BMA info available online

QH, Smart move. Roosevelt and Sheridan CO's early season would scare the heck out of even a CA guy. :eek:
There are more hunters opening week then there are roosters. All NR's of course.
One BMA had over 8,000 daily sign ins by the first of Nov.
FW&P wants badly to have everyone going home with a rooster.

I'll be in MT for the opener, but far away from those release sites, and off in another County. :cheers:
 
wow that would ruin a out of state hunt for me in less then a month 8,000 hunters hit 1 tract of land F that hole region im leary of heading to mt i would go there to hunt a peacefull brautiful state and area not worry about thousands of other hunters ill stick to mn sd nd for pheasant even ne i dont think any of the wmas i hunt in mn receive 8,000 hunters i doubt 80 guys hit some of the major wmas that are known for birds..

id go to mt on pheasant opener and hunt sage and sharptail grouse and huns hopeing all the dummys are chase n roosters man thats a bummer on mt and everybody thinking the same thing let go to mt not many guys travel that far for pheasant thats what i thought boy was i wrong... plus u got to work ur buns off to get birds there the beauty of mt must bring all u guys back yr after yr to chase pheasant???

wayne goes multi species hunting so i know why he goes and he knows how to avoid lazy road hunters... i also would avoid them tame pheasant release sites how cool is that to travel all the way to mt to hunt a released bird and actually target them birds to hunt thats as lazy as it gets boys... i understand the program but they could wait to open the areas to hunting till the birds took off or reproduced on there own but to release birds and let guys hunt em the same yr is really lame as are the guys who flock to them release sites on a map...??? why go to mt to do that???
 
Who cares what others do? How many people drive to SD to shoot a pile of released birds? It's not my bag but why bash and alienate people who do? I'm sure Montana doesn't see any difference in their money.
 
exactly who cares what others do and let me call guys who go to a state with plenty of wild birds to hunt but there to lazy to find them and go hunt released birds lame... same with sd yeah lets go to the pheasant capital and hunt a preserve???

they guys ur protecting just like to shoot stuff not hunt... they sure as heck dont like to scout and or reaserch wild birds to hunt... like mnmt said they just want a bird when they go home not a hunt...

how proud can u be if u kill a bird released that yr??? would u mount a bird shot at a release site???

its kinda like going to a trout farm in a state with top notch streams and wild trout to be had yeah some do but is that fishing??? u going to go brag up the fish u caught there??? or mount them fish...
 
anybody catch the sportdog or sporting dog edventures show on i think pursuit channel last wk??? they we in sd hunting a preserve for some reason they were talking about how wild the birds were there and they dont raise chickens aka dumb pen raised birds there... then they proceded to shot a wily old rooster out of a tree like a grouse then shoot the limb out from under another rooster shot 3 times i think bird still sat there untill the shooter walked up to bird and hit it with his shotgun to get it to flush...

that is not what i call fair chase pheasant hunting sorry to say...

the host then went on to talk about this place is a hunters dream u can shoot 20 birds here so thats wear i get the guys who hunt released birds just like to shoot stuff not hunt wild game wear they may get skunked or only shoot 1-2 birds etc. same with high fence opperations...

go fight another battle quailhound let all them guys flock to release sites that just leave more birds for the hunters in mt or what ever state i dont have to like them guys or pat them on the back and say good job... they should let kids hunt them areas 1st yr then open em up to all others after...
 
Last edited:
I think more guys should hunt released birds on game farms. Wild birds are to hard to find. People should stay home and get birds at supermarkets or places where they are cooked already. No need to try and find wild birds why waste time. Please stop trying to shame these bird shooters or the next thing you know they will be hunting in your spot. There are to many hunters.
mm
 
i agree mmmm 100%... we dont need them guys educating real wild birds on public lands...

but i dont think shame is something them guys worry or think about they just want ez dumb birds for hero pics they can show off to similar minded guys who dont know any better...

have happy safe travels wayne.... any wear i can find some hun sage or sharptail grouse release sites thats what im really after...
 
I'm not fighting any battles smo and I'm not patting anyone on the back. I'm just saying, why get up in arms about how someone else choses to spend their time and money. Anyways season is fast approaching. Good luck, have fun, and stay safe everybody.:cheers:
 
Those pheasant release sites in North East MT by the way are a VERY small part of MT bird hunting as a whole.
That area around Medicine Lake has gotten so much publicity the last few years and hunters flock in there.
Where I will be opening week is open to the public. A large area, I guess about 20 sq miles.
I expect to see only one other hunter while I'm afield the whole week. :)
Wild roosters are scattered here and there, a hard days hunt with good pups may get me a limit. :cheers:
 
I hope things stay that way. I think there are to many TV shows and magazine stories about Montana hunting. Last year I saw an increase in hunters and had people in one of my spots. Field trials in Sept also bring in hunters. For the first time last season I saw the road hunters driving back and forth on the road with a truck full of dogs. I also think they were watching to see where I hunted.

I know its public land and I know Montana wants more hunters but for the last few years there was no one there and it started to feel like my land. Seeing other hunters was a shot of reality.
 
Most BMA' open the 1st of Sept, just 5 years ago the area around Medicine lake had just a few people out looking for Sharptails and Huns, the area has also been heavily advertised for that.
I usually do a week before Thanksgiving hunt, not over the 4 day weekend.
That week before Thanksgiving can get down right lonely out there. :confused:
Any pen raised roosters surviving will be as wild as can be by that time.

All those oil workers have something to do with hunting pressure in NE MT.
 
