Southwestern Montana Check Stations Meet 759 Hunters With 39 Elk and 29 Mule Deer at Season Midpoint

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks said in a release from Bozeman on November 10, 2026 that its three southwestern check stations met 759 hunters over the weekend of Nov. 7 and 8, the midpoint of the general hunting season, and that those hunters had taken 39 elk, 29 mule deer and two white-tailed deer. Hunter numbers and success have been mixed across Region 3, the department said, with unseasonably mild weather easing access but keeping herds dispersed at higher elevations.

The department’s station summary for the weekend breaks the harvest down. Cameron, on the Madison, saw the most traffic at 342 hunters, about 10 fewer than average, and the most elk, 27, of which 17 were antlerless. Its success rate of just over 10 percent beat the station’s 9 percent average. Alder, in the Ruby Valley, met 184 hunters, about 18 percent fewer than average, with success above 11 percent against an average of 14, and checked eight mule deer, eight elk and one whitetail. Divide, on the Big Hole, counted 233 hunters, about 17 percent more than average, with hunter effort measured in days afield 45 percent above average. Divide’s success rate of 8 percent ran about 7 percent above its average, on 14 mule deer and four elk.

Across the three stations, 27 of the 29 mule deer were bucks, 18 of the 39 elk were antlered, and both whitetails were bucks, the summary shows. Alder’s success rate was 11.4 percent, Cameron’s 10.2 and Divide’s 8.2.

FWP says the stations collect data on participation and success and on the species, sex and age of harvested animals, supplementing its annual hunter harvest phone surveys, and that hunters must stop at any check station they encounter whether or not they have game. Hunters continue to report tracks of both black bears and grizzly bears, and the department reminds them that bears stay active through the general season.

The general deer and elk seasons close on Sunday, November 29, 2026, and FWP’s next Region 3 station summary is due after the fourth weekend.