Second Vice President’sReport Sectretary’sMessage

Iam very proud to be a member of the Montana Bowhunters Association. In fact, the work this organization does is so important that this year I gave my 19-year-old bowhunting daughter a lifetime membership for Christmas. Sitting around the tree opening packages, I gave her my gift with a sort of sly grin. After all, how many college kids want to join a club that does not involve hazing freshmen or frat parties? She tore into the envelope with visions of sugar plums (Amazon gift cards) dancing in her head. Upon realizing what her gift was, she was initially taken aback, really shocked. Then it sank in.

I was very proud of my children during the last legislative session and series of Fish and Wildlife Commission meetings. They were deeply involved in the process and even testified, taking time off of school and preparing their own statements to deliver to politicians and commissioners. By the way, they were much more eloquent than I was.

She understands what it takes to protect and promote our bowhunting heritage and how important that single Christmas gift is to the future of bowhunting in Montana.

I must confess that initially, I joined the Montana Bowhunters Association as a social outlet. I wanted to meet new like-minded friends and enjoy the convention and outstanding comradery-building events such as the Carp Safari. It was not until I started seeing the work from the dedicated individuals in this organization and the tough topics they take on, that I decided I wanted to get more involved and help, give back.

My kids were essentially raised in our bowhunting community. It began with the Carp Safari with its packs of feral, bloodied, filthy children running around with bows unsupervised to now being in post-secondary levels of education keeping a close eye on the legislative session to monitor bills that might threaten Montana’s bowhunting season. My daughter’s oldest friends are from the MBA and am pleased that she has now decided to run for a Director at Large position for the MBA.

I am writing this January 6th, which happens to be the morning that the draft of the 2023 crossbow bill appeared on the State’s legislative website. I am sure glad she liked her Christmas present.

XOXOXO, Stephen LePage

Well, here we are, winter 2022-23 with the 68th Legislature in Session. Last weekend MOGA sponsored an Elk Management Citizens Advisory Group panel discussion on the Future of Elk Management in Montana. I did not attend but a friend did. He said it was an informative panel.

The text for Senate draft bill LC0017 (Crossbows for those is Disabilities) has been made available but has not been introduced so it does not have a bill number. Additionally, we do not know in which committee it will be first heard, though the Senate Fish and Game Committee is the most likely place. I am guessing that by the time you read this, it will have been heard, debated, and voted on in the Legislature. We can only hope that it fails once more.

Another bill has been introduced by Representative Marilyn Marler that would reinstate the required field day for all hunter and bowhunter safety education courses. That is a good thing. Let’s hope it passes.

Below are a few of the challenges that I see in the future for bowhunting in Montana.

As you know Montana is getting large influxes of new residents. Many are seeking a simpler life and a place to be closer to their chosen outdoor activity. Though population growth brings some economic benefits it also brings a set of problems that many of us Montanans will have to cope with. Issues like overcrowding of our public lands.

Overcrowding means something different to everyone and for every activity. Bowhunters pursuing elk during archery season are probably one of the most adverse user groups to overcrowding. And that is for good reason. It is not because we are a bunch of hermits. It has to do with the nature of the sport. Bowhunters must get in close to the animals they pursue, and they must do so quietly.

How many of you have experienced a situation where after a long sneak you finally get close to your quarry only to have another hunter or hunters screw up the sneak and spook the animal(s), whether intentional or not. That is why we bowhunters have worked hard to have some of our preeminent elk archery hunting districts (HDs) limited to those that draw permits. Having too many hunters on the landscape during archery elk season leads to a degraded experience for everyone.

I know I do not want to inadvertently screw up someone else’s bowhunt and conversely, I do not want someone else busting the elk I am trying to sneak on. It only stands to reason that the more bowhunters one has in the landscape, the more occasions there are for negative encounters.

Limited permits are a means of solving that dilemma.

However, there are those that would like to see the limited draw permits for archery elk go away. If the limited draw permits go away there will be greater numbers of residents hunting those HDs that now only allow bowhunting by those with a limited elk archery permit. Additionally, there will be substantial increases in non-resident hunters as the 10% cap does not apply to HDs without a limited permit. To me, that means a degraded experience. I would rather not draw for a year or two to have a better-quality hunt when I do draw.

