What conservation groups do you belong to?” The answer? None.

He is living under the false impression that just because he hunts he is a conservationist. But being a conservationist is a lot more than that.

In 1949 Also Leopold published an essay about a “Land Ethic” that called for moral responsibility to the natural world. This land ethic called for caring about people, about land, and about strengthening the relationships between them. He promoted conservation of land and wildlife for the benefit of us all. If you are a hunter, fisher, wildlife enthusiast- you must support conservation. You cannot claim to be a conservationist and yet not actively support conservation efforts.

So I throw out this challenge. What can you do to contribute to wildlife conservation in Montana, in our country, and in the world? I have limited resources. I can’t do everything I would like to, but, I belong to 4 different organizations that work toward conservation of wildlife and wildlands. I show up at banquets, donate money to raffles, and bid on auction items. But I also volunteer my time. I help out at fund raisers, and what I believe is the most important, I write letters to elected officials regarding the conservation of wildlife and wildlife habitats. Without habitat, there is no wildlife.

Please get involved and do what you can to become a conservationist in support of wildlife and their habitats.

On another note: the banquet was awesome. Thank you SO much to all the business and people that donated and helped out at that event. Please thank those businesses and do your part to try and throw some business their way. MBA depends upon their generosity and support.

SO get out and start scouting, continue shooting and be safe in the woods. Remember- you cannot recall an arrow once it has been loosed. Be sure of your target and take only the best of shots.

All my best.

Roger Peffer

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ur turkey numbers seemed to be down this spring, but I was lucky enough to put one good hunt together with Mike Taylor, and we doubled!

I hope some of you had better luck with special permits than I did. I’m beginning to think making them once in a lifetime, if you fill your tag, might not be such a bad idea...

I’ve been seeing a few more antelope which is encouraging. It won’t be long now and we’ll be after them. Good luck to everyone this fall!

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Seth Rogers

YOUTH

Youth Conservation & Education Expo

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nce again the MBA shooting booth was a very popular attraction at the 2017 Youth Expo. There was a very good turnout of youth that participated in the event we were so busy that it was hard to get a break to even eat a sandwich. Once again the weather was cold and a bit damp, but the youth didn’t mind. Thanks to the MBA crew that showed up to help with the young shooters - Don Helmbrecht, Bob Rector, Jerry, Beckie, Jackie Doyle, Tim Unger, Merri and I. During the course of the day we took names from the youth that wanted to attend the MBA Youth Bowhunting Camp in August. At the end of the day we drew two out or the hat to attend. Both of them were young men who were

very excited to be drawn.

Then the Expo Team drew twenty kids for the Magruder camp, July 1621st. The MBA will have the campers for four days of learning archery and shooting 3D’s, donated by Five Valley Archery Club as well as learning treestand safety, blood trailing and use the new tracks and scat that Paul Martin and MBEF helped the MBA set up. We will also try to teach knife and broadhead sharpening if we have the time, for those who are interested. Marlon

Youth shooting sports Expo

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fifty plus youths that took part

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The MBA was invited to be a part of the first annual Youth Shooting Sports Expo held up on the Deer Creek Shooting Center.

There were fifty plus youths that took part and everyone stopped at the MBA shooting station which was the kick off to the rest of the events. Some of the kids and their parents came back around just so they could shoot the bows several times. Bob Rictor and I set up and ran the booth and met some fine young future Bowhunters and their parents who are planning to join the MBA. The kids got to shoot several other weapons like black powder rifles and pistols that they would not otherwise have that sort of opportuni ty. It was a lot of fun listing the chatter of the kids as the day wore on.

—Marlon Clapham

Fall 2017

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MBA MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

4. Why do you support the MBA? It’s a good organization that supports bowhunters and prepares youth for hunting ethically and hunting to help preserve our wildlife.

5. How many bows do you own?

Three: my hunting bow, my backup bow, and one for shooting carp 6. What one piece of advice would you like to pass onto a new bowhunter?

Practice and work hard, it will pay off when you get close to an animal you want to shoot.

7. Who is your bowhunting mentor or idol?

My Dad, Steve Kamps.

8. Tell me about your favorite bowhunting memory?

MBA Member Spotlight

9. Who are your favorite bowhunting partners?

Bridger Kamps

My dad and my grandpa (George Kamps)

Age: 16

10. Tell me about “the one that got away”.

Where do you live? Ovando, MT What do you do for a living? “Hunt” (and go to high school) 1. When did you start bowhunting?

I started shooting a bow at a young age, but started big game hunting at age 12.

2. Tell me about your first bowkill.

My Dad, Grandpa, and I were all antelope hunting in an area that held some nice bucks. We went out earlier before the season started and scouted and set up blinds at watering holes and by the time the season rolled around I was stoked. We packed up and went out in the sweltering heat where I sat in a blind in 90+ degree heat for 4 days during which nothing seemed to pan out. Then finally on the evening of the 4th day a nice 74-inch buck came and watered, presenting a nice broadside shot. I hit my mark and the buck ran up the hill and died.

3. Describe your dream hunt.

I drew an Arizona elk hunt this year – so that’s my dream hunt so far.

