Mba Spring 2018 Issue

VOL. 45 #3 Spring 2018

Memberspotlight – PAGE 12 2018 MBA Convention Preview – PAGE 16 “The Big 5” – PAGE 24 Carp Safari 2018 – PAGE 26

ANNUAL th 40 CON V EN T ION

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 Region 1

Al Kelly

Region 2

Neil Maier

PO Box 219, Libby, MT 59923 ........................................... 406-293-2900 alman@frontiernet.net 16200 Roman Creek Rd., Frenchtown, MT 59834 .............. 406-546-6013

PRESIDENT

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

Steve Schindler

Brian Koelzer

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

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

Ken Schultz

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

302 Wyoming Ave., Billings, MT. 59101 ............................. 406-598-8550 schultzy@iwks.net rpdlew@aol.com

REP VACANCY REP VACANCY. Bob Morgan

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 PAST PRESIDENT

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

REP VACANCY

Region 8

officers 1ST VICE PRESIDENT

Region 3

Region 7

MBA

nam56@yahoo.com

REP VACANCY

Region 6

www.mtba.org

Joelle Selk 6963 York Road • Helena, MT 59602 jselkmt@gmail.com • 406-422-6798 MAGAZINE CO-EDITORS

Jerry Davis

725 Middlemas Road, Helena, MT 59602........................... 406-475-2226 pipelinejerry@gmail.com

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

AT LARGE DIRECTORS

WEB DESIGNER

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

www.pixelelk.com

EVEN YEARS

ODD YEARS

Paul Martin Ray Gross Kent Brown John Grimstad

Lyle Hebel Liberty Brown Branding Iron Marketing MAGAZINE DESIGN

110 Sage Lane, Kalispell, MT 59901 - paulhmartin99@gmail.com........................... 406-261-4456

K Design Marketing, Inc.

355 Antelope Drive, Dillon, MT 59725 – raygross0144@gmail.com......................... 406-660-1019

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

PO Box 160803, Big Sky MT 59716 - kdbrown7@msn.com..................................... 406-321-1059 2031 Poly Drive, Billings, MT 59102 – twingrim@bresnan.net.................................. 406-252-3620

EDITORIAL COMMENTS 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

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.

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

Spring 2018

1

EDITOR’S NOTE

Teri Kelly, with Alyse and Lily Wyman Wow, newsletter time again. As I write this, I’m knee deep in Christmas wrap and busy getting all the little things done for the holidays and of course by the time you read this, the New Year will be under way. The Newsletters are coming out a little early this quarter because the convention is the first weekend in March which is a month earlier, and of course we need to get all the great information about the convention in your hands so you can make plans to attend. There’s a lot of awesome items to be auctioned, raffled and won and you’ll see some of them in this issue. Because we had to get this issue out early, the prizes and donations are still rolling in as we go to print so be sure to check the website for updates on auction items, raffle and other prizes and activities, and watch your mail for your voting ballot and raffle tickets. The convention is a great time to see some old friends and make some new ones. Plus, you can soak in the hot springs or if you’re among the braver among us you can fling yourself down the 350-foot slide.

This year we’ll be celebrating 45 years of the MBA and our 40th convention! Gene Wensel will be our keynote speaker and there will be some great seminars and other activities. I’ll be making a quilt again this year for the auction and I’m really excited about this year’s design. If you’re talented and want to craft something to donate just let Neil or one of the board know you’re bringing or sending a donation.

Brian Koelzer and the Great American Heroes will provide musical entertainment during the social hour and there will be regional games to play.

If you have someone to nominate for one of our auspicious awards you’ll find information on how to do that in this issue. Please get those nominations into Roger by February 10, 2018. As usual, I always need stories, articles and photos, so send them my way at: teray1979@yahoo.com See you at Fairmont!

Teri Kelly

2

Montana

BOWHUNTER

WWW.MTBA.ORG

Teri & Al Kelly

TABLE OF CONTENTS VOL. 45 #3 Spring 2018

40

th ANNUAL

16

C ON V EN T ION

14

PREVIEW

PAGE

PAGE

17

PAGE

On the Cover

2

Spring 2018

Me 2018 MBA Co mberspotlight – PAGE 12 nvention Previ ew – PAGE 16 “The Big Carp Safari 5” – PAGE 24 2018 – PAGE 26

40 thCON V E N T IO N ANNU AL

WHEN DO YOU START

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

KIDS HUNTING?

Marlon Clahman

5

1ST VICE RESIDENT’S MESSAGE

SteveSchindler

2ND VICE RESIDENT’S MESSAGE

16 2018 CONVENTION PREVIEW 24 “THE BIG 5”

Mark Schwomeyer

TREASURER’S MESSAGE

Jenn Schneider SECTETART’S MESSAGE

Beckie Doyle

6 REGIONAL REPORTS 12 MBA MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Long time member Ron Cortese 2017 Buck 12 yard shot after many days in the treestand

Teri Kelly

15 BLAST FROM THE PAST

4 VOL. 45 #3

EDITOR’S NOTE

Amy LePage

Brian Koelzer

26 2018 CANYON FERRY CARP SAFARI 27 BUSINESS & CLUB MEMBERS

28 29

FWP COMMISIONER CONTACTS MBA MEMBERSHIP FORM MEMBER GALLERY

14 WHAT THE HECK IS CWA

Stephen LePage

Spring 2018

3

Montana Bowh unters Assoc PO Box 23611 iation Billings, MT 59104 Return servic e requested

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

OFFICER’S REPORTS

MBA

Committees

PRESIDENT - MARLON 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 • Marlon Clapham

Tentatives:

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

President’s

I

Message

t seems as though we just put a newsletter out. It also feels like the Bowhunting season just got started, and now were deep into the late seasons around the state. The Tentative meeting started several months ago. The first Commission meeting is in the books as of December Marlon Claphman 7th in Helena and now the public comment period will begin soon. We will try to keep everyone informed with up dates. There are several issues that will be keeping a close eye on here in Reg. 2. There are several issues in the Archery only HD 260 and HD 290.

Most everything that develops we will try to post on the e-mail, with a link to comment on the issues.

Joelle The Convention is just around the corner. The committee in Reg. 2 has worked their hinnies th th off putting together the 40 convention on the MBA’s 45 anniversary. They are bringing in Gene Wensel as our featured guest speaker. Gene is one of the MBA’s six forefathers and I’m sure he will not disappoint.

We have several new fundraisers to try at this convention, for one there will be a raffle for an ATV Four Wheeler with a limited number of tickets sold. We would like to sell all 1500 tickets before the Convention or sell the remainder at Fairmont so we can draw the winner at the Banquet. There is more information in this news letter. We have two interesting seminar speakers with Conner Brown “I hunt Fit “and Adam Onsrud “Montana Full Circle”. And don’t forget about all the other raffles for bows and tents this list goes on and on.

The Youth Committee is hard at work on next year’s camps. The Youth Expo will take place in May at the Teller. The Magruder camp will be in July and our own MBA Teen Camp will be in late July or early August. We are finalizing a new place to host the event. Last year’s Teen Camp was very successful, and we will be adding a few more spots for campers. Everyone from last year expressed that they would like to attend the next years camp so now is the time to get a couple of youths in your area that would be interested in attending. Remember, we try to raise enough funds to scholarship all the campers and camp personal. We do this with donations from each Region and folks that just want to contribute to help the young campers. We can use some adults that would like to be guides and share their knowledge with the campers.

The Youth Committee is looking for some of the MBA youth to get involved with the committee. They would like to see 16 to 25 year olds to help out with getting their ideas into the decision making process.

Joelle is putting together the Carp Safari and that is always a good time. We just hope that the weather will corporate this time.

It’s time once again for elections. I will be throwing my hat in the ring and run for another term as president. I am very proud of the Board we have assembled at this time and would like to continue working with them. I believe we are on the right track to put the MBA back in a positive lite amongst Montana Bowhunters across the state.

I’m sure I’ve missed something along the way, but if I did it wasn’t a game critter as I have not had a good clean chance for a shot. It has been in single digits for temperature, and is hard to get enthused when my whiskers freeze up with icecicle.

Keep-Em Sharp and Shoot-Em Straight Marlon

Marlon Clapham

4

Montana

BOWHUNTER

WWW.MTBA.ORG

Financial:

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

Steve Schindler Nominations:

Steve Schindler, Chair Al Kelly • Paul Martin

Awards:

Selk

Roger Peffer, Chair Al Kelly • Steve Schindler Rich Lewallen • 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 Stephen 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 Brian 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

Second Vice President’s

Report

OFFICER REPORTS

H

First Vice President’s

Report

I

ts election time for the MBA and all even year positions are open for election, we have regions 2, 4, 6 and 8 up for election. For the current area reps in those regions, if you plan on running again please email me and let me know. If you have already been elected to this position you do not need to submit a Bio but if you are running for the first time you need to submit a bio to the 1st VP. Also, up for election are the 3 even year Directors at large positions, and the President and 2nd VP, we have great people who are going to run again on those 2 positions.

The Directors shall ensure that the nominating committee sends out the ballot not more than 30 days to not more than 60 days before the election. Each ballot shall list the nominee chosen, and each ballot shall include the number of lines for write-in candidates equal to the number of directors to be elected.

Determination of Winners of Election. To be elected to a regional rep 1st you have to live in that region and you have to receive the most votes, simple right !! All regions have two area reps so the two people receiving the most votes will be elected to the board representing that region.

We have had some write in Candidates over the years and there has been a little bit of confusion on how this process works, below is outlined on how the process will work.

1. Name entered on Ballot has been a continuous member for 1 year 2. The write in candidate accepts the position 3. Write in candidate provides a Bio within 30 days of election and if board vote’s to accept write in candidate. Keep in mind the present board has to approve of the write in Candidate before they actually become board members.

On another note, I’d like to point out a major difference between Mother Nature and the ethical hunter. I was sitting in a tree stand just prior to the whitetail rut and the river was just beginning to freeze over; there were stretches of the river that had completely frozen over and some small swirly spots that were still open.

