HUNTING GUIDE

2015

Elk & deer numbers, Page 3

Game call maker, Page 5
Women hunters, Page 7
Waterfowl hunting, Page 9
Weird deer, Page 11
Hunting quiz, Pages 15-22
A publication of The Livingston Enterprise & The Big Timber Pioneer

HUNTING

Page 2

GUIDE 2015

Thursday, October 8, 2015

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HUNTING

Page 3

GUIDE 2015

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Yellowstone Newspapers photo by Hunter DAntuono

A large herd of elk settles in a field on the West Creek Ranch in the Paradise Valley south of Livingston, Thursday afternoon. Elk numbers in the region have
increased or remained steady when compared with previous years, wildlife officials said.

Elk numbers looking good, deer numbers down

By Samantha Cheney
Yellowstone Newspapers

In this hunting season, while searching for elk

could be beneficial for hunters, reduced deer populations could prove to be more difficult.
Park County has hunting districts from the Crazy Mountains, Clyde Park, Gardiner, Wilsall and
towards West Yellowstone. The districts are listed
from 313 to 317 and 393.
Most of the elk populations have gone up or
remained the from last year which puts the districts within the county, at or above objectives,
which is where Fish, Wildlife and Parks want the
animals to be at, said Park County FWP Spokeswoman Andrea Jones.
Other areas such as, district 393 east of the
Bridger Mountains, has a population over-exceeding population objectives, which makes for more
liberal regulations and could result in some
extended hunting seasons, according to Karen
Loveless, the Park County FWP Biologist. The
hunting season could last into next year, ending on
Feb. 15.
Loveless said the overabundance of elk in that

It is the hunters responsibility

to know the rules and
where they need to be.
Andrea Jones, FWP spokeswoman
area is a combination of private land ownership
and land that is difficult to access by hunters.
She said that FWP is working with landowners to
reduce the populations by allowing hunters on
their land but it is entirely up to the landowners
discretion.
Mule deer populations are on the other side of
the spectrum, seeing some decline around Park
County. Loveless did two surveys, one by Gardiner
and one by Clyde Park, to estimate the amount of
deer in the county. Gardiner populations have risen but are still under the long-time average while
Clyde Park
Loveless said the population decrease could be

Cover Image: A bull elk bugles near Gardiner, Montana just inside the Yellowstone National
Park boundary on Oct. 1. (Yellowstone Newspapers photo by Hunter DAntuono)

from having less access to lands and could be lower for a long time. The encroaching human populations into their territory has caused them to stay
farther away from the area, she said. There is also
the opinion that with the growing elk populations
around the county and other districts, there is too
much competition for resources and the mule deer
are unable to flourish.
White tail deer populations did not go through
any kinds of population fluctuations but white tails
did not fall within the survey zone, so the group
does not have exact population counts for the animal. Loveless said, however, that from what she
noticed, there were no changes in the population
sizes and they are on par with long-term averages.
While it is good to know what the populations
might look like in the upcoming hunting season,
Jones recommends that people check the FWP
website for help with their hunt. People can look at
a map of the districts, find the restrictions for
each hunting area and see what hunters where
able to get last year.
It is the hunters responsibility to know the
rules and where they need to be, said Jones.
To get more information, visit www.fwp.mt.gov/.

HUNTING

Page 4

GUIDE 2015

Thursday, October 8, 2015

A guided elk hunt

for $25?
It could be yours!

Bugle For Kids

$25 per ticket. Drawing held Oct. 23

Hunts held Oct. 30, 31 and Nov. 1, 2015

All proceeds benefit the CASA Program of Park and Sweet Grass
counties. Each ticket will be matched by our sponsors:

Tom Brokaw, Ron Dollens and Denny Ware

Last years winners:

Jackson Bradenberg from

Livingston and his five
point bull.

Mark Ketchem, left, and Kevin

Dodd, from Big Timber, pose with
Kevins five point bull.

Winners must be residents of Park or Sweet Grass County. One winner will be drawn from
each county for a guided hunt on private land. The winning ticket from each county allows
a youth (under the age of 18) to shoot a bull and for an adult to shoot a cow. Winners must
have a valid Montana hunting license. Adult winners can choose a child to hunt with or we
can pair you up with one.

TICKETS: The Fort and Pioneer Meats in Big Timber Yellowstone Gifts and Sports
and True Value Hardware in Livingston, or call the CASA office at 406-222-4904

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HUNTING

Page 5

GUIDE 2015

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Company has 30 years of animal calling experience

By Thomas Watson
Yellowstone Newspapers

ARDINER This
year E.L.K., Inc.
will celebrate its
30th anniversary,
and the Gardiner-based company has come a long way
since Don Laubach first
started making elk calls in
his basement after work.

Laubach owned several businesses

in Gardiner, and his son Ryan Laubach
now one of the owners remembers his dad getting the business
started.
He (worked) during the day, then
after dinner he would head to the
basement, and that is where he mold-

He molded the first

10,000 by hand, and I
remember him doing
that during the evenings.
Then during the day, the
rest of the family would
get them packaged,
and we would ship out
about 200 every day.

ABOVE: Ryan Laubach of E.L.K., Inc., demonstrates the companys Power Bugle elk call outside of the companys
warehouse in Livingston, Wednesday afternoon.
LEFT: E.L.K., Inc.s lineup of elk, deer,
coyote, antelope and wolf calls are
pictured in the companys Livingston
warehouse.

Ryan Laubach, on his father Don

Laubachs early days in the business

ed by hand all of the original cow talk

calls, said Ryan. He molded the first
10,000 by hand, and I remember him
doing that during the evenings. Then
during the day, the rest of the family
would get them packaged, and we
would ship out about 200 every day.
But after a few years, the operation
grew, and they moved it to a manufacturing center in town. Then, 17 or 18
years ago, the company opened a store
front, also in Gardiner.
Opening the store front has allowed
E.L.K., Inc. more customer interaction.
We had the location, so we took
advantage of that, Ryan said. We
have several people every year and
it is kind of funny, but they tell us they
came to Gardiner to visit E.L.K., Inc.
and figured (they would) stop by the
park while (theyre) here. We get that
every year. People come to Gardiner

Yellowstone Newspapers photos by

Hunter DAntuono

just to stop in to say hi.

