2020 big game hunting forecast

By Fish, Wildlife and Parks

Are you ready for hunting season? FWP can help. In addition to the following hunting forecast, FWP provides online information about hunting access, including our popular Block Management Program. Through the program, we coordinate with landowners to provide hunting access to more than 7 million acres of private land.

The interactive Hunt Planner map allows users to look at information for various species, including hunting districts and regulations. The hunt planner interactive map is a great way to access our block management information, so if you’re planning a hunt in a certain area, you can see if there are Block Management Areas available to expand your opportunity.

And, as always, you can contact our helpful staff at any of our regional offices around the state. They’re happy to help and can often get you pointed in the right direction with just a few simple tips.

Montana has some of the longest hunting seasons in the West, healthy herds of game and access to millions of acres of public land. However, hunters must be mindful of fire danger and of private landowners who are facing grass shortages, poor crop production and fatigue from monitoring for fire. Hunter harvest helps to reduce wildlife densities on a stressed landscape, and perhaps to help lessen winter depredation on haystacks or winter range. 

Here are a few things hunters can do to show respect for private landowners during this dry season:

• avoid vehicle use in areas with dry grass in the median

• use caution when parking in areas with dry vegetation

• report smoke or any signs of fire to local officials

• carry a fire extinguisher or water to quickly snuff any potential fires.

Destination: WESTERN MONTANA

Elk aerial surveys in western Montana were interrupted by the COVID virus this spring. While counts were completed in the Upper Clark Fork before the COVID shutdown, elk counts using aircraft were not done in the rest of Region 2. Upper Clark Fork elk were found in good numbers, including the reappearances of elk that had been missing in the 2019 counts due to the hard winter. The mild winter of 2020 contributed to a rebound in overwinter calf survival, which was observed widely across Region 2, whether documented using aircraft or in ground surveys conducted in most of the region.

Hunters hoping to participate in elk shoulder seasons this fall or winter are reminded to review the hunting regulations closely. Shoulder seasons over the past few years achieved their desired effect in many places, which means that elk regulations were adjusted this year to shorten or remove shoulder seasons in many districts. In most hunting districts, elk hunters will not find an over-the-counter B-license available this year for shoulder seasons.

White-tailed deer numbers have been on an upward trend in general, but previous hard winters have dampened fawn survival. The mild winter in 2020 was a welcome relief and fawn production looks good this summer. Good moisture and excellent forage production should benefit all deer.

Opportunities to hunt mule deer are somewhat limited in western Montana. Many districts require a permit or B-license, awarded through the statewide application and drawing process earlier this year. Mule deer hunters should plan to go high in the mountains for the best opportunity at bigger bucks. An emerging opportunity for hunters in Region 2 is to hunt mule deer on private lands, where numbers generally are growing. Again, pay close attention to the regulations to make sure you are properly licensed to hunt mule deer.

There are only a few antelope hunting opportunities in western Montana, where the population of antelope is around 400. Hunting is limited to a few hunters who received a license through a special drawing.

For more information on antelope, deer and elk numbers and hunting opportunities in western Montana, check out the FWP Region 2 Wildlife Quarterly, available online at fwp.mt.gov/regions/r2/wildlifeQuarterly.html.