MBA winter issue 2013

VOL. 41 #2

Winter 2013

Ontario HUNTING TIPS FOR

Moose

inside this issue: Officer & Regional Reports, Tentatives Reports, “One Exceptional Year”, and Member Gallery

www.mtba.org

Montana

BOWHUNTER — 2 www.mtBa.org

MBA

www.mtba.org

ional

MBA

PRESIDENT Joelle Selk 6963 York Road • Helena, MT 59602 jselkmt@3riversdbs.net • 406-422-6798

e entat

Al Kelly

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

Dan Moore

1775 Haywire Gulch, Kalispell Mt 59901................................406-756-7395 bigdanmt@yahoo.com

Marlon Clapham 4455 Hoover Lane, Stevensville, MT 59870 ..........................406-777-2408 mbaregion2@gmail.com@gmail.com Kim Blaskowski 426 Lynx Lane, Stevensville, MT 59870 ...............................406-381-9112 turkeyfootgirl@aol.com

1ST VICE PRESIDENT Paul Martin 110 Sage Lane • Kalispell, MT 59901 paulhmartin99@gmail.com • 406-261-4456

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

Brian Koelzer

709 Mantle Drive Unit C, Belgrade, MT 59714.........................406-570-7997 rocknrollbowhunter@yahoo.com

Cliff Garness

Great Falls, MT ....................................................................406-788-9009 obsession_archery@yahoo.com

Gary Temple

118 North 29th Street, Billings, MT 59101, ...........................406-294-8575 meadow@meadowlarkgallery.com

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

Bob Morgan

Jerry Davis PAST PRESIDENT Jason Tounsley 8630 Longmeadow Dr. • Billings, MT 59106

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

P.O. Box 1995 Colstrip, MT 59323 ......................................406-749-0706 robertredface@gmail.com 725 Middlemas Road, Helena, MT 59602 .............................406-475-2226 pipelinejerry@gmail.com

AT LARGE DIRECTORS

EVEN YEARS Steve Kamps

P.O. Box 192, Lincoln, MT 59639 – 12kamps@gmail.com ......................................406-362-4907

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

ODD YEARS Adam Barker

1020 Valley View Dr., Great Falls, MT 59405 – adam.barker@ge.com ......................406-461-2792

EDITORIAL COMMENTS WEB DESIGNER Lyle Hebel lyle@pixelelk.com

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 of bowhunting in general.

PUBLICATIONS DATES AND DEADLINES

MAGAZINE DESIGN K Design Marketing, Inc. 3501 W. Broadway • Missoula, MT 59808 kim@kdesignmarketing.com • 406-273-6193

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 laced in the MBA Photo Album and can be viewed at the annual conventions. Any questions about policies of the MBA please write to the President.

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

Winter 2013

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the from EDITOR 3 4

mBa BoarD oF DIrECtorS From tHE EDItor

Teri Kelly

5

PrESIDENt’S mESSagE

5

1st VICE PrESIDENt’S mESSagE

6

2nd VICE PrESIDENt’S mESSagE

7 7 11 13 14

Joelle Selk Paul Martin Steve Schindler rEgIoNaL NEwS CommISSIoN mEmBErS mBa CommIttEES tENtatIVES rEPort “ontario moose Hunting”

Steve Schindler

15 18 19

another archery season has come and gone and the snow is fast approaching if it isn’t already covering the ground by the time you are reading this issue. as you read thru this issue you’ll see that your mBa board and reps continue to work hard ensuring that we’ll all continue to enjoy bowhunting opportunities in montana. Be sure to thank them for what they do. getting people involved is not an easy thing to do. we’re all busy with family, work and whatever else we choose to do with our time and it’s easy to forget that there’s always work to be done. But something that we can all do is talk to others. In the course of sharing your hunting stories and strategies be sure to mention the mBa and why all bowhunters should also be a member and a voice. we also have some great photos of successful hunts and some great stories in this issue. Congratulations to all who filled their tags. Sadly, I am in the group of bowhunters who still have my tags. But I really can’t complain. I had a great season, saw some nice animals, awesome scenery and got to spend time outdoors with friends and family enjoying this beautiful state we live in. and there’s always next year to look forward too! our great Falls crew is hard at work planning for the next mBa Convention and if you’ve never attended one of these, you should plan to. the convention is great fun and a great way to meet and talk with other bowhunters, play some games, win some prizes and learn something new from one of the many speakers. Keep those photos and stories coming! we always need material for the magazine and it’s great to hear about the successes and fun others have on their hunts.

“one Exceptional Season”

Teri Kelly

Featured member: Bridger Kamps BUSINESS & CLUB mEmBErS

UPCOMING MEETINGS

mEmBEr gaLLErY

REGION 1 December 5th, 6:30pm at Frontier Communications office 114 E 4th St Libby - use the alley entrance.

REGION 2 November 19th, 6:30pm at the old Perkins building in Hamilton.

November 20th, 6:30pm at FwP office on Spurgin rd missoula.

REGION 5 December 7th, 8:00am Superior archery, Billings

A About

THE COVER

Steve Schindler produces results on his 2013 ontario moose hunt.

Montana

BOWHUNTER — 4 www.mtBa.org

REGION 8 November 14th, 6:00pm at Bert and Ernies MBA BOARD MEETING December 14th, 10:00am-4:00pm at Heritage Inn in great Falls.

PRESIDENT’S

message

Stuker had garnered us an archery season stretching from September 8th – october 14th and had managed to compel the Commission to add nine archery-only areas (HD 284, 290, 260, 311, 404, 421, 444, and 450), many of which had seasons lasting from September 8th – November 25th. these gains represent much of the opportunity which we still enjoy today, and it is only through the diligent work of many members since that time that we have retained and built our seasons. we’re sometimes now in a position to argue whether we want a higher quality hunt rather than simply the opportunity itself (see the tentatives report for our 410-15 discussion). that’s quite a privilege, and one which we do not take lightly. much board discussion goes into issues like this, and member input is very important in guiding our decisions. once again, thanks to all members who take the time to give input.

we’ve come a long way, baby…

Did

you know… that from 1967-1975, our archery season length was one week for antlered bull elk and two weeks for deer? that the number of bowhunters was 2,100 in 1967 and had risen to 10,000 by 1973? or, that in 1977 the mBa was working to get legislation passed granting the Commission authority to set bowhunting seasons and bag limits for archery hunting of moose, sheep and goat? It took two sessions to get that legislation passed, Joelle Selk exhibiting the dedication of our founding members in establishing big game seasons for bowhunting.

