Onset of rut to boost big game season

Montana’s general hunting season is hitting the midway point and wildlife officials say the overall harvest will increase with the onset of the deer breeding season.

The deer breeding season, known as the “rut,” typically begins in early-to-mid November.

So far this season, more hunters have reported harvesting more deer and elk at the regional game check stations in Northwest Montana compared to last season. Overall through the first three weekends of the season, more than 5,400 hunters have been checked at the stations and the percentage of hunters with game has been 8.6% compared to 7.1% a year ago.

Hunters who stopped at the Olney check station report the most success in the region, with 10.5% of hunters with game. The region's busiest station on U.S. 2 west of Kalispell reported 8.6% of hunters with game. Fifteen elk had been checked at the U.S. 2 station, the most in the region.

Some accumulating snow is expected across western Montana this weekend.

Check stations are open on weekends during general season from 10 a.m. to approximately 1.5 hours past sunset. The regional stations are located at U.S. 2 West of Kalispell, Montana 83 north of Swan Lake, Montana 200 west of Thompson Falls, and U.S. 93 near Olney.

The general deer and elk hunting season concludes Dec 1, 2024.

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.