are you ready for hunting season?

​Ok, friends, Hunting season is upon us here in Montana. With archery season in full-swing and rifle season coming up next, I thought this would be a good time to remind everyone of the laws surrounding hunting in Montana.

Many hunters - both seasoned and rookie - get themselves into predicaments without even intending to do so. The FWP regulations can be confusing and even those who have spent significant time reading the regulations may have a hard time fully understanding the nuances of the FWP laws.

Top Mistakes Made In The Field:

1. Trespassing: Likely the most common hunting and fishing violation in Montana is trespassing. The easiest way to be sure you aren’t breaking this law is to get yourself a GPS or Smartphone software to know where you are. Montana Code Annotated 87-6-415 governs trespass in the FWP laws. It is the hunter’s responsibility to know where they are hunting, and if there is any question, the hunter should ask permission. Many landowners in Montana allow hunters to access their land with permission or through government agreements. Don’t be the guy who ruins it for the other hunters by trespassing on land that doesn’t belong to you. An interesting note: some people think that if you pay the minimal trespass fee, that will be the end of it. However, if you shoot an animal while trespassing, you could be on the hook for Unlawful Possession of a Game Animal and be facing stiffer penalties, such as losing your animal and/or hunting privileges.
2. Shooting Over or Across a Road: Ok, this one may seem obvious: don’t shoot from the road. But it’s not that simple. Montana Code Annotated 87-6-403 says that it is unlawful for a person to hunt or attempt to hunt any game animal on, from, or across any public highway or the shoulder, berm, or barrow pit right-of-way of any public highway.. So what is a highway? When I think of a highway, I think of paved roads and highly traveled roadways. But “highway” is defined as “the entire width between the boundary lines of every publicly maintained way when any part of the publicly maintained way is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicle travel.” In short - “highway” includes your favorite gravel road to road-hunt from. Make sure that if you do spot a big buck while driving down that old dirt road, you get yourself out of the vehicle and far enough off the road to protect yourself. Note: if you get caught violating this law - you lose your hunting and fishing privileges for 24 months.
3. Failure to Keep Evidence of Gender: Montana Code Annotated 87-6-406 requires that any hunter who kills a game animal shall retain evidence of sex of the animal with the carcass until it is processed. This one can be easily forgotten when you’re in the field with your harvested animal and don’t feel like packing out the evidence of sex from 4 miles in that deep canyon. While a violation of this law won’t get you a mandatory hunting/fishing license suspension, the law does allow for the Judge to suspend your hunting/fishing privileges if they see fit.
4. Hunting from a Vehicle: Ok road hunters, this one is for you. Montana Code Annotated 87-6-405 makes it unlawful to hunt or attempt to hunt any game animal from a motor vehicle. This includes chasing antelope in a stubble field at 60 mph (not that anyone reading this would ever do that). This also includes driving a vehicle on roads that are closed to motorized vehicles. Remember, we don’t want to ruin our access to private and public land by driving all over the places we aren’t supposed to be driving. Importantly, this one also comes with a mandatory 24 month suspension of hunting/fishing privileges, so make sure you aren't breaking the rules on this one.
5. Shooting before/after Shooting Hours: Remember, don’t shoot outside shooting hours. The FWP provides a table specific to these hours so you can be sure you aren’t making a mistake. The table can be found here: http://fwp.mt.gov/fwpDoc.html?id=8989. No, you can't use your smartphone weather app to tell you when sunrise/sunset is. The FWP table is the only time you are supposed to be relying on when hunting. 

As mentioned, some FWP violations can result in you losing your hunting/fishing privileges. The loss of privileges can be compounded for each violation you make, and you could end up with no meat in the freezer for a decade before you know it. Not only that, the fines for each of the charges are huge. Even worse, you could lose Grandpa’s rifle that you cherish when the FWP takes the rifle you used as evidence. Don’t take these laws for granted, they are important and come with stiff penalties.

These are just the most common mistakes made in the field. Make sure you understand all the regulations and the changes that are made yearly. The most recent FWP regulations can be found here: http://fwp.mt.gov/hunting/regulations/. If you aren’t sure if you are breaking a rule or have broken a rule, do your research or call someone for help. Better to be safe than sorry - especially when it comes to losing your hunting/fishing privileges for years moving forward.

Good luck, have fun, and be safe. And if you find yourself in a bind, call an attorney.
- Jill



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