See below for FWP Region 1’s report of the fifth weekend Montana’s general rifle season:

Deer and elk harvest in northwest Montana is slightly ahead of last year, according to check station results around Region One.

At the six northwest Montana check stations through Sunday, November 18, a total of 13,976 hunters checked 605 white-tailed deer (532 of these were bucks), 101 mule deer, and 67 elk for a 5.5 percent rate of hunters with game.  Harvest was up slightly as compared to last year when 5.1 percent of hunters checked game.  The number of whitetail bucks checked is up 8 percent, mule deer numbers are up 40 percent, and elk are down 23 percent as compared to last year’s check station results at the same point in the season. Hunter numbers are down seven percent.

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.

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.

Wolf Harvest:  Hunters have taken 19 wolves in Region One to date.  Statewide, hunters have taken 66 wolves. This is a complete count of the number of wolves taken as of November 18.