The ice was still not thick enough to hold much weight, I’m guessing a squirrel would be safe but not a coyote. As I was sitting in the stand, I could look out over the river and see the open field on the other side and I had seen a deer heading my direction from the other side. It was not traveling on a trail or any route that deer would historically use so I wasn’t sure where he was going. As he got closer I could see it was a small 4x4 or maybe 5x5. He was on the prowl and was going to cross the river; he made it about 1/3 of the way across and fell thru, he broke ice for as far as he could but his fate was sealed.

There was absolutely nothing I could do and I listened to him thrashing for about 4 hours, I hated what was going on and wondered why in the hell did he do that, well it was his drive to breed that drove him to his ultimate death. As hunters we see things die on a regular basis but as opposed to Mother Nature, our kills are quick and painless.

Mother Nature always seem to provide a long and not painless death.

Either falling thru the ice and struggling for hours or starving to death over a period of time, or having a large predator drag you down and eat you while you are still alive. So, the next time someone says let mother nature handle it, maybe we could let them know Mother nature is very cruel and really doesn’t give a rats butt on how long it takes them to die or how it’s done. We as hunters on the other hand do give a rat’s butt, we understand how mother nature works and her lack of empathy. What I witnessed will stay with me and bother me for a long time.

Steve Schindler

aving no tags notched by yours truly during the archery season, left me with plenty of reasons to get out with my bow during the general season. After several hours in the tree stand I finally drew blood and made a short recovery on my 1st b-tag spike. Too bad we can’t save our unused tags for next season. Well now that general season is over it means it’s the beginning of lion season and also means the convention is in the near future. Stephan LePage had a meeting here in region 4 and signed up 5 new members. Sorry for all of you who missed the meeting, it was an open bar and Steve’s wife bought. I am anxiously waiting to hear the harvest stories from you guys so I can live vicariously through your adventures. So, until April I’m going to be chasing my hounds around the mountain to trying my damnedest not to get stuck. Hope you all Winter well and I will see you in Fairmont in April

Mark Schwomeyer

Treasurer’s Message

H

ope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! We are busy little bees with convention prepping and can’t wait to see you guys in March. A little earlier in the year for the convention could mean less interference with your other activities, and Region 2 always introduces us to new and exciting things, so if you haven’t made it to a convention in a while, please make it in 2018.

Jenn Schneider

Secretary’s Message

A

s the New Year is about to begin, I reflect on this year’s achievements in the bowhunting world. I met so many amazing people involved in the MBA. I look forward to expanding these friendships and experiencing more incredible events with fellow members.

Bow season for me wasn’t successful harvest wise, however experiencing bowhunting with our three-year-old Grandson, Landen, refreshed my love for the outdoors. Seeing the wild thru his eyes lets me re-experience why I love the outdoors. Nothing makes a Grammie happier than watching him explore the woods and locate animals by himself!

My husband and I spent a day taking a new female bowhunter into the woods near our home. Misty didn’t harvest an elk that day, but we called in numerous bulls within shooting range. Misty had never experienced the herd bulls and satellite bulls so close and with so much action. Watching her excitement and enthusiasm as we climbed all over God’s creation, again affirmed why I love the outdoors and bowhunting.

I spent an afternoon with my best friend’s son, a young man who attended the MBA’s Teen Bowhunting Camp. We were grouse hunting with our bows. What a glorious afternoon in God’s Country! Hyme harvested his first bow kill, a grouse! He was so impressed with himself! I was happy to be part of his first harvest and to experience the joy with him.

The new year brings expectations as a bowhunter and a member of the Montana Bowhunters Association.

I pray I live up to my own expectations as an ethical outdoorswoman and as a representative of a great organization. I hope all of you have successful endeavors!

Beckie Doyle

Beckie Doyle Spring 2018

5

REGIONAL REPORTS REGION 1 AL KELLY

REGION 1

REGION 2 NEIL MAIER

REGION

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4

2

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REGION 8 JERRY DAVIS

REGION 2

Hi All

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NEIL MAIER

Neil Maier

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Montana

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Friends, s another year draws to an end I am thinking about the year that just passed. I am sad that all of the hunts I planned and prepared and practiced for are in the history books. Not a great year for me if measured by harvest numbers, but a great year measured in time spent with family and friends enjoying all that this great state has to offer. Better yet it was a great year measured in fun.

Which by my way of thinking is the goal of all my endeavors with the one exception and that is work.

And so it starts again; The planning; where to hunt, tags to put in for and gear to purchase; The preparing, working on your equipment, sharpening knives and broadheads, assessing and getting packs restocked and or upgraded, and of course practice.

Lots and lots of practice, which in the case of bowhunting is a bunch of fun in itself. And because I love to bird hunt with my two best friends (Moose and Bolt), lots of dog training.

REGION 7 BOB MORGAN

REGION

REGION REGION

AL KELLY

REGION 6 VACANT

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REGION 5 RICHARD LEWALLEN KEN SCHULTZ

1

REGION

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REGION 4 STEPHEN LEPAGE ROGER LICHT

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REGION 3 BRIAN KOELZER BARRETT HAUGEN

Al Kelly

WWW.MTBA.ORG

an, time flies when deadlines approach.

It has been a very busy year and shows no signs of slowing down for 2018.

The convention is just around the corner and approaching fast. We have many items for live auctions including one African hunt and a caribou hunt out of Kotzebue Alaska and there are items still coming in. We also have the Matlabas African Hunt that will be on the MBA Facebook page.

Tickets are on sale now for a Honda Rancher 500 4x4 Manual shift ATV. This is a limited raffle sale of 1500 tickets. No more will be printed. The tickets are already going fast. They are $10 each.

We can take cash, check or Debit card. Absolutely no credit cards. In reference to Debit card transactions they must be processed through Jenn Schneider. Her phone number is 406-697-7668.

The person must call her and make the transaction and then email or call me and I will mail the tickets to them. I need the person’s Name, Address, phone number and email to be able to contact the winner. You do not need to be present to win.

This raffle is void where prohibited by law. You must be 18 years old to purchase raffle tickets.

Most board members have tickets to sell. A few who did not attend the December board meeting do not have them. Anyone can contact me to get the raffle tickets or you can contact a board member in your area. I will send out tickets after I receive the check. Send cash at your own risk.

So whatever you chose for equipment, whatever you chose to hunt, wherever you go and whoever you share your experiences with it is now time to dream about the coming year. I wish everyone a happy new year and I hope your fun prospects for the coming year are numerous.

Al Kelly

We will have John Vore at the general membership meeting Saturday morning to talk about the CWD study that will be completed by the convention and what are the next steps. There will also be FWP personnel at the vendor’s area with more information.

Tell your friends to come and visit with the vendors and look at the product offering and information there. If you have ever thought about getting a custom made bow this is the place to come and try out what the bowyers offer.

Neil Maier

REGIONAL REPORTS

REGION 3 REGION

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BRIAN KOELZER BARRETT HAUGAN

H

ey everyone by the time you read this Santa will be headed back to the North Pole, baby 2018 will be starting kindergarten and our annual convention will nearly be upon us. Neil and the Missoula gang are doing a fantastic job putting together a great weekend for all of us again at Fairmont Hot Springs.

Mark your calendars for the weekend of March 3 and come help celebrate and preserve our bowhunting lifestyle. Our archery opportunities don’t come free or easy so take every chance you can to educate a non-member about “promoting and preserving” what we have as well as joining the MBA. We are the NRA of archery in this state and more members means more voice and $ to help protect what we have and have fought so hard for.

See you at Fairmont!!!!

Brian Koelzer

I Brian Koelzer

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STEPHEN LEPAGE ROGER LICHT

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arly this summer I was shopping for a new safety harness for bowhunting. Having been tree standing for the last 20+ years, I figured it was time to upgrade. Looking on the internet there were lots of options and the prices varied. (Funny how a guy looks at the bottom line, when it’s something that could save your life or keep you from serious injury.) After looking at the reviews and the comments I decided to click on the statistics and found out that a lot of people are getting hurt. One out of three hunters will fall.

hope everyone had a great season. I’m sure everyone is ready for the next nine months to get by so we can start the season off again.

However, these next nine months are the most important days leading up to the hunt. These are the days we can put ourselves at work with conservation efforts. Get out there and do your part doing predator management. Trust me you will enjoy it and the deer and elk will appreciate your efforts. Also, volunteer helping cleanup fences for

of people, after falling, had to wait a long time for someone to find them or had to crawl out themselves.

The point is, we need to be careful out there. We can reduce the risk by hunting with a buddy, checking on each other and checking our equipment yearly for rotten straps, rusty bolts and cables. There is equipment out there, if you use it properly, that will keep you 100% safe-tied off. The most important thing is to come home safely to our families and to hunt another day.

Roger Licht

Dan Moore

Looking deeper into this, I found most people fall from the stand itself. The causes ranged from falling asleep to drinking too much. The second highest number of falls occurred when entering or leaving the stand. And last was climbing up or down the ladder. Some of the falls were due to failure of the stands, steps or ladders caused by rusty bolts cables, rotting straps or wood. A lot DanorMoore

Stephen LePage

Barrett Haugan the landowners you may be hunting with or work with organizations that take part in public land cleanups or trail maintenance. I’m just suggesting we all owe our wildlife and the land they live in a little helping hand during the off season. It may also teach you a thing or two about how you may be able to improve your success this fall.

Hope to see everyone at the Banquet this year and I wish everyone a very prosperous 2018.

Barrett Haugan

L

ion season is well underway here in region 4. There have been a few cats killed (not by me) even with the warm weather here in Lewistown.

Chronic wasting disease has officially hit us and it’s causing quite a stir. I am concerned about this event and am very curious to see what the next steps are now that it is here in Montana.

If you would like to learn more about this disease, please see “What the Heck is CWD?” I am very excited for the convention this year. I always enjoy hearing all of the hunting stories while we “soak” at Fairmont. It is region two’s year to host and I know they are putting together an exciting event they have even lined up a special ATV raffle. Tickets for the Honda Four Trax Rancher 4x4 cost $10 and only 1500 will be sold. The winner will be drawn at the banquet and you do not need to be present to win. If anyone needs ATV raffle tickets, feel free to contact me as I am certain we will be sold out by the time the banquet rolls around.