I have heard of many successes so far this season and you’ll see some of those trophies in our member gallery this issue. I have not yet drawn blood, but have certainly enjoyed some amazing bugling and close encounters along the way. It’s been a great deal of fun roaming around the hills in my leafy-flage suit! whether I am successful or not, I continue to feel very blessed for our long seasons and am glad I can contribute in some way to preserving those. our great Falls members are busy preparing for the convention march 28-30 at the Best western Heritage Inn. Please let them know if you have something to donate or have an idea for a seminar. good luck with your late fall hunts – we look forward to your stories!

By 1979, Scott Koelzer, Lee Poole, Jim wantulok, Bob Beck, Bob Savage, ron granneman, Joe Barlow, Don Hettinger, and gary

First Vice PRESIDENT’S message the good ole Days

No, I’m not talking about 100 years

ago, but just before 1995 and how great the hunting was. Prior to the bad winters of 96 & 97 and the illegal introduction of the grey wolf prior, one could head up to the middle Fork, North Fork, and my favorite, the South Fork of the Flathead river, or west of Kalispell

Joelle Selk

all the way to Libby if desired. Back in the day a hunter could get a response from bugling up most any drainage, and many times multiple answers from the bulls that inhabited them.

It was 1994 that I drew a permit for 632 and we would be there for opening day, camping near the pines. From a vantage point, in the morning you could spot scattered elk on the hillsides, a herd of antelope, a mule buck or two and some whitetails off in the distance, it seemed like a hunting utopia. the only drawback was the unbearable mosquitoes, from all the good rain the area had experienced, after a couple of days we had enough. I told my hunting buddy at the time, “Let’s get out of here, I know a place back in region 1, where I can kill an elk in a four Continuted on Page 6

Paul Martin

Winter 2013

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who’d a thunk, as I was sitting there

one morning with 2 weeks of bow season left and the Cmr was closed. what a crock, I mean, do the Cmr people think they actually perform some service to us hunters? Do we have to have any of them around while we hunt? the only real advantage of having someplace like the Cmr is that it is public land and we don’t have to ask permission to hunt, now that has changed. of course the whole thing is one giant political football and we were stuck in the middle taking the beating.

Now having that off my chest I want every one of you when you get the chance to advocate for a new elk management plan. For

Paul Martin

instance in HD 700 in the breaks the FwP says they have about 1200 elk in that district, it is probably the largest elk hunting district in the breaks, it holds the most elk habitat. In HD 700 the problem we have is that there are huge area’s that just don’t have any elk. we have some very large blocks of elk habitat that are elkless, and the FwP issues more permits in this HD than we have elk, 1955 total permits rifle and bow, and we have 1200 elk, the real kicker in this is that 1000 of those tags are Elk B cow tags, oh and by the way much of that elkless land is public land either BLm or the Cmr. this is not an isolated circumstance, HD 680 has a fair elk population, it also has a tremendous amount of public lands, and it doesn’t have its own elk hunting district.

the 30 most coveted archery tags in montana that HD 690 has are also valid in 680, this is not right. we have 238 contiguous sections of BLm land that has elk roaming all across it and basically no elk hunting going on. Yes I do know there are 3 or 4 guys who might hunt it and I do know HD 680 has some access issues, but the way I see it the Bob marshall wilderness area has some access issues as well but it has elk hunting districts.

HD 680 has enough access to warrant its own Hunting District. So if you get a chance let the guys in charge know we want to expand our hunting opportunities. this is really a no brainer.

Continuted from Page 5

hour hunt”. wow, how arrogant and confident does that sound?

But that’s exactly what I did, killing a nice 5 x 5 bull to feed my family. my hunting partner Diann and I hunted the 632 this season and my high expectations were greatly diminished. after five days of good hard hunting we had only seen 8 elk, 1 antelope, and a small hand full of young mule deer, no sharptails and not even one sage hen, needless to say, “how times have changed or how time changes things”. Here was an example of low numbers of wildlife, and we can’t even blame it on wolves.

Some of the blame could go on the large amount of coyotes we were seeing and that terrible EHD again this year. But for the elk, my theory is and we’ve learned a long time ago that the definition of “theory” is the search for truth, that at least in the 632 & 631 FwP has not kept up with technology.

I’m not saying technology is a bad thing. while improvements for traditional shooters have barely

Montana

BOWHUNTER — 6 www.mtBa.org

Steve Schindler changed it has been a very different story for the compounds and even the rifle hunters that want to can kill their elk at 800 or 1,000 yds., and how about the black powder guns at 200 yds.

I believe it’s past over due to reduce the permits in the 632 &631 and unfortunately a loss of hunting opportunity. For the western part of our state the problem continues with FwP managing for wolves. If you’re managing for wolves you’re killing our wildlife.

It’s high time for this to be over. the mBa along with all other sportsman’s groups need to impose a predator control fund to control wolves and coyotes that would be on your license just like the additional $10.00 fee to hunt on state land. In my opinion it will take private enterprise to achieve this with trappers and helicopters in the sky. god knows I have an extensive list of volunteer door gunners. I want the good ole Days back!

Paul Martin

MBA

Region 1 F

AL KELLY DAN MOORE

riends, as yet another archery season draws to an end; it is once again time to think about how great it is to live in this land of such great opportunity. Even though game numbers are down there is still lots of

regional

NEWS

opportunity for those willing to put forth the effort. Yes, it is tougher to seal the deal these days, and that is exactly why we need to participate in the process. You can’t expect things to get better all on their own.

