The Montana Master Hunter Program provides advanced hunter education that increases skills, competence, ethical behavior, and knowledge of agriculture and stewardship.
The Montana Master Hunter Program is a project of One Montana, a nonprofit working to promote a vibrant Montana by connecting rural and urban communities. 1MT develops creative programs to support private land stewardship, maintain agriculture and working lands, and preserve our cultural heritage.
“The Montana Master Hunter Program will develop a network of highly skilled, ethical, safe hunters that will serve as an example to others and help establish positive relationships with private landowners. RMEF is proud to support this innovative program.”
What is the Montana Master Hunter Program?
One Montana (1MT) launched the Master Hunter Program to help the State of Montana and private landowners improve wildlife management efforts by restoring the cooperation between hunters, private landowners, and game managers.
The program provides advanced hunter education that hones the participant’s overall aptitude and includes training in conservation and stewardship, natural history, ethics, and specialized ballistics and marksmanship skills, among other topics. The program has three primary goals:
1. Build trust and improve working relationships between landowners and sportsmen;
2. Help landowners and the State of Montana with their wildlife management goals; and
3. Create ambassadors and mentors for the sport of hunting.
The Montana Master Program is a unique and rigorous course which includes classroom and online instruction, and field work. The program offers skills mastery combined with conservation and stewardship education, and specialized ballistics and marksmanship training. Instructors include ranchers, farmers, landowners, university faculty, professional shooting instructors, wildlife managers, wildlife biologists, first aid personnel, as well as back country survival and equipment experts. Each participant has the opportunity to become a Certified Master Hunter, and will receive a Montana Master Hunter Certificate upon successful completion of the course. Continuing education is required for certificate renewal is available through additional in-person and online coursework.
Certified Master Hunters will understand how their hunting activities and behaviors impact Montana farmers and ranchers. Hunters who successfully complete this course will be allowed managed hunting access to our partner farms and ranches, and deepened knowledge and skillset that will make them more competent, successful hunters.
The program increases hunter competencies in the following critical area, among others (Click here for the Curriculum by Subject):
Conservation history and ethics
Wildlife biology and habitat
Farm and ranch management
Landowner/sportsmen relations
Hunting skills
Shooting competencies
Pre-hunt planning
After the kill
What is the Goal of the Montana Master Hunter Program?
The primary goal of the Master Hunter Program is to help build trust and working relationships between landowners and sportsmen. The organizations and individuals who are partners in this effort are committed to building trust and to developing creative, viable solutions to the difficult issues facing resource managers in Montana and across the country. The Master Hunter Program invests in a group of skilled, knowledgeable hunters that can work respectfully with landowners to meet their wildlife management goals, change false perceptions about hunting and agriculture, and increase access opportunities for future generations.
The program is building a community of likeminded hunters who hunt together, keep each other informed, and are knowledgeable voices on issues affecting sportsmen and women across Montana.
“Though most hunters in Montana are good stewards and responsible hunters, concern over ethics is something we hear every year from both landowners and hunters alike. The Montana Master Hunter Program is an innovative solution to improve hunter ethics, while also creatively looking at new access opportunities.”