where to start in eastern montana

R

racer99b

New member
We are looking at going to Montana to chase pheasant, sharpies, and huns. Could you please give us an idea of where to start in that part of the state. Looking to gain permission on private ground and hunt access areas. Also where do you guys suggest staying. Lodging camping etc thanks
 
Lodging is scarce and usually booked a year in advance. With the oil boom even the campgrounds can be full of oil workers. As far as places to hunt, personally I'd suggest you pay your dues and work it out yourself. Learning a new place is more than half the fun of it anyway.
 
Lewistown in central mt would be a good place to start. There is a lot of public land available. Best thing to do is go to the fwp website and check out the block management maps. They'll be available August 15 and you can plan your hunt that way. As far as access to private land, it's really a 50/50 shot at gaining access. If I were you, I would plan on hunting public land during the middle of the week instead of relying on private land unless you know people out here.
 
You do need to get to know people, hang around.
Homework and planning is much of the trip.
Yep, get the Block Management/ Hunter access guide.
The BLM maps of the areas your interested in are a must to have.
Private land? without connections has become VERY difficult.
 
Racer99b- I hear the Glacier Area has a good pop. of pheasants and the country is outstanding.

calamari- I am with you. The hair on the back of neck stands on end when I see posts asking for help.

MTtailchaser- I have hunted MT for years, but never in the Lewistown area. I'll be out there this year along with everyboby else who read your reply.
 
its not MTtailchasers fault or maybe it is? hes just to nice... lol i would of stopped at check out the MT game & fish web site my-self but???

any way lewistown has been published many times in mags & on-line its just way to out of the way for many out of staters like yourself & me to hunt each fall only the hardcore make it that far west...

but yes always check out the states web site u plan to hunt prior to asking for help it does help alot & keeps the needless name drop n of towns way down...
 
The first time I went to Montana I spent two weeks by myself looking at places and learning where to go. I didn't buy a license or hunt and at the end of the trip I was not only talking out loud by myself I was answering questions I would ask myself and telling myself jokes. I almost forgot how to write in cursive by the time I got home. I've never had more fun and I learned enough to go back the next year and hunt.
Today people want the payoff and don't want to make the effort to do it all on their own. That's missing a bunch of the fun and not feeling a sense of accomplishment in figuring something out that is foreign to you.
Montana and the Dakotas aren't that hard to hunt. You want hard, come to California.
 
I honestly don't feel like the good spots/areas in the state are really secrets. Lewistown has been mentioned on tv and in several outdoor magazines. Anyone that does their homework will find out where the best places to go are. The one thing I won't tell people is which BMA or other public land areas are better than others. That's info you have to find out for yourself as many of us have done. I don't see how giving out a general part of the state is really giving away any secrets.
 
calamari said:
The first time I went to Montana I spent two weeks by myself looking at places and learning where to go. I didn't buy a license or hunt and at the end of the trip I was not only talking out loud by myself I was answering questions I would ask myself and telling myself jokes. I almost forgot how to write in cursive by the time I got home. I've never had more fun and I learned enough to go back the next year and hunt.
Today people want the payoff and don't want to make the effort to do it all on their own. That's missing a bunch of the fun and not feeling a sense of accomplishment in figuring something out that is foreign to you.
Montana and the Dakotas aren't that hard to hunt. You want hard, come to California.
Click to expand...

What the heck are you talking about ?If i am driving 16 hours i want help and gps coordinates if possible were not talking ks here a 4 or 5 hour trip i dont have time to uuuuh lets try this spt shucks that didnt work out lets try this spot rats that spot sucked mean while im 4 days in to it and still struggling satisfaction doesnt come from studying maps ten thousand miles on my legs i dont wanna work that hard at it i am on vacation i want results now thats why i hired a guide for a 7 to 10 day hunt show me how its done the areas to hunt show me the birds and i can put it togeather quick!! iIM guessing this isnt going to be a easy south dakota trip where there like frreakin everywhere that is easy now.
 
