Bow hunting illegal for those on probation

Bow-hunting season is well under way, but Montana felons supervised by the Office of Probation and Parole won't be participating.

The Montana Department of Corrections this summer clarified its rules on deadly weapons, and archery equipment now is included.

Already prohibited from owning guns, some of those on probation say the decision effectively ends their right to hunt.

Corrections officials, however, say the clarification just puts all Montana Probation and Parole offices on the same page.

"It's not a new policy per se," said Tom Forsyth, the Office of Probation and Parole's regional administrator for Flathead, Lake, Lincoln, and Sanders counties. "I think everyone has always thought bows were a deadly weapon. More than anything else what we were trying to do was get consistency statewide."

Deadly weapons - which also include guns and knives over a certain length - are illegal for probationers and parolees to possess, but enforcement of the rule on archery equipment had been spotty before the department's June clarification.

What constitutes a deadly weapon is often based on common sense, and Probation and Parole officers in different parts of the state sometimes made exceptions for archery enthusiasts or hunters.

"There always had been a question whether that was OK or not. It's just taken a while for all the regions to decide that we are going to enforce this rule consistently," Forsyth said. "Technically, a steak knife is a deadly weapon, but we don't take away everybody's steak knives. A bow is designed specifically to kill."

Possessing a bow, like possessing a gun, could be grounds for the revocation of a suspended or deferred sentence. It also counts as a parole violation.

Officers need to be sure there aren't weapons in a residence when making a home visit, arresting an offender or conducting a search, Forsyth said.

"What it really boils down to is officer safety," he said, adding that the clarification was not meant to target hunters. "I just think our officers' safety needs to come before that. We're not trying to disenfranchise anybody from doing anything."

Once off probation, a felon is again allowed to own a bow. Federal laws prohibit a felon from ever owning a gun. The Office of Probation and Parole's deadly weapons restriction is an administrative rule, not a law, and its clarification was recommended by its legal department.

The Office of Probation and Parole supervises only felons - about 900 in Flathead County and another 550 out of satellite offices in Polson, Libby and Thompson Falls, according to Dave Castro, a supervisor at the Kalispell office.

Castro said he has received four complaints from those on probation upset about bows being outlawed.

But Ken Beebe, who lives north of Rexford in Lincoln County, said he thinks the number of people on probation affected by the clarification is much higher.

"I think there's a lot more probationers that hunt than you even realize," Beebe said. "And the only way they can hunt is with a bow."

Beebe, who was put on probation in 1998 following a conviction for a sex crime, will remain under state supervision for another 14 years. He has been bow hunting since 1983.

"I don't even keep the bow in my house," Beebe said. "I don't even pull it out until close to the season."

Beebe said he agrees with the probation office's classification of guns as a deadly weapon, but bows - while they are meant to kill - present much less of a threat to officers, especially officers armed with handguns.

"Its a learned art," said Beebe, adding that bow hunting requires years of practice honing a specialized set of skills. "It's not something that any old John Doe can just pick up and shoot somebody with."

Effectively prohibiting a felon on probation from hunting is too harsh a consequence to be the incidental byproduct of a rules clarification, Beebe said.

"My life, ever since I was little, in September and October we started hunting. And they're taking that right away."

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com