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Montana #6724107 04/03/17 09:13 PM
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DaleGribble Online Content OP
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I am thinking about taking dogs up to montana this fall to get a week or so of hunting in before quail season opens up down here. I have just started doing a little research and any help would be appreciated. Looks like there is lots of good public land. I am not picky about which birds I shoot, just want to get into lots of them.

Who here has hunted Montana? What part of the state did you hunt? Is there a particular area I should focus on? Which bird was your favorite (Huns, Grouse, etc.)

Any tips would be appreciated


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I killed eight gophers last year and a purebred Tennessee walking horse that was looking at me funny.
Re: Montana [Re: DaleGribble] #6724166 04/03/17 09:44 PM
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You need to get on the Montana fish and wildlife mailing list. They will announce when their public lands hunting manual will be ready and you can have it mailed to you or download it. We hunted the eastern part of the sate. Saw lots of pheasants and sharp tails. I think you have to hunt the western part to get into huns. If my boss ever changes his policy about no two weeks off at once I will go there every year. You know what they say about bosses and diapers laugh
http://fwp.mt.gov/

Last edited by Barny Topwater; 04/03/17 09:45 PM.

There is time, and you must take it, to lay your hand on your dog's head as you walk past him lying on the floor or on his settle, time to talk with him, to remember with him, time to please him, time you can't buy back once he's gone" GBE
Re: Montana [Re: DaleGribble] #6724180 04/03/17 09:58 PM
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You can get into sharptails and Huns from miles city north but the best hunting is generally north of the hi-line (the portion of the state north of why 2 or the bnsf railroad. You will have a better chance at Huns north of the hi-line. Be prepared to walk a lot. Check with local wardens and biologists. Check with the fish and game offices -- they often can put u on private ranches leased to the state. Some of the bigger ones are reservation only and require a visit to f and g office. Don't be afraid to ask for permission on private land. People will help with sharptailsp but won't give anything but General info on Huns (more fun -- like quail on steroids). Season begins Sept. 1. It is hot then but sharptail conveys get larger as season progresses and they are harder to approach than they r earlier and have more lookouts. Consider buying a GPS map chip. There r a lot of different types of accessible land and a chip makes it easier to find. Check the upland journal board--there r more guys who travel to.prairie states there. All you need is 7.5 shot-- sharptails r easy to kill. You might want to take a box or 2 of steel in case up want to hunt on a federal refuge. U can access more land if u get a tribal license but it does NOT allow u to increase limits. Mark your birds -- wardens check motel freezers. U might consider cooking some birds there--in good years it is pretty easy to hit the possession limit.

Last edited by Mundo; 04/04/17 12:00 AM.
Re: Montana [Re: DaleGribble] #6724334 04/04/17 12:46 AM
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Sharptails means early season. Sept 1 to mid October. After that sharptails are hard to approach. Early season typically by 10 or 11 it's too warm to hunt.

If you want to hunt cooler weather go to western Montana higher in elevation for blue grouse

Or wait til cooler pheasant season. Pheasants in my part of Montana are stocked pheasants.

Re: Montana [Re: DaleGribble] #6724456 04/04/17 02:17 AM
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road trip


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Re: Montana [Re: DaleGribble] #6724510 04/04/17 02:41 AM
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Re: Montana [Re: RayB] #6724870 04/04/17 02:33 PM
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Originally Posted By: Barny Topwater
You know what they say about bosses and diapers laugh
http://fwp.mt.gov/

roflmao


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Re: Montana [Re: DaleGribble] #6724877 04/04/17 02:35 PM
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If I get drawn for my elk tag there we are headed that direction and the dogs are definitely going.