Blast from the Past The Blast from The Past takes us back to1991. Jerry Taylor was the President and it was fairly quiet on the political front. One note of interest was that the MBA pushed for all first time Bowhunters to take a Bowhunter Education Class to be able to Bowhunt in 1992. So it was recommended that everyone hang onto their last Bowhunting stamp for proof that they hunted the previous year. The sale of archery

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This year’s elk hunt. My Dad and I had set up in a treestand where we knew there was some elk activity. We were on stand for a while before we saw some guys trespassing. So my Dad got down to go talk to them. While he was gone two cows, a calf, and a 5x6 bull came right in and when the bull presented a shot I took it. The bull went down just out of sight. When my Dad came back not but 10 minutes later, he couldn’t believe what had happened.

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I was hunting at my grandparents. I was set up in a blind where the deer usually came through. Deer started to come in one after another until finally a huge buck came in to the open. I pulled back my bow and shot missing him to only later find out that my arrow had hit the edge of the window of the blind.

11. Do you have a fun or exciting story to share?

While sneaking in on a herd of elk, my Dad and I heard movement behind us, so we froze in our tracks and out of the corner of my eye I saw a calf elk come up and sniff my Dad’s backpack and bit his pant leg before running off.

12. Do you have any secret bowhunting tricks to share?

I can’t really reveal those, they’re secret!

If you have a member you would like to be featured in “Member Spotlight”, please contact Steve LePage at mbaregion4@yahoo.com.

stamps rose by the thousands that fall in 1991 so that hunters would not have to take the Bowhunter Education class.

The MBA held their first Bowhunting Heritage 3D Shoot up on McDonald Pass. There were 50 participants on Saturday where they held other activities like an Elk Bugling contest and instruction on shot placement and vitals, yardage estimations to give the young Bowhunters some insight out in the field. There were 175 shooters for the Sunday 3D shoot where folks from all over the state took the day to sharpen their hunting shooting skills.

Marlon

BOWHUNTING- A COMPLETELY POINTLESS ENDEVOR

Bowhunting a Completely Pointless Endeavor

by Stephen LePage I have come to realize very few absolute truths in my life: death and taxes… work is not fun, if it were we would do it free…I love my children in ways that I cannot express in words… and bowhunting is a completely pointless endeavor.

At the risk of seeming excessively philosophical, I would like to explore the reasons why we should not bowhunt, yet persist in this irrational pursuit to the point that it borders on compulsion.

There are several solid reasons why one should not bowhunt: Beef tastes good and while going to the grocery store I do not: get winded, have to sleep in a damp cramped tent, pick hounds-tongue off socks or thorns out of flesh and in the end, it is cheaper.

During an average bowhunting season I experience levels of frustration that rival anything I have felt at work, home or relationships. Yes, elk are even more unpredictable than my wife. Archery takes excessive amounts of practice, time and money. The purpose of a bow is to throw a projectile at a target. This technology became obsolete with the modern firearm. After all, Native Americans, when introduced to guns, embraced them wholeheartedly.

Yet for all of this, the last time I shot anything with a rife I was a much younger man. So why do we have this irrational need to pursue game with a stick and string? Why do we bowhunt?

vision. The desire for it will cause people to jump out of a perfectly good airplane with only a silk sheet to save their lives. Although rifle hunters experience it also, it is a completely different beast when a mule deer stands at 400 yards or when you can hear a whitetail chewing a bite of alfalfa, which brings me to another point: proximity to the animal you are hunting.

Closeness to animals I love animals. I love watching their behavior, their habits, and their interactions with one another. A doe chasing a coyote, a young grizzly’s false charge on a herd of muskox, a red-tailed hawk that noticed my eye movement under my facemask and set its talons only to veer at the last moment.

Bowhunting allows me the ability to do all of these things at a very close range.

Satisfaction On the rare occasion when I actually kill something, I feel satisfaction, knowing I was able to provide food for my family with archery equipment.

There is a feeling of pride when you are following in the footsteps of Ishi.

I may consider bowhunting a completely pointless endeavor, but there is nothing else I would rather be doing.

There are the obvious reasons: longer seasons, fewer people, and warmer weather. Although these are valid and the primary reasons I picked up a bow as a youth, it is not why I bowhunt today.

Ancient innate instinct I firmly believe that woven into each and every person’s DNA is an innate killer instinct. Due to the increase in urbanization and the decline of the hunting sports, most have not experienced this instinct or have manifested it in other ways; be it the aggressive panhandler, the 4.0 student who sets the curve or the driven corporate ladder climber stepping on others to get to the top.

Lucky are we who have discovered it for its true purpose. I remember this feeling as a youth when I was toting a rifle. All of my deer hunting successes followed the exact same pattern. I would see a deer and then I would delve into a prehistoric trance and seemed to run on auto pilot until I would “come to” while tracking or standing over my prize. A problem lies within that scenario. It was too short. I could not embrace the primitive desire long enough. With bowhunting it is drawn out and I can revel in it.

I can savor the strategizing, the pursuit, the hunt…just like our ancestors.

