PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

PRESIDENT - KEN SCHULTZ 1ST VICE PRESIDENT - BRIAN KOELZER 2ND VICE PRESIDENT - STEPHEN LEPAGE SECRETARY - JERRY DAVIS TREASURER - MANDY GARNESS

Big Sky Youth Event

President’s MessageGreetings All,

Ihope this article finds you doing well and having a successful hunting season so far. Rifle season just got under way in Montana. I’m seeing a lot of trucks heading to the field! If you did not have success during bow season maybe your luck will change for rifle. This leads me into the hot topic of “Choose your Weapon, Choose your Season” proposal. Obviously, there are mixed feelings about this topic. If you have a strong opinion either way, be sure to reach out to the FWP and share. It’s really important that they hear from the Public on these proposals that pop up. Sitting back and letting things happen will not work. Speak up and be heard!

This year the Region “5” Montana Bowhunters Association was involved in the “Big Sky Youth Event” again at Blue Creek Shooting Complex on Bender Road. It’s an awesome event that is “Free” for the kids and they get to try their hand at archery, shotgun, rifle, rock climbing as well other fun stuff for the day. There were over 100 kids that attended this year. Thanks to all the wonderful organizations, and along with Scheels, almost every kid left the event with a prize! The MBA had a booth at the event and we had probably 50 kids come by our booth and shoot bow. They had a great time thanks to my helper Nathan Kaiser. The day then finished out with a hot lunch and lots of prizes given out. It’s open to anyone who would like to attend no matter where you’re from. Come join us next year!!!

Legislative sessions are getting ready to kick off soon. Make sure you stay connected with things and let’s not let anything slip through the cracks. Crossbows have been mentioned again and I would not be surprised to see it come up. We’ll fight hard for you and we’ll need your support. I’m very thankful for the group of awesome folks on the board that stay engaged. I couldn’t do this without them!

Good Luck with the rest of the season and may you be blessed with success and Great times with Family and Friends in the field. Be very careful and be respectful of landowners and their property. There are few of those that still let folks hunt, so let’s not mess that up! I had a couple of good friends that had daughters shoot their first buck this year. It is so awesome to see their faces and how excited they are! Congrats to all first-time hunters!

I’ll leave you with that and remember “Shoot Straight and Always be a Straight Shooter”!

Ken Schultz

First Vice President’sReport

Well, just like that another archery season has come and gone. Every year that six-week window feels a little bit shorter. Even with a heavy work load and juggling the rigors of a young family, I was able to get some quality days in the woods this fall. A nice 6-point bull even fell for my poor calling and got to ride home with me in the back of my truck. Abundant spring and summer rain made for a great fall to be out in the woods. It was as lush and green as I can ever remember around my home here in the southwest corner of the state.

For the first time in my life, I failed to draw the 900 antelope tag and I’ve heard of quite a few other folks both resident and non-resident who did not draw either. It wasn’t very long ago that we were thousands of applicants shy of the quota but apparently this year that was not the case. I’ll be interested to see how many applicants there were when that information becomes available. I also failed to get my Wyoming mule deer and 1st choice antelope tags which have always been a 100% draw as well. The influx of people fleeing the concrete jungles and settling in the western states is rapidly changing the opportunity we once took for granted and even though there is strength in numbers the growing pains hurt.

For the past 17 years I have been an active bow ed instructor and it has been a very rewarding experience. I have never been a fan of online bowhunter education but have helped instruct on many of the once mandatory field days for those students who choose to take that route. From the beginning, the gap in knowledge between on-liner and in-person class students has been very apparent. Since the onset of the rona, field days have been waived for on-liners and from what I hear there is no intention of bringing them back. In-person classes have been reinstated, but attendance is painfully low. With nearly 3 times the numbers of people taking the course as there was pre-rona I’m concerned this will bite everyone on the butt in the future.

From what I hear there are landowners willing to allow public access to their property, but they are asking for a higher level of education in order to make that happen. The “Master Hunter” program is in its infancy and I admit I only have a basic knowledge of it, but I think there is nothing wrong with a program that makes a person prove themselves worthy of gaining access to some fine hunting property. Time will tell, I guess.

I spent the last weekend of archery season hunting whitetails and the first critter to walk by me was a sow griz. I’m 30 miles from the nearest mountains out in the prairie and this was the 16th different bear confirmed on the property so far this fall. Griz numbers are high and they are venturing out into their historic home range at a fast pace. There is no reason there should not be a limited draw for them in this state. I also believe we should make a push to legalize black bear baiting. We can hunt them spring and fall as well as with hounds so why not over bait? What better way to make absolutely sure what you are shooting at?

That is enough rambling from me for one newsletter. Good luck to you all chasing whitetails this November and may your arrows fly true!