Harvest numbers were about average for west-central Montana’s big game opener Oct. 21. Although deer and elk harvest fell below the 2006 opening day, the numbers were right in line with the five-year average. The three west-central Montana check stations reported an opening day total of 2,374 hunters that checked 78 elk, 103 white-tailed deer, 28 mule deer, and one bighorn sheep for 9.3 percent of hunters with game. The Bonner station checked the most deer with 19 mule deer and 88 whitetails reported. Hunter numbers at the Bonner station were down nearly 300 from last year, but the station had the highest percentage of hunters with game at nearly 15 percent. “It was steady all day long at the Bonner station, but we never got the evening rush of hunters I was expecting,” said Jay Kolbe, FWP wildlife biologist. The Bonner station saw 33 elk on Sunday, four more than were checked through on last year’s opener. The high elevation SNOTEL weather information site near Darby reported 17 inches of snow on Sunday, above last year’s six inches, but greater snow accumulation did not translate to more elk through the check station. Thirty elk passed through the Darby station, down from 39 last year. Darby checked through 15 mule deer and 11 whitetails on Sunday. -fwp-
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