The general deer and elk hunting season wrapped up last weekend in Montana and game check stations in Northwest Montana reported activity levels nearly identical to last year, while harvest totals reflect small shifts among species.

White-tailed deer harvest remained the backbone of the region’s big game season, according to the check station information. Hunters checked 1,009 white-tailed deer, including 784 bucks, slightly ahead of last year’s buck harvest. Mule deer and elk harvests were down modestly compared to 2024.

Station data shows 59 elk harvested from Region 1, nearly on par with 2024's total of 62. Twenty-seven of the elk were check at that Thompson Falls station.

Across all stations, 10.9% of hunters had harvested game, up slightly from 10.2% last year.

Harvest totals from Region 2 were slightly up from the five-year average for both deer and elk in west-central Montana, despite mild weather for most of the season.

Wildlife check stations near Anaconda, Bonner and Darby showed good success and a higher amount of hunter traffic than average. Compared to the 2024 season, elk harvest was nearly identical, harvest was up slightly for mule deer and just under for white-tailed deer.

This season, biologists collectively recorded 10,830 hunter stops and a harvest of 286 elk, 138 mule deer and 508 white-tailed deer. This compares to 9,905 hunter stops, 288 elk, 119 mule deer and 525 white-tailed deer at the 2024 season’s end.

Mule deer harvest was particularly good as reported at the Bonner station, with 76 mule deer checked this season, compared to 46 in 2024. All harvest totals were up from the five-year average.  Colder weather and snow at the end of the season’s last week helped bump elk harvest but also slowed hunter traffic in some places.

Another hunter check station in the Fish Creek area of Mineral County operated four weekends of the season. The Fish Creek station sees a lot less hunter traffic compared to the other stations and had lower hunter activity and harvest reported this season compared to last.

Check stations only account for a small percentage of total harvest across the region, but because the stations have been in operation consistently for many years, they monitor important early harvest trends and are an important way to gather biological information on wildlife health and age.

Hunters still have opportunities into winter. Certain areas have continued elk hunting opportunities, and there's also Montana’s Muzzleloader Heritage season for deer and elk, Dec. 13-21, 2025.