Mule deer harvest up, elk harvest down at Havre check station

Andrew McKean

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Mule deer buck harvest up, elk harvest down at Havre check station  

Deer hunting activity is ahead of last year, according to results from Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ check station on U.S. Highway 2 east of Havre, and buck harvest is increasing as the rut, or breeding season, gets underway in northeastern Montana.

 

According to FWP biologist Al Rosgaard, who manages the check station, mule deer hunting activity is up, and harvest is well above last year at this time. Through four weekends of the deer and elk rifle season, FWP has checked 599 mule deer hunters with 483 mule deer. Last year through the same period 512 hunters checked 342 mule deer.

 

“Hunters are getting into the bucks as the rut is starting,” reports Rosgaard. “Bucks in the harvest were up 23 percent over last year at this stage of the season.”

 

White-tailed deer hunting is on par with last year but hunters are harvesting substantially more deer. Through four weekends 141 whitetail hunters and 134 deer have been checked. Last year 130 hunters with 85 whitetails had passed through the station by this time of the season.

 

Elk hunting is relatively slow in Region 6. A total of 72 elk hunters with 33 elk have been checked this year, compared with 91 hunters and 46 elk last year.

 

For the entire season, 550 antelope hunters with 455 antelope stopped at the Havre check station compared with 516 hunters and 386 antelope last year.

 

Montana’s general deer and elk season ends a half hour after sunset on Sunday, Nov. 25.