Dec. 03–Game counts at six Northwest Montana check stations put the 2013 big game hunting season ahead of last year.
By the time the season closed at sundown on Sunday, a total of 18,262 hunters had stopped at the check stations on weekends during the five-week general hunting season.
They checked 1,112 whitetail deer (including 985 bucks), 134 mule deer and 56 elk — meaning 7.1 percent of hunters were successful.
Last year’s season ended with 17,635 hunters stopping with 941 whitetail deer (including 830 bucks), 131 mule deer and 78 elk for a 6.5 percentage of hunters with game.
John Vore, a biologist with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, noted the number of whitetail bucks was up significantly over the last three years. This year’s 985 compares to 830 in 2012, 753 in 2011 and 888 in 2010.
The check stations are open only on weekends and reflect only a fraction of the overall hunting harvest.
Vore said the buck count is a reliable indicator for the population.
“The increase in bucks harvested is a good indication that the whitetail population continues to recover from a recent low in 2009,” Vore said. “As expected, based on our spring surveys, many of the bucks harvested were yearlings and 2-year-olds.”
He added that there was a good representation of 5-year-old and older trophy bucks in the harvest.
As of Sunday, 32 wolves had been taken in Northwest Montana and 93 had been harvested statewide.
The wolf hunting season continues until March 15. Hunters still can purchase wolf hunting licenses, but there is a 24-hour waiting period before the licenses are valid.
Wolf trapping begins Dec. 15, and trappers much purchase licenses and complete a wolf trapping certification course.