See you in Fairmont, Stephen LePage 406-535-5636 Mbaregion4@yahoo.com

Stephen LePage Spring 2018

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REGIONAL REPORTS

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A little information on opportunities in Adjacent States. just wanted to remind everyone that Wyoming begins their big game drawings in January. Wyoming has more non-resident Bighorn Sheep tags than any other state. They also have excellent Shiras Moose areas. One has an excellent chance of success with archery equipment because they are in the rut. Generally, one needs bonus points to draw but some areas have a tag available by random draw. Personally, I have had better success drawing tags in Wyoming as a nonresident than in Montana as a resident. I drew a Wyoming Shiras moose tag in 9 years as compared to no Montana Shiras moose tag after 34 years of applications.

I

Happy New Year!

Richard Lewallen Greetings All, s the 2017 hunting season comes to an end, I hope everyone had a successful season spending time hunting with friends and family. With many of us, it is not all about the harvest that matters, but the time we get to spend outdoors building memories with the ones we care about. Having a successful harvest is just icing on the cake. It is such a great privilege to be able hunt in such a great state with endless opportunities.

I want to talk about an issue that has been on my mind for a long time and this year was no different. I have the privilege of working in the Agricultural industry and I am able to visit with many farmers and ranchers throughout Montana.

During my visits with several of the hard-working folks that supply our food for the table, I have heard

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KEN SCULTZ RICHARD LEWALLEN

Richard Lewallen

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BOB MORGAN unsettling stories about how hunters have been careless and disrespectful to the property when out hunting. Many of these folks “do not” have to allow hunting on their property and we need to understand that! I would assume that all of you have heard the statement “that’s what gives hunting a bad name”! Well I heard it again this year.

I heard stories from land owners about hunters who left gates open behind them that were to be closed, left trash and articles laying in fields and on roads, drove on roads that were off limits and took the liberty to hunt on property without taking the time to stop and ask for permission. This is truly frustrating to me and I’m sure to many of you ethical hunters who make it a point to assure that things are left the way you found it or possibly even better than when you found it. So, how can we help???

I know we can’t correct all of these issues, but I think we can be mentors for our children and hunting partners in this critical area. Teaching, and talking about respecting these properties should always be a topic of discussion while out hunting. Being totally aware of the opportunities to do the right thing and taking the steps that we can to communicate that at all times, even if that means picking up after others before us. If we don’t, many of these land owners will, and have stopped allowing hunting completely because of it.

We have to look at this as “we are privileged, not entitled” to be able to hunt on private property and we have a huge responsibility to make sure we respect that!

In closing, as we prepare to finish out the last of the shoulder hunts for the year and we go into Holiday season with our family and friends, let’s really think about how we can all be better hunters and keepers of the land in Montana! Remember, we are not guaranteed hunting rights, we are privilege to have them and land owners “do not” have to allow us to hunt. If we do our due diligence to take great care of these lands when hunting, land owners will be more willing to allow us to have the opportunity to do the one thing that we all love, “Hunt”!

Happy Holidays!

Ken Scultz

Bob Morgan and grandson Trey

S

ome of the things I’ve seen while being in the outdoors walking in God’s creation behind my house. A red tail hawk on the tail feathers of a rooster pheasant flying pretty high, then the rooster dropped down into some cattails and of course the hawk wanted no part of that.

A coyote chasing a doe antelope coming straight at me, 600 yards out. The doe veered off to the left and the coyote came a little further and stood there with his tongue hanging out then it turned to the left and was gone. The doe walked a little further and laid down. I was out coyote hunting.

Two big bull elk fighting, the grass is flying, dirt, dust and clods flying everywhere, clashing of antlers. They traveled 1/4 mile down the drainage before the one chased the other off. They were in a pretty good sized herd, we were bow hunting.

Coming back to camp fairly early and finding my partner was already there in his camper. I decided to rock the camper, thought he was sleeping. He opened the door and had gravy eyes, he had been cooking white gravy. The gravy put out the fire, and of course it was everywhere. If it would’ve been anybody else he would have to kill him. I still call him old gravy eyes, we were elk hunting.

Sneaking down to a waterhole, while bowhunting, I looked up and saw a small owl flying right at my face, at about 8 yards before he realized what I really was. It was like it was in slow motion. I’m glad he went the other way.

Finding a six-point elk antler in a 4-foot jumper tree. While out horn hunting, not to mention the set I found just earlier.

It’s definitely amazing what you can see out in creation. My oldest son and my grandson and I enjoyed a bow hunting elk camp this year. A really special time we had hunting region seven in big sky God’s country.

CBS close broadside standing still ERAL ethical, responsible and legal

Bob Morgan

749-0706

REGIONAL REPORTS

Jerry Davis

REGION 8 REGION

REGION

1

6

REGION

4

REGION

2

REGION

8

REGION

3

REGION REGION

7

5

JERRY DAVIS

A

s of this writing I am aware of 6 deer killed in Montana that tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD).

I thought it might be useful to provide at least some information about this potentially devastating disease. My disclaimer – I am by no means an expert.

I had heard about the disease sometime in the early 2000s but I never really researched it. Then last Legislative Session Senator Jill Cohenour sponsored two bills. One bill that passed into law that prohibits the sale of urine that has not been certified CWD disease free. The other bill that passed into law prohibits the importing or body parts into the state from states that have known wildlife populations with CWD. During that session a RMEF representative provided me an article that was written in the RMEF’s Bugle magazine titled The Elk Disease X Files written by Paul Queneau in the Sep/Oct 2016 edition. Some of what I gleaned from that article is that the clinical signs of CWD in an elk, deer, or moose include profuse drooling, widebase stance, drooping head and ears, and excessive drinking and urination. From that article I also learned that CWD is caused by prions which are infectious misfolded proteins. It is not caused by a virus, bacteria, fungi, protozoans, or parasites.

The disease is always fatal once contracted.

These prions are shed into the environment through feces, saliva, urine, and carcasses. These prions are able to bind to minerals and soils making it extremely difficult to eradicate from the environment. It takes temperatures of around 1900°F to destroy CWD prions.

Though CWD is believed not to be transmissible to humans or other non-cervid animals there are types of prions that cause similar disease in sheep (Scrapie), cattle (Bovine Spongiform encephalitis called Mad Cow), and humans (Creutzfeldt-Jakob). Therefore, we are warned not to eat the meat of any animal suspected or known to have CWD. Then in November and December the Montana public was informed that CWD had now been detected in Montana. It had

not been detected in any wild cervid populations in Montana up until that point. That prompted me to take a look at FWP’s website to look at their CWD response.

I found that animals with this disease usually take 1 ½ - 2 years from infection to death. Given enough time CWD can cause population declines of.

Also, CWD has a long incubation period. I also found that FWP has a CWD action plan and part of that plan includes actions to be taken when CWD is detected in wild cervid populations. In the original and updated Decision Notice for the plan FWP discusses that CWD’s long incubation period and the prion persistence in the environment makes it impossible to eradicate. That plan addresses certain actions to be taken depending on the prevalence of CWD in a given cervid population. The finding of CWD infected deer only establishes that there is CWD within a cervid population. Therefore FWP’s plan first calls for taking action to establish the prevalence of CWD in a cervid population. FWPs first action is to test a statistically valid number of animals to determine the prevalence rate in the population.

For those Region 5 Hunting Districts in which infected deer were harvested this hunting season FWP has setup a special hunt in which 200 whitetails and 200 mule deer will be taken between December and February. All of these deer will be tested for CWD and there will be a restriction to transporting meat unless boned and heads unless cleaned of flesh.

This special hunt seeks to determine the prevalence rate of CWD in the deer population where CWD had been detected in Region 5.

As of this writing the FWP has not formalized a plan to determine prevalence rate in Region 4 where one deer was found to have CWD. This deer was radio collared and the biologist in Region 4 had it tested as part of protocol. This deer appears to have come from Alberta. According to the FWP CWD action plan, if the prevalence rate established under the Region 5 special hunt is determined to be then the management area will be monitored for 5 years with testing of all hunter harvested animals being mandatory. If during that 5 year period an

incidence of CWD incidence is detected in hunter harvested animals, a new statistical sample will be collected over the next year. If the initial prevalence rate is established CWD incidence a second statistical sample will be collected over the next year.

If at any time during the above scenarios an infection rate is detected a 50% population reduction effort will be conducted in the management area. This could mean the use of FWP forces as well as hunters. If I understand correctly the 50% population reduction will continue until the infection rate drops below 5%.

As you can see from the attached map CWD has been found in states and provinces that surround us and now it is in Montana. This disease demands all of our attention. To that end there has been a bill introduced by Wisconsin’s Representatives Kind and Sensenbrenner to develop and implement management strategies to support research regarding the causes of CWD and methods to control the further spread of the disease (H.R. 4454). It has been referred to the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Natural Resources. I have been told on the Senate side Montana’s Jon Tester is looking for a Republic to help him sponsor an amendment to the Animal Health Protection Act that seeks the same as H.R. 4454.

High concentrations of animals’ aid in a more rapid transmission of this disease. We in Montana are lucky that game farming was outlawed in 2000.

But in some locations the harboring of deer and elk can also result in high concentrations of animals and potentially lead to a rapid spread of the CWD. Additionally, high concentrations of elk in areas where cattle frequent can also cause the spread of brucellosis which can be devastating to a livestock operation. I think we sportspersons and landowners in the state need to work jointly to find a solution to elk harboring, both to control CWD and brucellosis.

Jerry Davis

Spring 2018

9

REGIONAL REPORTS ROGER PEFFER SETH ROGERS (NO REPORT) TIM ROBERTS (NO REPORT) PAUL MARTIN RAY GROSS (NO REPORT) KENT BROWN

DirectorsAt Large

N

Winter… now has fallen. Melted. Fallen and melted again. Yup- it’s winter. Vehicles have mud on ‘em that may stay until the spring rains arrive.