Shortly after making the cow talk
calls, Don designed a bull elk call. And
as big as the company has grown over
the last 30 years, one thing remains
the same: It designs all of the products
it sells.

We had those two products, and we

kept adding from there, Ryan said.
Now our product line is over 100 different products.
In addition to elk, the companys
lineup includes prey calls for deer and
antelope, as well as predator calls for

coyotes and wolves.

Our philosophy is we will not put
out a product unless it is top-notch,
Ryan added. We really value the customer service end of things. When
people call us from all over the word,
theyre talking to the people who actually build the calls and invented the
calls, which is important to us.
With 30 years of experience, the owners of E.L.K., Inc. know that new products are how they will stay relevant.
Several of the companys calls have
been used by hunters to win world
championships.
Calling contests are quite extravagant, Ryan explained. There are a
lot of different types of calling that
they have to do, but we dont do the
contests ourselves. We let our customers do that, which speaks volumes.
E.L.K., Inc. is a family owned business, and everyone who works at the
store is a part owner.

HUNTING

Page 6

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HUNTING

Page 7

GUIDE 2015

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Its not just for men

Montana women love hunting and filling the freezer
By Lindsey Erin Kroskob

Yellowstone Newspapers

at Grimes is a petite woman.

With dark brown hair, a friendly smile and a hearty Tennessee
accent, talking to her feels like
a friendly chat with a neighbor.
But beneath her soft, gentle appearance is something a little bit wild.
This Southern lady packs a punch
and two 10-point bucks to boot.
I started out when I was very
young, when it was really not very
vogue for women to hunt, Grimes
said.
Now as an adult, Grimes said she
has an insatiable passion for the outdoors and is a true sportswoman to
her core.
Grimes gets excited when the
weather turns colder and hunting season looms. During the warmer
months, Grimes is at home hip deep in
the Boulder River casting her fly over
rippling trout holes.
Its just the most gorgeous place in
the whole world, she said of Sweet
Grass County. It allows me to be outside doing the things I enjoy, which
are hunting and fishing.
Grimes said her passion for the outdoors started in her teens.
She raised two boys who loved
exploring the wilderness, and spent a
number of hours in the woods herself,
scouting the perfect tree stand.
I guess I was a tomboy with them,
the former model said. I had my tree
stand and my husband had his. I think
I hunted more by myself in those
years.
Traveling through the airport years
ago, people would rarely ask if the
meat she flew home belonged to her.
They just assumed your husband
got it, she said. Its so different now.
They ask and I say, Yes, its mine.
Want to see pictures?
While years ago Grimes was one of
only a few sportswomen, she said she
has definitely noticed a shift.
Women have gotten a little more
liberated, and they want to do these
things, too, she said. Its not just for
men.
And, she added, you dont have to be
manly to hunt, either.
You can still be feminine, she said.
I like the girly stuff, but I also like to
put my boots on, no makeup, and get
in the tree stand.
Hunting numbers are holding steady
nationwide, with the only growth segment coming from women and girls,
according to Montana Fish, Wildlife
and Parks Bozeman-based spokeswoman Andrea Jones.
Between 2000 and 2015, the number

ABOVE: Pat Grimes poses

with the 10-point mule
deer buck she shot in 2012.
Grimes is an avid sportswoman who started her
passion for hunting in her
teens.
Photo courtesy of Pat Grimes

LEFT:Sweet Grass County

High School sophomore
Samantha Weiting prepares for her first bow
hunt of the 2015 season.
Photo courtesy of Shona Weiting

of women and girls in the hunter education program grew significantly

from 1,677 to more than 3,000 this
year.
For males, if you did a chart, you
could probably draw a flat line, Jones
said, adding that their numbers were
steadily in the 4,800 range for hunter
education. You can really see where
the numbers are starting to equalize in
that. Males are a little more static,
versus the females that could keep
climbing.
Hunter education instructors are
reporting gender ratios closer to the
50/50 mark in their classrooms, she
said, adding that next years figures
could be skewed based on new legislation implementing a mentorship program for young hunters.
But mentorship isnt just for the

young, Jones said. While women generally try their hand at hunting at the
encouragement of a significant other
or male family member, they continue
on their own after developing confidence in their solo skills.
Female mentors are key to retaining
female hunters, Jones said. The myths
related to the capabilities of women in
the field are falling away as people
realize the high level of eye/hand coordination in the fairer sex. Often, all it
takes is watching a woman hunt on her
own for another to realize shes also
capable of the feat.
Jones encouraged women who are
interested in learning to hunt to get in
touch with their local hunter education county chief or consider participating in FWPs Becoming an Outdoorswoman program. Hunting-specific

programs, like Women on Target, are

also aimed at giving females the skills
and confidence to go into the field on
their own.
Grimes takes this idea to heart,
encouraging young women to get outside as much as they can, whether it
means grabbing a rifle and going out
for a hunt or trying their hand with a
fishing pole.
She was the first to take her granddaughter out hunting, although the
girl was concerned about killing an
animal. Grimes assured her that, as a
rule of thumb, their family doesnt kill
anything they dont intend to eat.
If you dont enjoy the taste of it,
then you dont kill it, she said.
Big Timber locals Shona Weiting and
her daughter Samantha are a prime
example of this group of women hunters, filling their freezer each winter
with every kind of wild game meat
they can get.
We live on our wild game, Shona
explained. If I have to go to the store
and buy meat, it just drives me crazy.
Samantha, a Sweet Grass County
High School sophomore, took home
her first cow elk two years ago. Shes
been hunting with her family since
she was 10 months old.
Its a family tradition, she said. If
Mom hunts and Dad hunts, I go with
them.
Shona said there is nothing more
thrilling than having your children go
out and shoot, let alone get an animal.
It was amazing, she said. I dont
know how else to explain it.
And for the Weitings, hunting is truly a family experience.
Samantha said her family, including
her father and grandmother, started
out her first true hunting excursion
early, waking up at 4 a.m. to pack
lunches for the day. Shona got a twopoint buck in the morning and then
they went in search of an elk.
We were driving along when I spotted the elk, Shona recalled. Dad
came to a screeching halt and we
grabbed rifles and jumped out.
The area allowed only youth to kill
cow elk, Shona said, so it was Samanthas time to shine.
I was so excited, Samantha said. I
didnt really feel the kick of the gun. I
didnt hear the shot because of the
adrenaline.
She said her grandmothers legs
were shaking from excitement after
the elk dropped.
Samantha said she was thrilled to be
a part of her familys long-standing
hobby.
Its not just male dominated, she
said. I guess its cool to prove them
all wrong.