Then there is the issue with those that wish to allow advanced technology into our archery-only seasons. Many desire it for the simple reason they want to harvest a big bull and do not want to put in the time in to become effective with a bow. Some entities have been using individuals with disabilities as a way to bring crossbows into the archery season. Their argument is that a crossbow is a tool that will allow those with disabilities the opportunity to bowhunt. But a crossbow is not in itself a tool for those with significant disabilities unless it is modified. And Montana already allows those with disabilities to modify archery equipment to meet their needs so that they can bowhunt. Why allow crossbows when Montana already allows archery equipment to be modified to meet an individual’s disability?

Claudia Davis

Bowhunters must understand that we must work with our Fish and Wildlife Commissioners and Legislators to ensure they understand our concerns. Archery season was never meant to be a game management tool. It was meant to be an opportunity for hunters to try their skills and to occasionally harvest an animal. Because the season occurs during the rut when bull elk are at their most susceptible to bugling, only archery equipment is allowed. Allowing hunters to only use archery equipment levels the field somewhat thereby ensuring the resource is not exploited.

Then there is the issue of CWD. This disease may well be the demise of hunting as we know it. It is impossible to eradicate once it is in a population of ungulates. The prions that are shed from the diseased animal remain in the soil for years if not decades. Prions are nearly impossible to destroy with either heat or chemicals. CWD is always fatal so the prevalence rate directly correlates with the number of animals that will die from the disease in a given population. At some point, the infected population will cease to exist and as time goes on the number of animals will be at a level where hunting may have to be severely restricted or curtailed.

We as bowhunters need to fully support our state and federal legislators to fund the scientific study for ways to manage, curtail, and hopefully eliminate this disease from our ungulate populations.

So, I guess the gist of the above is that there are lots of problems we bowhunters will have to confront now and in the future in order to preserve our treasured sport of bowhunting. And the best way to help is to become informed, talk to legislators and FW Commissioners, and serve on Citizens Advisory Groups for agencies that regulate wildlife and manage our public lands.

Hopefully, we will see you at the Convention in Fairmont this year.

Remember, we are in this together.

Jerry Davis

We’ve done a membership drive recently, so if you’re new to us, WELCOME! I invite you to get to know our board and our members, first here in the newsletter and even better, at our banquet this spring. We’re working hard with the legislative session to protect archery season, be good stewards of the land we hunt, and be mindful conservationists of wildlife.

Since we’re between hunting seasons, I hope you’re all taking a rest, but also planning ahead to tag applications, and gear to be refreshed and maybe dreaming of a big hunt. We’ll have some opportunities at the banquet to put some adventure into your life!

Please reach out to us if you have a donation to include in our auctions, and make plans to join us at Fairmont!

For all those who purchase the plate, the MBEF would like to invite you to send us a photo of your plate on your vehicle. Be creative, include yourself, pets, family, trophies of all sorts, etc.

REGION 1

AL KELLY (NO REPORT)

REGION 2

MARLON CLAPHMAN

KEVIN ROBINSON

REGION 3

LIBERTY BROWN

REGION 4

JUSTIN DOLL

JESS WAGNER

REGION 5

BEN BULLER (NO REPORT)

REGION 6

TRISTAN MANUEL

NICK SIEBRASSE

REGION 7

RICK MILLER

BOB MORGAN

REGION

The Legislative Secession is well underway. Right off the Crossbow is back on the agenda, we have quite a bunch of fighters gathered up to fight this again. They have been working on how best to defeat this bill. The MBA has fought this going back to 1983, either in the legislation or in the tentative secession FWP Commission. It has been a long hard-fought battle.

The other issue has to do with the Bowhunter Education program. HB 243, reinstate the mandatory field day for both gun and bow classes. When I surveyed the MBA member instructors for their opinion about the state for Bow Education since the covid shutdown, this was what the instructors wanted most.

