Fill Deer B tags in waning days of the regular hunting season
by Michael Nye, Region 6 Hunting Enhancement Coordinator
The clock is ticking on your ability to get outside and take advantage of the abundance of mule deer and white-tailed deer across northeastern Montana. With just under two weeks left in this fall’s general hunting season, hundreds of unnotched antlerless deer tags remain in hunters’ possession.
A succession of mild winters and abundant forage has contributed to the increase in deer across Region 6. With these populations climbing to record levels – damage to agricultural crops is already occurring in the region – hunters have both an opportunity and responsibility to reduce these herds before the season ends on Sunday, Nov. 25. Since hunter harvest is traditionally the best – and in some cases the only – way to bring herds in balance with available habitat, Fish, Wildlife & Parks is urging deer hunters to get out and harvest this surplus during the regular five-week season.
“Hunters should take advantage of this mild weather before we get a harsh winter,” says Harold Wentland, FWP Region 6 wildlife manager. “Now is the time to harvest your does and help reduce the population to a manageable level.”
Not only can hunters fulfill their historic role as game managers, they can lend a helping hand to landowners who open their property to public hunting. Areas traditionally open to hunting are being locked up to the general public, and these sanctuaries harbor an overabundance of game. Once the five-week season ends, deer move from behind these closed gates onto neighboring lands in search of readily available forage.
Thankfully, some Montana landowners share their lands either by enrolling in Block Management or by simply maintaining an open gate. This gesture allows hunters to harvest more deer during the season, reducing the need for game-damage hunts and management seasons.
Scott Fossum, a landowner enrolled in Block Management, encourages doe harvest on his place just west of Glasgow. “Hunters help me manage deer, but I would like to see them out earlier in the season. For one, it is a lot easier for young hunters to sit quietly in 60-degree weather than to patiently wait for a doe when it is 20 below. Also, when you get into those late-season hunts, bucks start dropping their horns. Hunters unknowingly harvest bucks instead of does.”
Filling your tags now offers hunters the chance to thank these land stewards and minimize game damage on their property.
Last fall FWP responded to high deer populations by initiating several management seasons and game-damage hunts in Region 6, but hunters shouldn’t count on an extended season this year. Harvesting your antlerless deer now ensures you will not be caught holding several unused B tags on November 25.
Connecting with family and friends is another benefit of filling surplus tags. Traditionally the Thanksgiving holiday is a time for family and friends to connect by hunting together, and a farm-field doe hunt can be a memorable and productive experience for a beginning hunter. For Glasgow hunter Marc Kloker, Thanksgiving is a time when family gets together and gathers food for the holiday table.
“We hunt, celebrate, and catch up on each other’s lives. It is really a great time to reconnect,” he says.
Hunters can purchase up to 7 deer B (antlerless) tags. Each tag costs $10 for residents, $75 for nonresidents and are available from any license agent, FWP office or online at www.fwp.mt.gov. Hunters can find accessible private land by calling FWP’s Region 6 office and requesting a Hunting Access Guide or inquiring about landowners who welcome deer hunters.
Since seven antlerless deer may be more than a single family needs, hunters can help less fortunate members of the community by donating processed wild game to local food banks. In Glasgow, contact Terri James, Glasgow Food Bank Coordinator, Monday through Friday at (406) 228-4022 or (406) 367-5451 on weekends. To locate a food bank near you or to learn more about Montana Hunters Against Hunger please visit www.montanafoodbanknetwork.org.
So get out there and enjoy those cool frosty mornings. As you wait by a hay bale for a doe to step into range, you can feel good knowing you are doing your part to carry on the Montana hunting tradition.
Conner Simensen and Luke Gunderson with antlerless mule deer
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