HUNTING

Page 8

GUIDE 2015

Thursday, October 8, 2015

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Page 9

GUIDE 2015

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Good old days are now for waterfowl hunters

By Yellowstone Newspapers

Montana waterfowl hunters are in

store for yet another year of some of
the best duck and goose hunting in the
Northwest.
For Montana waterfowl hunters,
this is the return of the good old days,
said Jim Hansen, Central Flyway coordinator for Montana Fish, Wildlife and
Parks in Billings in a recent FWP news
release. Waterfowl conservation
efforts over the past 20 years in Canada and the U.S. prairie pothole region
are providing quality habitat, and
ducks also aided by a series of wet
years have responded.
The annual spring population survey
in the traditional survey areas conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service found record-high populations
of total breeding ducks at 49.5 million
43 percent above the 1955-2014
average, the release said. Mallards
were 51 percent above the long-term
average, and Canada goose populations
continue their high-population trends.
Montanas migratory bird or
waterfowl hunting seasons are set
to fit within USFWS frameworks.
Under these guidelines, 105 days are
available for general waterfowl hunting in the Pacific Flyway generally
the western half of Montana while
the eastern portion of Montana within
the Central Flyway has 97 days of
hunting available for ducks and coots,
and 105 days for geese.
This year, FWP commissioners
approved a zoned split season for the
Central Flyway similar to last year,
with different zone boundaries for
duck hunting and goose hunting.
The zones offer more late-season
days in several counties for Central
Flyway goose hunters, Hansen stated.
Counties in Zone 2 include Big Horn,
Treasure, Rosebud, Custer and Prairie.
The commission added Carbon and
Yellowstone counties to Zone 2 for

AP photo

Chad and Tanner Tatum hold up a pair of Canada Geese taken last fall. Waterfowl populations are in good shape heading into the hunting season.
goose hunting only. Zone 1 is the
remainder of the Central Flyway portion of the state.
Federal frameworks allow changes
in duck zone boundaries every five
years, with the next opportunity for
change in 2016, but goose zones are not

so constrained, Hansen stated.

The duck and coot season dates for
Zone 1 in the Central Flyway are: Oct.
3-Jan. 7, 2016, while in Zone 2 they are
Oct. 3-11 and Oct. 24-Jan. 19, 2016. The
12-day closed period in Zone 2 is a
week earlier than last year so that

hunting will be allowed during late

October, which is often a significant
migration period for several species of
ducks. The tundra swan season in all
of the Central Flyway will run from
Oct. 3 through Jan. 7.
Goose hunting dates for Zone N are:
Oct. 3-Jan. 10, 2016, and Jan. 16-20,
2016. In Zone S, the proposed dates
are: Oct. 3-11 and Oct. 24-Jan. 27, 2016.
Pacific Flyway dates for ducks and
geese are similar to last year, with a
split near the end to provide an additional weekend of hunting. For both
ducks and geese in the Pacific Flyway
the dates are: Oct. 3-Jan. 10, 2016, and
Jan. 16-20, 2016. Swan hunting will run
Oct. 10-Dec. 1.
The basic daily bag limit for the Central Flyway is six and for the Pacific
Flyway it is seven. For each flyway,
there are some species and sex restrictions within the basic bag limit,
according to the release.
A bonus teal bag in the Central
Flyway will allow two additional bluewinged teal in the daily bag for the
first nine days of the season, Oct. 3-11.
Goose bag limits are the same as last
year for both flyways. Possession limits are three times the daily bag limit
for both ducks and geese.
The two-day Youth Waterfowl Season will be Sept. 26-27.
Hansen cautions that seasonal water
conditions are variable around the
state, so scouting of favorite hunting
spots will be important. As always,
hunting success will depend a lot on
local habitat conditions and weather.
To view Montanas 2015-16 migratory bird regulations online, visit FWPs
website at fwp.mt.gov and click on
Hunting.
Migratory bird regulations are available at FWP offices and most license
providers by mid-September.
For online information on the federal
duck and wetland report, visit flyways.
us.

Livingston chef Brendan Murphy takes simple approach

By Thomas Watson
Yellowstone Newspapers

Cooking wild game can be tricky.

With a number of different tips and tricks to cooking game out there, one Livingston chef recently provided a few of his favorite pointers to help guide the
way.
Brendan Murphy has been a chef for the last 12
years, and over the last six he has been in Livingston off and on.
Growing up, I worked with a lot of chefs, and a
lot of them were classically trained, Murphy said.
They inspired me to go that route, so I ended up
going to Le Cordon Bleu. I did that program and
graduated magna cum laude.
I went through that program, then I did an
externship with a classically trained Italian chef. I
did that for about four years, then I went back to the

French world (of cooking) in Portland, Oregon.