Convention time once again!! Region 2 has the lead and Kevin Robinson is the chair of the committee. Jackie Weidow took over the mammoth job of solicitating raffle, auction, and door prizes. We will have bows to raffle off, several hunts for black bear, a couple of weekends at special resorts for two, art work, custom knives just to name a few. A rose raffle for the ladies, the hat raffle for gentlemen, and a youth raffle package, plus a whole lot more. Me, I worked on the poster and tried to keep up with getting the information out to the board members and on the website. There will be games during the happy hour to try your luck with. Region 2 will have the La-Port disk thrower and bows with flu flu arrows out in the back for aerial shooting. We will also set up the indoor shooting range to try vendor bows and the Genesis Shoot Off for prizes. This is the fund raiser for the Teen Camp. There will be a booth for the Teen Camp. Please come by and check it out. I’m sure the is more information in this newsletter about the 45th Convention so I’ll signoff. One more thing, register early to get the discount dinner price and your room as you have until March 1st to get the room block, use code #23724. Hope to see you all there, drive safe.

be a challenge; this November was no exception. I had a few opportunities on a great buck that slipped through my fingers and by late November I was burning out. So, hanging from my saddle in a tree with only one day left in the general season and a buck tag burning a hole in my pocket I was feeling a bit sorry for myself. After a few slow days of hunting, my plan for an all-day sit was about to be cut short by the lack of deer movement. I was getting ready to climb down and call it quits. Around 9 am I got a text message from my friend Martin with a photo of the nice public land buck he had just arrowed. I know how hard he’d hunted for that buck and his success hit me like a bolt of lightning! A few minutes later the sun shined bright through a hole in the clouds, deer started moving, and around 10 am I was lucky enough to put a great shot on my biggest buck to date, it was an incredible day.

On the legislative side of things, we have some bills proposed in Helena that we are keeping an eye on. One of which is the infamous “Crossbow Bill” which should be called the “Zombie Bill” because the damn thing dies and then crawls out of its grave over and over again. Senator Molnar is once again beating this dead horse back to life, in my opinion, for his own selfish reasons. He will once again try to mislead and misinform to convince the Senate Fish and Game committee that crossbows are necessary. The MBA board will keep all members updated on all of the shenanigans in Helena, but it’s important to let your local Representatives and Senators know how you feel—surprisingly, they do listen.

As I type this it is the last day of my archery season here in region 2. I typically have had a tradition of hunting on the very last day, January 15th, every year but this year was a shed hunt instead. It seems the whitetail bucks started dropping their antlers a bit earlier than usual in these parts this year, from my experience. I had a heck of a season with great elk hunts in September and a whole bunch of sits in tree stands for whitetails both here in Montana and in Illinois.

November whitetail hunting is my favorite part of the season. Trying to juggle time in the woods, time with my family, and that whole work thing can

Region 2 is hosting the annual convention this spring at Fairmont Hot Springs. Marlon, Jackie, and I have been hustling hard to get all those convention tasks completed. It’s turning out to be a great lineup for the convention with all the great donations, live auction hunts, and guest speakers. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone again at the convention and hopefully, I’ll have a brandspanking new shoulder mount of a big whitetail buck to share! See you then!

Hello, Region 3 Bowhunters,

We are in the middle of another legislative session, and it appears that ONCE AGAIN we will be fighting a crossbow bill that Senator Molnar is trying to get introduced. You can currently find a copy of his bill titled, Revise laws related to hunting by disabled persons, through a search on the Montana Legislative website.

Word on the street is that he is still trying to whip up support for the bill amongst his colleagues, but if introduced, it will probably pass the Senate. You can bet that the board and I will be very active in fighting this proposed legislation should it be introduced.

It is important for the time being that we contact our legislators and ask them not to support this bill. You can find and email your district representatives by visiting our “Take Action” page on the MBA website, https:// mtba.org/take-action/#/legislators. On the same page, you can also find other bills that the MBA is currently tracking by opening the “Bills” tab.

I encourage every bowhunter to get involved, and let your elected officials know where you stand when it comes to crossbows, elk management, or any other issue that affects us as bowhunters.

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at the upcoming convention. Thanks for your support!

Greetings-

Hope everyone’s New Year is off to a good start! For many, the new year is a time to look ahead, set goals, and get to work. Do you have any New Year’s resolutions? I’ve been taking time to get my bow set up earlier than in previous years. With the recent mild winter weather, I’ve taken advantage and gotten outside to shoot. Decisions and plans are being formed with the application season underway. I’m sure we’re all going to keep our fingers crossed for successful draws.

Hope to see you all at the convention!

The winter has let up in Central Montana and conditions have improved for the animals. We had a cold snap in December with temperatures well below zero, and I heard reports from FWP of antelope dying. Some areas in Eastern Montana have more snow than they have seen in a couple of decades. Hopefully, the rest of the winter isn’t too hard on the critters.