Just got my PF Journal in the mail today. There is an article in it about the 25 best bird hunting towns in america. At #2 is Lewistown, MT. It's no secret that there's good hunting around there, especially when in it's second to Pierre, SD. Some guys thought I was giving away some "top secret" honey holes when really it is common knowledge. Good luck to those of you venturing over to our great state to hunt em up this fall. :cheers:
 
I've probably got a few hundred pm's since I've been at UPH.

Those asking for info on MT or ND. Many on their #1 and only post. That won't work.
When I choose to help somebody I may help them BIG TIME.:cheers:

Lewistown is a great destination for hunters. It's a HUGE! area, desert to snow capped mountains.
MAN! You still need to do homework and get maps. 1 percent of the area will hold pheasants, all on private property and all with closed gates and ORANGE paint everywhere. Orange in MT means Keep the #*@% OUT and DON'T ASK!!
Even though MT land owners do not need to post their property.
Getting caught on private without permission is immediate loss of license plus on the spot fines.

Anyway, the way to hunt Lewistown is guided. Probably cost you a 1,000 bucks or so for a limit of pheasants. :cheers:
 
mttailchaser its not that you were give n out secret info or anything? its just you were adding to the already heaping pile of must hunt destination recommendations that lewistown MT already gets PF also rated it #5 last year last yr in the same journal... its to talked about is the what i think many are pointing out???

there are places i turkey hunt that have been blasted year in & year out by the NWTF magazine & every year there is more & more hunters 95% non resident hunters that all herd about the area from a guy or a friend of a friend or a guy on-line ETC. its got to the point wear people that have never hunted the region b4 are directing newbie hunters asking wear to tag a certain species of turkey on public land on forums to the area because they have herd its a good area & the likes... i see it every year on these forums to me its disrespect to the public lands we all share to direct guys to already heavy hunted areas...

people treat public lands or public lands they hunt rarely different then areas they consider honey holes or good hunting areas not many give info on there top spots same should go for the poor or less attractive public lands they may be another hunters honey hole???

you dont see guys offer up areas townships or countys wear they gained permission on private land EZ & that holds plenty of pheasants id say cuz they dont want guys knocking on the same doors as them same mentality should be held for public lands...

im all for you share a spot i share a spot type hunters help but i also i agree with MNMThunting nothing really bothers me more then a guy that comes on a forum & asks for help in finding good upland hunting in a area & he only has like 1-5 post... its EZ to see whos on-line scouting & whos into upland game birds & hunting them...

those who feel upland game bird hunting is more then just a shoot & or a number of dead birds in a picture at the end of the day i feel more then happy to help & offer tips & tactics to bag game just dont want to name specific spots or towns for them let them dig em up 1st & figure out how its done...

im a grown up & dont need others holding my hand id assume that goes for us all its just many today want the microwave hunt or instant success hunt handed to them & not work for it at all they just want to work for the $ that payed for the hunt... thats the farthest thing i want on a upland hunt a hand me hunt hear are the birds hears wear u can hunt ETC. you learn nothing from it other then a guide is the way to go in my eyes... its like when we were kids we didnt learn till we did it our-selfs to each there own & what they do with there $$$ concerns me not...

id rather do months of scouting on-line& via phone calls B4 the hunt rather then WKS of scouting in the state i want to hunt with no gun in hand my-self??? but again each to there own??? find core areas with game find the public land in them areas & then scout them B4 you go what ever way you want to or can scout them & you should have a great experience reguarless of how many birds you bag on you upland vacation...

i never new about the paint on the trees & corner fence post thing till i went to KS last spring i seen big purple painted marks on fence posts & signs i didnt think anything of it till some MO boys rolled up & said im not asking them guys to hunt dont you see the paint on the fence post??? i just nodded they said that means F*** OFF HUNTERS LOL i just laughed as i had called a hole flock off that property the day B4 & into a WHIA & we shot 2 guess we didnt need to ask them for permission...
 