Montana Bird hunting

Hello fellow MT hunters. My name is Don and am new to this site. I am a MT native and currently live in Laurel (moved here two years ago) and and looking for hunting areas and access in the south central/ south east areas primarily but will travel just about anywhere in the state to hunt. Looking to meet fellow hunters to get to know and to hunt and with...Like I said, I will travel just about anywhere in the state and do get back up to the Lincoln area to hunt with other friends but want to get to know this area better. I hunt all kinds of game but mostly antelope, deer, elk and upland game birds...I used to hunt ducks in my youth but never developed a taste for the critters and don't hunt what I won't eat. If interested in hooking up for hunting, let me know. Can't have too amny friends that hunt.:cheers: LOL
 
As far as pheasant plants, because they plant birds doesn't mean they plant lots of birds in any one place. I'm friends with one land owner who let the guy who raised the birds plant some on his land. They put out 50 birds on almost 2,000 acres. They also had to do it no closer than one month before the pheasant opener. I would imagine the coyotes, badgers, foxes and Northern Harriers couldn't choke down one more planted bird by the time the season opened.
I've shot enough birds out there that was either on a plant site or near a plant site to have bagged a planted bird and I can't say I've shot one.
I assume that based on how the birds acted and flew and that they usually use blinders when they raise them in close quarters to prevent injury and none of the birds I've shot had through nostril holes. Maybe they don't use them but the rancher I know didn't raise the birds himself. The guy who did raise birds was one of only two who did. My friend said he raised thousands of birds which would seem to indicate blinders would be required. The bird grower had to work harder at getting land owners lined up to allow releases than actually raising the birds.

Here's some info about the requirements from the DWP site.

Reimbursement requirements for releasing pheasants:

Birds must be at least 10 weeks old at time of release.
Birds must be fully feathered and beginning to resemble adult birds in size and markings.
At least 40 percent of the released birds must be roosters.
Bird banding may be required to determine release effectiveness.
FWP must be on hand at time of release to verify and sign reimbursement forms.
Reimbursements will be based on the average market cost of birds raised by certified hatcheries or game bird growers in Montana.
Releases are limited to five consecutive years.
Releases occur annually between August 1 and September 15.
 
My comment about the release sights was just a joke guys, I know none of you are driving all that way to specifically target released birds. I would be more interested in targeting species that I can't hunt here.
 
QH, I wasn't being defensive. Just info.
One other thing about those release sites and other projects in the UGBEP is that they are supposed to post the land as the release or project gives access to even more land to hunt. In my experience the land in the UGBEP is poorly signed leaving you with just a cross or a triangle on a very large scale map to use to find properties. I've given up on some of their projects because I couldn't be sure I wasn't going to trespass.
 
I've done the calculations regarding hunting public access land in Montana and find that if you started when you were 16 and could drive and lived to be an active 80 it would take you approximately 17.9 lifetimes and $2,876,431.53 in fuel costs alone to hunt all of the land that is available. Ready? Set? Go!
 
I have a book put out by MT, F,W&P about the history of Ring Neck Pheasants in MT. The book covers from the first released birds and results over the years. The pheasant release program was and is meant to establish new populations and enhance existing populations. Banding roosters and game check areas over the years have interesting results. One banded rooster was harvested 5 years later and 10 miles from the release site.
MT did not get into the trapping and release of wild pheasants, to expensive, time consuming. They could raise and release 25 birds for 1 wild bird captured and released.
No question they did feed a lot of predators over the years. No question also is the success of the "pheasant release program"
The program encourages landowners to Make pheasant habitat where it did not exist before, therefor hopefully starting new populations.

MT BLM is great, I doubt if 1% of it would make pheasant habitat. :cheers:
 
That's interesting about that rooster and how long birds can live even with hunting pressure. I shot a Pintail once that was almost 13 years old.
Calif. tried to plant everything in the past including Golden Pheasants by tossing them out the window of a slow flying fixed wing plane. Surprise! Didn't work.
Calif. used to plant only wild birds if they were trying to start a wild population in a new area. I was friends with area biologists and used to hunt with the states Upland Game Bird Co-ordinator. Through them I met the guy in charge of their wild bird planting program.
The way he did it was driving around one of the Class C wildlife areas and sometimes on private land if the landowner let them on. He had several ATVs in a little convoy with hi intensity hand held lights that they'd shine into the grass alongside the roads. When they saw eyes shining back they'd get off the ATV and without breaking the light beam, they'd walk up to the bird and toss about a 2 1/2' hula hoop type net over the bird or if it was in thicker cover they'd use a fish landing net. They wouldn't move if you didn't break the light. They could get 20 birds or more in a night. It was limited only by cage space on the ATVs. Apparently it's a common poaching method in England.
As thick as pheasants get around those farms in MT. I'd think it would be a lot cheaper to do that than plant raised birds. I saw a study for a midwest state that showed that only about 1% of farm raised and released birds lived more than a year in the wild.
They don't try to establish new populatios in Calif. anymore. DFG does however have to plant birds on wildlife areas in order to have some pheasant hunting.
 
jsdriggs said:
Cal, what if your hoop caught a rabid coon or wildcat!
Click to expand...

He always had some post pubescent nectarine college students working with him as seasonal aides. He made extravagant gestures and pointed where he wanted things done so somebody else had to deal with those issues. Actually, rats were the only other beady eyes they'd find in the cover they looked for pheasants in. They had a segment on the local news showing him and his girls catching pheasants near Sacramento. Very effective.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top