For the uninitiated, here is an outline of Roosters 101. (There is a lot more to this short course, but heeding the following should get you into the ballpark.)

Item 1: Roosters still alive following the initial onslaught aren't likely to hang around for round two. Survivors also prefer running to flying, so a good dog is almost a prerequisite. As hunting pressure increases, the survivors head for the thickest, gnarliest cover available. And they will go however far it takes to find it -- a lot farther than many of us care to walk.

Item 2: You need backup hunting ground(s). This will require additional study and scouting. For example, if you hunt the heck out of the easy stuff, then where is the closest tough cover? And, most urgently, how can you get onto it?

In other words, the land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program where you found dozens of birds cavorting on opening morning is not likely to hold squat after Day One -- unless you hold exclusive hunting rights and can rest the birds, as well as yourself, between hunts.

Item 3: Bring a good dog. You can indeed shoot roosters without a good pointer/retriever, but you'll get a lot more chances to shoot birds with a good dog at your side. Besides, good dogs are what bird hunting is all about.

Item 4: Late-season roosters are tough to corral. And success is fleeting, usually demanding a lot of legwork. With that in mind, we always try to cram in as many late-season days as possible, simply because the roosters still out there are so much fun -- cute, actually, in the foxy sense. Typically we see roosters, often in mind-boggling numbers. But shots that put actual birds in the bag tend to be few and far between. If it's meat in the freezer you're after, better head for the nearest Safeway. (This tip from veteran hunters armed to the teeth with savvy dogs -- dogs who know roosters.)

Item 5: Doggedness pays off . . . sometimes, anyway.

2006 HUNTING PROSPECTS: MONTANA
I think that on the heels of a devastating winter and killer spring, you could sum up Montana pheasant-hunting expectations prior to last season as "cautiously optimistic," thanks to a generally dry winter, a decent spring, good nesting and brood-rearing cover, and not too harsh a summer.

In a nutshell, the 2005 pheasant season played out as "Maybe not great, but okay." We found the hunting as advertised: pretty good in some spots, okay in others, not so hot in a few. Overall, I'd give Montana's last rooster season a B+ grade.

Generally speaking, the heart of Montana's accessible ringneck hunting opportunities is found in the central, north-central and particularly, in the northeast portions -- Region 6 -- of the Treasure State.

East of the Continental Divide, isolated hot pockets for pheasant hunting occur in most of the major river basins, especially the Yellowstone and its tributaries in the southeast. You can hardly go wrong following the Hi-Line east from Great Falls/Shelby to the North Dakota border or poking around the Yellowstone, Tongue, Powder or Bighorn river bottoms.

When asked to speculate on the upcoming bird season, information specialist Andrew McKean of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks painted a much rosier picture than the "cautious optimism" expressed by MFWP personnel last year.