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Re: Montana [Re: DaleGribble] #6724978 04/04/17 04:06 PM
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Myself and group of buddies are in the process of planning a trip for the Pheasant Opener Oct 7. I have hunted deer many times allover the state but never birds. Our plan is to hunt somewhere in region 7 (SE). Right now our target areas are either Sidney or Glendive. We are wanting to get into sharpies,huns, and phez. I have a couple friends that guide in this part of the state and they tell me there are healthy numbers of all 3 (further north the better the phez hunting) We will make the final decision on our "base town" after the new books come out in August. I plan to have some Block Management permission lined up before we go.

Right now I am using the ONYX maps software to get an idea of all the accessible land. I highly recommend this. I believe it is $100 for the year subscription for all 50 states. I use it on my phone and computer. It has been a game changer for me hunting the other prairie states like Nebraska and SD.

Re: Montana [Re: RayB] #6724982 04/04/17 04:09 PM
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Originally Posted By: Barny Topwater
You need to get on the Montana fish and wildlife mailing list. They will announce when their public lands hunting manual will be ready and you can have it mailed to you or download it. We hunted the eastern part of the sate. Saw lots of pheasants and sharp tails. I think you have to hunt the western part to get into huns. If my boss ever changes his policy about no two weeks off at once I will go there every year. You know what they say about bosses and diapers laugh
http://fwp.mt.gov/


What town or towns did yall stay in?

Re: Montana [Re: DaleGribble] #6726253 04/05/17 05:50 PM
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I've stayed in Glasgow, Plentywood, Scobey and Miles City.
Miles City has more facilities, but is farther south and hasn't had the bird pop. north of the hi-line has had in recent years. There are some areas between Miles City and Glasgow where you can get into sage grouse.
Plentywood has a a hunter-dog friendly hotel and a small sporting goods store where you can get a res license, if you wish one.
Glasgow has a nice motel with rv spaces and some restaurants and bars, (it is a railroad town). Scobey has one decent dog friendly motel and some a restaurant. All have small markets. I would steer clear of Wolf Point, it s a res town town and their are some drug, alcohol issues at night.

Last edited by Mundo; 04/05/17 05:51 PM.
Re: Montana [Re: DaleGribble] #6726275 04/05/17 06:07 PM
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We stayed in Glendive at an RV park. If there are cabins for rent in the area you plan to visit forget dragging a travel trailer. JMHO
BTW we arrived the Wed, before the pheasant opener, that weekend it's pretty crowded, afterwards though, we hardly saw another hunter.
One more thing, take cloths for all kinds of weather. At breakfast each day the locals kept committing on it being the coldest Oct, they could remember.

Last edited by Barny Topwater; 04/05/17 06:10 PM.

There is time, and you must take it, to lay your hand on your dog's head as you walk past him lying on the floor or on his settle, time to talk with him, to remember with him, time to please him, time you can't buy back once he's gone" GBE
Re: Montana [Re: DaleGribble] #6739817 04/19/17 05:40 PM
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We made the trip several years ago and stayed on a ranch outside of Jordan. They have a old ranch house on the property we paid $100 a night for. Found lots of Huns and sharpies and covered a lot of the area from there north and east. We shot limits of sharpies several days but never got one on the Huns. Got into sage grouse one day. The were stupid. I'm not much on the taste either.

Re: Montana [Re: DaleGribble] #6739865 04/19/17 06:19 PM
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Originally Posted By: DaleGribble
just want to get into lots of them.


Good luck and hope you get lucky. Unless someone gives you some spots, or you get lucky, feeling out areas can take years. Sharptail country is vast, and during primetime hunting can only be done early in the day due to heat.

You might be setting yourself up for disappointment if you're going into a completely new place, hunting new birds, with the primary goal of getting "into lots of them". Maybe the adventure and challenge will provide enjoyment and pleasure.


I'd request a block management booklet, buy a gps chip from onxmaps, get my dogs and myself in the best shape possible, study behavior/habitat preferences of targeted species, and hope for the best.

(some Ben O. Williams books would be a good place to start since he's a Montana O.G.)

Last edited by Hunter307; 04/19/17 06:21 PM.
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