General deer and elk season opens Oct. 24! Here are 11 reminders from FWP game wardens to ensure you stay legal this hunting season:
1. Bring your hunting licenses and permits: Hunters are legally required to carry their licenses/permits while hunting. This can be in paper form or digital using the FWP app. Make sure your E-Licenses are downloaded. Learn more here: fwp.mt.gov/myfwpapp
2. Get permission: Hunters must have a landowner's permission before hunting on private land. Hunting without landowner permission is one of the most common citations issued.
3. Do not shoot from roads or vehicles: State law makes it illegal for anyone to shoot on, from, or across a public road or right-of-way. It is also unlawful to shoot from a vehicle without the appropriate permit.
4. Tag only your animal. Hunters must use their own tags when harvesting an animal. That tag must be validated before moving the animal from the kill site.
5. Review season dates and regulations for the unit you plan to hunt: Hunters need to know the commission-approved season dates and rules listed in the regulations for the district where they are hunting. Please read your regulations before going afield.
6. Obey Block Management Rules: Hunters must follow Block Management Rules. This is very important with the new Block Management Enforcement Network. Learn more here: fwp.mt.gov/hunt/access/blockmanagement/enforcement-network
7. Keep an eye on sunrise and sunset times: Big game hunting is legal from one-half hour before sunrise to one half-hour after sunset. See approved sunrise/sunset table on the last page of the regulations.
8. Stop at check stations: Hunters are required to stop at all check stations, going to or coming from the field, with or without game.
9. Keep evidence of sex: When transporting a big game animal, evidence of the animal's sex must remain with the carcass if the license is for a specific sex of animal (like an antlerless deer).
10. Dispose of carcasses properly: To help prevent the spread of CWD, unused animal parts must remain at the kill site or be disposed of in a Class II landfill after processing. It is illegal to dump carcass parts on backroads or other areas. Instead, dispose of it in sturdy plastic bags with your household garbage or at an FWP-approved disposal site. Visit fwp.mt.gov/CWD to learn more.
11. Wear hunter orange: Big game hunters must wear at least 400 square inches of hunter orange above the waist and visible from all sides.