I had an absolutely wonderful fall hunting season. The deer populations in Region 4 have rebounded some since the EHD outbreak several years back. I was seeing both mulies and white-tails in nice numbers in areas where they had previously been greatly reduced. Only problem? During bow season many BMA’s were closed due to fire danger. They re-opened after a dump of sloppy wet snow hit just before the rifle season started! But then many of the roads had turned to goose excrement and were impassable. I got into deer and elk but could not connect with my bow. Opening day was a herd bull screaming at me 60 yards away but on the other side of a grove of fir trees. Then the wind shifted on me and… well you know what happened then. Crap! Archery season for elk consisted of sucking forest fire smoke on a daily basis. UGH! Several times I got into some deer and attempted to fill a doe tag but just as I got to full draw they would scamper off! I bet that has never happened to any of you? Good thing I carried grouse arrows because there was a lot of them where I hunted and I managed to arrow a few.

Always a good time. I did pick up a few critters in the rifle season so the freezer is full. I took my best friends son out and managed to help him get his first buck! I have no kids of my own (as a Biologist I recognize that makes me an evolutionary “dead end”) and it was a ton of fun to take out a teenager and teach him a few things about deer hunting. It was windy as hell thru October and November and that knocked down a ton of trees in beetle killed forests. In hunting trips I found many game trails are completely blocked by piles of downed timber. So when you are out scouting keep in mind the impact of this on movements of the critters- including yourself!

CWD has hit region 4 and we will see how FWP deals with that issue. MBA will keep you posted on any news. It could affect deer, elk and antelope numbers…

ACK! Convention is coming soon and Gene Wensel will be a GREAT keynote speaker.

He is one of the Founding Fathers MBA and a highly renowned bow hunter. It is the 40th convention in 45 years of MBA! We will be at Fairmont Hotsprings once again. Grab you sweetie and your kids and bring them to the event. We are ALWAYS looking for convention donations. Maybe you have something to donate or know some businesses that would consider a donation to the MBA? Your support with donations and attendance at the convention helps the MBA to work for bow hunting education for our youth, and seasons and opportunities for Bowhunters in MT. Donations do not have to be hunting items but could be furniture, artwork, jewelry, certificates for services, kids stuff, etc. Maybe you hunted out of state and know an outfitter you might be able to talk into donating a hunt? As always- we will have great seminars, vendors, auction, and raffle items.

If you know of any businesses that have donated to MBA be sure to thank them for their support and try and send some business their way if you can. I hope to see you all there!

Look for the 2019 Convention to be in Great Falls at the Heritage Inn. The Great Falls crew always does a fantastic job for that event!

So now it’s time to go look for kitties and wolves and maybe pick up the shotgun, grab the pup, and go look for some ducks and geese. Always a ton of those in Cascade County. Enjoy the winter season! See you at convention!

S

ew Dates for 3D Shoots and Hunting Season Recap - Dec. 14th we had our Flathead Valley Archers meeting on setting the 3D shoot dates at the MBEF property and Lone Pine State Park.

The 4th Annual Membership shoot on March 24th & 25th at the MBEF Location. The 33rd Lone Pine Shoot will be held late April and this will be a trophy shoot. The First Traditional only shoot will be held the weekend before the 4th Annual Pre-Season Count Down shoot which will be held at the MBEF property July 28th & 29th.

A reminder, vendors are welcome at the shoots on the MBEF property as long as they are approved by the MBEF and the FVA. There is space available in the pavilion if need be. There is also free primitive camping on the property. For more detailed information consult the FVA website www. flatheadvalleyarchers.com So mark them on your shoot calendar and hope to see you there.

Now on to a recap of the 2017 hunting season. With no special permits this year with the exception of Diann & I drawing the 900 tag for elk, the hunting was for filling our freezer and if one big one showed up, so be it.

After all the smoke cleared and the early snow job, things finally started to normalize a bit about pre-rut time and for us to hunt from tree stands and pop-up blinds. We started hearing about CWD, as writing my report I just read online the report from the Venatic that our FWP sold out on 1200 deer tags, 600 for mule deer and 600 for whitetail in the Bridger area. We can only hope this plan of action will be successful and commend FWP for acting swiftly on a disease that can kill so many of our wildlife. My question is so why don’t we treat a predator that kills so many of our wildlife the same way.

Now we are hearing that our moose numbers are down and that maybe we should put our moose on the endangered list. Well of course, let’s punish the conservative sportsmen and women for something we didn’t want in the first place, instead of no change to the wolf season and quotas.

Let’s talk a little about these early and late shoulder seasons hunts (target practice) at our wildlife. One morning in Nov. as I sit in my tree stand, we hear the shots not too far in the distance and by late morning I counted approx. 40 shots, and wondered just how many animals were hit. A couple of days later on my way back to camp I cut a blood trail heading west, obviously one of the victims of the barrage of shots. The next day for a change I decided to hunt on the north side of the river and during my still hunting I jumped a calf, in fact two calves and one of them presented a good 30 yd. shot. Not too alarmed at my intrusion they crossed the river, once on the other side one held up on the bank to sun itself giving me the chance to crawl up and observe for as long as it takes to identify, for there was no way I was going to kill a bull calf.

After a good half hour of observing my little guy across the river peed forward and I knew he was a bull calf. Letting him walk off to live another day and maybe become one of the herds breeders and a chance in the years to come that a bowhunter will take his life with great respect for the animal they killed. It’s hard for me to understand the way some people treat what I consider Montana’s most treasured and most valuable resource. Those big beautiful elk and deer we so love to hunt. If you remember in my last report I mentioned that I couldn’t wait for FWP phone survey, well I got my chance to let them know we found more wolf sign than years past, too many tracks, heard them, saw them, and they were in pursuit of the elk we were hunting. Hope everyone can make it to the convention and participate in one form or another for it is the best fund raiser for the organization that has done so much for the bowhunter. >>>>---------->

Roger Peffer 10

Montana

BOWHUNTER

WWW.MTBA.ORG

Paul Martin

Paul Martin

REGIONAL REPORT

D

o you ever wonder how Montana’s archery-only season compares to other states nationwide? I last looked at this about 15 years ago using season length data from a bowhunting magazine. I was shocked at how low Montana ranked, but a problem with my survey at that time was that the magazine just listed the archery season date x to y, ignoring the fact that some states run rifle seasons concurrently with portions of bow seasons. What we really should be interested in is how long the archery-only season runs without rifle overlap in each state.

I decided to revisit this topic and based the examination on archery-only deer, as it is the most widespread species. I eliminated Alaska and Hawaii and ended up comparing 48 states’ seasons. This was a bit of a challenge, as few states are as tidy as Montana in delineating their seasons. Archery-only days a to b, Rifle c to d.

Even though we can legally bowhunt during the general season, it isn’t archery-exclusive and not pertinent in this study. Our season is clear.

Some states simply list their seasons from x to y, regardless of any rifle season overlap. This necessitated also digging out all the rifle seasons and removing those rifle days that overlapped to get an archery-only value. Some states are so fragmented and micromanaged that obtaining a valid number was difficult. In those cases I was forced to average seasons or in desperation, randomly sample representative seasons and average them.

Muzzleloaders and crossbows presented a dilemma for me in this study. Some states have separate seasons for each, while others lump one or both in with archery. You can reasonably criticize me for this, but as Montana has no separate seasons for these weapons and the amount of data would increase exponentially, I elected to simply ignore them in this examination and focus solely on the interaction of archery-only and rifle/shotgun.

I generally despise technology (I just recently got rid of my flip-phone), but the access to each state’s data on the Internet was excellent. The data was used to create a spreadsheet with the number of season-days for archery, rifle and the rifle days that overlapped the archery season.

These overlap days were subtracted from total archery to give a total “net archery-only season” and the states were ranked.

Every state faces a different set of variables in setting their seasons. Some are simply over-run by deer but have high human density, resulting in the perfect storm for bowhunting; long extended archery seasons and minimal rifle opportunity.

Others were just the opposite and some made no sense whatsoever, with long rifle and short archery opportunities that probably reflect history and tradition over game management.

Delaware finished #1 with a whopping 153 days archery and 18 days rifle overlap, resulting in a net archery-only season of 135 days. Imagine bowhunting deer more than a third of the year.

South Carolina was complicated, but ended up last in my study. The archery season is 48 days, but portions of the long 107 day rifle (35 days) coincided with archery resulting in a net archery-only season of only 13 days without rifles.

Like Montanans, bowhunters in South Carolina can hunt with archery equipment during the rifle season but again, those overlapping days were eliminated. As expected, South Carolina finished #1 in the nation for a rifle season.

Montana ranked poorly in this particular study.

Our 44 archery-only days places us at 32 out of the 48 states but our rifle season ranked 10th in the nation. In other words, our archery deer season is teetering precariously at the bottom third of the nation while our rifle season is in the top 21%. At first glance, one might try and attribute a belowaverage archery season to a game management response for low populations etc., but then, why the extended rifle season? These seasons seem to be the result of “allocation decisions” rather than game management decisions. I certainly don’t begrudge the rifle hunters their season, but this imbalance becomes important in the future should any attempts to shorten or alter our archery opportunities arise.

Why are these numbers important? One of the statements I sometimes hear at meetings or (horrifyingly) at FWP testimony is that “We have the best bowhunting season in the country”. Not only is this wrong (at least with respects to deer), but it is also exceedingly dangerous. We need to never

say that again. Consider the FWP Commissioners thought process: “If you have it so good, you won’t mind us shortening your season or slipping in a little muzzleloading?”

Don’t get me wrong; I’m grateful for every day we get in our bowhunting season and we are envied for our early archery-only seasons for bighorn sheep, wolves, lions and fall bear and for our extended 900 antelope season. But these numbers are important.

We need to keep this skewed rifle/archery ratio in mind in the future should anyone try to take something away from us. On the other hand, think how nice it would be if we had an “average” archery season and could bowhunt in addition to our regular season, from after Thanksgiving until about December 20th?

If anyone would like a copy of the spreadsheet, please email me at kdbrown7@msn.com See you at the Convention!