Time alone Bowhunters are a solitary bunch by nature. I know you go bowhunting with buddies, but with the exception of calling/decoying scenarios, while in the field you are alone. We get very little time to ourselves. Between work, family and numerous other distractions, how often so you get to sit and think.

I have two kids at home, so I do not even get to think on the toilet. I cannot read on stand, so bowhunting is one of the few times when I am able to reflect on anything and everything. I am most sane while I am in a treestand listening to a squirrel barking at me.

Adrenaline rush Epinenfrine is a wonderful life saving substance. It is naturally produced in our bodies by the adrenal gland and results in the “fight or flight response.”

This can produce “buck fever” or focus your senses to the point of tunnel

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HISTORY OF MODERN BOWHUNTING

History

of Modern Bowhunting

By Marlon Clapham (presented at the MT Bowhunters Education Seminar with MT Fish, Wildlife & Park in Helena MT)

The first people to have bows and arrows

dates all the way back to the ice age. The artifacts found are found all over the world. And because the bows and arrows were made of wood the elements took their toll on them. Stone heads are what people find and there isn’t a way to date stone only and era of time they figure they were made.

Back in 1995 or so high up in the Italian Alps a cave was discovered and in that cave were the human remains preserved in ice. They named the remains Ice Man. They dated him back to 3505 BC. And along side his body were his possessions, in those possessions was an unfinished bow with a tube or quiver of arrows twelve in fact. On those arrows were stone heads of various size and shapes. Some were believed to be small game heads like for birds and others were larger probably for the larger game and maybe for protection. They aged the Ice Man in his mid forties with cuts on his hands and four different species of blood and hair in his stomach, and lodged in his shoulder was a stone broadhead. Which lead to his death. Speculation leads us to believe that they were fighting over food or the cave they found him in. The only other remains that were found were of animal species. No other human bones were found.

Here in the North America the Native Americans hunted and went to battle with bows and arrows from way before white man discovered the American Continent.

In the US the first Archery club was founded in 1828 on the east coast by a bunch of target archers from Philadelphia who shot for the fun and held tournaments.

Archery books appeared after the Civil War. The Southern men after the war were denied guns in those early post war days, so the men took up bows and arrows to hunt rabbits and other small game to feed their families. Will and Maurice Thompson helped popularize bowhunting in the 1860s to the 1870s. In 1878 Maurice wrote a book The Witchery of Archery. There are still a few copies floating around.

Then in 1879 the group of archers who shot on the east coast formed the National Archery Association or the NAA still alive and well today. They held the first U.S.- sponsored tournament.

In the early 1900s a professor Dr. Saxton Pope, from Berkley California through history classes took up an interest in archery and the making of bows and arrows. By a chance meeting he ran into a hunter named Art Young who showed an interest in the bows.

One day an old Indian was discovered naked steeling things out of the local farmers sheds items to survive with. Dr. Saxton Pope took him in. The Indian’s name was Ishi. He was the last remaining member of the Yana tribal group of California. Soon after getting his health back Ishi started teaching Dr. Pope and Art Young how to build better bows and arrows and how to shape stone heads. What was most important was Ishi taught them how to hunt with a bow and arrow. Soon they were hunting all over the world with bows and arrows. They were also considered the Fathers of Bowhunting.

In 1940 to 1950 Doug Easton from Easton Aluminum Co. started to make arrows. In the 1950s to the 1970s Howard Hill, Fred Bear, Ben Person, Earl Hoyt to name a few were instrumental in developing modern bowhunting equipment at an affordable cost to the public. We could go on about these men’s hunting exploits all night.

There have been more advancements in the modern bows in the last forty years then in the first seven thousand years of the earliest bows ever found.

In the late 50s and early 60s Fred Bear and Wilber Allen invented the Compound Bow. Fred lost interest in the compound and sold his interest in the compound to Wilber. In 1966 Wilber Allen patented the compound bow. Shortly there after Tom Jennings started to build his own compound bows and there has been no slowing down. Now there are many different manufactures of the compound.

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In the US the first Archery club was founded in 1828 on the east coast by a bunch of target archers from Philadelphia who shot for the fun and held tournaments.

With the new interest in the compound bow and bowhunting there were more hunters in the field. It became evident that there was a need to educate these new bowhunters. In 1967 Bill Wadsworth started Bowhunter Education program on his own dime. He wrote a student manual emphasizing Ethics and Hunter Responsibility. He traveled all over the country teaching bowhunters to be instructors to educate the new bowhunters.

In 1967 the Mt. FWP Commission didn’t put the Archery Season in the regulations. So no bowhunting in Mt. that season. Bob Savage went to a commission meeting in Miles City and confronted the Commission about the lack of an Archery season. They told him that they felt that the bow was an inferior hunting tool. So Bob did a demonstration for them in the cafeteria.

He took a five gallon pail full of sand set it on the table and pulled out a 308 rifle and shot a 160 grain bullet into the pail. The bullet did not pass through.

Then he took a 55 pound recurve bow and a hunting arrow with a broadhead and shot it into the pail the arrow passed through with the head sticking out the outer side of the pail. We got a two week season that year, and we have had an Archery season ever since.

