# Bottineau Area



## Damonh (Jul 19, 2010)

I am Moving to Bottineau to go to school. Was wondering how the waterfowl hunting is in the area. Can a non resident buy a license to hunt the whole season?


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## drakespanker12 (Aug 28, 2006)

They sure can, if your a non resident going to school in ND you can buy a resident license but you have to buy it over the internet. Make sure you do that or it will cost ya about $300 bucks in fines. an you'll have to put some window time in around that area, hunted there once before an drove for miles before i seen any birds


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## mhadda1 (Jul 3, 2008)

Came up two years ago and stayed around Lake Metigoshe. Had to go through Bottineau every time. Not many birds but the people were as nice as they come. Cheeseburgers were a little lacking too but they did their job.
Notice, going _through_ Bottineau not in Bottineau. Every year is different, but that year was difficult to find birds within 50-75 miles of Bottineau. Most of our birds were southeast on the outskirts to DL. Hope this year is different for ya. :beer:


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

Damonh said:


> I am Moving to Bottineau to go to school. Was wondering how the waterfowl hunting is in the area. Can a non resident buy a license to hunt the whole season?


You'll enjoy hunting the refuges around the area.


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## drakespanker12 (Aug 28, 2006)

He'll enjoy it if he can get permission around the refuges


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## Damonh (Jul 19, 2010)

Thanks everyone ill just have to spend alot of time scouting the area once i get there in a month.


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## tikkat3 (Jun 27, 2006)

I dont see why he couldnt get permission around the refuge, I went to college there graduated in 09 best waterfowl hunting of my life and i cant remember getting turned down once!


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## Damonh (Jul 19, 2010)

Hey guys im having a hard time finding out where the refuge is in that area. Can anyone point me in the direction of a website that shows the ruges areas for that area of the state.


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## wuttheflock (Jul 2, 2009)

You can go to huntingsnows.com and click on the links/articles icon, then click on refuges, it will give you info on all the refuges in the state. Hope this helps.


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## drakespanker12 (Aug 28, 2006)

the year i hunted up there every farmer i talked to wanted 100+ bucks to hunt, it was either that or they wouldn't let ya hunt at all.


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## tikkat3 (Jun 27, 2006)

Must have saw your liscence plate LOL


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## drakespanker12 (Aug 28, 2006)

I hunted with a local from Bott. Ya we never drove my vehicle.....


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## Trapper62 (Mar 3, 2003)

Damonh,

I grew up and live in the area, my son will also be a freshman there this year. I grew up over by Westhope, right off of the J. Clark Sayler Nat'l Wildlife Refuge, super hunting. I now live east of Bottineau and can see Lords Lake Nat'l Wildlife Refuge from my porch. There you just got the names of two refuges to check out  Search them on Google Maps, it will give you a feel for the area.

We have a lot of water this summer and the duck hunting should be great, email me when you arrive in Bottineau and I will try to get you familiar with the area. Also, the landowners are good people, it is just that we get a lot of crap hunters at times that abuse the resource and that sets a bad tone for landowners. It is not uncommon to see piles of ducks and geese dumped off on an approach, or hear tons of shooting but never see the hunters with any ducks, maybe they are all just bad shots. Remember that fall is their bread and butter season and that comes before anything else, even hunting!

We have a good warden up here who does his job so keep it straight forward and you will be fine. Plan to do some crane hunting in September, they are a blast to shoot, I can get you on some good land for those if interested, but check on the regs. regarding Non-Res., they are hunted under a seperate license than waterfall.

Later, hope you time in Bottineau is a good one!

Trapper62


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## Damonh (Jul 19, 2010)

Thanks alot trapper 62 and everyone else. I dont know if this is tru but i read somewhere that if you are in enrolled in a school in college in ND that you can buy a resident license. Im not sure if this is accurate or not but it would be nice if it was. Trapper 62 i will for sure email you when i move over there in late august.


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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

Trapper.....if he gets the resident license,he only needs the free crane permit to hunt them plus the same liceses we as residents need.

If he is a non-resident,he can hunt cranes with either the 14 day waterfowl license or the 14 day upland license,plus the crane permit.


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