No bison for young hunter, but still enjoys unforgettable season

Big game hunters have until April 1 to submit applications for the special permits this fall.

For the Big 3 of moose, sheep and mountain goat, the deadline is May 1.

Trophy elk in extremely limited areas is another coveted tag and buffalo near Yellowstone Park is a big-ticket winner, too.

Many hunters have entered the lottery every year and never have been drawn. But then some have the best darn luck and have drawn a couple of the tags in their lifetimes.

It’s rather common for young hunters to score on their first attempt and that’s a good thing because it sets the bar to enjoy this Montana tradition for years to come.

Such was the case with 12-year-old Garrett O’Day of Superior. It wasn’t a Big 3 tag, nor a Missouri Breaks bull tag, but rather a buffalo tag for the Gardiner hunting district.

“I felt pretty lucky and excited when we found out”, he said.

Only 40 tags were allotted with the season running Nov. 15 through Feb. 15. 40 tags were also issued near West Yellowstone with those two areas being the major routes bison use to leave and return to the park.

O’Day has the DNA of Jeremiah Johnson, Jim Bridger and Hugh Glass combined as his dad, Mark and older brother, Wyatt, are very modest hunters but they are quite successful and clobber massive beasts most every year.

“With the season starting mid-November, we thought we’d stay here for deer and elk but keep an eye on the weather around the park in case they started migrating out,” Mark said.

Watch they did along with the other 39 tag holders knowing that the bison won’t leave Yellowstone Park until deep snow pushes them out in search of easier-to-reach forage.

Fast forward to early February and the O’Days have made two 700-mile round trip jaunts with no luck. All 40 tags were still unpunched.

By now everyone knew each other as they all sat in their rigs waiting and watching and knowing that if and when the bison were to leave, it would be a slaughter.

This was now a meat hunt rather than fair chase and that bothered the O’Days as honest, ethical hunting is how their freezer is filled.

Not only 40 ‘shooters’ would meander the area where everyone parked, but park rangers, biologists, wardens, deputies and some locals waiting for a nasty winter storm to move them out.

“All of those that were seasoned with this hunt for so many years all said the same thing”, shared Mark. “The season dates need to be adjusted. If the reason for the hunt is to thin down the park's herd, the end date needs to be in April. We don’t have winters like we used to so for everyone from FWP to the park authorities to the hunters who want this to work, extend the season date.

All of the government employees and hunters said it’s the only way to make this beneficial for permit hunters.

By sunset Feb. 15, three bison had been harvested at Gardiner and a couple at West Yellowstone as a few stragglers left at night and were taken at dawn the next morning on private property.

But the last two hunting seasons, nary a bison was shot at either hunting district, so a huge roundup occurred before the cows calved out and tribal members were invited to cull or take for quarantine to be released on tribal land.

Not that this is wrong by any means as we look at history and how the bison was their primary staple, but for hunters who were fortunate enough to draw a permit, it’s not working.

“It was fun watching them, but it got boring after the same thing every day,” said Garrett.

But Garrett can still say with ease his first hunting season was a slam dunk!

A spring gobbler, a black bear and a nice whitetail buck with a crooked rack is a hunting season everyone would be thrilled with.

As for the 2021 season, “We applied on-line last night for Gardiner again because we know the area now. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that FWP extends the season this year,” said Mark.