GREAT FALLS, Mont. (NMB) – Final numbers from the 2018 general deer and elk season put mule deer and elk taken by hunters on a portion of the Rocky Mountain Front west of Augusta lower than long-term averages.
Fish, Wildlife, and Parks wildlife biologist Brent Lonner said that only white-tailed deer numbers were above long-term averages. Whitetails taken by hunters was eight percent above the 10-year average, but five percent below last year’s totals.
Hunter numbers were also down about 13 percent at the Augusta check station this year.
Elk hunters this year brought in 221 animals compared to an average of 328. Mule deer numbered 216, with an average of 279. The whitetail count in Augusta was at 323, compared to an average of about 300.
