The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-01-30
AMEND RECOD|F|CAn0N
Hunters of 4Missoula Oppose
Buck Law in Game Bill
Before Senate.

1 a large number of local sportsmcn
crowded the lobby of the office of the
| chamber of commerce last evening in
meeting called for the purpose of dis
cussing impending game legislation
Some of the local deer hunters arc
| looking askance at that clause in the
bill prepared and presented to the sen :
ate today codifying and correcting the
! state fish and game laws, which con-
| fines the hunters to bagging but one
deer. buck with visible horns, each
| season. AT the meeting last night it
! was decided to propose an amendment
! to the bill striking out the words
male" and with visible horns"
| The bill was drawn by Judge Roy
Ayers of Lewistown. Judge Walter NJ
| Bickford and r. n. Marlowe of Mis-
soula, Il committee appointed at the
convention of the Montana State
| Sportsmcn's association held at Lew
istown last December to incorporate in
| a bill the changes proposed at the con :
| vention. In opening the meeting la st
evening. Mr.. Marlowe said that the
| law relating to the limiting of the bag
! to one male deer was proposed by a
representative from Kalispcll and was
not wholly the work Of the committee.
| The discussion of the amendment be-
fore the vote was taken was a warm
one. c. Fl. Adams. assistant forester
| in charge of the grazing department in
this district. led in the support of the
bill as it stood, while George Mapes
supported the amendment. Mr..
Adams said. in refuting the argu-
| ments advanced, that many does would
be killed by mistake and allowed to
spoil. that no man should shoot with
out knowing at what he was shooting
and told of several instances of deaths
to hunters caused by such carelessness.
He supported the disputed section of
the bill on the grounds that it Offered
protection to men in the woods as well
as the deer Mr.. Mapcs based his ar
l
the grounds that the does would be
killed and left to spoil. thereby incur
ring total loss. Another speak
Nouchsafed the theory that the time
allowed for hunting was during the
| running season of the deer and that
the does lay hidden in the thickets,
he asserted that between IS and so
per cent of the deer killed at the prcs
ent time arc bucks. Judge Bckford
argued that the proposal would elimi >
nate accidental shooting of hunters and
cited the instance in Wisconsin where
| from 10 to IS men were killed eoch
year before the buck law went into eff
rect. whereas none had been killed
| during the two years succeeding the
passage of the bill. Many other areu :
ments were presented pro and con. Int
'he vote on the amendment was 90
Tor and seven against
w. r. Glasscock then moved that
the bill be amended to provide against
the trapping of bear at anv time of
| WV 'o"' an" 'aNni tne season open
Tor shooting from october to June |.
| Following this it was decided that no
more amendments would be proposo,l
for the reason that too many changes
would cause the legislature to decide
against the passage of the bill
The proposition OF establishing n
bird farm for tho yrouapation of Mon
tana game birds and the introductior
OF others was tncn taken up for dis
cuSsloh. 1t was decided that Chair
man MarloWc appoint "A COMMITTEES of
seven I" draw up Il new bill to be pre-
scented to the legislature. providing for
an appropriation from the fish and
game fund for the purpose of establish
ing and maintaining such a farm.
| The remainder of the timo WAS take,
UP IN the discussion of means of rid :
"'"s the country Of predatory animals
ana the cooperation of the sportsmen
'n" game wardens in bringing viola =
tors of the law to court. Mr. Mar
'o"e also proposed the amalgamation
OF the hunters and anglers clubs.
making one organization Ha sold
mat TINS matter would be taken nm
later in the spring