While early returns indicate a good year for upland and migratory bird hunters in north central Montana, some hunters are forgetting parts of the law, state game wardens say.
A recent game check station at Rogers Pass west of Great Falls found lots of hunters and lots of birds. But a few individuals forgot to leave an identifying wing or leg on their birds.
“It was our number one resource issue at the check station,” says Dave Holland, Fish, Wildlife and Parks game warden.
Game wardens from FWP’s Regions 2 and 4 operated the check station Oct. 14. They checked 309 hunters in 150 vehicles. The vast majority of hunters were law abiding but 24 citations were issued, nine for birds without wings or legs attached.
State law says hunters must leave a fully feathered wing naturally attached to all sage grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, mountain grouse and partridge until taken to the hunters’ home.
For pheasants, one leg and foot must remain naturally attached for evidence of sex. Only male pheasants are legal in Montana.
For waterfowl, one fully feathered wing or head must remain attached.
Other citations issued were: two for no evidence of sex attached to antelope, eight for failing to stop at the check station, one for having a hen pheasant, one for a tag not properly attached, and three for waste of waterfowl.
On birds the size of a teal duck or smaller, hunters must keep the breast meat. On birds larger than a teal up to the size of a mallard duck, hunters must keep breasts and thighs. For all birds larger than a mallard, like a goose, hunters must keep the breasts, thighs and wings.
“We had several large ducks that the hunter only kept the breast meat,” says game warden Capt. Mike Martin, resulting in the citations for waste of waterfowl.
Totals from the noon to 11 p.m. enforcement check station: 101 antelope, 330 pheasants, eight deer, 35 sharptails, 42 Hungarian partridge, 45 ducks, six geese and one ruffed grouse.
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