Elk Harvest Steady On Front, Deer Totals Down

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 Elk hunters on the Rocky Mountain Front are right on target almost half way through the state’s five-week big game hunting season, state wildlife officials say.

Deer hunters, however, are about a third below the long-term average, according to figures collected at Fish, Wildlife and Parks check station in Augusta.

Through the end of the second week of the season, elk hunters had taken a total of 151 elk, which is exactly the 10-year average. Both bulls and cow elk taken are up, while the calf elk harvest is down slightly.

But deer numbers are down. This year, hunters so far have checked in 93 mule deer; the 10-year average is 142.

And whitetail hunters have brought in 92 animals, which is down from the 10-year average of 130.

While the numbers at the Augusta check station - FWP Region 4’s sole biological check station - apply only to a handful of hunting districts on the Rocky Mountain Front, they often mirror conditions elsewhere in north central Montana.

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