Conditions described here were accurate only as of the date shown and may have changed. This is not a substitute for current official information from the agency with jurisdiction. See the full notice. Full notice.
Montana Is Already in Season, With a Rewritten Rulebook
Archery opened September 5, wolves and black bears came in on the 15th, and the commission changed how lions and hounds are handled.
Montana's fall is underway. Mountain grouse, partridge, sharp-tailed grouse and turkey opened at the start of the month. Archery hunters could pursue elk, deer, black bears, wolves and mountain lions from September 5, and holders of drawn bighorn, moose and goat permits started the same day.
General firearms dates stagger by species. Black bears and wolves came open on September 15. The youth deer hunt runs October 15 and 16. General deer and elk open October 24 and run to November 29, with district-specific shoulder seasons stretching as wide as August 15 to February 15 where the agency has opened them.
The rules themselves moved. The Fish and Wildlife Commission set two years of regulations last December after a summer of public meetings, responding to pressure over nonresident hunting and mule deer numbers. Mountain lion licensing was consolidated into a single license, the winter season was reset to December 1 through May 25, and hunting lions with hounds is now prohibited in occupied grizzly habitat after April 14.
Hound hunting boundaries in Region 2 were redrawn to mirror the occupied grizzly polygon, and the hound season was extended to June 15 to line up with the end of hound training. On the elk side, the 799-20 license quota went from 280 to 325, and a second antlerless B license became available to permit holders in three districts.
Housekeeping that catches people out: the black bear identification test is required before you can buy the license, harvest must be reported within 48 hours, Region 1 uses tooth submission while Regions 2 through 7 want hide and skull inspection within ten days, and many mule deer B licenses are now private-land only. Read the district notes, not the summary.
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