It takes hard work and perseverance. Sure, it’s easier to throw your hands up and not participate in the process when things don’t go your way, but it’s a damn good thing that this is not the mBa way. Everyone can make a difference, all one needs to do is participate.

I really did not get out bow hunting much this year. I choose to put my focus in working with my pointer pup for upland bird hunting. Dogs, much like kids need to

get the bug and learn the joys of hunting young. remember to get those young hunters out in the field and make that time as enjoyable as possible. Be positive and encouraging and you will help to create a hunter for life. we need to keep our heritage alive.

Congrats to some local hunters who had some success this year, Fred Sichting, Eric and wendy Drake all harvested elk.

I’m hoping to get some photos from them and other hunters in the region to share in future issues.

Al Kelly

F

ederal politics have affected montana Bowhunters. when the federal government closes down, the obama administration deliberately closed the things that would put the maximum amount of hurt to the public. Kicking bowhunters off the Cmr has got to be the dumbest things I ever heard of. what service/staff do we need to access public state and federal lands? there are no gates or fees to deal with.

I sent an email to Jon tester and his auto-reply said that due to the government shutdown he couldn’t reply. I believe their salaries aren’t affected - isn’t he there? montana state game wardens were told to stay out of this. they were advised that it is a state hunting season, open state wide and not to order any hunters to leave. the BLm & Forest Service lands remained open to public access. Closing campgrounds only... I guess no one is available to empty the box filled with camping fees or clean the rest rooms. I think it time we go to Helena and take back our public lands within montana.

Dan Moore

Dan Moore

Commission members E-mail Commissioners: fwpcomm@mt.gov District 1 Gary Wolfe, Commissioner 4722 Aspen Drive Missoula, MT 59802 (406) 493-9189

District 2 Dan Vermillion, Chairman PO Box 668 Livingston, MT 59047 (406) 222-0624

District 3 Richard Stuker, Commissioner 1155 Boldt Road Chinook, MT 59523 (406) 357-3495

District 4 Lawrence “Larry” Wetsit, Commissioner 121 East Indian Street Wolf Point, MT 59201 (406) 650-7071

District 5 Matthew Tourtlotte, Commissioner 940 Blonco Circle Billings, MT 59105 (406) 698-9696

Winter 2013

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Region 2 KiM BLASKOWSKi MARLON CLAphAM

Hunting season is in full swing and

whitetail doe and Chris has gotten an elk and whitetail buck so far. we just returned from a 2 week moose hunt in Canada. we didn’t get anything but being in another country and seeing what their hunting regulations are sure makes me happy to live in this great state. we are truly blessed to be able to hunt a wide variety of animals.

Hoping everyone has a good harvest and a safe season. Please keep Larry Fischer in your thoughts/prayers as he is battling health issues right now.

this household couldn’t be happier!! I have harvested a nice antelope doe, a

god bless and shoot straight.

Kim Blaskowski

Kim Blaskowski

are some positive things going here in HD 204. there will be a new study taking place there with the elk herd. the elk here have pretty much moved down into the lower foot hills, onto the private lands, farms and ranches etc. they don’t seem to want to move back up to the high country. So this new study will be looking at the forage, security, open roads, and human impact. this area lies between missoula and Hamilton, with Florence and Stevensville within a few miles of the access. there is an open road system making it easy to access. So it is very popular for after work hunts.

Marlon Chapham

a

s I sit here putting my thoughts together for the newsletter it’s 20 degrees outside. a freeze we desperately need. why so early? It seems that we have a bug in the whitetail herd around missoula.

It has already claimed some 430 deer that the FwP is aware of. who knows how many have floated away down river. talking to the biologist from the department a prolonged freeze will subdue the bug, hopefully. there will be some adjustments put into place for HD 260 for 2014 archery season. Hopefully the whitetails will recover quickly. there

Montana

BOWHUNTER — 8 www.mtBa.org

I hope everyone enjoyed their bowhunting. with all that is goings on in the breaks, I thought we would go and experience it firsthand. merri and I drew tags and a friend had a place to stay, so we were off for some antelope and elk hunting. It rained on us almost every day so the hunting was hit and miss just to get off the main roads. merri made several good stalks on the speed goats but never quite pulled it off. with so much rain the sitting over water holes was a waste of time. we did find a herd of elk down by the lake. But when it started to rain I was beating it out to get back on the gravel road, I dropped the car off a rock shelf and tore up the suspension. So we spent the next two days waiting for parts from Billings, and a day to put the car back together. we finally got back out to the elk, and hiking along a ridge merri

spotted an elk way off. It took us some doing but we got in the right place and found the elk in its bed. with the wind in our face we stalked to 20 yards and the small bull got up and walked up to us. at eight yards he picked us but didn’t run.

He moved around to our right and up the ridge to get our wind. He stopped at twenty yards and merri’s arrow found its mark. merri now has her first elk. when we got home our daughter wanted to get in on some elk hunting. a herd had moved in on the ranch and was in a lower hay field. I had a stand in a row of trees at the base of a draw, so I had Cecelia get in early. It was very stormy, raining and heavy winds. as Cece was getting in the stand the elk were moving in the trees. But with the heavy winds she sat quiet with the elk all around, and underneath her. at eight thirty the wind slowed up and the elk moved off giving her a broadside shot at fifteen yards. the elk ran up the ridge for fifty yards and fell backwards down the hill expiring forty yards away. this is Cecelia’s first elk also.

Now they get to concentrate on the deer and I get to sit at the meat cutting table. they do keep me busy. I have heard that others have had some success, but no confirmation as of yet. Now since I’m sitting on a ridge I’ll get back to waiting for a wt. buck.

Keep-em Sharp and shoot-em straight.

Marlon Clapham

Region 4

Region 3 BRiAN KOELzER

w

as I sit here and write this we only have

a couple days left in our archery season. the leaves are turning and a nice consistent breeze tonight started to bring a few to the ground. Incidentally the north wind also allowed my girlfriend, Kara Jensen to sit in one of our better whitetail stands and a great 6x4 made the mistake of walking by her right at dark. we don’t anticipate the tracking job to be too long in the morning.

great mountain goat after a season of foul weather in the high country made for a difficult hunt.