So with the need to gain more opportunity for the bowhunters, Bob and several of his bowhunting friends started the Montana Bowhunters Association 1972. We are still the strongest political voice of the bowhunters across the state.

Then in 1978 the MBA felt the need for Bowhunter Education for the state so they invited Bill Wadsworth to teach the new instructors and get the class books to use. In 1987 the FWP took over the classes and that year the MBA lobbied for all youth under the age of eighteen, to be required to take the Bow-Ed class. Then in 1991 we again lobbied for all first time bowhunters to be required to have the Bow-Ed class.

So that is why we are here today.

Here we are celebrating thirty years of Bowhunter Education history with the Fish Wildlife and Parks. Which I have been a part of for the past twenty five years. But history sends us back even further.

Bowhunting started thousands of years before the birth of Christ. No one knows for sure just when the first bow was made, but it was a while ago. Bows turned into a weapon of war where it stayed for centuries. Then gun powder replaced it in almost all societies. Some of the last places to hold on to the bow for hunting were African nativities and the nativities of North America and they soon were introduced to the modern rifles of their times. And the bow fell into story books, back shelves and closets. Only a few relics were found in museums. The English were some of the first to keep the sport of archery alive with shooting tournaments even before the early eighteen hundreds. And the first archery club in America was founded on the east coast in 1828.

Bowhunting was practiced by only a few hunters who wanted more of a challenge in hunting, mostly small game and a few deer in the hardwoods fell to the hunter’s bows. By the nineteen sixties the compound bow was introduced to the bowhunting world and the masses started coming out of the wood work. Bowhunting only seasons were started all across the country.

And with that there was a need to set new bowhunters on the right path so

HISTORY OF MODERN BOWHUNTING

Bowhunter Ed honorees from left to right, back row Michael Sherrard, Dave Yeats, Rich Hjort, Dick Solum, Junita Pechia, Dewayne Pechia front row, Pat Allick, Roger Allick, Jim McCoy, Charles Culver

to speak. A fella by the name of Bill Wadsworth put together a program just for the Bowhunter. He had written and printed an instructional book to try to standardize the information for the new bowhunters, stressing ethics and responsibility and the image of bowhunters. By the middle of the sixties he traveled all over the country setting up new instructors to take this information to their own states and start bowhunting Education Classes.

I have spent the last two years trying to locate those few who were the first to be taught by Bill Wadsworth in Montana in the early seventies. Now I have had to tax the memories of these old gray whiskers to try to remember who they took their class with. As these guys were from all across Montana and hardly knew each other back then. It has been a tuff task. I came up with a few more then a dozen men; most of them belonged to the Montana Bowhunters Association, who felt the need to get bowhunter Education to the public here in Montana.

The Montana Bowhunters Association held their first classes in 1978. Some of these gentlemen are still in out ranks teaching today, nearly forty years and going strong.

The Montana Fish and Game took over the program thirty years ago and this is why we are gathered here today celebrating this success story. These pioneers and the MBA started and the FWP maintain the best program in the country no question.

Now I know I will have missed someone along the line but here goes. These are those pioneers I found: Greg Munther – Dick Solum – Dwayne Garner – Charles Culver – Steve Schindler – Rick Traeger – Lee Poole – Scott Koelzer – Dave Kueber – Dan More – Cole Younger – Mike Shepard – Buck Demone – Jerry Karskie- Rich Hjort – Berry Wensel – Tim Fox – Paul Schafer – Who might have I missed. I would really like to know if there are others.

I have met and taught with some of these pioneers and have the greatest respect for them. Bowhunting for these men is way more then just a pastime to hunt a few more days. It is their passion, a way of life. They live it and practice it on a daily biases.

Bowhunting Education was their way to pay their experiences forward to the next generation of bowhunters, preserving Bowhunting for the future in Montana.

Another bowhunting pioneer, Gene Wensel once wrote, Bowhunters are not born, they are made. To become a Bowhunter you have to experience it. Live it.

Bowhunting is NOT a sport. It is a PASSION, a way of life.

Bowhunter Education is only the tool to get a young bowhunters started in the right direction. The experience they have to gain on their own.

Thank all of you as Instructors both Bowhunter and Gun hunter as we move forward in to the future to make more History for the next generations.

Bowhunters Ed Seminar MBA booth

Bowhunter Ed 38+ years Marlon Clapham, Rich Hjort, Dick Solum, Charles Culver.jpg

Bowhunters are not born, they are made. To become a Bowhunter you have to experience it. Live it. Bowhunting is NOT a sport. It is a PASSION, a way of life. ­­— Gene Wensel

Fall 2017

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2017 CANYON FERRY CARP SAFARI

2017 Canyon Ferry Carp Safari This year’s Safari challenged archers with cooler temps, cloud cover, and wind, producing choppy, murky conditions. cruised deep under the surface.

Carp were scarce and

Our winners overcame the odds and

hauled in a total biomass of 1,440 pounds.

Following are the winners in each of the categories: Team Most Fish – Team Allegrucci – 42 fish Adult Most Fish – Mike Prescott – 10 fish Adult Big Fish – Jeremy Allegrucci – 11 lbs. 6 oz.

