Birds in Montana?

[ohmymy111]

Heading to Montana next week to do some hunting. Any word on the bird population this year? Will be in the Livingston area, and then the Scobey area.

[mm]

How did you do out in Montana? Anyone do any Sharptail or Hun Hunting out there yet and if so how did you do? I see it has been very hot. I am leaving at the end of the week to go out there.
mm

[lightonthebay]

I have been hunting for six days west of great Falls and north of Chester but the hunting was pretty poor. My friend and I shot a few huns but the hunting was very slow. The farmers up north said the numbers seemed down from last year. We saw two sharptails.

[DGFavor]

Was back there for over two weeks trialing, training then hunting a few days. Definitely numbers down in areas I was at - few sharptails, fewer huns, occasional phez. Went to a trial in S. Dakota for a few days and phez broods were thick on the roads if yer into those guys.

[Prairie Hunter]

That's not very encouraging news. I'm headed to MT (Malta area) in a couple of weeks. I hope bird numbers are better in that area.

[ohmymy111]

I just got back in from hunting in Montana. Limited on Sharptails. Got a number of Huns as well. I would say from what I saw, the numbers are pretty good. I talked to a guy who lives in Circle, who said that he has seen a lot of birds this year. Tlaked to a rancher that said he is seeing a lot of birds as well.

It was pretty hot while I was out there. in the upper 70s to low 80s a lot of the days. A big problem is the wheat is late getting out of the field this year. I would say less thn 20% is out of the field. That is making it more difficult to hunt, but I certainly had a good hunt, even though Ardoise got quilled this year. I suspect she will shy away from porcupines in the future.