Montana Half-Price Deer and Antelope Licenses for Combat-Disabled Veterans

Section 87-2-817(1) lets a veteran or a disabled member of the armed forces buy a Class A-3 deer A tag, a Class A-4 deer B tag, a Class B-7 deer A tag, a Class B-8 deer B tag and a special antelope licence at half the licence fee, where the person meets the qualifications in 87-2-803(9) as the result of a combat-connected injury. The test is not a VA rating, and that is the thing every summary gets wrong. Section 87-2-803(9) is the standard for a permit to hunt from a vehicle: the person must be certified by a licensed physician, chiropractor or physician assistant, or an advanced practice registered nurse, to be nonambulatory, to have substantially impaired mobility, or to have a documented genetic condition limiting their ability to walk or carry significant weight for long distances. A veteran at 100 percent for conditions that do not impair mobility does not meet it. A veteran at 30 percent with a combat leg injury that leaves them substantially mobility-impaired does. Fish, Wildlife and Parks asks for a VA benefit summary letter as part of the application, but the letter is evidence of the combat connection rather than the disability test itself. The hard cap is in 87-2-506(3), and it is unusually explicit for a benefit of this kind. Qualifying disabled veterans "must be provided a total of 50" of each of the four deer tags and 50 special antelope licences annually. Fifty, for the whole state, each year. Fish, Wildlife and Parks publishes the fifty-a-year figure on its application page for the program as a whole. A veteran who qualifies on the medical test is competing for one of fifty, which makes applying early the operative advice. There is a second restriction inside the cap. The tags may be used in the administrative region, hunting district or area of the veteran's choice, except in a region, district or area where the number of licences is less than the number of applicants, in which case qualifying disabled veterans are eligible for no more than 10 percent of the total licences for that area. In an oversubscribed district the veteran preference is bounded by the same 10 percent rule Montana applies to nonresidents. One favourable interaction: licences issued to veterans or disabled members under this part do not count against the special antelope licences reserved for people with permanent disabilities under 87-2-706, so using this route does not consume the general disability allocation. A parallel and separate provision, 87-2-815, allows a Montana resident to surrender a hunting licence for reissue to a disabled veteran or disabled service member for use on an expedition run by a 501(c)(3) that uses hunting in rehabilitation. That route has its own test: a Purple Heart recipient, or someone who as a result of wounds or injuries received in a combat zone is medically retired, holds a 70 percent or greater rating from VA or the Department of Defense, or is on active duty status. A recipient need not be a Montana resident, need not hold a conservation licence, pays no fee, and may receive only one such licence per calendar year.