In addition to Portland, Murphy has worked in
Vermont, Alaska, New Hampshire and Washington
state.
Always one for a challenge, Murphy has always
enjoyed cooking wild game for the chance to change
peoples minds.
I love using wild game because so many people
do so much of the wrong thing with it, he said.
They mask the flavor, whereas I believe with wild
game you should be enhancing the natural flavors.
Murphy said his stance on preparing wild game is
simple is better.
With venison rack, I french the bones, which is
just taking all the skin and membrane off of the
bone all way down to the loin, said Murphy. Then
Ill take what I call hard herbs parsley, rosemary,
sage and thyme and I mince those up and add
panko bread crumbs. Then Ill rub the venison rack

in a stone-ground mustard, then with the panko and

herb mix Ill pack that (on top). Then I sear it in a
pan and finish it in the oven. I serve it medium rare,
and I think the herbs and the mustard bring out all
the natural flavors of the meat, and serving it medium rare you get the full flavor and the tenderness of
the meat.
Murphy said that braising and searing are his preferred methods of cooking.
Murphys final tip is to tenderize the meat before
cooking it.
Most wild game is extremely tender, depending
on what you use, but if you want to do a big roast
that isnt the most tender piece, you could brine it or
tenderize it, he said. By brining or tenderizing, it
will help eliminate some of that. Also, slow, low temperatures help.
Murphy said his favorite brines are simple, with
just water, sugar and whatever spices you prefer.

Page 10

HUNTING

GUIDE 2015

Thursday, October 8, 2015

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HUNTING

Page 11

GUIDE 2015

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Weird deer weird hunt

Story and photo by Jim Durfey
Enterprise Staff Writer

ver been charged by a deer? It

happened to me while I was hunting mule deer last November in
Paradise Valley. That was just
one strange thing that happened on the
weirdest hunt I can remember being
involved with.

The mule deer were in a stand of aspens when I

first located them with the help of binoculars. They
were out of range, which meant I had to get closer.
There wasnt any cover, so I decided to bend over,
put my mittens in the snow as I walked along and
try to appear to be a four-legged critter as I approached the aspens.
When I was about 100 yards from the deer, I could
see a mature buck with a very large body. Since Im
a meat hunter, it was the one I wanted to harvest.
When I was in the process of extending my shooting
stick, I took my eyes off the buck. When I looked up
again to see if he had stayed put, he definitely had
not.
He was charging me.
The buck came about 30 yards closer but then
stopped. I had been bent over until I was adjusting
the shooting stick. The semi-upright position I had
assumed might have confused him.
Or was it a bluff charge?
The buck walked 20 yards to my left, paused and
then charged again.

By that time I had rested the rifle on the shooting

stick and was ready to fire. I was even more upright
than I had been when he first charged.
That new position I was in confused him again,
evidently, because he stopped after hed come another 30 yards.
Or was it another bluff charge?
He started to walk down the hill we were on and
was evidently going to get below me so he could get
downwind and catch my scent, which would allow
him to figure out just exactly what I was.
When I bleated twice, he stopped. Thats when I
shot him.
The first thing a big game hunter must do in
Montana is to put notches on the license, or tag, that
indicate which day and month the animal was taken.
I cut out the appropriate day and month on the tag
and then took the electrical tape out of my daypack
to secure it to the carcass.
But Nov. 15 was the coldest Saturday in November. It was 7 below zero at our house. It had to have
been colder at the elevation I was at, which was
nearly 2,000 feet higher than Livingston. The electrical tape was frozen. I couldnt remove it from the
roll.
See Deer, Page 13

Coral Horn, 10, of Livingston, holds the mounted

antlers of the buck. Horn was one of the students
in a fifth grade class at East Side School in Livingston who were read an edited version of this story
by the author in March. Judging by the expression
on her face, even this 10-year-old knows the antlers from this buck were weird.

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HUNTING

Page 12

GUIDE 2015

Thursday, October 8, 2015

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HUNTING

Page 13

Deer, from Page 11

Electrical tape has been the ideal thing to secure tags to the big game animals Ive harvested.
It is very sturdy. Im sure a hunter could drag a
deer over every sage brush bush in Park County
and the tag wouldnt budge.
But frozen electrical tape was worthless. I
didnt have any string or other tape that would
serve the purpose.
I made the decision to put the tag in a crook of
the antlers and put the tape between my legs to
thaw it out.
I slipped it inside my pants and brought my legs
together to hold the tape between them. That frozen tape was resting against my bare skin. I managed to keep it there as I field dressed the deer.
After 12 or 15 minutes, the tape had thawed out
and I was able to secure the tag to the antlers.
But I was freezing cold. A breeze had helped to
make it difficult to stay warm. Having the frozen
roll of tape between my legs made that an impossibility.
As I field dressed the buck, I noticed his antlers were the weirdest looking rack Id ever
seen. They didnt split like a typical mule deers
antlers should. They just kept going up past the
deers ears. A jumble of antler points protruded
from the ends of the main beams. The buck was
not exactly a taxidermists dream.
I couldnt wait to start dragging the deer back
to my vehicle. That would finally get me warmed
up since some of the dragging would be uphill.
That worked well.
But another odd thing happened after I loaded

GUIDE 2015

the deer in the car. An acquaintance drove up,

took a look at the drag marks in the snow and
asked me if I had eviscerated the animal. He
could see there wasnt a drop of blood anywhere
in or along the drag trail in the fresh snow.
I discovered later that all the bodily fluids in
the chest cavity had frozen solid. They didnt
thaw out until I was half way home and the inside
of the car had warmed up.
My father was a meat cutter. He taught me how
to wield a butchers knife. Thats one reason I
like to butcher the big game animals I harvest.
After lunch, I skinned the buck and cut up the
front half of the deer. But I wouldnt be able to
cut up the hindquarters until the following morning.
They would freeze solid if they were left on
the meat pole overnight. So I had to bring them
inside the house.
When we put an addition on the house years
ago, I failed to include a walk-in cooler in the
plans, unfortunately.
We dont heat what used to be my sons bedroom because he moved out of the house a long
time ago. The bedroom door is solid wood, so the
room stays very cool. We keep winter squash and
potatoes from the garden in that room.
It would be the perfect place to put the hindquarters that night.
The two Gordon setters that rule the Durfey
roost were more than curious about the deer
parts being in the house, though. It was necessary for the dogs to spend the night with my wife
while I slept with the hindquarters.
The strangeness extended into the aprs
hunt. Cant say that Im acquainted with anyone
else who has slept with deer parts.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