Team Most Fish – Team Allegrucci – 42 fish

Adult Small Fish – Jeremy Ackerman – 1 lb. 13 oz.

Youth Big Fish – (retriever reel) - Colter Zink 6 lbs. 3 oz.

Youth Small Fish – Colter Zink 4 lbs. 2 oz.

Past Carp Princess Calbria Briggs crowned this year’s princess, Brenda Zink, who carried out her duties with exuberance.

A carpacious amount of thanks goes out to local MBA members who faithfully helped schlep fish at the weigh-in and cooked burgers for the awards ceremony. Joelle extends a hearty thank you to Gail Delp, Jerry Davis, Teri and Al Kelly, Roger Licht, Steve Schindler, the LePage Family, who donated the t-shirts, the Garness family for their donation of a Rinehart

Youth Small Fish Colter Zink 4 lbs. 2 oz

target, and Jim and Pam Gosink, for their donation of two youth targets.

Thanks again to Scott Reed for the plaque construction and to AMS Bowfishing, who donated the Retriever reel for the lucky youth recipient.

Despite having far fewer registrants than usual, everyone’s donations and assistance netted us $940 in profits this year. Thanks to all for your support of the MBA! Past Carp Queens

Mandy Garness takes a peek in the carp trailer

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Prize winner of a carp shirt!

It’ll fit some day.

Youth Small Fish – Colter Zink 4 lbs. 2 oz

Offloading the catch

2017 CANYON FERRY CARP SAFARI

One happy dude from Team Allegrucci

Flingin Fish Mitchell LePage supervises Dad’s measurements

Who knew carp fishing was so much fun

Fall 2017

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MEMBER STORY

A Series of

Adventures

by Brian Koelzer

So the excuses that bowhunters come up with for missing an animal seem to be as numerous as mosquitos in northern Saskatchewan. “the sun was in my eyes”, “it was steep uphill/downhill”, “he jumped my string”, “I hit a limb”, “there was this bird and gravity was stronger that morning because Jupiter was closer than its ever been and I had to fart…….” Blah, Blah, and Blah.

Nine times out of ten we missed because we got excited and that’s exactly what we are supposed to do while we are out pursuing big game with archery equipment. Some are certainly better than others at keeping it together when the moment of truth arrives. There are guys who can’t grab their butt with both hands let alone shoot targets but somehow become the iceman on big game and never miss. Others can shoot the lights out all day long at the range but become a quivering sack of goo when drawing on a breathing target. When I was young my issue was picking a spot. I’d get so wound up that I would look at the whole animal and usually miss by a mile. As the seasons passed I got better at keeping my cool until after the shot then I became Jello pudding.

I’ve found that over the years my best shots on game tend to be the ones that happen more quickly instead of the ones that take a while to play out. It seems when “auto-pilot” takes over all the senses act as one and a great shot is made without actually thinking about it. I do have one glaring exception to that notion because when I was 15 yeas old and out elk hunting in mid October I spotted a cow in a steep cut and executed a perfect stalk only to be startled by a 360 7x6 that I had no idea was there. My arrow flew true exactly where I was looking and buried deep in his main beam right where his massive 24” royal tine erupted into the sky. 23 years later that is one of my fondest hunting memories and I sometimes wonder who shot that bull or found his shed still carrying a broken off cedar shaft and Zwickey broadhead.

The 2016 hunting season was another great whirlwind of adventures for my wife and I as we pursued our usual quarry of elk, whitetail, mule deer, antelope, black bear and mountain lion. I was fortunate to take a dandy cat in January as well as a large black bear in may. We shot a few carp during the summer then Kara started off the fall with a heavy 14” antelope out of a ground blind.

September first found me in Wyoming and after a 4 day run a nice non-typical mule deer was in my truck coming home with me. Next we moved on to elk

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which was a total bust but good exercise. At the end of September we changed our focus to whitetail and that’s when the real adventures began. Weekend 1 we spent scouting/hunting and we located a few good bucks. Kara passed up a 135 4x4 and my best laid plans of hunting an open gate into a cut barley field resulted into cowboys herding cows through my gate into the barley. Fail.

Weekend 2 was the last weekend of archery season and we got to the property Friday night too late to hunt so scouting was the name of the game.

We noticed quite a few deer crossing an irrigation ditch at the same spot and upon further examination the next morning noted a shallow spot with heavy trails. There was a perfect tree ten yards from the crossing and that evening Kara was perched waiting for action. I on the other hand opted for a stand I had a good feeling about but sign was a little sparser. After three hours in my tree facing the sun and seeing only 4 does in the distance I decided that my “feeling” was misguided and that it was time to get out and scout a little more while I had light. I texted my wife to tell her I was getting out of my stand and that I’d come get her after dark. She replied saying there were deer all around her and that she was having a great time watching them all walk by so close. Hmmm.

