BLM land

[WW]

Do you need a special permit or tag to hunt BLM or state land in Wyoming? I had to have a tag (that the license guy at walmart gave me)  hung on my mirror in Washington state, to hunt public state land. I don't know about Wyoming.

[lacire]

FYI, We don't here in California. I hunt BLM land all the time and just need the hunting license and the upland tag.

[Gooserbat]

NO Just your conservation stamp and license.

[lacire]

NO Just your conservation stamp and license.

Yah you're right, I said tag but it was a stamp, now it just prints out that we paid for it on our hunting license. I used to like collecting the stamps each year when I was growing up.

[WW]

Great! Thanks fellas!   I heard that Wyoming only accepts cash for their licenses and stamps.... I wonder if Montana accepts debit or credit cards for their license sales?

[Hobbes]

Yes, Montana takes debit/credit cards.  I've not come across a vender that doesn't take a card.  Most small license venders are sporting goods stores or fuel station and they can't hardly survive without a card machine.  In Montana you'll need a turkey license, a base hunting license, and a conservation license.  The conservation license allows use of state lands.  BLM and National Forest are federal lands.  The general turkey license will be good for just about everywhere.  In addition to that, there are some region specific license.  If you hunt Southeast MT, you can hunt with a general license and a Region 7 license (2 birds if you buy both licenses).  You don't have to buy them at the same time.

[GobbleNut]

I'm pretty sure different states have different rules regarding the use of any type of public land, whether it be state or federal.  The bottom line is that if any of us go somewhere else to hunt, we better research the rules and regulations governing what is required there.  Nowadays, there are all sorts of "stamps" or license "check-offs" that each state has for hunting in the various types of properties.  Of course, you can generally sort through all of that stuff at any state's website, but when you are out in the field without internet service and a question arises about the legality of something...and especially if someone is challenging you on an issue...you best have a written document to refer to right at that moment.

An example:  Just recently, here in NM, some out-of-state elk hunters were confronted by a rancher about hunting on his state-land grazing lease.  The rancher claimed they could not hunt there, when in fact, state lands in New Mexico are open for public hunting access (assuming they are accessible without crossing private property).  They were in the right...and he was wrong...but they stopped their hunt and had to take the time to go verify that they were correct in the legality of hunting where they were at.  If they had had the proper hunting regulations document, they could have just looked at the regulation, shown it to the rancher (if they wanted to), and then told him to go take a hike. (I'm pretty certain this kind of crap takes place pretty regularly around the country).

My advice is that, if you plan on going to another state to hunt, your best bet is to obtain the hunting regulations pamphlet, booklet, digest, or whatever it might be called in that state (in New Mexico, it is called the "hunting proclamation") and take the time to familiarize yourself with the information inside.  Although there are knowledgeable folks here that can give you straight information on various state's regulations, just asking questions about regulations and hoping you get the "full skinny" from someone is a great way to end up getting fined...or worse...wherever you might roam to hunt.

[Tom007]

Colorado BLM lands are free access to licensed hunters. They have an abundance of it.....

[Dtrkyman]

BLM is generally wide open unless land locked, it is State owned land that can be the issue more often.  If I go somewhere new that has any questionable terminology in the regs. I go straight to the local warden.  A 5 -10 minute phone call can answer any questions.

[NCL]

An example:  Just recently, here in NM, some out-of-state elk hunters were confronted by a rancher about hunting on his state-land grazing lease.  The rancher claimed they could not hunt there, when in fact, state lands in New Mexico are open for public hunting access (assuming they are accessible without crossing private property).  They were in the right...and he was wrong...but they stopped their hunt and had to take the time to go verify that they were correct in the legality of hunting where they were at.  If they had had the proper hunting regulations document, they could have just looked at the regulation, shown it to the rancher (if they wanted to), and then told him to go take a hike. (I'm pretty certain this kind of crap takes place pretty regularly around the country).

My brother was a BLM ranger in Wyoming and he told me this was one of his highest calls for service in the Fall. Ranchers would buy grazing rights and then lock people off of the land