So far this season there have been some great animals taken and great memories made. Special congrats to my good friends greg Hoell, Bob morton and Kiley Jons. greg took his first BIg bull this fall, Bob filled his sheep tag with a beautiful ram despite a 4-wheeler accident while fencing this summer that left him not overly mobile this fall, and Kiley for taking a

Best of luck to you all in the rest of your pursuits this fall. Keep’em sharp, pick a spot and most of all have fun!

Region 5 GARY tEMpLE

g

reetings from District Five and I hope all are enjoying the hunting seasons. as with all seasons of hunting there are significant aspects but they are all in the eye of the beholder. many, many years ago when we lived in Laurel, montana, I was almost late for a morning network business group meeting in Billings. Hurriedly driving down the street, I needed to stop at the local gas station to fill my tank. this obviously dates me, but I

Brian Koelzer

reflecting back on the adventures of this season it has been two months to the day since Kara took her first antelope buck. two months of archery-only hunting in montana! this is a great state and I’m proud to call it home!

Brian Koelzer had to pay inside with a business check. the lady clerk behind the counter looked at the business name on the check. She exclaimed, “oh you have the such and such business and you must be doing really well.” timing was everything this particular morning for I knew I had just enough time to fill the car with gas and make the meeting in Billings. or, I could “discuss” the perils and tribulations of one being self employed. Not wanting to miss my meeting I overlooked her comments. my point is we should not place ourselves in the position of judging those in self employment for we have not traveled in their footsteps. In my last survey to the membership in District Five I stressed the importance of not degrading those in business and more particularly the outfitters in montana. It is entirely your choice or not to use an outfitter but it does not give us the right to judge them. they have a right to work and make a living in this state and

CLiFF GARNESS

ell another archery season has come and gone and the holidays are right around the corner. I had large visions of hanging that big bull on my wall this year, but that did not come to be. I only spent about 3 days total in the field for elk and 2-1/2 days for antelope. oh well, there is always next year. trust me, I am not complaining or looking for sympathy, because when I have not been busy at work, I have spent every ounce of time I possibly can hunting the river breaks with my dad and other family members in search of a bighorn sheep for my dad.

I have seen and heard great stories of animals being shot this year around the state. Let’s see some of these animals in our publications. my wife and two boys and I, all had a great antelope season with all of us filling our tags.

Prior to hunting season, adam, members of the gFaC, and I started soliciting donations and planning for the banquet here in gF in march 2014. any donations anyone has or can get, your help is appreciated. we have secured a number of donations, but have many more to get, so here in the near future we will be going great guns again. the motel, motel(s) rates and meals have all been solidified along with multiple donations.

I am hoping to get a mass email out with updated banquet information along with the information onto the website, in early November. as always, if anyone has ideas, topics or other information to share, please do not hesitate to contact me at obsession_ archery@yahoo.com. If you want to volunteer to help with the banquet, email me and I will add you to the list. good luck on the rest of your hunting season.

Cliff Garness Winter 2013

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nothing is guaranteed to them. Dig into the facts and one will soon find how the outfitters are very much in peril as to licenses for their out of state potential hunters. almost immediately I received an email strongly suggesting I had labeled people and more particular in his case of being un-american. this email had informed me of his categorizing outfitters into two categories. No one and I mean no one has the right to judge another person as to their business and what they should make and not make. they call this socialism. we need to work together and understand the views of all types of hunting. this is not your religious experience or mine but the enjoyment for all of living in montana. If someone wants to have an outfitting business then they have just as much right as the rest of us do until the flag comes down. this is still america. this fall being my first experience from the board side of mBa about the government

Region 7

entities was indeed revealing. with all of the disease in the area it sure seems strange as to the B tag allocations let alone the surplus tag offerings. I am not sure if there is the receptiveness for proper input from the lowly bow hunter at times. my reports from the regional meeting were just basic visiting with very entrenched views. the older man started talking to me about his experiences in using his compound bow.

Soon it was not long before those same grins and feelings had been mutually shared were coming to the surface again. He recounted to me about the silence of the moment and the beauty in the woods. as he talked, I was mentally checking off those same and similar factors I have also experienced as a bowhunter. the two of us were now on the same page. the second archer I encountered could just barely handle his bow. Still, what he did with the bow and his effectiveness was again one for my mental check off list. He had wanted a bow but was told he was just a little

w

hat a privilege to be out bowhunting in the great outdoors in god’s creation and get back to nature. Just BOB MORGAN getting away from the tV and all the politics in the news is good.

Some of the guys did not draw their archery elk tags in r7 and were really disappointed after all these years of getting one. a few bow hunters did get their elk, but a lot of us still enjoyed getting close or just seeing the elk do their thing. as I write this there is a week left to hunt yet.

Let’s hope we all enjoy what we have worked for, Bowhunting in montana’s great outdoors. and after the hunting it is also great to come home to our families where love is. Let’s love one another more this year. In Hebrews 4:12 it says about gods word being sharper than a two edged sword, check it out.

So keep ’um sharp

Bob Morgan Montana — 10 BOWHUNTER

www.mtBa.org

too young but he had been eagerly watching his older brothers. the archery shop handed him a beginning bow and he began to shoot it instinctively. Soon he was out shooting his older brothers who had the sights and experience. this young archer was now on the same page with me.

So now lets take a look at this archery page of the two individuals. one was an archer who declined to give his age and the other was almost six years old. Looking at both of them and listening to their comments, I could not tell who was more excited. Both had the same emotions about the bow. one was a resident of montana and the other was from outside of montana. Did it really matter?

Looking forward to your thoughts and constructive comments.

