Montana Sage Grouse 2019

eajusc said:

Hi all, long time reader first time poster!

I live in NC but am in the beginning stages of planning a trip to Montana with my pointers later this year to chase after Sage Grouse. It's been something I've thought about for a while--but each year I keep putting it off I'm wondering whether the season will continue to exist.

From my very preliminary research, it seems like the South Eastern corner of Montana would be my best bet (obviously I'm going to need to narrow things down a little more than that!).

Anything I should be looking out for as I scour OnX (other than sage...which I think I'm slowly learning to identify from satellite pictures!)? Any other advise for a guy from England, living in North Carolina, taking a trip "out west" for the first time?

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Nameless Range said:

I have mixed feelings about hunting sage grouse. Supposedly hunting is not a large part of mortality, yet hunting certainly piles it on a little. Oh well, I understand the desire to hunt em while you can.

The Sage Grouse program in Montana has this map: https://sagegrouse.mt.gov/ProgramMap

It is safe to assume that within those areas classified as Core, there is good sage grouse habitat, and therefore sage grouse. Might help you plan your hunt out a bit.

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TheDudeAbides said:

If you want to come out to Wyoming instead I can point you in a few directions and/or go with my pointer as well.

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eajusc said:

I definitely appreciate that offer! Given the distance I'll be driving I certainly haven't ruled out hunting in more than one state just yet! Everything I've read seems to indicate that Wyoming and Montana both have pretty similar landscapes for sage grouse? Is that accurate?

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TheDudeAbides said:

I can't speak for Montana, but Wyoming has more sage grouse than Elk.

Sage Grouse are truly a unique hunting experience.

You can hike miles without finding them or step out of the truck and have the dog on point before you get the gun out.

They hide and hold very well.

The best piece of advice I can give you when doing a DIY hunt is to find plateaus within a mile or two of water.

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TheDudeAbides said:

I can't speak for Montana, but Wyoming has more sage grouse than Elk.

Sage Grouse are truly a unique hunting experience.

You can hike miles without finding them or step out of the truck and have the dog on point before you get the gun out.

They hide and hold very well.

The best piece of advice I can give you when doing a DIY hunt is to find plateaus within a mile or two of water.

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Ben Lamb said:

South of Malta, North of the Breaks can be good sage grouse country, as can Dillon area in the SW. It would be a lot of fun to hunt them in both MT & WY on a trip. They're not terribly difficult to hit, but they are a ton of fun to hunt because of how long you have to walk and the country you get to do it in.

I encourage everyone to get out and hunt native game birds. Sagies are fantastic indicator species of the overall health of our public lands, and they need sportsmen advocates. Bag limits are low, and so are season lengths. Hunters have stepped up significantly in the west when it comes to giving up opportunity in order to conserve the bird. MT's season went from 3 months to 1, and from a bag limit of 4 to 2. I'd keep an eye on FWP's website for the MT bird areas. Given a bit of a decline in the last year or so, they may once again shutter the hunt in some areas.

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eajusc said:

Thanks, Ben. All of that is further west in the state than I was looking at, definitely would have overlooked that. Native wild birds are hard to come by down here, I certainly don't need any encouragement, especially with the number of species you have up there! It'll be Christmas come early for the dogs.

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Ben Lamb said:

If you end up around Malta, you'll have sharpies & huns as well as sagies. My favorite place to hunt birds! Remember that the sage grouse seasons in WY & MT are roughly at the same time, with MT having a longer season, IIRC.

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Ben Lamb said:

There are bison around Malta from the American Prairie Reserve. They're not wild bison, but still fun to watch. You won't be hunting in pastures with them though.

No bears to speak of, but you'll be able to see a long ways off.

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Ben Lamb said:

You won't be hunting in pastures with them though.

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Right next to the #$#@*$% road.

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JLS said:

Ted and I saw a covey right off the road in Wyoming while elk hunting. As we watched them achieve liftoff, he asked me “remind me again how the #%&$ I missed those?”

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