pheasant hunting

[HayStackJack]

Looking for info on pheasant hunting in Montana.Anyone been there or can give us a bit of feedback?

[Tatonka]

Any river bottom or creek bottom east of the continental divide holds pheasants... Most are on private ground, but the state has a Block Mgt. Program which in a nutshell is a contract with landowners who provide access to hunters. The state pays the landowner "X" amount of money per hunter per day. The amount the state pays the landowners depends on what they allow people to hunt, the number of acres they have, etc. but it's usually $10 per day per hunter with a cap based on the number of acres they have. Not all landowners are enrolled in the program, of course, but quite a few are. The state has information on their website on this program....they have maps, landowner contact information, etc. The best areas are brushy draws, creek bottoms, etc. that are adjacent to grain fields, corn, etc. CRP ground can be good also, but there is less and less of it these days.

The first week of the season can be tough.....lots of hunters, access isn't as easy, etc.. After that it gets much better.. I see very few pheasant hunters out in November and December. It seem like once big game season opens people forget about birds.

The last two winters have been tough in Northcentral Montana, but the birds seem to have done ok.. Numbers were down some this year, but the hunting was still decent. We are having one of the mildest winters on record so far this year... If we get a good hatch, next fall should be very good. Our season open in Mid-October and closes January 1.

[HayStackJack]

ty tatonka