How strange were the antlers from the buck? I
found out when I took the head to Wildlife Artistry taxidermy to have the antlers mounted on a
plaque.
When I took the head of the deer into the shop
and put it on the floor, the owner, Rich Bradberry, took one look at the antlers and said, Thats a
weird deer.
The former owner of the business, Dan Quillen, who helped out at the shop, and an employee,
Drew Miers, were outside assisting another customer when I first arrived.
When Quillen came inside and looked at the
head of the deer, he said, Thats one weird deer.
Would Miers also voice an opinion about the
strange antler growth of the buck?
You bet.
When he came inside, he looked at the head of
the buck and said, Boy ... thats a weird deer.
An acquaintance asked if I had had the antlers
measured by a Boone and Crockett scorer. That
would determine its status as a trophy mule deer
buck. I explained that I wouldnt ever consider
doing that because the antlers are so weird that
it might be the only time in the history of Boone
and Crockett scoring that a bucks rack had been
given a minus score.
At a New Years Eve party, I told the tale of my
being charged by the buck to a group of friends.
One person wanted to know why the buck would
do such a thing. I told him my guess was it was
because the buck was trying to guard his does
and considered me to be a competitor.
I explained that Im so virile that Im a threat
to the males of all species.
I think my friends have stopped laughing by
now.

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HUNTING

Page 14

GUIDE 2015

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Kris Lookhart poses with a 340 bull

he shot with a bow in the Shields
Valley Sept. 21.
Photo courtesy of Dale Jones

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Breakfast served starting at 8 a.m.
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HUNTING

Page 15

GUIDE 2015

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Take this quiz and you can one up them

By Jim Durfey

1.) To begin the Quiz, please refer to the caption

under the photograph on this page.

Enterprise Staff Writer

Many people associate quizzes with

pain and suffering. It stems from
having to take quizzes and tests in
grade school, high school and even in
college. You wouldnt touch this quiz
with a 10 foot pole, ordinarily.
Due to the sneaky, underhanded
questions and blatant editorializing,
this quiz has been known to cause
frustration and heartburn in past
years. And who needs that?
Well, you do. Why? Because it has
one redeeming value. If you take the
quiz, youll become more knowledgeable than your hunting partners.
That means youll be able to one up
them which is worth practically any
amount of pain and suffering.
So grab a pen and get ready to learn
things that will impress your hunting
partners.

2.) Children 10 to 17 years of age may legally

hunt in Montana without having to take a hunter
education course.
3.) Elk sweat.
4.) Most modern firearms fire bullets that travel
faster than the speed of sound.
5.) Due to the very dry spring, duck numbers are
well below the long-term average.
6.) Cougars and bears have steered clear of areas
inhabited by humans this fall in Gallatin, Park and
Sweet Grass counties.
7.) The name given to elk was originally a misnomer.
8.) An animal overpass on a two lane highway
can cost $4-5 million. The cost is often justified.
9.) The world record bighorn sheep was killed
by a hunter during the 2014 hunting season in the
Missouri Breaks in Montana.

Enterprise photo by Jim Durfey

True or false question No. 1: Montana Fish, Wildlife

and Parks refers to the antler tines directly above a
bull elks eyes as eye guards in the hunting regula10.) The combined archery and rifle hunting seations. These points can be seen on the bull elk mount
son in Montana is one of the shortest in the U.S.
in this photo. The shoulder mount of this bull can be
See True/False questions, Page 16
seen at Yellowstone Gifts and Sports in Livingston.

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HUNTING

Page 16

11.) The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks is not meeting elk
population objective numbers in many hunting districts in Montana.

GUIDE 2015

Thursday, October 8, 2015

12.) In 2016, hunters and fishermen and women in Montana will pay more for
hunting and fishing licenses.
13.) A fundraiser called The Hunters Rendezvous Auction, sponsored by the
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, was held in Tucson, Arizona in 2015. Out of
eight states that offered a bull elk tag for the auction, the Montana tag sold for
the least amount of money.
14.) Cow elk never grow antlers.
15.) Livingston Montana House Rep. Debra Lamm introduced a bill in the
legislature in January that would allow a bowhunter to shoot a deer anywhere
inside Livingstons city limits.
16.) A bill was introduced in the 2015 Legislature to make it a crime to use a
drone to photograph or film someone engaged in hunting.
17.) An elks winter coat consists of two layers a woolly undercoat and
guard hairs.
18.) Elk are grazers that eat grass. They never eat browse such as the ends
and buds of trees and shrubs.
19.) Elk eat dirt.
20.) Throughout the month of November in 2014, rivers and creeks were free
of ice, which meant waterfowl hunting was productive throughout the entire
month on the Yellowstone River.

Photo courtesy of Greg Ricci

Todd Quisel of Livingston holds the head of a monster mule deer buck he harvested during the 2014 hunting season in Paradise Valley. The antlers of the
buck scored 222 net points and made the Boone and Crockett record book,
according to Quisel.
23.) Trappers were living the good life in 2014 because prices for beaver,
muskrat and mink pelts were 50 percent higher than 2013 prices.
24.) A Gallatin County hunter shot a bull last year that had eight points on
each side and was rumored to score 444 Boone and Crockett points.

21.) Bears are attracted to deodorants.

22.) A Montana citizens group has taken steps to encourage hunters to use
good ethical behavior while in the field.

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25.) Doe deer never grow antlers.

See True/False questions, Page 17

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HUNTING

Page 17

26.) In Montana, the largest beaver ever weighed was 55 pounds.

GUIDE 2015

Thursday, October 8, 2015

27.) White-tailed deer hunters concentrated their efforts on Sweet Grass

County last year because the population had ballooned to near record levels.
28.) A black bear that was killed near Ballantine last October is the new number one Montana Boone and Crockett black bear because it weighed 660 pounds.
That is 155 pounds more than the previous Montana record holder.
29.) In weapons restrictions areas in Montana, muzzleloaders that can be
loaded from the breech are legal firearms.

