| Hunting is as much a part of the Montana lifestyle | | | | hunting. He will shoot any kind of fowl he can get |
| as cowboy boots and buffalo. It is a fundamental | | | | his sights on, be it duck, Canada goose, pheasant, |
| weave in our social fabric and considered a rite of | | | | grouse or wild turkey. He is, however, more |
| passage by most Montanans. Imagine businesses | | | | discriminating in what he will eat. He prefers |
| closing to accommodate their employees' hunting | | | | pheasant over anything else. When I asked what |
| hysteria, and schools being more lenient about | | | | he does with the birds he kills and does not care |
| tardies and absences during hunting season. | | | | to eat, he so eloquently stated, "I make sure |
| Yes, a quick glance at the bumper stickers and | | | | they get eaten by something." This meant |
| license plates on the trucks in Montana will quickly | | | | primarily friends, family, neighbors and their pets. |
| illuminate the place of reverence that hunting | | | | How noble. His wife doesn't care for eating any |
| enjoys in this state of, as one of my friends so | | | | kind of wild fowl, so that presents its own brand |
| aptly calls it, "Huntana". And in fact, one of my | | | | of discord among his household. Still, most |
| favorite restaurants proudly serves the 'Montana | | | | Saturday mornings he is guarding the banks of |
| Surf n Turf' which is a meal of rainbow trout and | | | | the river, shotgun in hand, waiting for the unwary |
| buffalo. | | | | bird to wander by. |
| Not being limited to merely deer hunting, stalking | | | | Big game hunting seems to be more all-consuming |
| the wily game in Montana offers a nearly unending | | | | for the big game hunter. Early in the season, |
| supply of choices, and encompasses a wide | | | | many hunters will pass on perfectly good kills, |
| variety of animals such as moose, elk, deer, | | | | waiting for the 'big kill'. I have my suspicions as to |
| bighorn sheep, buffalo, Canada goose, pheasant, | | | | whether they are actually holding off for the 'big |
| brook trout, wild turkey, grouse; the list goes on | | | | kill' or simply milking the hunting excursions for all |
| and on. | | | | they're worth. The spouses at home are referred |
| Those who plan it right can legitimately hunt from | | | | to as 'hunting widows' while they patiently wait for |
| September through November. They take | | | | their other half to get it out of their system. As |
| advantage of this option by taking up bow hunting | | | | soon as the magical phrase is uttered, "This is |
| in addition to the traditional rifle or shotgun | | | | your last weekend! Don't come home until you |
| method of hunting. There is an added appeal to | | | | get something," they somehow, quite miraculously |
| bow hunting because it starts in early September | | | | I'd say, bring home an animal, be it elk or deer or |
| when the weather is usually a little more bearable. | | | | moose or whatever is required to fill their hunting |
| The rifle hunters will generally have to brave | | | | tag. The animals are probably more nervous |
| below freezing temperatures and fresh snow to | | | | towards the end of the season when the hunters |
| land their kill. But, in fact, the snow gives them an | | | | who haven't filled their tag yet will shoot at |
| added advantage in tracking. So those souls | | | | anything that crosses their path. |
| asking for an early snowfall in Montana are | | | | Everyone has their meat preferences. Most of |
| undoubtedly hunters or skiers. | | | | my friends do not care for venison, preferring elk |
| When I came to Montana, I noticed horizontal | | | | or buffalo to deer. They have different ways of |
| boards across many thresholds and garages. "It's | | | | preparing game meat, and interesting ways of |
| to hang the deer from," was my husband's casual | | | | disguising the taste of the more gamey-tasting |
| reply. I was appalled. The thought of animal | | | | meat that they dislike. When my father came for |
| carcasses hanging randomly around the | | | | a visit, I made him a genuine Montana Moose |
| neighborhood made me nervous. Sure enough, in | | | | Meatloaf, which he touts as one of the highlights |
| October and November there they were; the big | | | | of his trip. Some of my friends even brag that |
| game carcasses, acting as hunters' "trophies" | | | | they have not had to buy red meat at the store |
| hanging in a proud and defiant display. Many big | | | | for years. |
| game hunters let them hang for up to five days | | | | I made my first kill last fall in the Lolo National |
| to cure the meat and reduce the 'gamey' taste. | | | | Forest. My rite of passage was courtesy of a |
| In Montana, many garages and sheds double as | | | | small doe that played her part in the cycle of life |
| super-size refrigerators during hunting season: that | | | | to feed my friend's family. As I'm not a big fan of |
| time of the year the temperatures usually stay | | | | venison, my particular freezer contains elk, buffalo |
| below 40 degrees. | | | | and moose courtesy of other friend's generosity, |
| A friend of mine is strictly committed to bird | | | | as I didn't kill any of them. |