forest in Highwood mountains . Had hunted private property in 

 Highwoods with rifle and after begining to hunt with bow have not 

 applied for special permit for elk in that hunting district. I 

 now hunt elk on private land only due to the fact that the vast 

 majority of elk seem to have found havens from hunters on such 

 lands . Would like to see the Highwoods set up for archery only 

 and also to see hunters in Montana choose either rifle or bow. 

 My own personal preference would be to hunt with bow as long as 

 opportunities for special permits such as moose, sheep, goats 

 were made available in exclusive areas also. 



I feel that the either or rule will do more harm than good for 

 the sport of archery. 



I love to bow hunt because I can go hunting without the problems 

 of running into alot of other hunters as during rifle season. I 

 am not very successful at bow hunting but love sneaking up on 

 wildlife without them knowing I am there. For that reason, I 

 would hate to have it go to a choice of rifle or bow hunting, not 

 both. This would force me to give up a sport I love because I 

 usually end up taking my meat with a rifle. 



1 hunt with my bow for enjoyment, and mostly as a preseason 

 scouting time for the general big game season. However, it has 

 been the rifle that has filled the freezer 6 out of the last 8 

 seasons. I will do everything within my power to preserve both 

 opportunities to hunt. 



The survey seems to indicate a presumed need for change. This 

 need for change is unknown to me. If in fact there is a 

 requirement for change, I believe that it would be best to 

 require hunters to elect to hunt either by rifle or bow. This 

 would reduce number of archers, increase professionalism in 

 archery and eliminate the archers - rifle hunter advantage in 

 increased season lengths. If my suggestion were carried out the 

 cost for an additional archery stamp should be eliminated. 

 However the election to bow hunt only should not extend to 

 special permit hunting for antelope, goat, sheep, moose. Please 

 note that since 1980 my hunting has been archery only except for 



2 antelope hunts and that my success/lack of success in not a 

 important as the quality of the hunt. 



My hunting is for enjoyment of the outdoors and also to fill my 

 freezer with meat. If I desire to spend extra time and money on 

 archery I should be able to hunt with a bow and a rifle. 

 Although I've only hunted with a bow for one year, I enjoy 

 bowhunting over rifle hunting. Bow hunting would be my first 

 choice as long as it were during early fall. 



I would like to see hunters have to choose between archery and 

 gun by species . I would also like to see more and earlier 

 archery seasons for antelope. Having a hunter education course 