Colton Gavne, of Livingston, shot this five-point

bull elk in the Missouri
River Breaks. He arrowed
the bull on Sept. 7.

30.) Sabot loads are legal in weapons restriction areas.

31.) It is legal in Montana to use trail cameras or electronic devices to scout
the location of game animals prior to the hunting season opener.
32.) It is legal to use a handgun capable of firing a .243 cartridge in a weapons
restriction area for traditional handguns.
33.) Food plots are legal to use for attracting big game animals for hunting in
Montana.
34.) Silencers may not legally be used for hunting in Montana.
35.) If you have permission to hunt on private land, you may assume that
includes permission to drive off established roads or trails.

True/False answers

1.) False. FWP refers to the antler tines above a bull elks eyes as brow-tines.
In some hunting districts in Montana, only brow-tine bulls may be harvested.
These tines are also referred to as eye guards but it is a less common term and
its not one thats used by FWP in the regulations.
2.) True. These young hunters who havent taken a hunter education course
must be accompanied by someone at least 21 years of age. Many other restrictions apply.

Photo courtesy of
Melissa Gavne

3.) True. Its the elks ability to sweat that makes it so adaptable to many different environments. This tidbit was taken from Bugle magazine, a publication
of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
4.) True. Even not-so-modern cartridges (.250-3000, for example) were designed to make a bullet travel at 3,000 feet per second. The speed of sound is
1,126 feet per second.
5.) False. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services annual bird count this year, indicated duck numbers are at an all-time high since the agency started counting
waterfowl in 1955.
6.) False. A cougar was sighted near the M Trail north of Bozeman in the
summer. A black bear that had become habituated to humans on Livingstons
south side had to be trapped and relocated in August.
See True/False answers, Page 18

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www.yellowstonewildgameprocessing.com

HUNTING

Page 18

GUIDE 2015

Thursday, October 8, 2015

7.) True. Elk is the common name in Europe for the subspecies of moose. Early
American settlers named the animal elk because they seemed to resemble the
moose of Europes northern tier.

in his lab that will make an elk-like growth cover his skin. He figures hell save
lots of money on insulated clothing and footwear. So far, the only thing the potion has done is to make his nose hairs longer, unfortunately.

8.) True. Wildlife crossings in the West have reduced vehicle/animal collisions
by 70 to 90 percent according to university studies.

18.) False. Elk are very adaptable. Although they are primarily grazers, they
can switch to browse if necessary.

9.) False. The world record bighorn ram was killed by a motor vehicle near
Calgary, Alberta, last year.

19.) True. Grazing and browsing dont provide all the nutrition an elks body
requires. Elk sometimes eat dirt thats rich in minerals to get the nutrients they
need.

10.) False. The two part big game hunting season in Montana is made up of the
six-week archery hunting season and the five-week rifle hunting season. It is one
of the longest in the nation.

20.) False. Subzero temperatures visited Montana in mid-November last year.

Many access sites on the Yellowstone River, including Mallards Rest in Paradise Valley, were closed due to flooding and ice jams.

11.) True. As of 2014, more than 80 hunting districts, or portions of hunting

districts, were over elk objective numbers.

21.) True. In addition to deodorants, bears are attracted to soaps and lotions.
So if youre camping in the back country, its OK to be grubby and smell disgusting.

12.) True. Starting in March of 2016, a resident fishing license will increase $3
in price. Hunters will be required to purchase a basic hunting license for $8.
Non-residents who are successful in drawing a bison, goat, moose or sheep tag
will be charged $500 more than they would be charged this year.
13.) True. The highest bid for the Montana bull elk tag was $28,500. That compares to Arizonas special bull elk tag that garnered $140,000.

22.) True. The initiative to encourage hunters to use ethical behavior came
about after some hunters surrounded elk herds and shot into them. Supporters
of the movement found that it wasnt slob hunters that were involved in the
questionable behavior. Wardens theorize that 80 percent of hunters who get
involved in flock shooting are good people who get caught up in the moment.

14.) False. Cow elk occasionally sport spikes that are perpetually in velvet.
That condition is rare, though.

23.) False. The year 2014 was a disappointing year for trappers because
prices of pelts of beaver, muskrat and mink were down 30 to 40 percent compared to the past few years.

15.) False. Can you imagine what would happen if bowhunters were allowed
to shoot a deer anywhere in Livingston? If the deer was arrowed by a day care
center, what would the childrens reaction be? And if deer were shot by busy
city streets, that would cause many of them to run out into traffic. Yikes!

24.) True. Jim Schwalbe of Big Sky shot the monster bull with only 15 minutes
left in the hunting season on Nov. 30 last year. News of the bull spread on the
Internet like wildfire.

16.) True. The bill that was introduced in the Legislature to make it illegal to
use a drone to film or photograph a hunter was tabled. It is now dead.

25.) False. A woman in Arkansas shot a nine-point doe during the 2014 hunting season. Most does who have antlers grow gnarly ones that arent impressive. But the doe shot by the Arkansas woman sported a fairly impressive set of
antlers.

17.) True. The woolly undercoat and the guard hairs (each of them has thousands of tiny air pockets that make it waterproof and that provide insulation)
help to keep an elk warm in frigid weather. Your Quiz author is brewing a potion

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See True/False answers, Page 19

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HUNTING

Page 19

26.) False. A beaver trapped on the Yellowstone River near Columbus last November weighed 65 pounds. Beavers are the second largest rodent in the world.
27.) False. Epizoitic Hemorrhagic Disease took its toll on the white-tailed deer
of Sweet Grass County. Biologists reported that the disease did not completely
eradicate deer herds. In one area the white-tailed deer would virtually disappear while a nearby area didnt seem to be affected by the disease.

