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Dispatch / 10.29.26· Agencies & Hunting ·Montana

Southeast Montana Check Stations Find Mule Deer Harvest 55 Percent Below Average at Ashland

Montana FWP reported fewer hunters than average at southeast Montana check stations on opening Sunday, with success rates of 34 to 44 percent at three stations. Antelope harvest rates were up.

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Credit: Photo: USFWS Mountain-Prairie, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Key Facts

  • Ashland mule deer harvest ran about 55 percent below average on Sunday of the big game opener, FWP said October 29.
  • Ashland checked 94 parties and 163 hunters, 12 percent less than average, with a 34 percent harvest success rate.
  • Hysham recorded 69 parties and 118 hunters, with 44 percent harvesting an animal, about 4 percent below the long-term average.
  • Glendive checked 53 hunters, 21 of them successful, a 40 percent success rate and 3 percent below the long-term average.
  • Hysham checked 25 antelope, four above the 10-year average.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks said in an October 29 release from Miles City that mule deer harvest at Ashland ran about 55 percent below average on Sunday of the big game opener.

Check stations let FWP collect biological data for its management decisions, and every hunter must stop at every one, even with no game. Stations in southeast Montana saw slightly fewer hunters than average on the sunny, breezy Sunday, but harvest success rates were near or just above average.

Antelope harvest rates were up, and check stations saw fewer mule deer. FWP called the mule deer drop expected because of fewer licenses, citing the continued conservative allocation of mule deer B-licenses in Region 7. Hunters still reported seeing more mule deer than in previous seasons.

Data
Station Parties Hunters Harvest success Against average
Hysham 69 parties 118 hunters 44% about 4% below long-term average
Ashland 94 parties 163 hunters 34% slightly above average
Glendive 25 parties 53 hunters 40% 3% below long-term average

At Hysham, party and hunter counts were slightly below the 10-year average. Staff checked 25 antelope, 13 bucks and 12 does, four more than the 10-year average. Mule deer came to 14, 12 bucks and two does, roughly half the average. Thirteen whitetails were checked, 10 bucks and three does.

Ashland’s 163 hunters were 12 percent less than average. The station checked 22 pronghorn, 16 mule deer, five whitetails and 11 elk. Harvest was near average for pronghorn, whitetail and elk. Most hunters there were satisfied and saw good numbers of mule deer.

Glendive, on a windy, sunny day around 40 degrees, checked five mule deer bucks, four whitetails and one pronghorn buck. The average age of both the whitetails and the mule deer was 4.5 years. Upland bird hunters reported trouble finding sharp-tailed grouse and Hungarian partridge, and smaller coveys than in previous years.

The release is dated October 29, and FWP gave no date for further check-station results.

Sources

  1. 1 Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks · Hunter numbers down at southeast Montana check stations, but harvest rates near average · accessed 2026-10-29

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