Region 8 JERRY DAviS

warm regards,

Gary Temple H

oping you all had a good archery season this year. as for myself I didn’t get out as much as I would have liked, I had a number of building projects to complete. However, I did get in close to a large bull and that provided me lots of excitement. It is always great when you get in close, but I couldn’t make that last 10 yards.

that aside I think we need to discuss what has been happening with the FwP Licensing and Funding advisory Council. as noted on the website (which I have listed below) this council is made up of members: mark aagenes, Ed Beall, robin Cunningham, Bob gilbert, artBob Hayes, Ed Hammer, Jim olson, Debby Perry, Brett todd, tim Morgan aldrich, Senator Kendall Van Dyk, Fish and wildlife Commission Chair Dan Vermillion, and representative Jeff welborn. the Environmental Quality Council is represented by Hope Stockwell thereby ensuring that EQC membership will be kept informed. the membership of the advisory council represents a mix of hunters, anglers and others committed to working together to reach a consensus on several complex license and funding issues. this council will evaluate montana’s hunting and fishing licenses and how best to fund fish and wildlife management in montana for the long term. they will examine about 100 different types of hunting and fishing licenses and the impacts of free and discounted licenses on fish and wildlife management funding. the council will develop recommendations for simplifying the structure of the state’s hunting and fishing licenses and

consider license-fee adjustments necessary for sustaining long-term funding for fish and wildlife management in montana.

Legislative:

Joelle Selk, Chair Jerry Davis • adam Barker Steve Schindler • Cliff garness marlon Clapham • Dan moore

Tentatives:

Steve Kamps, Chair adam Barker • Joelle Selk Paul martin • marlon Clapham Steve Schindler • Dan moore

Financial

: Chair, vacant Jenn Schneider • Jerry Davis • Seth rogers

Landowner/Sportsman: al Kelly, Chair Cliff garness • Dan moore

Nominations:

Chair, vacant adam Barker • Steve Kamps al Kelly • Paul martin • Steve Schindler

Awards:

roger Peffer, Chair al Kelly • Steve Schindler Cliff garness • Jenn Schneider

Membership:

Chair, vacant Jenn Schneider • Joelle Selk Seth rogers • Kim Blaskowski

Convention 2014:

Chair - tBD Jenn Schneider • Joelle Selk Steve Kamps • adam Barker marlon Clapham Cliff garness • roger Peffer

Magazine:

al & teri Kelly, Co-Chairs Steve Schindler • roger Peffer Joelle Selk • Kim Blaskowski

Website:

webmaster, Lyle Hebel Joelle Selk • Jenn Schneider

Carp Shoot:

Joelle Selk, Chair

Bow-Ed:

al Kelly, Chair marlon Clapham • Brian Koelzer • Bob morgan

at the conclusion of the advisory council’s work in march 2014, a final report will be prepared for the Director of montana Fish, wildlife & Parks in preparation for the montana Legislature in 2015.

So what does this have to do with you? well the management of montana’s fish and wildlife is in large part funded by hunting and fishing license fees. as I mentioned in the last issue, FwP’s fish and wildlife management budget will be in the red by 2017 unless additional revenues are generated. as montana sportsmen and women we must take an active role in ensuring that montana’s fish and wildlife remains in the public trust and is not divvied out to private interests in an effort to fund its management. assuring that hunting and fishing license fees continue to substantially fund fish and wildlife management in the future will ensure that the fish and wildlife will continue to be held in trust for the public’s use. why is FwP’s budget going into the red you may ask? well the cost of doing business continues to increase, inflation etc. these costs include replacement costs for vehicles, vehicle maintenance, fuel, training, doing ongoing and new fish and wildlife studies, maintaining wildlife management areas (including weed control and fencing), and maintaining public access i.e. Block management.

this summer FwP did a cost comparison between montana’s and other western states’ resident and nonresident hunting and fishing license fees. those other western states were wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, New mexico, arizona, oregon, and washington. the table below is the result of that study. as you can be see there should probably be adjustments to both resident and nonresident hunting license fees.

In an effort to better understand the issue the mBa Board has requested that FwP give us a presentation at our December board meeting. this presentation will give us information pertaining to FwP programs, revenues, and costs. Hopefully this will provide us an even better understanding of budgeting issues within FwP. as sportsmen or women, we must take an active part in the FwP Licensing and Funding advisory Council’s process.

If you go to the UrL http:// fwp.mt.gov/hunting/licenses/ licensingadvisoryCouncil/default.html you will be able to find the link to make public comment. additionally you can see when and where future meetings will be held. all meetings are open to the public as required by our State Constitution. the council appreciates public comment as it helps in guiding them to a solution.

Furthermore this website has links to previous council meetings’ agendas and minutes so you can get up to date information about the licensing study.

So get involved.

Happy Hunting and be safe.

In addition to the increased cost of doing business past legislation has reduced income from hunting and fishing licenses.

Such reductions MT versus other western states average MT versus other western states average include reduced resident cost nonresident cost license costs for less than other more than other less than other more than other western states western states western states western states seniors, disabled, youth, nonresident Antelope $ 29.70 $ 141.95 $ 93.58 $1008.93 relatives of a Bighorn Sheep $399.88 $1857.44 resident, and Bison $ 24.08 $ 52.97 nonresident college Black Bear $ 24.66 $ 184.31 students. maybe Deer Elk $ 59.87 $ 230.82 some discounts are Moose $ 79.05 $ 663.04 justifiable but the Mountain Goat $ 93.34 $ 938.22 cumulative effect Mountain Lion $ 16.58 $ 49.97 of these discounts is Turkey $ 23.33 $ 18.94 substantial.

Upland Birds $ 13.29 $ 12.92

Jerry Davis

Wolves

$

1.08

$

79.67

Winter 2013

11—

At Large t

he happenings in and around r4 are varied and various. the main event is certainly the tentatives that have both local and statewide implications. we’re engaged in this process to some degree at all times, but the meat is now here. at the time of this writing, there isn’t any huge news but some old themes are sure to surface. the archery elk permit issue has been beaten to a pulp over the years – and at this point the tweaks being looked into for that structure are mainly cosmetic. there are some r4 deer changes being floated, but not headline news. the Sheep in r4 along the Front are still fairly weak, and we’ll probably lose some opportunity there. on the other hand, the moose on the Front are doing well, and we should see a new opportunity present itself this cycle. also, there should be some very lively discussion surrounding the possibility of adding some ES elk opportunity in HD425. again, all of this is very fluid at the moment but it will begin to firm up about the time this newsletter hits your mailbox. the mBa will certainly need some guidance in how to speak to various topics, so please continue to respond to our email surveys and member updates when they are sent out. also, there are always plenty of public meetings across the region which we encourage you to attend. there are also tools to participle in these meetings online, as well as options for public input on the mt FwP website.

