Montana Hunters: Baiting Game Animals Is Illegal—What You Need to Know

If you’re piling corn or mineral blocks out in the woods to pull elk or deer in close before you squeeze the trigger, you’re breaking the law. Full stop.

With general hunting season in full swing and hunters spread across the state from the Bitterroot to the Bears Paw, FWP game wardens out of Kalispell are putting out a clear reminder: hunting game animals over bait is illegal in Montana, and so is supplemental feeding of wildlife.

Regional game warden captain Chris Neu said it plainly. “Hunting game animals with bait is illegal in Montana. Several stores across the state sell products that are marketed as wildlife feed, supplements, and attractants. However, just because a product is available for sale, that does not mean it is legal to use while hunting.”

That last part deserves to sink in. You can walk into a farm supply store in Ronan or Livingston and find shelves full of deer attractants and feed supplements. Legal to sell. Not legal to use for hunting. The fact that a product exists on a shelf doesn’t give you a green light to dump it in the timber and hang a stand over it.

Honestly, beyond the legal side of it, baiting is just bad for the animals and bad for hunting in general. It pulls unnatural concentrations of wildlife together in tight spaces, which is exactly the kind of situation that accelerates disease transmission — and with chronic wasting disease continuing to spread, that’s not a risk any of us should be taking lightly. It also creates human-wildlife conflicts that hurt everyone, including the landowners and communities that have tolerated hunters on and around their ground for generations.

In my experience, hunters who lean on bait are cutting corners on the actual work of hunting — the scouting, the boot leather, the patience. Montana’s hunting traditions are worth protecting, and that means doing it right.

Neu echoed that sentiment. “Hunters should familiarize themselves with Montana’s hunting regulations and understand the restrictions on baiting and supplemental feeding before heading into the field or before purchasing this feed from stores. Do your part to protect Montana’s hunting traditions.”

If you see something that looks like illegal hunting activity or a wildlife violation, don’t just shake your head and drive past. Report it to FWP by calling 1-800-TIP-MONT or submitting a report online at tipmont.mt.gov. Tips can be anonymous. Use it.