West-central Montana hunter check stations continue to report elk, deer totals up from last year

MISSOULA – With two weeks left of big game general hunting season, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks west-central Montana hunter check stations are collectively reporting elk and deer harvest totals that are up slightly compared to last year.

The three wildlife check stations that operate each weekend in west-central Montana have checked 227 elk collectively so far compared to 191 last year at this point. The biggest difference in elk harvest is at the Bonner station, where numbers have remained about double from last year all season long. The station is reporting 48 elk so far, compared to 22 in 2023.

For deer, the stations have tallied 93 mule deer compared to 85 last year and 306 white-tailed deer compared to 253. The deer breeding season, also known as the “rut,” picked up over the past week of the season, bumping harvest totals across the region.

The Bonner station nearly doubled its cumulative deer harvest over the fourth weekend of the season, checking in 102 whitetails and 10 mule deer for seasons totals of 219 and 35 respectively.

“Nearly all deer hunters we talked to at the Bonner check station reported increased rutting activity this weekend, and it showed in the bump in deer harvest,” said Lee Tafelmeyer, FWP wildlife biologist in the Blackfoot area. “Congratulations to a number of youth hunters who have harvested their first deer and brought it through the check station!”

Ryan Klimstra, Missoula-based wildlife biologist that runs the Fish Creek wildlife check station in Mineral County also said hunters reported seeing a lot of deer moving around, a sign of the deer rut. “All bucks I checked had evidence of scraping in their antlers,” Klimstra said.

The Fish Creek station isn’t open all weekends of the season, but for the two weekends it has operated so far, the hunter traffic and deer harvest has been up a bit from last year.

FWP reminds hunters that hunting for antlered buck mule deer on the general license ended on Sunday, Nov. 17 in Hunting Districts 204, 212, 213, 214, 215, 217, 240, 292, and 298.

Although wildlife check stations do not see anywhere near the entire hunter effort and harvest for an area, they capture important trends and biological information, and by stopping to report a harvest or an experience, hunters are helping with wildlife management in Montana. FWP reminds hunters they must stop at all wildlife check stations that they pass, even if they have not harvested any animals. The general big game season runs through Sunday, Dec. 1.

CWD sampling locations

Hunters can help with chronic wasting disease (CWD) management by submitting samples from harvested deer, elk, and moose for testing. In west-central Montana, the wildlife check stations near Darby and Anaconda are collecting CWD samples, as well as specific CWD sampling locations at Clearwater Crossing in the Blackfoot Valley (Sat, Sun, Mon from 10 a.m.-dark), Arrow Stone Park in Deer Lodge (Fri, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and Sat, Sun, Mon from 10 a.m.-dark) and the Missoula FWP office (Mon-Fri, 8 a.m.-5p.m.). For a complete list of stations and hours across the state, visit fwp.mt.gov/cwd. Hunter can also take samples themselves and mail them to the wildlife lab for testing.

Although CWD testing is voluntary across most of Montana, samples from hunter-harvested deer, elk and moose are critical to FWP’s understanding of this fatal disease. Multiple big game hunting districts around west-central Montana are Priority Surveillance Areas for CWD, which are areas where FWP is making a concerted effort to gather more samples. All sampling is offered for free to hunters. Hunters play a key role in understanding CWD by providing data and in minimizing the spread by disposing of wildlife parts properly. Read more: fwp.mt.gov/cwd.

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