In my chats with r4 FwP staff, it sounds like indicators in the region have all pointed to very successful elk harvest in most HDs. weekend weather was fairly conducive to hunting across much of the region, which contributed to reports of high elk numbers and also high hunter pressure. antelope numbers were lower than average with lots of hunters reporting outings with little or no action. another large local topic is the great Falls convention that is swiftly drawing closer. this is sure to be another successful event, as the crew involved has done a great job in past years. I’m sure they would welcome any help you can provide. get ahold of myself, Cliff garness, or roger Peffer to offer any support.

If you still find yourself with some tags in your pocket, be grateful you live in mt because you still have plenty of season left.

Adam Barker s I write this the 2013 bow season is almost over… aCK! Elk and deer have eluded me so far this year. oh well - such is hunting.

In my travels I saw some dramatically reduced numbers of deer in many parts of region 4. See the FwP webpage for updates on doe restrictions. FwP says Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) has

Montana

BOWHUNTER — 12 www.mtBa.org

hit the deer hard in many region 4 gmU’s. EHD is a virus spread by the bite of a “midge” (small biting fly). It is similar to Blue tongue (which is also spread by a midge) but is a slightly different virus (blood tests can discern the difference from the two).

Deer infected with EHD tend to lose their appetite, have no fear of people, grow weak, salivate excessively, have a rapid pulse and rapid respiration rates, and a high fever which leads to them lying in water to lower their body temperature. the tongue is frequently blue from a lack of oxygenation of the blood. the head and neck can be swollen in deer suffering with EHD. another common condition of deer with EHD is the broken hooves from interruptions in growth of the hoof proteins. Some deer become lame from EHD. although deer are usually sick for several weeks, they can recover if they do not suffer the acute form of the disease. Deer with the disease can go into shock shortly after the onset of symptoms (8–35 hours). It is possible to see deer with skin hemorrhaging (bleeding), salivation and nasal discharge. acute EHD can cause death. while Blue tongue seems to hit antelope harder, EHD hits whitetail Deer and mule Deer. areas where I used to see 60-70 deer a day during rifle season and up to 150 in some select alfalfa fields during the bow season this year I saw “FoUr” deer! the populations have been decimated from my observations. the FwP Commission has shut down the mule Deer doe season in five units in region 4 and I personally think it would be a good idea to consider cutting the white-tail doe season as well to let them recover.

By the time this article is printed the frost will have killed the midges and the deer will have either died from EHD or recovered.

EHD is not transmissible to humans. Hopefully they will recover in a few years and deer numbers will start to recover. on another note - the Convention is in great Falls in march 2014! grab all your hunting buddies and come to this great event.

Please contact the Directors from region 4 if you happen to have any donations for this event. It promises to be a lot of fun and we want to see a huge turnout in support of mBa. See you there!

Roger Peffer SEth ROGERS

ROGER pEFFER

a

DIRECTORS

w

ell I hope you’ve all had a successful season thus far! antelope season was good to me, and I’ve had a blast chasing elk. I got to help pack a few for friends, but they managed to give me the slip...

Now I’m ready for some quality time in a tree stand. Look forward to seeing everyone at the convention!

Seth Rogers

tENtAtivES I recently updated many of our members via email regarding our work on tentatives proposals and other commission-related decisions. although those members will see this information twice, I felt it important to publish it for our print-only members as well. tentatives timeline: Formal proposals for all tentatives items will be presented to the Commission at its December 8th meeting. adoptions from the December meeting will be made available for public comment throughout January. Final proposals and adoptions take place in February in time for the regulations books to be published. we’ll be monitoring these formal proposals and will notify you of important issues which require your action. the october Commission meeting was in miles City, and included a work session on archery elk management. Steve Schindler attended the meeting and work session. at this time, there is not much of note, with the work session being primarily informational for the new commissioners regarding the history of the permits, both within the Breaks as well as the outside the Breaks districts.

410-15 Survey reSultS I want to thank everyone who submitted input for the survey on elk quotas in Breaks hunting district 410-15. we put the survey question out by email in late august with a very short comment timeline of two weeks. as an organization, we’ve actively promoted limited permits in the Breaks since 2007 while intending to maintain a high

resident draw success. this year, the quota was set at 1900 permits and 219 first-choice resident applicants did not draw their 410-15 permit (valid for HDs 410 and 417), placing the success rate at 88%. the survey question asked whether we should advocate for increased permits for 410-15 to bring the resident draw success up to 100% for the 2014 season. we received responses from a quarter of our members and 70% of those felt that the current quota levels are acceptable. Based on this input, we chose not to submit comment for a higher quota.

Bighorn Sheep ManageMent there’s significant news on sheep management lately which I want to pass along.

FwP has released an Ea for the reintroduction of bighorn sheep in the Indian or wolf Creek drainages of the madison range. Based on analysis of the proposed alternatives, FwP’s preferred alternative B – release at Indian Creek, seems a reasonable approach and we submitted a letter to support that alternative. the public comment period has been extended to November 8, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. Please submit comments to Julie Cunningham, Bozeman area Biologist, 1400 S. 19th ave Bozeman mt 59718 or by e-mail to juliecunningham@mt.gov. Here is a link to the public notice on FwP’s website: http://fwp.mt.gov/news/ publicNotices/environmentalassessments/ developmentImprovementsandEnhancements/ pn_0319.html

are you receiving email alerts and updates from the MBa? If you are a current member and have provided the MBA with your email but are not receiving emails and would like to, please contact your local rep or Jenn at mtba@mtba.org with your correct email.

