Average harvest in west-central Montana, up in the northwest

Part 1 - Reader hunter photos

 

December 5, 2019

Photo provided

Bailey Bartlett, 12 of Seeley Lake, harvested her first elk Saturday, Oct. 26 northwest of Libby with a Sako 30-06 rifle. She glassed a bull with four cows at about 650 yards away. Thanks to ideal wind conditions, she made a perfect 100-yard shot on a 5x5 bull. Seven miles of hiking in steep rocky country paid off!

The general big game hunting season that opened Oct. 26 concluded Sunday, Dec. 1 across Montana.

Despite fewer hunters than in years past in northwest Montana, the overall number of harvested deer was up over last year. In west-central Montana, the season started off with unusually early winter conditions, contributing to stronger than normal deer and elk harvests in the first few weeks but wrapped up with average to below-average totals in some spots.

Check stations only sample a small portion of hunter participation and harvests across the region, but they are an important part of monito...



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