Between getting out of my tree and the 10 minute walk back to the truck my phones buzzes in my pocket and I get a text that says: “I shot one. 5x5 with cheaters. He is dead. I’m a wreck.” Well alrighty then…

Fifteen minutes later I pull up and unloaded my quad to take the short spin down the ditch to where my very excited wife was getting out of the tree. I ask where her buck is and she points to the long grass across the ditch not 25 yards from her stand. after a perfect double lung shot at 8 yards her big old buck didn’t go 15 yards. After a quick photo shoot we load the buck onto the back of my quad and start the gentle climb out of the coulee. To help balance I have Kara sit on the front of the bike with her bow while I hold onto her buck on the back. Light is fading fast and with a stiff breeze blowing in our face we top the coulee and I notice the grass parting to our left. I stop the bike and a young coyote peeks out 25 yards away. “shoot him” I whisper and she slips off the bike while fluidly nocking an arrow and two seconds later we hear the “whump” sound of a lung hit. Not too shabby of an evening for my lady.

The next weekend finds me hunting a point of timber where we’d seen a very heavy old buck that I wanted to get a closer look at. As sun up approached i saw the buck swinging wide of me but getting a good look at him I knew he was the one I’d focus my time on. Only a main frame 5x4 but I’d never seen a deer with such mass! Shortly after he walked by I noticed deer running at me

MEMBER STORY from the direction of the river. Figuring there were boaters or something I didn’t give it much thought until I saw what looked like brown cow walking along the riverbank. A millisecond later I realized it was no cow but a large boar grizzly bear. I watched to bear cruise along downriver to the east as if on a mission. I’d heard about the occasional griz in the area but had never seen one. One thing was for certain, from here on out the glock 10mm AND bear spray would be going with me to my deer stand.

Opener of general season I’m back down on the river bottom and decide to give the stand my wife killed her deer out of a try since it was very convenient to get to and I was running a little late. The trails were still being used but they’d dammed off the ditch and what was running four feet deep the week before was barley 8 inches now. The deer figured this out as well and weren’t too interested in going out of their way to cross by me so it was a rather lonely night. About 45 minutes before sundown all the deer in the field start acting nervous and staring at the brush towards the river. I begin to see movement and not one but two griz emerge and walk out into the cut barley field. One was a huge boar and the other was smaller but definitely not a cub. They began vacuuming up barley and slowly working my way. I stuck it out until the big boar was about 125 yards off and walking on the trail that led directly to my stand. I decided that a hasty retreat was in order and after getting out of my tree I waded the ditch and climbed the gentle hill back to my truck. The big bear sat down on his butt and watched we walk away completely unconcerned by my presence. I sat on the hill by my truck until dark watching the big bruins feed and planning my next move.

For the next several weekends all my efforts where directed at getting a shot at the super heavy buck that I affectionately named Arnold. He was fairly predictable and I had several encounters with him under a hundred yards including one time him taking the wrong fork in the trail and walking by me at 25 but in the brush!

Fast forward to mid-November and the rut was in full swing. I left work in time to get down for a Friday night hunt but unfortunately didn’t see Arnold in his usual alfalfa field. Saturday he was a no show as well and I had the feeling he’d moved across the river to a field the does had been frequenting all fall.

Sunday I came from the other side of the river and hung a low stand in a pinch point that looked like a deer killing spot. Not 20 minutes after getting into my tree a big old 4x4 came cruising by at about thirty yards then bedded in the tall grass just behind me. As evening approached more deer began to stir in the trees and all be darned if Arnold didn’t come out following a doe. He was hot on her trail and wasn’t going to let her get more that about ten yards from him. They approached my position but about 60 yards out the doe decided to bed and Arnold stood over her like a guard dog. For what seemed like eternity he paced around her and when she finally stood so did the big 4 that was bedded behind me. This caught Arnold off guard that there was another buck in such close proximity to his love interest and bristling up like a porcupine he started to sideways walk towards the other buck and my position. I knew the opportunity I’d been working the last six weeks for was about to unfold and I tried to keep my composure.

Not being sure what side of my tree he was going to walk by kept me in a neutral position so I didn’t need to move too much either way to get a shot. As he started to move to my left I slowly swung and with one fluid motion drew my bow and let go of my arrow.

Unfortunately for me and fortunately for him I neglected to pick a spot and decided to drop my bow arm the moment I released and to my dismay I watched my arrow clip a few hairs off his brisket and bury harmlessly in the ground. Having no idea what happened due to the steady breeze blowing, Arnold charged the other buck and ran him off before looping back around for his doe and disappearing into the woods.

After regaining control of my shaking legs and taking my first breath in what seemed like 27 minutes I couldn’t help but smile and give thanks for the awesome encounter and the rookie mistakes that will forever keep me humble.

As luck would have it my friend Trevor who hunts the property with me managed to make a perfect shot on Arnold a few days later off the ground as he chased a doe down a line of tall grass. Every circumference of his horns was over 5 inches with four of them being over 6inches!!!

Closing day of general season I decided to get into a thick bedding area and hunt all day. The wind was ripping and I knew I could get in tight without busting everything in the woods. I saw a few deer over the course of the day but as the shadows got longer and the wind died down a little I figured I’d try a rattling sequence. With my bow hung at my side I no more than banged the horns together and a good buck crashed out of the willows to me left and ran by me at less than 5 yards. It happened so fast I didn’t even have time to grab my bow and just as the big deer disappeared to my right I banged the horns together again and back my way he came. This time I was able to grab my bow and as the he passed under my tree my arrow caught him perfectly behind the shoulder and after a short run it was all over. Just so happens that the buck I shot was the same one that Arnold chased away the week before right after I missed him!