As you remember, a year ago, FWP was offering unlimited permits in many of the special permit elk areas. This proposal drew strong opposition from hunters. Thankfully, one of the commission members made an amendment to keep the limited permits in place. Unfortunately, he recommended the quotas with the amendment rather than leaving that up to FWP to decide. He also didn’t provide quota ranges as there normally would be. With the new “1st choice only”, some of the permit quotas weren’t filled by first-choice applicants. Some of the districts had 400-1000 surplus permits that hunters were able to pick up over the counter. As a result, these districts had twice the amount of hunting pressure that they would have had if the permits had not gone to a surplus sale. Hunter crowding was noticeable in the other districts as well due to the high quotas set by the commission. Biologists don’t have the ability to recommend lower permit numbers for 2023 because there was no quota range implemented. MBA has recommended to FWP to put quota ranges back in place for the affected districts and to not allow undersubscribed permits to be sold as surplus.

The convention is right around the corner, and I look forward to seeing everyone in Fairmont!

Brothers and sisters of the bow,

Ihope you had a wonderful holiday season, with the new year bringing new challenges and opportunities. As winter treks on, I can’t help but think about the upcoming spring season and 3D shoots throughout the state. While that is all well and good, one also needs to keep an eye on the new legislation in the works for the 2023 legislative session. Be sure to know who represents you, and who casts the vote that impacts our sport and lifestyle. A phone call or a cup of coffee can go a long way toward building a relationship with your local and state representatives.

continued on page 8

Region 6 continued from page 7

Not much is going on up here, waiting to chase some turkeys around the Bear Paws.

I was thinking as we get ready to fight Molnar’s self-serving, misguided attempt to hunt rutting bulls with a crossgun AGAIN! He tries to convince legislators that he is handicapped. Most of you by now have seen his campaign pamphlets where he is “athletically” chopping wood, yet he can’t seem to hunt with a real bow. You also know that we of the MBA support the use of PTME (permit to modify archery equipment) which makes it possible for nearly anyone with physical limitations to use a draw lock on their bow. (Thanks in a large part to our own Marlon Clapham). We are now living in a society where people want instant success without putting in any work or dedication to their pursuits. This got me thinking that I need some help with a couple of my bucket list goals.

Number one, I would love to participate in the PBR bull riding finals in Vegas next year. I am 63 years old and packing about 40 extra pounds; seems to me that these young fellas at the top of their prime that risk their necks riding these doublerank, fire breathing, big horned, man-killing bulls have a distinct advantage over me. I propose that the stock contractors haul some milk cow calves to the events for me to draw and ride so I have a chance to participate with less chance of being killed or maimed. I might even get one rode (probably not, but I could hang with the boys)!

Another thing I would like to do if they would accommodate my age and lack of physical ability is to climb Mount Everest. I think if they installed a heated gondola to the summit, I could say I scaled one of the world’s highest peaks!

If they changed the rules in the NFL so old fat guys could compete, I think it would take away from the game and wouldn’t be very fair to the studs that put in the work and are blessed with the ability to play a game that not everyone can compete in.

I am for helping out people with physical disabilities. I think reasonable accommodations should be made, if possible. We do that for archery hunting season through the PTME program. I don’t however, believe we should forever change the game by allowing crossbows. It would surely shorten our archery season. Crossguns with accuracy out to a hundred yards would drastically change the harvest rates. Folks, there are a lot of lazy halfhearted people out there that will jump at the chance to climb on the handicap train to use a weapon that should only be used during rifle season or during the Zombie Apocalypse.

• Said moving the rifle season out of the rut doesn’t result in the mature buck-saving changes that are desired. Had data to prove it.

• Said antler restrictions usually have the exact opposite result of intention

• Reactive deer management is not as effective as proactive–data to prove

Fellow Bowhunters,

Iattended the Region 7 mule deer meeting in Miles City on December 13th. The meeting was the result of a number of social media comments about the diminishing mule deer herds in eastern Montana (primarily Region 7). FWP director Worsech was made aware of the perception and how it differed from the responsible department biologist position. Director Worsech apparently decided the best way to address the concern was to have the biologist involved hold a meeting to defend his position.

The first hour of the meeting was a series of data slides that enforced the biologist’s management strategies. Attendees were asked to not comment or ask questions until he was through. After the first 15 minutes, I got the distinct feeling that he was not happy about having to explain. He droned on and on about why all the concerned sportsmen and private landowners were wrong through carefully selected data clips. For sure, it made you wonder if you should be trusting your lying eyes?

