Hunting opportunities abound as general season nears

The general antelope hunting season opened Saturday along with pheasant season. The addition of the new hunting opportunities means most of the year’s big-game seasons are open. Only the fall mountain lion season and general deer and elk season remain. Both open Oct. 25 with the general rifle season.

The annual youth-only hunt will be held Thursday and Friday, a week earlier than usual. The timing corresponds with a two-day vacation in area public schools. Properly licensed hunters ages 12-15 may enter the fields with a non-hunting adult. The event corresponds with the final days of archery season, which closes Oct. 19. Acknowledging that youth rifle hunters will be hunting while archers are also out, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Communication and Education Coordinator Ron Aasheim said safety must, as always, be a top priority.

“Archers and our young hunters need to be aware of the overlapping seasons and plan accordingly,” Aasheim said.

Young hunters must wear hunter orange. Eleven-year-old hunters who have passed hunter safety class and will be 12 years old by Jan. 16, 2015, are also eligible to participate in the youth-only hunt.

A review of the state’s hunting prospects suggested a fruitful season for hunters.

For the fourth consecutive year, fawn recruitment is strong for white-tailed bucks in most of northwestern Montana. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks projects that hunters can expect to find not only more white-tailed bucks this fall, but also more three-year-old bucks. Three-year-old bucks are often producing quality racks for hunters looking for mounts and meat alike.

Mule deer populations remain low, and hunters will not find the type of mule deer hunting they remember from a generation ago. The agency said slight improvements in the 2012 and 2013 harvests are hopeful signs that the population hit a low point three years ago and mule deer are beginning a slow recovery.

The opening of the general season comes at a time when lawmakers are suggesting expanded confidentiality for hunters. According to national reports last week, wildlife officials are proposing to keep private the names of hunters and trappers who kill any Montana wildlife. Successful hunters of bears, mountain lions and wolves are already protected by such a law, but the expansion would include trappers and include all game animals, furbearers or other species under Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ management.

The agency plans to present a bill in the 2015 legislative session. The proposed law would follow the 2013 legislation that made private previously public information on concealed carry permit owners.

Supporters of such legislation argue the information is used to threaten law-abiding gun owners.

For more information on hunting, visit the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks website at: http://fwp.mt.gov/hunting/planahunt/huntingGuides/dea/.