Kent Brown

State by State Bowhunting Season Data 2017 State

Ranking Archery

Total Archery days

Total Rifle days

Less Rifle overlap

Net Archery only days

Ranking Rifle

Delaware

1

153

18

-18

135

25

Ohio

2

128

9

0

128

42

Kentucky

3

136

12

-12

124

39

Rhode Island

4

131

13

-13

118

35

Nebraska

5

122

9

-9

113

43

North Dakota

6

129

17

-17

112

28

Maryland

7

108

18

0

108

26

Minnesota

8

107

9

0

107

44

New Jersey

9

122

23

-17

105

21

Wisconsin

10

114

9

-9

105

45

Kansas

11

112

14

-14

98

32

Illinois

12

105

14

-14

91

33

Mississippi

13

89

33

0

89

11

Connecticut

14

99

11

-11

88

40

Missouri

15

112

44

-24

88

9

Iowa

16

86

14

0

86

34

Pennsylvania

17

83

13

0

83

36

Indiana

18

97

16

-16

81

29

Oklahoma

19

107

27

-27

80

17

West Virginia

20

93

13

-13

80

37

South Dakota

21

100

21

-21

79

23

Michigan

22

77

16

0

77

30

New York

23

76

31

0

76

13

Virginia

24

74

30

0

74

15

Arkansas

25

100

31

-31

69

14

Louisiana

26

122

54

-54

68

6

New Hampshire

27

92

26

-26

66

19

Tennessee

28

54

51

0

54

7

Arizona

29

52

10

0

52

41

North Carolina

30

52

49

0

52

8

Washington

31

50

21

0

50

24

Montana

32

44

37

0

44

10

Oregon

33

42

32

0

42

12

Massachusetts

34

41

13

0

41

38

Georgia

35

123

86

-86

37

2

Idaho

36

37

23

0

37

22

Vermont

37

37

16

0

37

31

Alabama

38

120

85

-85

35

3

Florida

39

35

71

0

35

5

Texas

40

35

72

0

35

4

Nevada

41

34

29

0

34

16

New Mexico

42

32

5

0

32

48

Colorado

43

30

9

0

30

46

Maine

44

30

27

0

30

18

Wyoming

45

30

25

0

30

20

Utah

46

28

9

0

28

47

California

47

23

18

0

23

27

South Carolina

48

48

107

-35

13

1

Totals

3851

1340

-552

3299

Average/Mean

80.23

27.92

-11.50

68.73

Median

19

71.5

Spring 2018

11

MBA MEMBER SPOT LIGHT

7. Who is your bowhunting mentor or idol?

My husband, Mike, he’s been bowhunting for years and is very patient with me and the kids 8. Tell me about your favorite bowhunting memory?

Watching a cow elk for hours as it slowly came to my blind. I was by myself. The adrenalin build up was huge and I was shaking the whole time.

9. Who are your favorite bowhunting partners?

My 3 boys and I look forward to my youngest, Molly, joining. I also really look forward to hunting with the girls on “Girls weekend” 10. Do you have a funny or exciting story to share?

The Florida alligator hunt was really exciting. I was with 5 other girls and we shot 5 gators in less then 5 hours. I was eating chips in the back of the truck and didn’t even know it was my turn when someone handed me a bow. I didn’t even plan on shooting one but it was so exciting I got online and bought a license just a few minutes before I shot it. Justin from Gator Glades hunts was really great, one time he asked for an empty pop bottle and string and he lured an alligator out of a long culvert.

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

I was walking and looking for elk with my youngest son, Andrew. I was the leader and walked right into a huge 6 x 7 bull elk. It was looking right at me. I froze but didn’t have a shot.

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

MBA Member Spotlight

Make sure you have your release in your pack when you leave home.

Interview by Amy LePage

Jamie Sura Jamie and her family live in Lewistown, MT. She owns a fitness center and is a self-proclaimed “household CEO.” Her husband Mike is a family physician and they have four children (Michael, 15, Travis, 13, Andrew, 12 and Molly, 9).

They are brand new members of the MBA

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

1. When did you start bowhunting?

Three years ago, I had to sit through another bowhunters education class with my son, so I took it myself.

2. Tell me about your first bowkill.

The buck I shot this year. I was walking home in the snow with a girlfriend. I was cold and hungry. We were taking selfies and I knew I would get in trouble for that and for getting out of the blind early. Then a buck stepped out. It wasn’t a perfect shot but we recovered it right away the next morning.

3. Describe your dream hunt.

I would really love to harvest a local elk, but my big dream would be a moose hunt.

4. Why do you support the MBA? Because they have the same values for hunting and preservation. Also, Steve said he would buy me a beer if I joined. Where is that guy? I want my beer.

5. How many bows do you own?

I own one, but my household has 12 of all sizes.

6. What one piece of advice would you like to pass onto a new bowhunter?

Practice outside in the elements and wind.

Also, don’t expect a kill every time you go out.

12

Montana

BOWHUNTER

WWW.MTBA.ORG

Jamie & friends with deer 2017

ARCHERY SEASON

is just around the corner...GET READY NOW!

Located in the historic Kessler Brewing building. Hwy 12 West end.

Helena 406-449-3111 buffalojumparchery.com

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

Spring 2018

13

MEMBER STORY

What the heck is CWD? By: Stephen LePage

With all of the talk about Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) arriving here in Montana, you might be asking yourself what is CWD? Aside from being a MBA Region 4 representative, a long time ago, I was a biochemist/molecular biologist and worked with proteins and DNA in an effort to understand and cure diseases. I find the science behind CWD amazing and this article will provide you with a basic scientific understanding of what CWD is and how it works.

CWD is in a class of diseases known as Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies or TSEs. This is just a fancy way of saying these diseases make your brain into a spongy mush, resulting in death. TSEs are poorly understood, highly contagious, 100% fatal, have no cure and can remain hidden in an animal for a long time before they are sick.

These diseases affect several different types of critters. In humans the disease is known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. In cattle it is known as Mad Cow disease. In sheep it is known as Scrapie and in whitetails, mule deer and elk it is known as Chronic Wasting Disease.

Normally when you get sick it is from one of two things: viruses or bacteria. Viruses are almost like little aliens that hijack your body to reproduce inside your cells and spread to others, these are hard to treat and often your doctor tells you to get rest and drink lots of fluids, letting your body’s own immune response identify the foreign virus and eliminate the infection. Bacteria, once introduced to your body, find a comfortable environment and just start to reproduce. Bacterial infections are fought by your immune system and doctors treat them with antibiotics. Both types of infections have their own genetic material or DNA. Here is where it gets interesting. CWD is not caused by bacteria or viruses and has no DNA. It is caused by an infectious protein with a weird shape!

CWD is caused by a Proteinaceous Infectious Particle (prion). A prion is simply a misfolded native protein that can cause the normal proteins to change their three-dimensional shape to become infectious prions.

Another way to look at it is as follows. Deer already have these proteins inside them. These normal proteins have no negative effects on deer and they are shaped like the letter “A” (not really, just for descriptive purposes.) A prion is shaped like a “Z” (again, not really) and is the diseased form of the protein with the irregular shape. Remarkably, when the diseased “Z” comes into contact with the normal “A” it changes it into “Z” and the disease progresses. Again, it is the same protein, made with the same amino acids, in the same order, but shaped differently.

Because the healthy protein and the diseased prion are the same thing, but with different shapes, it makes it nearly impossible for the deer’s body

14

Montana

BOWHUNTER

WWW.MTBA.ORG

to determine which one is making it sick, so no immune response can be mounted. In addition, we have no drugs that are effective against this type of infection.

Another problem with prions is their ability to remain infectious for long periods of time and in inhospitable environments. CWD can be transmitted to other deer through contact with saliva, brain tissue, feces and urine. This coupled with prions being excessively resistant to being broken down in nature means they can remain infectious in the soil for literally decades. That is correct, decades.

Prions are so stable they cannot be destroyed by boiling, proteases, bleach, acid or radiation. In fact, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease has been transmitted from patient to patient with surgical instruments, even after the instruments have been autoclaved (high pressure steam bath at 249°F for a prolonged period of time). What I find more amazing is that a brain sitting in formaldehyde for decades was found to still be infectious.

CWD is a unique disease, it is highly infectious,

deadly and untreatable. This disease could have far reaching implications for our wildlife populations and bowhunting community. The answer to this complex problem will involve a collaborative effort between scientists, MT FWP, wildlife biologists and of course hunters. Let’s do our part when we are called upon.

If you too are a science nerd and have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Stephen LePage Mbaregion4@yahoo.com

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Good news, Sonny Templeton has given me all his news letters from the time when he first joined the MBA. They go back to 1977 forward. So now the blast from the past will be from further back in the past.

One of the hunter successful pictures was of 6 year old Shane Savage of Bozeman who put a thumping on two gophers, His equipment: 15# Savage bow, cedar arrows and Black Diamond heads.

Jerry Karsky was our President in 1977, and the issue is November. The first thing Jerry brings up is that finding time to write for the newsletter during the hunting season is limited, to nonexistent. This issue was very important for the Bowhunters across the nation.

There were domestic cows deliberately shot by both gun and arrow wounds. In fact there were eight cows wasted and found dead. It was advertised that this act was done by slob hunters, and the act added fuel to the heap for the anti hunting fires. The MBA offered a $250.00 reward for the arrest and conviction of the parities involved in this senseless crime.

The National Bowhunters Assoc. Coalition, spearheaded by the Professional Bowhunters Society was in the beginning stages.

The Montana Bowhunters Assoc. was invited to join and be in on the ground floor of this new coalition. It was stated that it is important that everyone understands that the intent of the PBS by this action was not to boost its membership nor dictate to the affiliated organizations. To the contrary, the program was initiated in order to unify the Bowhunters numbers, strength and monies without drawing them from their state organizations. It was asked that we join the organization for $25.00 and all the monies go to the cause of promoting Bowhunting on a national level.

Another interesting add was Bowhunter Magazine offered MBA members in good standing a subscription for one year (6 issues) for $3.60.

The MBA membership was standing at just over 600 active members (sound familiar).

Well that about wraps it up for 1977, there was only one issue.

I am still working on the History of the MBA involvement of the MT Bowhunter Education Program. I have received several phone calls from some of the original instructors and information where to find more info and maybe others who were involved.

