The Back Story On Pheasant Hunting In MontanaBy Diane Tipton, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Statewide Information OfficerFriday, October 02, 2009
Hunting
In the early days, Montana was not very hospitable to pheasants, a nonnative game bird that is native to Asia.
Attempts to introduce pheasants here prior to 1895 failed due to the unbroken expanses of rangeland, though the state is within the latitudinal and weather limits of Asian pheasant ranges. Over time, as the acres of irrigated cropland grew, there began to be sufficient pheasant habitat for pheasant introductions to take hold.
Territorial records show one-tenth of one percent of the state was farmed by 1870, mostly in western Montana. By 1900 nearly 13 percent of the state was farmed.
Dr. Charles Thornton was the first to successfully introduce pheasants in Montana. He came west in 1905 and settled in Corvallis. The doctor was a sportsman and historical sources say he also imported and bred German hunting dogs—at one point maintaining a kennel of 30 dogs.
FWP records show that, between 1909 and 1929, about 7,000 pheasants were released in Montana mainly in Lincoln, Flathead, Lake, Ravalli and Teton counties. Pheasant releases near Glasgow and Lewistown in 1920 were also productive. By 1926 pheasants were abundant in some areas of the state, and in 1927 the Montana Legislature authorized the FWP Commission to regulate the hunting of pheasants.
Montana’s first pheasant season was Nov. 24-25, 1928. By 1940, pheasants had become the most popular game bird in Montana.
Pheasant numbers peaked then crashed in 1945. In 1947, hunting was reopened and by 1948 hunters bagged an estimated 198,000 pheasants.
Today the average annual wild pheasant harvest in Montana ranges roughly between 120,000 and 150,000 birds—and Montana’s wild pheasants occupy most available habitat and maintain their numbers mostly through natural reproduction.
For more on pheasants and other game birds in Montana go to the FWP web site at fwp.mt.gov and look on the Hunting page for the Upland Game Bird Hunting Guide. Or look on the FWP home page for Montana’s electronic Animal Field Guide under Guides and Planners.
http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_8524.aspx