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MBA 40TH CONVENTION

MBA 40TH CONVENTION & 45 YEARS OF THE MBA MBA CONVENTION MARCH 2,3 AND 4, 2018 We will have a very special speaker and seminar guest at this convention. Gene Wensel will be attending. Gene will present a seminar in the afternoon and also speak before dinner.

This will be quite an honor to have him there.

In 2018 we will be celebrating the 40th convention and the 45th anniversary of the MBA. The planning is moving forward and several donations have come in. If you have ideas, donations please call or e-mail me with the information at, 406-546-6013 or nmaier78@ gmail.com or nam56@yahoo.com Items donated for raffle, silent auction and live auction so far: · Honda Foreman 500 manual shift from 5 Valley Honda of Missoula · Kuiu Guide Gloves, Medium · Knife and Sheath, from Bernier · Wild Game Cookbook, University of Montana · XL Ground Blind, Zones Camo, Cabela’s

2018 Covention YukonProGlove_med

· Sitka Coat, Hoodie and Pants, Large · Gary Carter Framed print, Boys Club · Howard Hill Commemorative Long Bow with the MBA Logo and 40/45 on it · Toekoms, Namibia African Bow Hunt June 2019 · Framed Bobcat, Owl and Rabbit print By Merri Clapham · Deacon Bench by Attic Treasures and Wild Furnishings, Keri Anderson and Jon Son · Table and 8 Chairs with MBA Logo by Keri Anderson and Jon Son · Women’s package, Taiga Cooler with MBA Logo, Sportsman Warehouse Women’s Clothing, Sight, Release and Gift certificate, Montana Silversmith Necklace and ring. · Vortex Range Finder

2018 Covention Bernier Sheep Horn Hunter Knife

· Vortex Binoculars We are also selling 3 tables that will be placed around the head table that was auctioned off at the 2017 convention live auction. The cost of these tables will be $750. This will include 4 new memberships (that you can give to bring in new members) and 8 Banquet tickets.

There will one prize for each of the three tables that are purchased but the prize has been yet to be determined. The purchaser of each table will be the recipient of that table prize.

Neil Maier nmaier78@gmail.com Becky Doyle mybluewalker@yahoo.com

2018 Covention Bernier Sheep Horn Hunter Knife Sheath

Marlon Clapham mbaregion2@gmail.com It is not too early to start making contacts to get donations large and small. We can use a couple of Compound bows, Garmin GPS Montana 680T or Oregon 750Tseries to package with OnXmaps and other items for a hat raffle.

2018 Covention Gary Carter Framed print, Boys Club

2018 Covention Speaker Gene Wensel

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Montana

BOWHUNTER

WWW.MTBA.ORG

2018 Covention Bobcat, Owl and Rabbit print

By Merri Clapham

CONTACT NUMBERS

FWP Commissioner Contacts fwpwld@mt.gov

District 1 Vacant

District 2

Dan Vermillion, Chairman PO Box 668 Livingston, MT 59047 Phone: (406) 222-0624 Term: January 1, 2019

District 3

Richard Stuker, Vice-Chairman 1155 Boldt Road Chinook, MT 59523 Phone: (406) 357-3495 Term: January 1, 2017

District 4

Logan Brower, Commissioner P.O. Box 325 Scobey, MT 59263 Phone: (406) 230-2188 Term: January 1, 2019

District 5 Vacant

BUSINESS & CLUB MEMBERS

Active as of July 2017

Become a Business Member of the MBA and be listed on this page every issue! For membership visit www.mtba.org.

