Montana Closes BMU 700 Without Hounds to Hunting of All Black Bear

May 22, 2026
2:04 pm

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Montana Fish & Wildlife Commission has closed Black Bear Management Unit 700 without hounds to all black bear hunting effective one-half hour after sunset on Saturday, May 23, 2026. This abrupt shutdown of one of the state’s premier units represents yet another incremental erosion of traditional hunting methods under the banner of “wildlife management.” By specifically targeting houndless hunters while leaving the door open for those using dogs in adjacent areas, the Commission is effectively pitting one group of lawful hunters against another and signaling that certain time-honored techniques are no longer welcome on public land. What makes this move particularly concerning for the broader 2A community is the creeping logic that government agencies can unilaterally redefine acceptable sporting practices without meaningful legislative oversight or public vote. Black bear hunting with or without hounds has been a staple of Western wildlife management for generations, helping to maintain healthy populations and reduce human-bear conflict. Closing BMU 700 without hounds sets a dangerous precedent: today it’s hounds, tomorrow it could be baiting, caliber restrictions, or seasonal limitations driven by activist pressure rather than biological data. Sportsmen who value self-reliance and the full spectrum of lawful hunting methods should recognize this as the same regulatory creep that threatens firearm ownership itself. When unelected commissions begin carving up constitutional liberties piece by piece under the guise of conservation, the right to keep and bear arms for traditional uses is inevitably next on the chopping block. Hunters and firearms enthusiasts must treat these incremental restrictions as the warning signs they are. Montana has long been a stronghold for pro-2A values precisely because its citizens refuse to surrender their heritage to coastal-style nanny-state policies. This closure should serve as a rallying point to demand greater transparency, biological justification, and accountability from the Commission before more units fall and more methods are arbitrarily declared off-limits. The defense of hunting is the defense of the Second Amendment by another name; once government decides which tools and traditions are no longer politically fashionable, the slope toward broader disarmament becomes slick indeed.

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What makes this move particularly concerning for the broader 2A community is the creeping logic that government agencies can unilaterally redefine acceptable sporting practices without meaningful legislative oversight or public vote. Black bear hunting with or without hounds has been a staple of Western wildlife management for generations, helping to maintain healthy populations and reduce human-bear conflict. Closing BMU 700 without hounds sets a dangerous precedent: today it’s hounds, tomorrow it could be baiting, caliber restrictions, or seasonal limitations driven by activist pressure rather than biological data. Sportsmen who value self-reliance and the full spectrum of lawful hunting methods should recognize this as the same regulatory creep that threatens firearm ownership itself. When unelected commissions begin carving up constitutional liberties piece by piece under the guise of conservation, the right to keep and bear arms for traditional uses is inevitably next on the chopping block.

Hunters and firearms enthusiasts must treat these incremental restrictions as the warning signs they are. Montana has long been a stronghold for pro-2A values precisely because its citizens refuse to surrender their heritage to coastal-style nanny-state policies. This closure should serve as a rallying point to demand greater transparency, biological justification, and accountability from the Commission before more units fall and more methods are arbitrarily declared off-limits. The defense of hunting is the defense of the Second Amendment by another name; once government decides which tools and traditions are no longer politically fashionable, the slope toward broader disarmament becomes slick indeed.

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