Montana Shoulder Season

Joined
Jun 4, 2014
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1,163
Location
North Dakota
Anyone going out for the shoulder season to fill some cow tags? I wasn't able to make it out during the archery or general season due to some family medical issues, but now that things have settled down, I'm hoping to get out and at least fill the $1,000 NR tag. Are there any resources available to help identify landowners that may be willing to let hunters in during the shoulder seasons? I haven't been able to find anything on the MT FWP site.
 
Joined
Aug 9, 2017
Messages
895
Location
Montana
Call any FWP regional office where you plan to hunt and ask to speak with a elk biologist. Leave a message, keep calling and they will call back. They can usually give you a list of 5-6 landowners who want the cows numbers down. Region 3 is a good bet.
 

Jeremyc_1999

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Dec 5, 2019
Messages
289
Also look at the Block management system in Montana. you may have to request the ranch map and rules, but usually it will say if it is open for the shoulder season
 

RTR

FNG
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Dec 9, 2018
Messages
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It's a tough one for me to really wrap my head around. On the one hand, no one should fault a landowner for being perfectly choosy about who walks onto their property with a rifle. On the other hand, the privatization of wildlife is tantamount to natural selection manifest in the form of game moving onto land that isn't going to feel like their on the beaches of Normandy.

I've seen hundreds of elk on private land adjacent to public land in the shoulder season. It's heartbreaking but not hard to understand why it is that way.
 
Joined
Mar 17, 2019
Messages
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Call any FWP regional office where you plan to hunt and ask to speak with a elk biologist. Leave a message, keep calling and they will call back. They can usually give you a list of 5-6 landowners who want the cows numbers down. Region 3 is a good bet.
So I called region 3, 4, and 5 asking about a landowner list who have problem elk and all of them said they don't have anything. Have you done this recently? I only talked to the main desk person and not a biologist.

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Wapiti406

WKR
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Apr 29, 2017
Messages
383
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Montana
Google the Galt Ranch out of White Sulphur, call and ask for Bill. He owns a decent sized ranch and is a strong proponent for shoulder season. I would think that he would want any abled body hunter to come out and remove all elk from his property.
 

DWBMontana

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Montana
Guessing he is out in one of his 'copters.....if you have his cell, please share....LMAO.
 

pyrotechnic

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Nov 7, 2019
Messages
246
Check out the regs. Some areas you can hunt public land during the shoulder season. Also the MT fwp website has a great "hunt planner" map system that will show you block management, and differentiate between type 1 and 2. You can print off the individual BMA maps and rules which should say the dates that section is open to hunters.

Good luck

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kid44

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Sep 26, 2019
Messages
238
Anyone going out for the shoulder season to fill some cow tags? I wasn't able to make it out during the archery or general season due to some family medical issues, but now that things have settled down, I'm hoping to get out and at least fill the $1,000 NR tag. Are there any resources available to help identify landowners that may be willing to let hunters in during the shoulder seasons? I haven't been able to find anything on the MT FWP site.

I think I'll wait for the forearm season this year. :)
 

Mixer84

FNG
Joined
Jun 23, 2020
Messages
1
Location
Mn
PM me. I live in WSS and work with almost every landowner around here since I'm the agronomist at the local co op
jmav58, I just came across this thread and was wondering if you still have any insight on finding some private landowners that are willing to let some NR take a cow. I have been calling as many people as I can get numbers for. Some have said the elk never make it on their BM land and they don't see elk until spring. I am new to this shoulder season and it seems like you need to know somebody to find a spot or know where to go. I just heard about this season last week and I am trying to scramble to figure something out. My buddy a I never filled our tags with the bow and would love to make a trip out to get some meat!
Thanks
 

Deadfall

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Oct 18, 2019
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Montana
Google the Galt Ranch out of White Sulphur, call and ask for Bill. He owns a decent sized ranch and is a strong proponent for shoulder season. I would think that he would want any abled body hunter to come out and remove all elk from his
Doubt it. Keep in mind thats tge guy that herds elk onto the ranch from forest service land with his helicopter. So his guided hunters have more to hunt.

That only the tip of iceberg of things that Criminal does
 

Wapiti406

WKR
Joined
Apr 29, 2017
Messages
383
Location
Montana
Doubt it. Keep in mind thats tge guy that herds elk onto the ranch from forest service land with his helicopter. So his guided hunters have more to hunt.

That only the tip of iceberg of things that Criminal does
Dude, I was being facetious. But, I legitimately want every person that wants to participate in the asinine shoulder season to call Bill, his brothers or ranch managers/hands every day to ask to hunt elk on their property for the next three months. We all know that know that there are way too many elk on their place from the Monday after Thanksgiving until the Friday before Labor Day.
 

Deadfall

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Montana
Dude, I was being facetious. But, I legitimately want every person that wants to participate in the asinine shoulder season to call Bill, his brothers or ranch managers/hands every day to ask to hunt elk on their property for the next three months. We all know that know that there are way too many elk on their place from the Monday after Thanksgiving until the Friday before Labor Day.
Haha...totally missed it. Got me...lmao...
 

Deadfall

WKR
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Oct 18, 2019
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Montana
Haha...totally missed it. Got me...lmao...
Dude, I was being facetious. But, I legitimately want every person that wants to participate in the asinine shoulder season to call Bill, his brothers or ranch managers/hands every day to ask to hunt elk on their property for the next three months. We all know that know that there are way too many elk on their place from the Monday after Thanksgiving until the Friday before Labor Day.
Thats good thinking right there....
 

Deadfall

WKR
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Oct 18, 2019
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Montana
Wonder why they don't get rid of shoulder season. One would think 3 months is sufficient.
 

MT257

WKR
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Sep 25, 2016
Messages
1,221
Wonder why they don't get rid of shoulder season. One would think 3 months is sufficient.
Well one of their relatives fought against changes last session and introduced legislation that passed so now some districts such as this area can have 3 elk tags. They tried getting party hunting to pass because there are too many elk on their place. The Galt that got these changes made a statement saying we know we have to move the elk around so they don’t congregate, but we know well enough not to push them too hard so they go onto the public ground.
 
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