Above average numbers for Region 2 big game season

Big game hunting season hits its midway mark this week, and hunter check stations in west-central Montana are reporting elk and deer harvests up from last year and the five-year average.

The number of hunter trips through the check stations near Darby, Bonner and Anaconda totaled 4,772 for the first half of the season. During the season’s first three weekends, those hunters checked 179 elk, 53 mule deer and 185 white-tailed deer, compared to 119 elk, 52 mule deer and 137 white-tailed deer in 2021.

Elk harvest is up at all three stations, compared to 2021 and is the highest it has been in the region since 2017 at this point of the season. White-tailed deer harvest is also outpacing recent years, due in part to more liberal regulations in some hunting districts. Mule deer harvest is on track with last season and above the five-year average.

At the Fish Creek check station west of Missoula, historical data for the third weekend is not available, but FWP biologist, Ryan Klimstra, said despite heavy winds that made conditions difficult, animals are moving around and more available to hunters as the season draws on. Klimstra recorded 525 hunter trips through the check station so far this season with three elk, 26 white-tailed deer and one mule deer.

Hunters must stop at all check stations that they pass, even if they have not harvested any animals. The general big game season runs through Sunday, Nov. 27.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks wildlife staff will offer a free clinic in Missoula on Monday, Nov. 21 to teach hunters how to collect lymph node samples from harvested deer, elk and moose so that they can be tested for chronic wasting disease (CWD).

The free instructional clinic is planned for Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. at the FWP office in Missoula, 3201 Spurgin Road. Attendees will get hands-on practice removing lymph nodes for testing. Participants should plan to bring their own harvested animal (head and small portion of attached upper neck) for the best hands-on experience. The animal must be thawed. Those that don’t have a harvested animal to bring can come to observe.