hunters and bird hunters. The great quantity 

 of outdoor recreation provided by Montana 

 hunting seasons can best be illustrated by the 

 fact that hunters could legally be afield after 

 some type of feathered or furred game from 

 early September through February in both 

 years of the biennium. Dyed-in-the-wool hunt- 

 ers extol the intangible benefits of recreational 

 hunting. Even more evident are the tangible 

 products — the great harvests of birds and game 

 animals shown in the accompanying table (fig- 

 ure ) . Montana is right at the top as a 

 hunter's paradise. This has not always been 

 the case. 



Progressive game management has greatly 

 increased hunting opportunity in the last dec- 

 ade in the face of increased numbers of hunt- 

 ers. In 1948, 189,000 pheasants and 24,700 

 snarptailed grouse were harvested. In 1958. 

 ten years later— 210,000 pheasants, 77,000 Hun- 

 garian partridges, 59,600 prairie grouse and 

 72,600 mountain grouse were harvested. In 

 addition, two game birds — turkey and chukar 

 partridges — have been introduced and now 

 provide recreational hunting. 



Big Game hunting has not only held up 

 during the last decade but has actually im- 

 proved to the point where Montana hunters 

 now enjoy the best big game hunting in the 

 United States. The total big game harvests 

 of 140.000 animals in 1958-59 and 150,000 in 

 1959-60 are unsurpassed by those of any other 

 state. Again, this has not always been true. 



In 1948, 29,800 deer, 9,600 elk, 50 moose, 2,800 

 antelope and 40 mountain goats were taken 

 — a total of only 42,000 animals. Compare 

 this to the 120,300 deer, 15,300 elk, 410 moose, 

 15,700 antelope, 240 goats, 65 bighorn sheep, 

 1,480 black bear and 60 grizzlies taken by 

 hunters in Montana in 1959. 



Increased quantity has not been at the 

 cost of quality. The early hunting seasons in 

 Montana's unequalled back country furnish 

 some of the finest recreational hunting in the 

 Nation. In addition, more and more Montana 

 big game trophies are taking over top spots in 

 the Boone and Crockett Club annual compe- 

 tition. A bull elk killed in Madison County 

 in 1958 received the coveted Sagamore Hill 

 Award and ranks as the finest elk ever taken 

 by a hunter. 



It is reasonable to question whether such 

 superb sport can be sustained indefinitely. 

 Are we perhaps living in a "Golden Age" of 

 recreational hunting which must inevitably 

 fade? We believe that total game harvests 

 can be stabilized at or above the levels now 

 enjoyed by Montana hunters. We must ex- 

 pect, however, to divide this abundance among 

 an ever increasing number of hunters. A 

 sound policy of progressive game management, 

 guided by scientific fact-finding and supported 

 by an informed and progressive citizenry will 

 assure that Montana hunters will enjoy maxi- 

 mum hunting opportunity for a long time to 

 come. 



