No probable cause.

There is not a law that I know of that states that a felon can not apply and receive a hunting license. If there is then I will rescind this post and apologize.

Anyone want to volunteer as a "test case".....

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Is there some known problem the DNR has found with felons hunting?

Chicago Sun-Times, Jan 30, 2006 by Matt Gouras

HELENA, Mont. -- Hundreds of people barred from having guns because they are felons on parole or probation are still able to get hunting licenses in Montana with no questions asked, an Associated Press investigation found.

Montana may not be alone. While nearly all states ban felons from possessing guns, only a handful -- including Rhode Island and Maine - - keep them from receiving hunting permits, and just a few others -- such as Illinois and Massachusetts -- require hunters to show both a hunting license and a firearms license.

"Our license dealers have no way of checking," said Lt. Rich Mann, with the enforcement program for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. "If someone wants to play with the system and beat you at it, they will."

'A BIG CONCERN'
The AP examination of Montana hunting and corrections records shows at least 660 felons on parole or probation received tags in the past year. The findings are based on a comparison of unique first, middle and last names, along with other identifiable information, that appeared in databases of both hunters and felons.

A state probation official said the findings likely would prompt the state to consider its own records search to see if parolees are violating terms of their release.

"Obviously that's a big concern, and it makes me want to look into each of these cases," said Ron Alsbury, Montana's probation and parole bureau chief.

The licenses don't specifically require the use of firearms to hunt, and state officials note that most felons could legally hunt using other weapons, such as bows. Several people contacted by the AP said they hunted legally with bows while on probation.

However, bows are hardly the weapon of choice for some of the game for which felons were issued tags, such as birds or bison.

Jason Beaudoin of Frenchtown, on probation for a 2002 conviction for assault with a deadly weapon, got a series of hunting tags last year, but said he used only a bow and arrow.

"I know I can't own a firearm or be in possession of one. They made that very clear . . . and I agree with the policy," Beaudoin said.

Some states, including Montana, check for hunting violations as a routine part of a hunting license application, but don't run spot checks to see if convicted felons are among those applying for licenses or if they plan to use firearms.

CHECKS ON CHILD SUPPORT

"The result in Idaho is that you could theoretically be a convicted cannibal and still have a hunting license," said Ed Mitchell, a spokesman for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game in Boise. "But if you are a convicted cannibal, you cannot legally own a bent BB gun in the state of Idaho."

With millions of hunters in the United States -- nearly 270,000 in Montana alone -- authorities in many states say it simply would be too difficult to check if felons are getting hunting tags.

North Dakota officials make sure hunters aren't delinquent on their child support and deny permits to those who are, but they don't check for felony convictions.

Colorado, like most states, relies on its law banning felons from possessing guns to discourage them from applying for hunting licenses. Still, every year game wardens find someone with a felony conviction hunting with a firearm and a legally obtained hunting license, said Bob Thompson, assistant chief of law enforcement for the Colorado Division of Wildlife.

Call me a conspiracy theorist or just a stupid asshole, I don't care. However, this sure seems like way to obtain and maintain a database on everybody. Possibly even a backdoor way to maintain a list of people that own firearms. Imagine, for a moment that, once a list is compiled as to who actually hunts with firearms, a day were to come that the police come knocking on a hunter's door to confiscate their firearms?? Just a thought.