Region 2 Check Stations Seeing Record Whitetail Numbers

Here we are, the home stretch of general rifle season in Montana. Since I broke my rifle Antelope hunting, I have been focusing on archery hunting whitetail in the Bitterroot valley. The rut is on and the deer are moving. Unfortunately I can't say the same for elk. Usually we have had a substantial snowfall by this time, which gets the elk moving and harvest numbers go up. But, the region 2 check stations did not see many elk come through this past weekend.

According to the Montana FWP

At the close of week four, FWP’s hunter check stations are reporting 482 whitetails, the highest number since 2008. Hunters checked the majority of those whitetails through the Bonner check station, where crews tallied 150 white-tailed deer this past weekend but only 10 elk.

So far, hunters have checked 200 elk, compared to 294 in 2015. The Darby hunter check station is reporting 121 of those elk, compared to 198 at this point last season.

Good luck punching that tag on these last couple days of the season. The freezer isn't going to fill itself.