By Marlon Claphman

Blast from the Past When do you start kids hunting?

Jon from Outdoor Empire shared an article and information about their blog on how and when to get kids hunting. The article is about getting kids started with hunting. It goes in-depth into how to know when children are ready and how to plan their first hunt. You can read it at:Â https://outdoorempire. com/how-to-get-kids-into-hunting/ Thank you, Jon Outdoorempire.com The article was very informative but a little large to print in our newsletter so I would encourage you to check out the blog and website.

Spring 2018

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MBA CONVENTION

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BOWHUNTER

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EVENT INFORMATION

40TH ANNUAL

MONTANA BOWHUNTERS ASSOCIATION CONVENTION PRE REGISTER (Before February 15th) Get registered before February 15th 2018 & save a bunch of cash on a Great Banquet & Dinner!

$40/ person

2018 Convention Fairmont Hot Springs Resort March 2-4, 2018

$75/couple $25/Child

GENERAL REGISTRATION (After February 15th)

$50/person

$85/couple $35/child Send check or Money order to: PO Box 23611 Billings MT 59104.

Childcare During Banquet

Saturday night childcare $10/per child and includes pizza dinner, a movie and reliable caregivers. 5pm-11pm. Reserve a spot for your kid at the registration desk.

Banquet Menu Carved Baron of Beef and Chicken Marsala with fresh vegetables, tossed salad, garlic mashed potatoes, angel hair pasta, fruit salad and dessert

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS LODGING INFO

FRIDAY

9 AM – 4 PM

MBA Board meeting

NOON – 8:30 PM

Registration open

9 AM – NOON

Manufacturer’s Row Setup

NOON – 8:30 PM

Manufacturer’s Row Open

3 PM – 8PM

3 Spot Competition -Several Classes

4 PM – 8:30 PM

Silent Auction

8 PM

Social hour begins

SATURDAY

8 AM – 10 AM

General Membership Meeting

9 AM – 5 PM

Manufacturers Row

9 AM – 7:30 PM

Silent Auction

9 AM – 3 PM

3 Spot Competition-Several Classes

10:30 AM – 11:30 AM

SEMINAR – Connor Brown - I Hunt

1 PM – 2 PM

SEMINAR – Adam Onsrud- Montana Full Circle Hunting

2:30 PM – 3:30 PM

SEMINAR – Gene Wensel on hunting Whitetail Deer

3:30 PM – 5:30PM

Pre-Banquet Social

Musical entertainment by The Great American Heroes

5:30 PM

Banquet Seating Begins

6:15PM

Honor Guard Presentation

6:30 PM

Dinner Served / Gene Wensel speaker followed by live Auction

9 PM-10 PM

Checkout

SUNDAY

8 AM – 9:30 AM

Bowhunter Education Meeting / Breakfast

9 AM – NOON

Manufacturer’s Row open

NOON

Convention Wrap

Fairmont Hot Springs Resort 1500 Fairmont Rd Anaconda, MT 800.332.3272 $129 + tax for single or double occupancy The release date for the rooms is February 9th, 2018 www.fairmontmontana.com Click on the Book Now button then the Groups tab Group ID: 20440 Password: 37001964

TRAVEL INFO Located midway between Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park, Fairmont is easy to get to located only three miles off of Interstate 90, Exit 211, eight miles from the I-90 and I-15 interchange. Fairmont’s 500 acres are cradled by the Continental Divide. The Resort sits in a valley at the base of the Pintler Wilderness area, which covers 150,000 acres virtually untouched by man.

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MBA CONVENTION

BOWHUNTER OF THE YEAR

The MBA standardized the process for nominating candidates for the Bowhunter of the Year, Richard Conklin, and Special Achievement Awards. Below you will find the form we will use. Please use this form by cutting it out of the newsletter. You may also attach a separate sheet; just be sure to include all the items that are asked for on the form. The nominations are due to Roger Peffer, regorp77@msn.com BY February 10, 2017 with all the information. For questions about any of the awards 406-770- 0035.

The deadline is important because the nominations will be sent to the members of the awards committee so that they have time before the convention to cast their votes. We then need to get names on the awards. The awards are important to the people receiving them. This form will ensure that the integrity of the award is upheld for future recipients. I am sure many of you know members who are worthy of one or more of the four prestigious awards. However, these people will never receive the awards unless someone makes the effort to nominate them.

This award is given annually at the MBA banquet. It is confined to members who have been in good standing with the MBA during the 12 month period prior to the issuance of the award. The Bowhunter of the Year Award is basically an award recognizing “success” and may, but does not have to be, in the form of a kill. This “success” may be the taking of one outstanding animal, or the aggregate of various species taken, or “success” in the form of a particularly difficult achievement relating to the bowhunting experience. When an individual is to be considered as a candidate for the Bowhunter of the Year Award, all aspects of this success should be considered. Fair chase must play a large part in considering this “success”. The totality of the circumstances should also be considered, meaning the individual’s experience, handicaps, advantages, the difficulty of the hunt and the overall attitude of the candidate. Any member of the MBA may nominate someone else or himself/ herself as a candidate, though the respective reps are encouraged to locate candidates within their area. The nomination should be submitted on the form (found below) or on a reasonable facsimile. The form should include a detailed account of why this individual is deserving of this award, and any verification of the success that is available. The “success” need not have occurred during the past 12 month period. It could have occurred at any time in the candidate’s bowhunting career. The candidate may be nominated year after year for the same success, though actual issuance of the Bowhunter of the Year Award can only be given once for any one success. All nominations will be brought before the Awards Committee.

RICHARD CONKLIN AWARD This award was established as a “service” award.

This award, which is not necessarily an annual award, is given only when an MBA member is due the recognition for outstanding work or accomplishment in the field of service to the MBA and the sport of bowhunting. The procedure for giving this award is the same as the Bowhunter of the Year Award, with the exception that the vote will not be taken. The awards committee, along with the First Vice President, will through mutual agreement, by the majority of this

body in attendance, decide if a candidate is to be the recipient of the award. Nominations should be submitted on the form below.

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Over the years it has become apparent that various individuals have been due recognition that does not necessarily fall within the realm of the two prior awards. This award or commendation is dictated depending on the circumstances and though, more often than not, does not have to be given to an MBA member. When an individual is due such recognition, his or her name and action should be forwarded to the award committee chairman in the same manner as the Bowhunter of the Year Award and the Conklin Award nominations. The committee ill discuss these nominations at the same time as the other awards.

This issuance of this award is on the approval of the majority of the awards committee.

LEE POOLE MBA LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD This award was instituted in 2015 in honor of Lee Poole. It is given to recognize the exceptional lifetime efforts of MBA members.

PAUL SCHAFER AWARD This award is similar to the Bowhunter of the Year Award, but is only awarded to persons seventeen years old and younger. Ethics will play a large role in this award, as this is how Paul Schafer would have wanted it. So if you know of a young person deserving of this award, please send the information in.

MBA LITERATURE AWARD This award goes to the MBA member whose story in the Montana Bowhunter Magazine is chosen as the best of the year. The MBA magazine committee, in conjunction with the Awards committee, will choose the winner, but will consider all input and nominations from all MBA members. This is an annual award.

NOMINATIONS FOR

BOWHUNTER OF THE YEAR AWARD RICHARD CONKLIN AWARD SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD LEE POOLE MBA LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD PAUL SCHAFER AWARD MBA LITERATURE AWARD Name:_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Address:___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ City:__________________________________________________ State of Candidate:___________Zip:_____________________________ Award: BOWHUNTER OF THE YEAR AWARD RICHARD CONKLIN AWARD SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

LEE POOLE MBA LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD PAUL SCHAFER AWARD MBA LITERATURE AWARD

Specifics: (Please describe in as great a detail as possible, on a separate sheet of paper, the reason this candidate should receive the above checked award. Please type or print legibly.)

Name of Nominator: ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Address of Nominator:_______________________________________________________________________________________________ Send to: Roger Peffer regorp77@msn.com or 406-770- 0035

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Forms must be received no later than February 10, 2018

GUEST SPEAKERS

iHuntFit Connor Brown SEMINAR SATURDAY 10:30PM – 11:30PM

2018 MBA Election Ballot Even Year Election President: o Marlon Clapham o Write-in________________________

2nd Vice President: o Mark Schwomeyer

MONTANA FULL CIRCLE HUNTING

T F RA

o Write-in________________________

D o

Even Year Director at Large: (limit 4)

Adam Onsrud

o Seth Rodgers

SEMINAR SATURDAY 1:00PM – 2:00PM

o Jerry Davis

o Write-in________________________ o Write-in________________________

Area Reps: Region 2: o Neil Maier o Write-in________________________ Region 4: o Stephen LePage o Roger Licht

HUNTING WHITETAIL DEER

Region 6: o Write-in________________________ o Write-in________________________

Jene Wensel SEMINAR SATURDAY 2:30PM – 3:30PM

BANQUET SPEAKER SATURDAY 6:30PM

BOWHUNTERS!

Bring your trophies, shed antlers and hunting/bragging snap shots to be displayed at the Convention! We all enjoy seeing them and hearing the stories.

Please have your name and any vital stats recorded with your trophy for everyone to enjoy.

Contact Mark Schwomeyer at 406-350- 0173 for more information..

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AUCTIONS AND RAFFLES

PRIZES STILL ROLLING IN!!

Official banquet and raffle order forms will be mailed to every member.

Keep an eye on the website at MTBA.org to check out more prizes and information

LIVE AUCTION • Toekoms African Safari in Namibia for 1 Red Hartebeest, 1 Oryx, 1 Warthog. October 2019, 4 days, More days and animals can be added and more people for hunting or Photography.

• Head Table for 8 and Optics Package for the 2019 Convention

Silent Auction Item Bernier Sheep Horn Hunter Knife Sheath

• Ram Aviation Alaskan Caribou hunt out of Kotzebue Alaska to hunt the northern herd, one hunt donated 2 person minimum for the hunt.