GUIDE 2015

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Multiple Choice questions

To begin the Multiple Choice portion of the Quiz, please refer to the caption
under the photograph on this page:

28.) False. Boone and Crockett scoring involves only the size of the bears
skull. The weight of the Ballantine bear, which is irrelevant, was impressive
none the less.
29.) False. The muzzleloader in a weapons restriction area must not be capable of being loaded from the breech.
30.) False. A sabot is a range-enhancing load that is not legal in a weapons
restriction area designed for muzzleloaders.
31.) True. Trail cameras may be used prior to the opening of hunting season,
but their use is not legal after the season opens.
32.) False. Only straight-wall cartridges may be used in a weapons restriction area for handguns.
33.) False. Baiting is illegal for attracting big game animals that will be
hunted in Montana. To quote the regulations, Baiting shall mean the placing,
exposing, depositing, distributing or scattering of food sources or salt as to
constitute a lure or attraction.
34.) True. Silencers, or suppressors, are not legal to use for hunting in Montana.
35.) False. A hunter must obtain permission to drive off-road or trails on private land from the landowner.
See Multiple Choice questions in next column

Multiple choice question No. 1: The tool the boy is holding is used to
throw darts. It is called: A. A bow B. An atlatl C. A dart launcher D. A
spear thrower E. None of the above.
See Multiple Choice questions, Page 20

If you think noxious weeds dont

affect you? Think again ...
Knapweed infestations in Montana are responsible
for reduction of wildlife-associated recreation
and
reduction in soil and water conservation.

Knapweed infestations on wildlands

have a direct economic impact.
You can help!
Know how to identify noxious weeds and avoid weed
infestations. Wash or remove seeds from your gear,
vehicles, clothing and pets.
Report invasive weeds by calling
the Park County Weed Control 406-222-4156
or clay@parkcounty.org.

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Page 20
Multiple Choice questions continued from Page 19

HUNTING

2.) Montana has an official state animal. It is:

A. The elk
B. The black bear
C. The grizzly bear
D. The bighorn sheep
E. The polecat
3.) A reality show featured on the Outdoor Channel caused controversy this
past hunting season when a hunter in the Shields Valley area was ticketed for
failing to tag an elk immediately after shooting it. The name of the show is:
A. Game wardens
B. Game protectors
C. Outdoors in Montana
D. Wardens
E. Big Brother is Watching You
4.) The .17 Remington caliber is often referred to as the .17 Remington IMR.
IMR are initials for:
A. International Magnum Rifle
B. IMR powder
C. Interarms Modern Rifle
D. Invincible Magnum Round
E. Incredible Meat Rounder-upper
5.) Trailcraft is:
A. The art of interpreting the signs of animals
B. The ability to weave through the forest on a four-wheeler
C. The knowledge it takes to build a four-wheeler trail
D. The science of tracking off-road vehicles
E. The art of tracking raccoons at night
6.) The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks goes through a process of setting hunting seasons and making changes to hunting regulations:
A. Every year
B. Every two years
C. Every five years
D. Every 10 years
E. They dont mess with something thats perfect

GUIDE 2015

Thursday, October 8, 2015

7.) During the general rifle hunting season, the following equipment is legal
for harvesting big game animals in Montana:
A. Rifles
B. Rifles and shotguns
C. Rifles, shotguns and muzzleloaders
D. Rifles, shotguns, muzzleloaders and crossbows
E. Rifles, shotguns, muzzleloaders, crossbows and archery equipment
8.) If a deer has splotches of white where the color should be brown and normal coloration elsewhere, its condition is called:
A. Semi-albino
B. Piebald
C. Bicolored
D. White patched
E. Skewbald
9.) A group of elk is properly referred to as a:
A. Gang
B. Herd
C. Tribe
D. Waddle
E. Pride
10.) Which big game animal permit requires an application deadline of August
31:
A. Grizzly bear
B. Moose
C. Bison
D. Mountain lion
E. Sasquatch
11.) In the 2015 Deer, Elk and Antelope Hunting Regulations, the sage grouse
hunting season is listed as:
A. Sept. 1 through Sept. 30
B. Sept. 1 through Sept. 15
C. Not open at all
D. Sept. 1 through Sept. 30 only in Region 5
E. TBA
See Multiple Choice questions, Page 21

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HUNTING

Page 21

13.) In order to be considered a trophy elk, according to FWP, a bulls antlers must achieve a gross/green Boone and Crockett score of at least:
A. 170 points
B. 250 points
C. 300 points
D. 320 points
E. 400 points
14.) The following scents may be used, legally, to attract game animals in
Montana:
A. Natural glandular scents
B. Artificial glandular scents
C. Natural and artificial glandular scents
D. Automatic scent releasing devices
E. All scents other than glandular
15.) In order to be considered a trophy mule deer, according to FWP, a
bucks antlers must achieve a gross/green Boone and Crockett score of at
least:
A. 170 points
B. 200 points
C. 230
D. 250 points
E. 270 points

Multiple Choice answers

GUIDE 2015

Thursday, October 8, 2015

3.) D. The ticket that was issued for failing to tag the elk immediately
after it was shot, caused a stir. It was finally determined that the hunter in
question committed no offense. The issue made some people wonder if
being in front of the TV cameras caused wardens to perform for those
cameras.
4.) B. The .17 caliber rifle is favored by many coyote hunters because the tiny
hole it makes in the hide helps to preserve the quality of the pelt. That translates to a higher price paid by the furrier.
5.) A. Anyone who feeds wild song birds knows its not necessary to track raccoons at night. They will beat a path to your feeders and raid them when its
dark. Feeding song birds is a 60/40 proposition with birds getting 40 percent of
the seed and 60 percent of the seed ending up in raccoons stomachs
6.) B. FWP invites input from the public when new hunting seasons are being
determined. They use the input to help make decisions on hunting season
lengths in various areas.
7.) E. All hunters must wear at least 400 square inches of blaze orange if they
hunt during the general firearm season, even if they hunt with a longbow.
8.) E. This question proves your Quiz author isnt afraid to reach a new low in
his attempt to make Quiz questions ridiculously difficult. This information was
gleaned from a recent issue of The Conservationist, a publication of the New
York State Department of Environmental Conservation thats similar to Montana Outdoors.

