Lion hunting in SE Montana

Badlandcat · Post by **Badlandcat** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 4:42 pm

r_cordell
the Nodak's are so scared of lions that the Game and Fish changed the bowhunting law so that now you can carry a handgun to defend yourself from all of the lions. nobody shot a lion last year defending themselves, but archery succes went up 35%.(wonder why?)
Miles City looks good, but never hunted around there. stay over by Baker where i know more ranchers.
lots of bobbers around Camp Crook if you can get in and out without being seen.
tremup44
keep an eye on Wangs north place, the one that borders NoDak.

r_cordell · Post by **r_cordell** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 5:41 pm

The bobcat hunting around Camp Crook has been all but ruined by too many trappers keeping everything they catch the last few years. Me and a couple other guys ran the hills around there pretty hard this year and you had to drive quite a ways to cut a track. Fur prices need to fall to about $20 for a few years for the numbers to come back up.

Mike Leonard · Post by **Mike Leonard** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 7:10 pm

I know what you are saying I use to hunt all the way from Marmarth south to Camp Crook and back north past Pretty Butte the Red Hills and the Cannonball nearly to Golva when cats were not worth much and the effects of heavy use of 1080 coyote poisen was still showing. Cats were pretty thick back then.I can remember one day's hunt traveling on the ice of the frozen Little Missouri and catching 6 cats and several were really big old toms.

In the days of 1080 and coyote getters it was very rare to ever see a coyote and the bobcat was the main predator on rabbits and such. Bobcats being a critter that kills what it eats wasn't prone to picking up the cyanide poisen like the coyotes so he survived. Probelm was back then many fine hunting dogs were lost to this poisen and I was glad to see it banned. Many eagles and hawks as well died from the indescriminate broadcasting of this poisen to control coyotes.

Idaho Bison · Post by **Idaho Bison** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 9:27 pm

r_cordell

Are you related to Alvin. I get out to Camp Crook once or twice a year. I have a good friend from Camp Crook. I'll be out out in October to chase some prairie goats.

r_cordell · Post by **r_cordell** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 9:33 pm

Yeah, Alvin is my Dad, he's the one that lets me get away with hunting all winter when I should probably working. We've had a pretty easy winter here and the antelope numbers are probably higher now than ever before so it should be a good fall.

Idaho Bison · Post by **Idaho Bison** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 1:10 am

Ryan, I've spoke to you before. You skinned some bison for some hunters out at my Buddy's ranch.

r_cordell · Post by **r_cordell** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 1:23 am

Now I remember Ken, I thought your name sounded pamiliar, small world ain't it?

Idaho Bison · Post by **Idaho Bison** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 1:28 am

Did you guys get any big Muleys off your dad's place last year?

Mike Leonard · Post by **Mike Leonard** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 2:34 pm

r cordell,

Yes I know Dean. His brothers David and Mike went to school with me. I also knew his Dad Pete, Uncle Doc, and Grandad Elmer. All pretty darn good cowboys Dean heck of a steer wrestler. We use to have a lot of fun and darn sure tipped a few cool ones back in the day. Actually Marmarth was my home town but I went to school in Baker, and moved there later. We lived on the old Ausin place north of Marmarth that Doc owned for a few years.
JK Munsell place. Yes I know it well he use to run the bowling alley.

Out towards Sandstone Dam all the creeks off to the north use to hold coons, and we got a lot in the stubble fields and abandoned farms and grainerys as well.Willard area back towards 101, all had coons. North Baker towards the Big Hill and then east towards Ollie lots of coons.Plevan south also. We use to go to Powder River and go south of Locate and hunt the river really pretty good hunting. My Mom was on a big ranch about 18 miles south and we hunted all of that in the fall and cleaned up. Not a lot of areas for classic coon hunting not enough trees but telephone poles and you name it and better have dogs that can hold them big monsters they grow up there on the ground. Beaver Creek south of Marmarth was always good. Ismay was also very good. I don't know now but back then if you let people know what you were doing they would just say go ahead. We would check every stock pond and calf feeder we saw.

Is Brian Nofsker the wiley littel trappers still around there? If so although he traps them too he knows all the spots. His Dad Roger and I hunted together for years.

Kevin Jackson · Post by **Kevin Jackson** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 9:57 pm

I used to catch a lot of coons North of Alzada on the Ekalaka highway. Hunted on Five Mile, Seven Mile, and Nine Mile creeks. They are all dry but have a few small trees and the coons travel them. Also used to good on the Little Missouri. Used to catch a bunch of catfish in the Little Missouri. Never saw any lion sign but the bobcats were thick.

Mike Leonard · Post by **Mike Leonard** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 10:52 pm

r cordell,

When you leave your place headed back north before you hit the juntion with the dark brown to red lava rock hills that takes you right to Baker or Left to Sandstone or Plevna the long way about a quarter of a mile on the right there is a gate. There is a small stock pond over there about 200 yards or so from the road. A few very small trees. Always worth checking. The coons will den in them rock piles but might even be a small spring there because it held water even dry years and the antelpe would come to drink. Shot a few ducks off it as well.