Youth waterfowl and pheasant weekend approaches

From Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks

Montana’s young hunters and their hunting mentors will have a special treat the weekend of Sept. 26 and 27, when they can take advantage of a statewide youth-only waterfowl and pheasant hunt.

Licensed hunters or apprentice hunters, 15 and younger, will be able to hunt ducks, mergansers, geese, coots and pheasants statewide on these two days.

The two-day youth hunt is open to:

• legally licensed 12 to 15-year-olds who have completed Hunter Education and who are accompanied by a non-hunting adult at least 18 years of age.

• properly certified and legally licensed apprentice hunters 10-15 years of age who are accompanied by a non-hunting adult “mentor” at least 21 years of age.

Pheasant hunters in north-central Montana can expect to work a bit harder for birds this year as numbers appear to be down a bit. However, pheasant numbers are solid on the eastern side of the state.

Waterfowl hunters can expect to encounter drier conditions in most places around the state, which could mean a shift in tactics and a reduction in wetland areas for hunting. However, this is balanced with what is expected to be good numbers of waterfowl beginning their flight south.

With the youth opportunities, all regulations — listed online at http://fwp.mt.gov/hunting/regulations — apply. The Canyon Ferry Wildlife Management Area is an exception — only to the youth waterfowl season shooting hours being one-half hour before sunrise to noon.