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Hunting

Montana’s General Hunting Season Wraps Up

Despite unseasonable weather, FWP check stations in northwest Montana recorded more hunters harvesting big game this year

By Tristan Scott
A white-tailed deer wanders along Orchard Ridge Drive in Kalispell on Sept. 22, 2021. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon

Montana’s general hunting season wrapped up Nov. 28 with a slight increase in the overall big game harvested in northwest Montana, despite unseasonably warm conditions that turned downright balmy over the final weekend. 

According to preliminary results, the four check stations in northwest Montana recorded 9,624 hunters who harvested 940 white-tailed deer — including 711 bucks — as well as 90 mule deer and 44 elk. The percentage of hunters with game at the four check stations was 11.2 percent, compared to 8.5 percent in 2019.

“Our check stations saw a lot of 2-to-3-year-old bucks this year and that was to be expected following back-to-back mild winters,” Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) Regional Wildlife Manager Neil Anderson said. “We also saw an increase in the number of mule deer bucks harvested overall.”

Check stations were only open on weekends during general hunting season and therefore sampled a small portion of overall hunter participation and harvests across the region, Anderson said. The harvest data help biologists track monitoring trends and collect information on wildlife age, health, and other observations from the field. Telephone surveys, conducted over the upcoming winter months with hunters, will gather definitive harvest data and participation information.

According to FWP officials, hunting license sales have continued to increase over the last three years, both among resident and non-resident hunters. Year-to-date figures recorded between March 1 and Oct. 18 show a jump in non-resident hunting license sales from 52,356 in 2019 to 79,281 during the same period in 2021. The total number of hunting license sales also grew among Montana residents, from 121,982 in 2019 to 136,285 in 2021.

Those year-to-date figures capture license sales up to the week prior to the start of hunting season. FWP officials emphasized that license sales spike in the lead-up to the season, as well as in the first weeks of general rifle season, so the final tally of hunters is higher.

Looking ahead, sportsmen should be aware that the biennial season-setting process is underway for hunting regulations this year. Because hunting season structures and hunting district boundaries are adopted for most game species every other year, FWP released potential changes to hunting regulations for the 2022 and 2023 seasons in late September and solicited public comment for 30 days. FWP biologists and other staff sorted through the feedback and developed proposals for all game species for the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission to consider at its meeting on Dec. 14.

After soliciting another round of public comment, the commission will adopt final hunting regulations at its meeting in early February.

Meanwhile, the new muzzleloader heritage hunting season runs Dec. 11-19. Any unused licenses or permits that are valid on the last day of the general season will remain valid during the muzzleloader heritage season, which has specific regulations.

Finally, hunters who harvested deer, elk or moose this season have until 5 p.m. on Dec. 3 to bring the animal’s head to the FWP office in Kalispell for chronic wasting disease (CWD) sampling. Testing for CWD is voluntary throughout the state. However, FWP is assisting hunters with sample collection and submission at the Region 1 office in Kalispell, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. FWP will cover the cost of testing hunter-harvested animals for CWD.

Contact a regional FWP office for more information. In northwest Montana, call (406) 752-5501.