• Greg Scheibel Fine Art - custom oil painting • Table and 8 Chairs w MBA Logo – by Jon Son and Keri Anderson • John Demott – Art of the American Frontier - Custom painting • MBA engraved knife - Skyblade Knives, Todd Orr • Deacon Bench- Attic Treasures & Wild Furnishings – Keri Anderson & Jon Son

Silent Auction Item YukonProGlove_med

• Howard Hill Commemorative Longbow with MBA Logo and 40th Convention 45th Anniversary Bow , #50 RH • “Boys Club” #188 of 850 by Gary Carter – Neil Maier and Family • “Straight Arrow” by Andrew Knez Jr. #3 of 10 Limited Edition gicelee – Don Helmbrecht and Family • “Bobcat, Owl and Rabbit” gicelee by Merri Clapham • Mountain Copper Smith Creations – Jim Clapham • MBA quilt – Teri Kelly

Live Auction Item Skyblade Knife

ONLINE AUCTION Matlabas Game Hunters South Africa – $7850 value

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Live Auction Item Framed prints “Straight Arrow” & “Lone Hunter”

By Andrew Knez Jr.

AUCTIONS & RAFFLES

TENT RAFFLE

Live Auction Item Gary Carter Framed print, “Boys Club”

Montana Canvas $20 each or 6 for $100 Canvas tent (frame included); stovepipe ring – additional information coming to the website!

Live Auction Item “Bobcat, Owl and Rabbit” print

By Merri Clapham

NOTE: Any winner requiring shipment outside of Montana will be required to cover shipping charges (approx. $150)

SILENT AUCTION ITEMS • Kuiu Gloves Medium Auction Item “Basecamp” by Allen Jimmerson

• Lou Morris Damascus blade knife w/ Sheath • Andrew Knez Jr Framed print • Bernier Knife w/ Sheath, Stabilized Merino handle

CONVENTION GAMES • 50/50 Poop counting contest

• Cabelas Zones camo XL ground blind

• Stone Glacier pack weight contest

• Sitka Large Coat , Hoodie and Pants

• Deer/elk horn inches contest • Trophy scoring contest

See more at the convention and on the website!

• Regional games

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RAFFLES

Prizes are still rolling in! Official banquet and raffle order forms will be mailed to every member.

DEFENSE RAFFLE $5 each / 6 for $25 (each item won separately) Prizes to be announced! Watch the mail for tickets and the website for more information.

LEGISLATIVE RAFFLE $5 each / 6 for $25 (each item won separately) Prizes to be announced! Watch the mail for tickets and the website for more information.

CONSERVATION RAFFLE $5 eacg / 6 for $25 (each item won separately) Prizes to be announced! Watch the mail for tickets and the website for more information.

HAT RAFFLE $40 / hat OnXMaps package Stoeger Model 3000 semi auto 12 gauge water fowler shotgun Watch the mail for tickets and the website for more information!

2018 Convention Donations Bow Raffle Ladies Yellowstone Longbow 62" low 30# draw weight, 1-piece longbow, right hand Rich Wormington, Yellowstone Custom Bows Rich is a long-time donor to the MBA and Bowhunters of WY. He makes several builds, from D-style longbows to 3-piece takedowns. Rich’s bows are appreciated nation-wide for their hardhitting characteristics and versatility for hunting and 3D competitions.

“Plainsman” by Herb Meland 60" low 50# draw weight, 1-piece recurve, right hand Herb Meland, Pronghorn Custom Bows In the late 70s my friend Fred Hass wanted to build 1-piece recurve bows. I had built a lot of bows so I agreed. We started like most, copying a bow we liked. We made about 6 of these and I told Fred, “I can design a better bow than this,” so I did. The Plainsman became a popular bow in Montana and Fred continued to make them until shortly before his passing. While I’ve set out to design the best R/D longbow on the planet, my Plainsman recurve model is a tribute to Fred Hass.

Toelke Whip reflex / deflex 64"49# @ 28"; 1-piece longbow, right hand, che chen riser, spalted maple limb veneers and bamboo core Dan and Jared Toelke, Toelke Traditional Archery Dan and Jared build several models of recurves and longbows, including D-style, reflex-deflex and takedown longbows, and static tip, takedown, and 50s-style recurves. Toelke bows are known nationally for their craftsmanship and shootability.

Schafer Silvertip Bows, Dave and Beth Windauer $1000 gift certificate Dave and Beth are again generously offering a $1000 gift certificate towards the purchase of a custom Silvertip bow. For the past 25 years, they have continued the legendary reputation of Paul Schafer’s bow designs. They offer longbows and recurves, available in one-piece and take- down models. All are designed for speed, smoothness, stability, durability and beauty.

BOW RAFFLE $5 ea / 6 for $20 (each item won separately)

Youth Raffle

Schafer Silvertip Recurve – Dave Windauer - $1000 gift certificate

PSE Miniburner compound bow with accessories

Custom Bows Rich Wormington Toelke Custom Bows – Dan and Jared Toelke RER Custom bow – Chester and Ike FloydVortex II longbow 45# @ 28" Pronghorn Custom Bows – Herb Meland

Buffalo Jump Archery, Judy Adams Judy Adams is again offering a complete bow setup for our youth raffle. For the past 25 years, Judy has run Buffalo Jump Archery, a full service pro shop located in Helena, MT. Judy carries PSE, Prime, Elite, and Martin as well as many bow accessories, clothing, and optics. Her staff specializes in custom tuning and setup regardless of bow brand. Buffalo Jump is co-located with the Lewis and Clark Archers’ indoor range, affording the opportunity to try out your new or upgraded bow on-site!

LADIES RAFFLE

Tent Raffle

$5 each / 6 for $25 (each item won separately))

Riley Stoves Little Amigo stove

Taige 27 quart cooler w/ MBA Logo Montana Silversmith Necklace and Ring Rock Starlet Shirt Shiver Shield Jacket

YOUTH RAFFLE

Orv Riley, Riley Stoves Orv has been a generous donor towards our tent raffle for many years. His durable, packable stoves are made on-site in his shop in Townsend, MT. The Little Amigo is a sturdy stove weighing 12 lbs. A small shelf, 2-gallon water tank, and 5 feet of 4" pipe stores neatly inside the firebox. It will heat a 10' x 12'; tent and will feed 2-3 people. The combined weight of both the Little Amigo and Accessory Group 2 is 22 lbs. Its dimensions are 11" x 10" x 18" with a 4" chimney hole. It will fit into most panniers. Riley stoves are perfect for stove tents and for any other type of outdoor excursion that lasts for a few days or several weeks.

$2 each / 6 for $10 (each item won separately) Prizes to be announced! Watch the mail for tickets and the website for more information.

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Banquet and raffle ticket order forms will be mailed out to all members.

Downloadable forms are available at: www.mtba.org.

2018 CONVENTION DONORS

Spring 2018

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MEMBER STORY

My sense of excitement mixed with a dash of disbelief slowly gave away to an almost zen state of calm as I watched the massive old brute of a whitetail we’d named “The Big 5” lumber my way.

I’d hung the stand I was in the year previous after seeing him get bumped out of his usual willow/swamp grass bedding area and use this funnel as an escape route. Being only the second day, I’d hunted the property this fall I hadn’t seen him yet myself, but a good friend of mine who has been hunting him longer than me said he was still there and still big! The does he was following passed single file by me between five and ten yards on the upwind side of my tree, and after a brief pause at the barbed wire fence on the edge of the timber he reared up on his back legs and less than gracefully threw his huge body up and over.

Stumbling upon landing, he righted himself and started coming my way trying to catch up to his ladies. Even though there was a decent breeze blowing I didn’t want to take any chance of him catching me drawing as my stand is not very high off the ground. He entered my shooting lane broadside under ten yards away and as he started to quarter away I focused on the back of his ribcage and instinctively my arrow was on its way…

Good fortune and the stars all aligning in my favor resulted in obtaining permission to hunt whitetails on this amazing property in early 2015. August found me scouting the place and trying to figure out the how, what’s, and why’s of the whitetails that called the place home. After glassing all evening I was pulling out of the property right at dark and rounding a corner in the road my headlights passed over a very big buck. Slamming on the brakes and backing up I got a decent look at one of the biggest bucks I’d ever seen before he melted away into the darkness.

Early September was too warm to bother with elk so I decided that this particular Big 5 needed some attention. Having a pretty good feeling about where he was bedding I slipped in late one morning to hang a stand and after zeroing in on what I thought was the perfect spot, and was more than a little surprised to see someone else’s stand in the exact tree I was going to hang mine. Hmmmm…..I’m by no means a Wensel(although Gene and Barry both told me on separate occasions when I was very young that the other was my real dad.?.?.?) but I was very curious as to who the other hunter was who would pinpoint the exact same tree as me. Come to find out the other fellow had permission to bowhunt the property and had for several years. Not wanting to purposefully step on someone’s toes I contacted him and we decided to meet

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up and chat. It didn’t take long to figure out Trevor was (1) a very good guy and (2) a very good hunter. Having several mutual friends and acquaintances, plus the fact we were both shot traditional gear made becoming friends quite easy. I told him about seeing the big buck and finding his stand and in return he told me he’d been hunting that deer the previous season and he simply called him “The Big 5”. Because he had history with that deer I elected to hunt elsewhere as I’d seen other good bucks. For some reason unknown to us the Big 5 decided to leave his home turf shortly after that and headed a half mile east and claimed a field and thick willow bottom that became known as the Big 5 field. Trevor hunted him the rest of the season with no luck and I ended up filling my tag on a beautiful 150 model with mule deer forks on both his g2’s.

2016 and the Big 5 was in his field through both archery and general season.

The wind and topography of his field and preferred bedding area made him a very difficult deer to hunt. The Big 5 field is a long narrow alfalfa field bordered on the north by the river/willows and a nasty cattail swamp on the south. Big 5 claimed the west end as his kingdom and another very heavy old deer we named Arnold claimed the east. Either deer was a shooter and Trevor and I both tried different tactics to no avail. One day while hunting some timber on the east end of the field, deer started blowing out of the west end field and running my way. Not sure what was going on I assumed someone was floating the river and stirring deer up as they passed. Quite to my surprise a large boar grizzly bear came ambling along the opposite bank of the river and passed by me on his way to parts unknown. This is the rocky mountain front and I found that it wasn’t uncommon to have bears in the river bottom. Soooo from then on my Glock 10mm and a can of bear spray went everywhere with me. During this commotion the big 5 entered my block of woods and took a low funnel of grass and trees into the thickest part of the bedding area.