Last edited:
I can see some very valid points made in some of the last posts. Maybe I am too quick to give advice on locations to hunt. I've spent many days in the field coming home empty handed with birds but full of knowledge on where to go or not go. Scouting is a big part of hunting. Sometimes paying a guide when hunting an unknown location is money well spent.
 
"Sometimes paying a guide when hunting an unknown location is money well spent. "

I agree especially if they are Hunting Public land.
 
that also bums me out when guides take hunters to public lands for a FEE in many states that illegal or you need a special permit to guide on public lands...

i mean if they guide take em to private lands & leave the public for DIY guys like it was meant...

they do that thing alot down in FL for turkeys you get a bunch of guys all camping out & scouting a area & camping there & they all have a understanding im over there you are over there & we wont mess with 1 another & then a guide comes in with like 5 paying hunters & starts drop n them off in the middle of the dark & saying you hunt here you there & man if thats not enough to drive a guy crazy i dont know what will??? a simple 2.5-3 day turkey hunt with a guide in south florida runs 900$-2000$ & we are trying to go the DIY public land route what guy paying 1000$ is going to say oh ok guys ill just go hunt away from wear my guide put me for you??? not many...

guides should stay on there lease or private lands thats not cool to guide on public lands...
 
oilcan said:
"Probably cost you a 1,000 bucks or so for a limit of pheasants" :eek: YIKES
Click to expand...

There's a guy calls himself "Shorty" in one of the small towns in Montana who's in his mid 90s now. For $2,000 he'll provide lodging, food, transportation, gun, and all the shells you'll need for a weeks hunting and guarantee a possession limit of pheasants to take home. Of course he can guarantee that because he feeds the birds with weed seeds and waste grain from that town's grain elevator all winter long and knows just where they are. He's a retired plumber and one of the funniest and nicest guys you'd want to meet. He always has a dog biscuit for your pooch if you run into him when he makes his circuit feeding birds.
He has several black suburbans that he must have gotten from the Secret Service and you can see them caravaning around full of guys so people will pay that kind of money to avoid the effort of becoming a better hunter and he'll make them feel like they really did something special at the end of their trip.
 
I have been hunting public land in MT for several years now. It is a 2000 mile drive for me. My first year I hired a guide and asked questions and watched everything he did and after that I went on my own. I have worked at finding spots , keeping a log, finding places to camp, walked a ton of miles and enjoyed it all. I think about going back all year. Here at home I talk about it at field trials and training days and someone always says let me know when you go next year maybe I will go with you. I find this to be very insulting that someone should think they can just jump on all my work hunt over my dogs and use me as a guide and also it is up to me to let them know what I am doing. I don't take anyone unless they have offered to take me someplace they have and so far that has been only one person. I think a person has to know how hard it is and what's involved to really get the full value out of a hunt like this. Nine out of ten times it is this kind of inquiry that is always followed up with how many birds did I kill, that bothers me also it tells me that the value of the trip to them is in the amount of birds killed and I don't like that. I have always felt that the value was in beautiful country, great dog work, nice people and as a bonus lots of bird contact for my dogs. I always write the Fish and Wildlife people every year to thank them for the great job they do to provide such great access to and out of state guy like me. I feel only general information about where to hunt should be given out let people earn it and they will appreciate it more.
 
When magazines rate an area like Lewistown MT one of the top pheasant areas. The land owners hate it. Guides and pay to hunt operations take up all the private they can. It's just a VERY bad thing for the future of hunting. As it wont go back to what it was before the publicity.

The area is crowded with bird hunters, very few public areas with pheasants.
It's pay to hunt and very costly.
Road hunters are a problem.
More and more no hunting signs go up.
And You will see many signs by the mailboxes. "DO NOT ASK!"

About 8 years ago in the township my ranch is in in MN. Was rated to be the heaviest deer population in the state. Anyone, even NR's could get 5 deer permits. It's all private land where the deer are at, we already have all the hunters the land can handle.
Talk about a pain in the rear. The hardly traveled dirt road by my place was a steady stream of road hunters, Yeah a lot of them shot deer in the ditches. Couldn't find a CO, they could not keep up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top