Big game season: White-tail harvest remains up
Schafer VandeVoort, 13, with his first elk that was harvested Oct. 29 in Region 1. (FWP photo)
Montana’s general hunting season is in full swing, and hunters are experiencing the arrival of winter weather in northwest Montana.
Heavy snowfall began this week across most of the region and the National Weather Service advised recreationists to be prepared for difficult to dangerous backcountry conditions and slick driving conditions followed by cold temperatures into next week.
More than 3,100 hunters have appeared at regional game check stations over the last two weekends with mixed results.
The overall number of hunters with harvested white-tailed deer is up so far compared to last year while the number of hunters with harvested mule deer and elk is down.
In Region 1, 258 white-tailed, 143 white-tailed bucks and 28 mule deer have been harvested.
Twenty-two elk have been taken, compared to 32 at this time last season.
The U.S. 2 check station west of Kalispell has seen the highest number of hunters, followed by the Olney station on U.S. 93.
Montana’s general deer and elk hunting season runs from Oct. 22 to Nov. 27.
Other hunting seasons underway include black bear (Sept. 15-Nov. 27), bighorn sheep (Sept. 15-Nov. 27), moose (Sept. 15-Nov. 27), mountain lion (fall season without dogs, Oct. 22-Nov. 27), mountain goat (Sept. 15-Nov. 27), turkey (Sept. 1-Jan. 1), and wolf (Sept. 15-March 15, 2023).
Check stations are open on weekends during general deer and elk hunting season from 10 a.m. to approximately 1.5 hours past sunset. The regional stations are located at U.S. Highway 2 West of Kalispell, Montana Highway 83 north of Swan Lake, Highway 200 west of Thompson Falls, and U.S. 93 near Olney.
Hunters must stop at any check station they encounter whether they harvested an animal or not. The counts at the stations represent a sampling of the harvest and do not represent the complete number of animals taken.