1.) B. In the photo, Finn Harrison, 6, of Livingston, gets instruction from Don
Stafford, of Hot Springs, on how to use an atlatl on the lawn of the Yellowstone
Gateway Museum of Park County last June. Stafford participates in atlatl
throwing competitions. The tool has been used for 20,000 years according to
Stafford.

9.) A or B. Gang is an archaic term for a herd of elk. A tribe is a group of antelope and a bunch of penguins is a waddle. An assemblage of lions is called a
pride. A group of three North Dakota hunters is called The Three Stooges, by
the way.

2.) C. Montanans appreciate grizzly bears because they help us with survival
of the fittest and smartest. When a grizzly bear charges two people who try to
flee, it will catch and eat the slower runner. Grizzlies will also weed out back
country campers who are stupid enough to bring food into their tents at night.

10.) D. Grizzly bear hunting is not allowed in Montana. There hasnt been a
verified sasquatch sighting in Montana. But if guessed the correct answer was
E. (sasquatch), what part of California are you from?
See Multiple Choice answers, Page 22

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HUNTING

Page 22

GUIDE 2015

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Multiple Choice answers, from Page 21

11.) E. The sage grouse is a species of special concern because its population has crashed all across the West. Montana still has huntable numbers of the birds,
though. To find out the specifics on bird hunting seasons, hunters should pick up a special publication that deals strictly with bird hunting. They are available at
establishments that sell hunting licenses.
12.) D. Not many hunters are familiar with the term quadricycle. According to Wayne Ford, owner of Alpine Yamaha in Livingston, his customers refer to
them as ATVs or quads. Hes never heard them referred to as quadricycles.
13.) D. Under Montana law, the illegal taking of a trophy elk comes with an $8000 restitution fine. A bull elk is considered to be trophy status if it scores at
least 320 green/gross Boone and Crockett points or if it has at least six points on one antler, a main beam length on each antler of at least 43 inches and an inside
spread of at least 36 inches.
14.) C. Your Quiz concocter isnt sure what glandular scents are, but one scent hes familiar with is the odor from human sweat glands. When he was splitting
firewood in 96 temperatures this past July , he would have repelled critters, not attracted them with this particular glandular scent.
15.) A. If a trophy class mule deer is shot illegally, the restitution fee is $8000. Another way a mule deer bucks antlers are considered to be trophy size is if there
are at least four points on one antler, the main bean length on each side is at least 21 inches and the greatest inside spread across the main beams is at least 20
inches.

TALE OF TWO BUCKS

By Jim Durfey
Yellowstone Newspapers

I thought I was going to shoot something smaller.

Thats what TJ Weimer said about the
buck he harvested on his first deer hunt
when he was 12 years old. The hunt
took place in the Crazies on Oct. 16,
which was the first day of the special
youth hunt in 2014.
He, his father, Jay, and his grandfather Dave
Pfohl made up the hunting party. Pfohl saw the
buck silhouetted on a ridge top as the sun was
rising. The deer was with a small group of other
bucks.

TJ Weimer poses with the first deer he harvested.

The bucks antlers had a spread of 26 inches.

The hunters needed to close the distance, so they

started crawling toward the deer. But the bucks
sensed danger and ran off.
After they stalked the band of bucks for 20 minutes, the hunters jumped them again. One buck
lagged behind, however. That proved to be a fatal
mistake.
The deer was 280 yards away when TJ aimed
his .220 Swift caliber rifle, squeezed off a shot and
killed his first big game animal.
Weimer not only shot the animal but field dressed
it as well.
The buck was a trophy that had a spread of 26
inches. Not many hunters harvest a trophy animal
the first time they pursue that species.
But it seems to be the norm with the Pfohl/Weimer
clan. TJs mother, Robin, shot a Boone and Crockett
antelope buck on her first antelope hunt when she
was 12 years old.
When TJ was asked what he was going to do to top
the feat during the 2015 big game hunting season, he
said, I dont know ... maybe get a big elk.
Pfohl still had a general deer license to fill on
November 12th when he and TJ Weimer hunted
together in Paradise Valley. It was their third day of
hunting for a buck.
They saw a small herd of deer on the other side of
a canyon. A buck in that herd was chasing does. The
deer were moving gradually toward the hunters.
They couldnt see how large the deers antlers were
but Pfohl and Weimer decided to stay put and see if
the deer would come close enough for a shot. The
hunters waited for several hours.
Although he had several marginal opportunities
to take the buck, Pfohl elected to wait until he had a
shot that would just about guarantee a quick kill.
I wanted to set a good example for my grandson,
he explained.
Although they could catch glimpses of the buck
from time to time, the background and the shade
made it impossible to tell how big its antlers were.
They found out later that the bucks antlers were
very dark which helped them blend into the background.
But that might have improved the hunters
chances.
Usually, you see the big buck and it gets away.

TJ Weimer holds up the head of the mule deer

buck his grandfather, Dave Pfohl, shot. The antlers
scored 200 points.
We didnt even know it was that big of a buck, Pfohl
said.
So the added excitement of harvesting an exceptional trophy didnt affect his nerves.
Although the does the buck was with went over a
hill and out of sight, the buck elected to get a drink
at a creek 120 yards from the hunters.
Pfohl steadied his .220 Swift caliber rifle and fired.
When he and Weimer walked up to the buck, they
were not expecting to find a trophy with such large
antlers.
It was very much a surprise when we walked
over there, Pfohl recalled.
The antlers of his buck were even more impressive than the ones that had adorned the head of
Weimers buck.
Pfohl said getting the buck to a vehicle became a
family affair. There was no snow to make dragging
feasible so it was quite a chore to move the deer
close to a road. With the help of a game cart, Pfohl
and various family members accomplished the task.
Both deer are at the taxidermy studio and will be
made into shoulder mounts.

Page 23

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HUNTING

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