Big game hunters in northwest Montana were highly successful this past weekend, which kicked off the general rifle season for deer and elk.
Hunters that stopped at check stations across northwest Montana harvested a little over 200 white-tailed deer this past weekend, the most white-tails harvested in an opening weekend since 2017.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials say that the number of deer brought to check stations does not represent the overall harvest, and officials want to remind hunters that they need to stop at any check station they encounter whether they harvested an animal or not.
Officials say they are seeing such a large white-tailed deer harvest because populations have fared well over the past two years when the region has had mild winters.