These are a few of the points biologist Brett Dorak made during his presentation (see if you agree):

• Region 7 landscape is 75% to 80% private

• Hunter numbers in the region do not appear to be growing at a concerning rate

• Recognized that western Montana hunters are now moving east

• Seeing an increase in nonresident hunters in the region and how long those hunters are staying o Mentioned that Region 7 attracts the most nonresidents

• Data shows mule deer survival rates at 85% for adults and 50% for fawns

• Buck to Doe ratio is around 37 per 100 and are improving

• Harvested bucks average age 3.5 years. Noted that his data shows that at 3.5, the bucks are nearing full antler potential

• 1/3 of the bucks harvested and recorded at the check stations are mature

• Reduced the number of antlerless licenses from 5500 to 3000 in 2022.

• Saw no concern about individuals holding up to 7 antlerless licenses that they could use on public lands. Said it’s not a common occurrence.

• Said that the presence of chronic wasting disease was not a factor in his management strategies.

• Noted that more hunters mean less CWD (per the data)

• Harvest numbers have not changed much through the region

• -Hunter surveys are showing folks prefer opportunity over quality

It became obvious that biologist Dorak is a bigtime data guy. Even though the room was full of people (sportsmen and landowners) who saw the existing mule deer situation much differently (and voiced as much) it seemed those views were taken as vented frustration, not legitimate concern. Lots of questions were asked and lots of valid points were made, but I doubt any of them will factor into the mule deer management strategy moving forward.

I had a bunch of questions and input, with my concerns being a more detailed approach to data collection on the public side of the fence. The data being used is flawed by 80% of the region being private land, with 80% of the hunters being restricted to the remaining 20%. Blending the data between the two is not giving a true representation of the overlying concern.

What was not discussed is what is causing the mule deer hunter shift from western and central Montana to Region 7. Even the nonresident interest is increasing. I think it’s safe to assume that mule deer numbers are not doing well in other HDs as mismanagement becomes more the rule than the exception. Unfortunately, unless those negatively impacting strategies are changed statewide, more Region 7 restrictions will be needed where there is public access. Hopefully there is enough sportsmen concern to drive new restoration efforts before widespread limited permits are the only mitigating option. Get involved – push hard! It is certainly worth your time!

Ihad quite the experience this year bowhunting elk. I was out on some state land and walked in there quite a way, kind of down a draw. Got up on top a little, and decided to call. I did a small cow call. A bull answered me, up on the hill. All right I said, so then I started walking back down towards the draw behind where he bugled from. I got set up down kind of on the left side of a little draw. I didn’t like the spot so I moved over behind a big tree. I stood up there with an arrow on my string. I couldn’t swing back and forth with the arrow on the strings. So, I backed up a little, and also cleared the leaves and stuff under my feet. looked up and here comes the bull down the hill right to me. Well, he’s either going to go low or going to go high. Here it comes right at me and I think to myself he’s going to go high because they always like to go up high where they can see. So here he comes, right straight at me, not down low, not up high, his horns are coming up over the hill swinging back-and-forth, back-and-forth. He’s 14 yards, and he comes up and stands broadside to me. He’s looking around. I’m standing behind that tree with my bow up with the arrow on the string, and he sees me, but I’m not moving, but man he locks on me. I see his eyebrows and him licking his lips. My heartbeat starts going, higher, higher, higher, higher. I’m not moving. He’s looking over at me and then he looks away, takes a couple of steps up and his head is almost behind a tree. I’m not falling for that buddy, so pretty soon he steps up with his eye behind that tree. I grab my string, and I cannot get my bow back. I cannot get my bowstring back. I cannot get my bow back. What! All the adrenaline I guess so then I looked over there and went AAAHH!! I pulled it back and took a shot and it went about a foot over him. I go “Man, pick a spot, dummy”. As usual, it was a little late to think of that. So, I walked up there and was looking for my arrow. He’s standing to my left about 30 yards and then he runs off. I’m just shaking my head. I’m getting old, I guess.

CLIFF GARNESS

JAKE GARNESS (NO REPORT)

JEREMY HARWOOD

STEPHANIE PRATER MIKE SHEPARD

ALICIA ZEMLICKA (NO REPORT)