Hunters report greater success
<p>Whitetail taken in the Yaak area on Wednesday, Nov. 13 with a Ruger No. 1 in .30-06. Paul was wearing his lucky green shirt.</p>
Things are picking up, hunters.
At the six Northwest Montana check stations through Sunday, Nov. 10, a total of 8,695 hunters checked 341 white-tailed deer (290 of these were bucks), 71 mule deer and 36 elk for a 5.3 percent rate of hunters with game.
Harvest was very similar to last year when 5.2 percent of hunters checked game. Hunter numbers are up slightly.
The counts at the six Northwest Montana check stations represent a sampling of the harvest and do not represent the complete number of animals taken.
“Whitetail harvest is starting to pick up, and the next three weeks should be really good for hunters,” said FWP Region One Wildlife Manager Jim Williams.
Hunters are reminded that it is buck-only for whitetails in Northwest Montana. Antlerless whitetails remain legal game for youth 12-15 years of age (and some qualifying 11-year olds, see regulations). Mule deer are buck-only for the entire season. Elk are brow-tine bull only. Spike bull elk are not legal game for any hunter in Region One. Hunters should refer to the hunting regulations for the hunting district they plan to hunt.
(Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks contributed to this report.)