Report In other bighorn news, during its august 29th meeting, the Commission discussed the Bighorn Sheep research Capture and removal project. without question, pneumonia has had a devastating impact on bighorn sheep populations in the past few decades. Dr. Subramaniam Srikumaran and his project team at the College of Veterinary medicine at washington State University seek to develop a model for transmission of pneumonia in bighorn sheep. the study will use recovered animals from three different pneumonic herds held in captivity in separate groups and sampled to determine shedding of pneumonia pathogens. Each group will then be commingled with naïve (with respect to pneumonia pathogens) pregnant ewes. these ewes, and lambs born to them, will be sampled regularly to determine transmission of pneumonia pathogens from carriers to ewes and lambs, which will be confirmed through strain-typing. Lambs that have acquired the pathogens from carriers will be monitored for status of pneumonia and survival. Findings will have long-term impact on disease management and conservation. the Commission endorsed the research capture and removal of four-six adult bighorn sheep from region 2 to assist in this project. as always, we welcome your input about these topics or other issues you feel we should address.

Thanks, Joelle

Want To Go Paperless ??

Let’s face it; some of us just prefer to receive our mail digitally!

Whether you’re part of the “younger generation” or would just rather store your MBA issues electronically rather than in binders, here’s an offer for you.

Simply send an email to mtba@mtba.org to have your print version of the magazine stopped and begin receiving it electronically.

Winter 2013

13—

COvER StORY C OVER S TORY

moose oNtarIo

HUNtINg

I

TIPS BY STEVE SCHINDLER

am by no means an expert, but having 5 moose hunts under my belt and taking 2 bulls, I’d like to share some of the things I learned along the way. most, if not all ontario moose hunts are calling hunts; you call the bull to you. Nature has designed a system that will bring these two giant lovers in contact with each other and we as hunters have learned to interact with this system to our advantage. while moose are very susceptible to calling, they don’t normally rush in, and in some cases they may take up to a few days to show up. Because the bush is so thick, the chance of a cow in estrus just happening onto a bull is pretty remote so they have to be able to get in touch on a regular basis, and this is done by the cow calling to the bull. the cows live on the creeks and lakes of the bush because that’s where the best feed is and they have spent the summer and early fall feeding on the highly nutritious aquatic vegetation making milk for their calves. when the cow comes into estrus she will stand on shore and call morning and evening and in some cases all night insistently until a bull shows. the bulls travel from lake to lake looking for a receptive cow using the creeks and streams as their road system. It’s also important to know that not all lakes are created equal. Lakes that are mostly rock are going to be poor moose lakes, and these Canadian lakes have a lot of rock shores. Find the sand and you will find moose action; most creek inlets have good sand and good aquatic vegetation to attract and hold cows which in turn will attract the bulls. when the

Montana

BOWHUNTER — 14 www.mtBa.org

weather is cool enough, the bulls travel constantly looking for love.

Bulls will respond from as far as 2 miles to your calls, with that in mind, when you find an area that has some cow action you don’t want to move right in, start calling and invade that cow’s space. You cannot run the risk of the cow being spooked or leaving, she is the best magnet to bring in a bull to that area. Set up in an area along the lake shore that is far enough away not to spook the resident cow but close enough the bull will respond to you. I’m not sure how it happens, but when you call in a bull, much like a coyote they can come for a mile or two right to the tree you are hiding behind, its uncanny how well animals that are called in can pinpoint your calling spot from a long ways off. as I said before, it may take some time for the bull to show so it is absolutely imperative that you stay with your spot for at least a few days. Having been born and raised on the open prairies of eastern montana and learning most all of my hunting skills suited for these open environment’s, hunting the bush is tough business. on the prairie, you learn to hunt with your eyes and your 10x binoc’s when you hunt an area for a few hours and in some cases, minutes, you get a pretty good idea of what’s around, . In the bush you have to learn to hunt with your ears, sort of like turkey hunting. Bull moose make a lot of noise when they want to be heard, but mysteriously, when they want to be quiet, they can be silent while traversing the bush.

I don’t know how they do it when the trees are 30 inches apart and with antlers exceeding 50 inches but they manage to weave their way

thru and can surprise the s**t out of you. when we hunt with our ears, after three or four days of listening very intently you can actually hear the blood coursing thru your ear drums. Your subtle stomach and gastric growls and burps sounds just like a distant bull grunt, or a horn knock, these are all sounds bulls use for their bush communication network. I use the analogy that you can see a hundred bull snakes and think every one of them is a rattlesnake UNtIL you see a rattlesnake then you absolutely know it’s a rattlesnake. It’s the same with bull sounds. You sit there listening to your stomach fake you out, and little sounds that your mind makes up UNtIL you hear the real thing, and then there is no mistake. You actually hear a noise you have been listening for, for hours, days and in some cases weeks. If you’ve got a weak spot in your cardio vascular system you’re going to know about it real soon.

Your heart about jumps out of your chest you are so excited.

Having patience and keeping the faith is one of the hardest parts of moose hunting. Calling and calling and calling for a several days and feeling like there isn’t a moose in the country and then hearing nothing but the little tricks your mind and stomach are pull on you and returning to the same spot feeling hopeful that a bull has moved in and you’re going to call em in today is tough to do. Perseverance is important but there is a time to move on, after 4-5 set ups if you haven’t heard a single moose sound, move on to another spot you have selected beforehand and give it a go. But don’t give up completely on the spot you left, keep checking it out, sometimes the bulls take their ever-loving sweet time, and a smart guy once told me “you cannot out wait a bull” they operate on a completely different time schedule than what we do. timing is everything. the rut pretty much takes place the same time every year. It’s hard to predict what the weather’s going to

F E AT U R E D M E M B E R

One Exceptional Season

do 3 days from now let alone a year in advance when most of us schedule vacations and book hunts. moose movement is really tied to the daytime temps, earlier in the season if we have a cold spell the bulls will be moving and are susceptible to calling but if it’s warm they lay low. the best we can do is try to plan your hunt as late as we can and hope for cooler weather. there will be more about hunting the bush for Canada moose coming in the mBa magazine.