BE THE DECOY, LLC

Mark Renner

PO Box 5151

Bozeman

MT

59701

406-579-1771

BUFFALO JUMP ARCHERY

Judy Adams

P.O. Box 5581

Helena

MT

59604

406-539-3936

CROWN PHOTOGRAPHY

Mike & Lucinda Layne

PO Box 9936

Kalispell

MT

59904

406-752-6116

DAHL WHOLESALE

Chris Dahl

PO Box384

Drummond

MT

59832

406-449-1517

DR. CAMO

Don Stein

1625 Northern Heights Dr

Havre

MT

59501

406-265-8099

EAGLE RESTORATION

Michael Henry

5853 Queen Annes Lane

Florence

MT

59833

406-549-1221

FIRST CLASS OUTDOORS, LLC

10 Grassy Flat Rd

Roundup

MT

59072

661-317-0001

HAMMER-EM OUTFITTING

PO Box 472

Stanford

MT

59479

406-366-5042

Libby

MT

59923

406-293-7174

LIBBY ARCHERY CLUB

Rich Hjort

PO Box 755

MATABLAS GAME HUNTERS

Willem Frost

PO Box 1559, Lephalale, 0555, South Africa

MIKE PRESCOTT STATE FARM

Mike Prescott

1501 S. Russell St.

MIssoula

MT

59801

406-541-9800

PRONGHORN CUSTOM BOWS

Herb Meland

2491 W 42nd St

Casper

WY

82604

307-234-1824

5705 Grant Creek Road

Missoula

MT

59808

406-523-4500

ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FOUNDATION

27116794664

SILVERTIP PLUMBING & HEATING

Scott Rice

PO Box 1103

Plains

MT

59859

406-370-4209

SPIRIT QUEST ARCHERY

Kevin & Kim Friedman

115 Rocky Cliff Rd

Kalispell

MT

59904

406-756-5455

TRAILS END CUSTOM RECURVE BOW

Dale Dye

276 Grantsdale Rd

Hamilton

MT

59840

406-363-2981

TRICON COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION

Jason Catron

385 Old Corvallis Rd

Hamilton

MT

59840

406-381-9672

UDAP INDUSTRIES

Mark Matheny

1703 Waterline Rd

Butte

MT

59701

406-581-4856

WESTERN TRAILER & MARINE SALES

Clyde Thomas, Jr.

1865 Hwy 2 E.

Havre

MT

59501

406-265-4572

YELLOWSTONE COUNTRY BEAR

Joe Kondelis

4116 Temple Creek

Cody

WY

82414

307-899-0461

James Brown

PO Box 96

Richey

MT

59259

406-773-5509

HUNTERS ASSOCIATION

Fall 2017

23

HEADER

Do you enjoy bowhunting and our bowhunting seasons in Montana?

Join the MBA to preserve, promote and protect bowhunting!

What the MBA offers you: Expanded hunting opportunities through working with FWP and commissioners to preserve and expand bowhunting seasons Unified voice during legislative sessions to protect seasons and access programs while opposing efforts which seek to limit the role of FWP in managing wildlife Fellowship with others who are interested in shaping the future of bowhunting Quarterly magazine keeping you informed on local, state, and national bowhunting issues, bowhunter education, events, and great hunting stories

INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP One Year $25.00 Three Years $67.00 Life $500.00

FAMILY MEMBERSHIP One Year $30.00 Three Years $81.00 Life $750.00

JUNIOR MEMBERSHIP (Under 18) One Year

$5.00

CLUB MEMBERSHIP One Year $45.00 Three Years $120.00

BUSINESS MEMBERSHIP One Year $45.00 Three Years $120.00

OVERSEAS MEMBERSHIP

Add $10.00 a year to membership choice for added mailing costs

Join Today!

Visit the MBA website at: www.mtba.org

24

M ontana

BOWHUNTER

WWW.MTBA.ORG

Memberships run January 1 to December 31 each year.

1

4

7

ZAC RENNER buck

2

KIM BLASKOWSKI 2015first ever fall turkey

5

LUCAS ZEMLIKA 2016 South Dakota whitetail

8

Saskatchewan bear BOB MORTON

3

ROCKY TORGERSON

MARK SCHWOMEYER elk 09

6

KENNY SATRA with a whitetail buck he rattled in a few years ago

9

MITCHELL LEPAGE 2016 turkey

JIM MORTON Saskatchewan with a Bears Paw recurve

Chris Blaskowki 1

10

BRIAN KOELZER 2016 last day buck 3 yard shot Vpa head

11

BRANDEN VANDYKEN 2016 opening day spot and stalk antelope

12

CHRIS BLASKOWKI

Fall 2017

25

WHY EVERY MONTANA BOWHUNTER SHOULD CONSIDER JOINING THE MONTANA BOWHUNTERS ASSOCIATION • The MBA is the organization the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks consults on bowhunting issues that affect Montana bowhunters.

• Montana has the best bowhunting seasons of any of the western states.

We are continually working to keep these.

• The MBA is active in the Legislature to protect and fight for our hunting and bowhunting seasons and rights.

• The MBA produces a quarterly magazine informing you of local, state, and national bowhunting issues and events, and publishing great stories and pictures.

• THE MBA NEEDS MEMBER NUMBERS AND YOUR YEARLY DUES TO CONTINUE TO PROTECT WHAT YOU ENJOY EVERY YEAR. ISN’T WHAT YOU ENJOY EVERY FALL WORTH $25 A YEAR TO PROTECT?

What the MBA has done for you?

• • • •

•

•

•

•

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Worked to get the first archery season started in Montana. Along the way, we’ve increased the seasons to what you enjoy today.

Worked to establish archery bear, lion and sheep seasons.

Worked to establish archery antelope 900 tag and August 15th opener.

Worked to establish archery only areas and hunting districts.

Proposed a special archery wolf season and endorsed the highest quota of wolf harvest possible.

Actively protects hunting & bowhunting seasons in the Legislature year after year.

Defended our archery seasons against the “Crossbows & Muzzleloaders” threats throughout the years.

Created the Modified Archer’s permit that now allows those with handicaps to use modified archery equipment to hunt; which kept any need for crossbows out of Montana and defended our archery seasons against other crossbow threats throughout the years.

Re-established the archery season after it was left off the regulations one year.

Actively works with FWP to protect archery seasons, our resources, and expand archery opportunity in Montana year after year.

Photos by Denver Bryan / Images on the Wildside

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What can you do for bowhunting in Montana?

Join the MBA at www.mtba.org to preserve, promote and protect bowhunting.

Spring 2015

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