Some fall rain and even a bit of high-country snow set the stage for decent opening day conditions, but for the most part hunters seemed satisfied to just get out and tromp around a bit.
In the Bitterroot Valley, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologist John Vore said most hunters packed it in early on Sunday afternoon.
The total number of hunters and the harvest were a little off from the five-year average, Vore said.
"We had a little over 1,000 hunters come through. They checked 30 elk," he said. "It was a little bit slow. The five-year average is 37."
A high-elevation weather information site near Darby reported 17 inches of snow on Sunday. The deep snow may have changed hunting habits a bit for some.
"In some places, the snow was deep enough that hunters couldn't walk around," Vore said.
The snow wasn't enough to start the annual migration of elk from the Big Hole Valley into the East Fork of the Bitterroot, where the elk are more vulnerable to hunting pressure. Vore said the earliest he's seen the migration begin was the first week of November.
Biologists at the Bonner check station also missed the traditional evening rush of hunters headed home.
"It was steady all day long at the Bonner station, but we never got the evening rush of hunters I was expecting," said Jay Kolbe, FWP wildlife biologist.
While hunter numbers were down by nearly 300 from last year, many of those who made the effort brought home meat for the freezer. Biologists checked 33 elk, 19 mule deer and 88 whitetails.
Hunter success was about 15 percent at the Bonner station, which was the highest success ratio of any game station in west-central Montana.
Overall, about 500 fewer hunters stopped at the three west-central Montana check stations this opening day than last year. The hunters who did venture afield harvested nearly as many elk and mule deer.
"We were just about right on the money for the five-year average," said FWP Region 2 wildlife manager Mike Thompson. "It was a mild start to hunting season here. With the moisture we've had, hunters could at least get around without crunching too much."
Drawn by unusually high populations of whitetailed deer, the largest number of hunters in decades turned out for opening day in northwest Montana.
At the six northwest Montana check stations, a total of 2,958 hunters checked 185 whitetailed deer, 21 mule deer and 30 elk. The success ratio was 8.1 percent - almost identical to last year.
Biologists expect whitetail hunting to continue to improve through the season.
"I think the whitetail populations are as high or higher than they've ever been," said FWP biologist Tim Thier. "There's plenty of deer to go around, that's for sure."
In northwest Montana, hunters can harvest either-sex whitetail deer through Sunday, Nov. 4. After that, the regulation is for bucks only until the last four days of the season (Nov. 22-25), when either-sex whitetail deer are legal again.
On opening day, hunters checked through 111 antlerless deer and 74 bucks.
A little snow up high helped elk hunters in southwest Montana find their quarry.
"Our numbers were a little bit better than last year," said Vanna Boccadori, the FWP biologist based in Butte.
At three check stations near Butte, Boccadori said about 700 hunters checked 45 elk. All but four were bulls.
"We had some nice bulls coming through," she said. "I saw one nice six point that was a 4 1/2-year-old. If he'd had a couple more years, he would have been huge."
In the Gravelly Mountain Complex, FWP biologist Bob Brannon said snow helped push elk out into the open for opening day. At the Ruby check station, 326 hunters showed up with 20 elk, four mule deer, a pronghorn and a moose. At the Blacktail station, 275 hunters checked through 35 elk.
"I was hoping it was going to be a little bit better both in hunter numbers and harvest," Brannon said. "It was up a little bit from last year, both in hunter numbers and harvest."
Hunter numbers have dropped significantly in what used to be the most popular elk hunting area in Montana. While elk numbers in the Gravelly Complex have remained pretty stable, the continued trend of warmer and drier hunting seasons has made it more difficult for hunters to find the critters, Brannon said.
Craig Fager, FWP's Dillon biologist, said hunters got a few more elk in the Horse Prairie area southwest of Dillon opening weekend.
"There was some snow up high that helped hunters out some," Fager said. "The weather's supposed to moderate some now and it's going to take some tougher scheming for people to find them."
Reporter Perry Backus can be reached at 1-800-366-7186 or at pbackus@missoulian.com.
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