How to set up, what about decoys, when to call and what to say.

Steve Schindler

BrIDgEr KamPS In his first archery season, 12 year old Bridger Kamps has had an exceptional year. His first harvest was a 72 inch Pope and Young antelope. then, while balancing the demands of football season, school, and hunting, Bridger was able to take a very nice 5 point bull elk. He then put his bowhunting efforts toward harvesting a whitetail buck and was successful again.

Now that is a season he will never forget!

Winter 2013

15—

Expanding 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

Life

$750.00

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Montana

BOWHUNTER — 16 www.mtBa.org

Winter 2013

17—

BUSiNESS & CLUB MEMBERS

Active as of October 2013

Become a Business Member of the MBA and be listed on this page every issue!

For membership visit www.mtba.org.

24/7 MUSCLE AND FitNESS

Kelly Kimzey

435 South Atlantic

Dillon

MT 59725 406-925-3485

ARChER’S ROOSt

Steven Battaglia

PO Box 429

Hardin

MT 59034 406-672-5945

208 W Spruce St

Libby

MT 59923 406-293-8738

BACKCOUNtRY ARChERY pROShOp BE thE DECOY, LLC

Mark Renner

PO Box 5151

Bozeman

MT 59717 406-579-1771

BiG SKY ARChERY

William Farris

120 Pollywog Lane

Belgrade

MT 59714 406-388-0503

BiLLiNGS ROD & GUN CLUB

William Bishop

P.O. Box 33

Billings

MT 59103 406-259-0006

BRUCE’S QUiCK LUBE

Bruce Metcalf

1111 East Front St

Butte

MT 59701 406-782-6124

BUFFALO JUMp ARChERY

Judy Adams

2710 Broadwater Ave

Helena

MT 59602 406-449-3111

CROWN phOtOGRAphY WWW.MtCROWNphOtO.COM

Mike & Lucinda Layne

PO Box 9936

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MT 59904 406-752-6116

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PO Box 384

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DR. CAMO

Don Stein

1625 Northern Heights Dr Havre

MT 59501 406-265-8099

EAGLE REStORAtiON

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221 Pine Ridge Rd

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10 Grassy Flat Rd

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MT 59072 661-317-0001

FiRSt CLASS OUtDOORS, LLC GARRAMONE BUiLDERS

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1105 Spurgin Ct

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MT 59804 406-327-4800

GREAt FALLS ARChERY CLUB

Rick Maynard

PO Box 3653

Great Falls

MT 59403 406-453-1158

611 W 5th St

Hardin

MT 59034

hARDiN MiDDLE SChOOL K DESiGN MARKEtiNG, iNC

Kimberly Kinsinger

3501 W Broadway

Missoula

MT 59808 406-273-6193

LiBBY ARChERY CLUB

Wendy Drake

42 Skyline Rd

Libby

MT 59923 406-291-4801

MAtABLAS GAME hUNtERS

Willem Frost

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MONtANA hiStORiCAL SOC LiB

27116794664

PO Box 201201

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MT 59620

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

ROCKY MOUNtAiN ELK FOUNDAtiON Jared Wold

13054 Kimwood Dr.

Lolo

MT 59847 406-370-8352

RONAN pOWER pRODUCtS

Shane Shima

35863 Round Butte Rd

Ronan

MT 59864 406-261-1459

SpiRit QUESt ARChERY

Aaron Lasco

115 Rocky Cliff Rd

Kalispell

MT 59901 406-756-5455

1680 Lockwood Rd

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MT 59101 406-245-0087

pRONGhORN CUStOM BOWS

Herb Meland

SUpERiOR ARChERY thE LAMB GROUp, LLC

Ben Lamb

1006 9th Ave

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MT 59601 406-437-3558

tOELKE tRADitiONAL ARChERY

Dan Toelke

31345 Lost Creek Lane

Ronan

MT 59864 406-676-5150

tRAiLS END CUStOM RECURvE BOW

Dale Dye

276 Grantsdale Rd

Hamilton

MT 59840 406-363-2983

YELLOWStONE COUNtRY BEAR hUNtERS ASSOCiAtiON

Joe Kondelis

255 Upland Ct

Cody

WY 82414 307-899-0461

YELLOWStONE CUStOM BOWS

Rich Wormington

280 HWY 14A E

Lovell

WY 82431 307-548-6292

James Brown

PO Box 96

Richey

MT 59259 406-773-5509

Bruce Dunluck

1824 Riverwood Dr

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Monte Herzog

186 Road 425

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MT 59336 406-772-5724

Howard Jaidinger

HC 1, Box 1730

Glennallen

AK

Scott and Zach Sanders 985 Stillwater Rd

Kalispell

MT 59901 406-253-0487

Eric Siegfried

2850 Loraine Ct

Missoula

MT 59803 406-599-1565

Glen Wyant

217 S Dixon

Anaconda

MT 59711 406-560-2193

Montana

BOWHUNTER — 18 www.mtBa.org

99588 907-522-3159

1

KaDIN garNESS – 2013, First year hunting, first day in a blind, first bowkill at 26 yards.

4

7

JaKE garNESS– 2013 first antelope, 20 yd shot

mErrI CLaPHam – with marlon and her first elk

2

BrIaN KoELZEr– wyoming 2011 mule deer, 10 yard shot, 65# Schafer

5

marLoN CLaPHam– 1997 first bear from Idaho with Charlie whitefield

8

CHrIS BLaSKowSKI – 2013 montana elk

3

6

9

CECE CLaPHam – 2013 with her Dad, marlon, and her first elk

StEVE tYLINSKI – whitetail buck from 2012 season

Kara JENSEN – 2012 first bull, 12 yard shot

Winter 2013

19—

Montana Bowhunters Association P.O. Box 23611 Billings, MT 59104

Presort Standard U.S. Postage

PAID

Helena, MT 59601 Permit No. 221

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? •

• • • •

•

•

•

•

•

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.

What can you do for bowhunting in Montana?

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

Photos by Denver Bryan / Images on the Wildside

What the MBA has done for you?