Several weekends later I was hunting the same block of woods and a ranch hand came out to work on the pivot in Big 5 field and bumped the Big 5 out of his bed and I watched him take the same route down to me and slip down the same funnel as when he was bumped by the bear. A little light bulb flickered in my head and after my morning hunt was over I went to investigate this funnel.

Finding a heavily used trail and a perfect tree, I hung a stand and eagerly awaited the next weekend when I’d get a chance to hunt it. As luck would have it the wind was not favorable for that location and I decided to focus on hunting Arnold instead. The rut was heating up and Sunday night I finally had Arnold in my vicinity with a hot doe. A smaller buck ended up hanging out around me and when he got in Arnolds comfort zone, Arnold decided to come my way and run the little guy off. You may remember my story in a previous issue about

MEMBER STORY

the countless reasons we as bowhunters miss game, I made the rookie mistake of dropping my bow arm, as I released my arrow, cleanly shooting under him.

Trevor ended up getting a crack at Arnold a few days later as he chased a doe by his makeshift ground blind he’d put together as yet another tactic to get the Big 5. He didn’t miss and Arnold went home with him.

This changed my focus to the Big 5 and the Big 5 only. With only one long weekend left I spent the first two days hunting the escape funnel stand to no avail. Closing day I dawned hip waders and waded the river to the willows and had a friend give a gentle nudge trying to push the Big 5 my way. He must have known something was up since he shorted me about 50 yards and waded the river away from me. From heavy rutting and fighting off would be intruders he was visibly worn down and limping badly which concerned me that he wouldn’t survive the winter. The final evening, I set up thinking he may return from where I saw him go after the failed push of the morning. He didn’t show himself and just as the sun was setting I rattled in an old 4 point with a broken g3 and couldn’t resist a 3 yard shot. My arrow took him cleanly behind the shoulder and with that the sun set on hunting season 2016.

Fast forward to 2017 and I was the proud holder of a Bears Paw elk permit!

I dedicated nearly all of my archery season to hunting elk but as luck would have it (or lack there of) the hunting gods took turns kicking me in the groin and I ended up boiling up a big pot of not so tasty tag soup. Trevor and I kept in touch through archery season and he said the Big 5 was in his field doing his usual thing. Closing weekend of archery while set up to ambush the Big 5, a buck he hadn’t seen in a year showed up out of the blue and presented a shot which is a bad idea if you’re a big deer and Trevor is shooting at you.

With the opening of general season, I was itching to get into whitetail mode and see if I could change my luck around after striking out on the elk. The wind usually doesn’t allow an evening hunt for the Big 5 so I decided to sit across the river from his field and see what was over there. Five minutes after getting in my tree I had a fawn walk by and that was the only deer I had within a 150 yards all night. Not good. Had my elk luck followed me to the deer woods? I considered sacrificing a chicken in some pagan style ceremony or maybe dancing around a fire in a loin cloth whipping myself with a willow branch to appease or bring sympathy from the hunting gods. I decided against both, and the next morning decided to give the escape funnel stand a go. There was a nice stiff breeze coming out of the southwest and as day broke a number of deer came my way and two young bucks walked right by me. By 9 o’clock I figured the morning was over and was preparing to get out of my stand. Just as I was about to lower my bow I noticed a truck pull into the field off the ranch road and curious to see if they would spook any deer decided to stay put. I still have no idea who these people were or what they were doing but as they neared the willows the Big 5 liked to bed in, some deer jumped up and headed my way.

The truck stopped to watch them and even though they were 600 yards away I could see a good buck slip out of the willows and sneak along the bank of the river in the tall grass coming my way. A quick check with the binos confirmed that it was the Big 5 in all his splendor. My heart started racing and my knees started to shake as all the daydreams I’d had about this moment looked like they were about to play out. It took about ten minutes for the group of deer to sneak their way down to me and he was the only buck.

Back to the beginning of this story….I let him get just past me on the same trail as his does and in one fluid motion drew and released. My shaft caught him at the very back of the ribs and disappeared into his tan coat. A little far back, but I knew the shot was fatal. I said my thanks and decided to give him some time. Shortly after shooting him the wind picked up to a gale and rain began to beat down. This was very disheartening as I knew any blood would be gone.

The damage was done so I decided to wait a bit longer before taking up the trail.

Since blood was out I decided to get the wind in my favor and take the river down to where the deer cross and work backwards to where I’d last seen him.

The wind was still howling when I got to the river crossing and as I crept into the willows and grass I barely made it 20 yards when I saw his horns laying flat.

Even though he looked like he was done I knew better and nocking an arrow slowly started to approach him. At 15 yards he lifted his head and finding a tiny hole through the blowing grass and willows I sent an arrow through his chest.

One short burst and he expired on a gravel bar in the middle of the river. As I waded the shallow channel out to where the fallen monarch lay it was with a great feeling of reverence and remorse that I knelt down beside him and touched him for the first time. His face was scarred from countless battles and his head was grey like and old Labrador retriever. The old king had fallen but his story will live on with those of us that knew him.

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CANYON FERRY CARP SAFARI

Montana Bowhunters Association presents:

Have You Been “Carpified ?”

C A N YO N F E R RY C A R P S A F A R I JUNE 9, 2018 C A N YO N F E R RY L A K E , H E L E N A M T 

Bowhunting only - everyone welcome!!

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Help Carp Management in Canyon Ferry Lake

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Never been Carpified? -Help available from semi-professional Carp Ninjas

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Send in Registration form by June 6

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Evening meal included in registration fee

Good Things to Know : - All sh oo ter s n e ed a vali d fi shi ng l i cens e - Boa ts m us t b e re gis ter e d wi th corr e ct numb er of li f eja ck e ts - Boa ts m us t b e cl ean up on arri val and cl ean e d pr io r to e n ter ing an o th er b o d y of wa ter - Bo whun ting on l y. Brin g l o ts o f arr ow s - Carp Safa ri w ill run Sa tur da y f rom sun ris e un ti l 5 p .m.

Individual shooter - preregistered Individual shooter - day of shoot 2-person team - preregistered 2-person team - day of shoot Shooter - under 15 Non - shooter meal ticket

$ 20.00 $ 25.00 $ 40.00 $ 50.00 $ 10.00 $ 6.00

Camping available at our private camping area—details and map posted at http://www.mtba.org

(don’t worry, it’s not carp) 

Contact Joelle Selk to reserve a campsite in the group use area or log on to www.recreation.gov to reserve in the other loops at Hellgate Campground

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How to g e t pr er eg is ter ed:

Mail at t ach ed form b y J u n e 6 , 2 0 1 8 Mail p ayme nt t o: J o e l l e S e l k

6963 York Road Helena, MT 59602 (Make checks out to MBA)  Need mor e f or ms o r info?

j sel km t@g ma il.c om Phone#: 406 - 422 -67 98

P R E R E G I S T R A T IO N FO RM C a n y o n Fe r r y C a r p S a fa r i J u n e 9 , 2 0 1 8 C a n y o n F e r r y La k e , H e l e n a I n d i v i d u a l Sh o o t e r s $20.00 x ______ = $__________ Shooters under 15 $10.00 x ______ = $__________ M e a l t i c k e t - n o n - s h o o te r $6.00 x _______ = $__________ 2-person team $40.00 x _______ = $__________ Total>> $_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Make checks out to MBA and mail to: Joelle Selk– MBA 6963 York Road Helena MT 59602

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Montana

BOWHUNTER

WWW.MTBA.ORG

List names of individuals, team members, phone #, and emails: ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

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 January 2018

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

James Brown

PO Box 96

Richey

MT

59259

406-773-5509

Buffalo Jump Archery

Judy Adams

P.O. Box 5581

Helena

MT

59604

406-539-3936

Crown Photography

Mike & Lucinda Layne

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, LLC

Michael Henry

15853 Queen Annes Lane

Florence

MT

59833

406-549-1221

Elk Creek Family Outfitters

David Hein

1021 Toole Circle

Billings

MT

59105

406-670-4366

ElkRidge Goldens

LeeAnn Curtis

Po box 273

Avon

MT

59713

406-475-4536

First Class Outdoors, LLC

10 Grassy Flat Rd

Roundup

MT

59072

661-317-0001

Libby Archery Club

PO Box 755

Libby

MT

59923

406-293-7174

Libby Sports Center

204 W 9th ST

Libby

MT

59923

406-293-4641

Matablas Game Hunters

Willem Frost

PO Box 1559

Lephalale, 0555

South Africa

27116794664

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

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

David Allen

5705 Grant Creek Road

Missoula

MT

59808

406-523-4500

Silvertip Plumbing & Heating

Scott Rice

P.O. Box 1103

Plains

MT

59859

406-370-4209

Spirit Quest Archery

Kevin & Kim Friedman

115 Rocky Cliff Rd

Kalispell

MT

59901

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 Hunters Assoc.

Joe Kondelis

4116 Temple Xreek

Cody

WY

82414

307-899-0461

Spring 2018

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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

28

M ontana

BOWHUNTER

WWW.MTBA.ORG

Memberships run January 1 to December 31 each year.

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4

7

10

TOM MORTON Wyoming mule deer.

2017 spot n stalk.

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JOHN BERGER 2017 speed goat

5

CECELIA CLAPHAM and her trophy

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BILL OWENS big horn sheep with his recurve

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MITCH LEPAGE 2017 buck

3

LUCAS ZEMLICKA 2017 antelope

JEFF KENNEDY 2017 Spring Black Bear taken with Bear’s Paw Longbow

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BRIDGER KAMPS with his big old 380+ Western Montana bull

ANDREW SURA age 12 with a giant porcupine he shot this year

ELISHA STODDARD’S 2017 Archery buck taken with 57# Bears Paw Long Bow and Magnus 2 blade broadhead

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BOB MORTON 2017 antelope

ALISHIA ZEMLIKA 2017 elk

Spring 2018

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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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