Hunting season down to final week
NW Montana check stations on par with last year
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News from MT Fish, Wildlife & Parks
KALISPELL — The general deer and elk hunting season is down to the final week.
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ game check stations in northwest Montana have logged more than 9,000 hunters through the first five weeks of the season, showing participation comparable to last year while harvest patterns continue to vary by species and location.
Across the region, hunters checked 831 white-tailed deer, including 636 bucks, along with 71 mule deer and 46 elk. Overall, 10.5 percent of hunters reported harvesting game, almost identical to last year’s rate.
Check stations provide an index of hunter effort and harvest but represent only a sample of the total harvest across the region. Hunters are reminded that they must stop at any check station they encounter, whether they have harvested an animal or not.
The 2025 general deer and elk season runs through Nov. 30, with regional check stations open on weekends from 10 a.m. to approximately 1.5 hours after sunset. Region 1 stations are located on U.S. Highway 2 west of Kalispell, Highway 83 north of Swan Lake, Highway 200 west of Thompson Falls, and Highway 93 near Olney.
Hunters still have opportunities into winter. Certain areas have continued elk hunting opportunities, and there’s also Montana’s Muzzleloader Heritage season for deer and elk, Dec. 13-21, 2025.
As the season wraps up, hunters can thank Montana landowners for access and share stories through an online portal. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is offering this opportunity to say thank you to landowners who have provided access and helped to make your hunting season great. FWP will collect these expressions of gratitude and share them with the specific landowners at the end of the season. Notes can be submitted online at https://fwp.mt.gov/hunt/thank-a-landowner.
Chronic Wasting Disease
Hunters play an important role in helping Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks monitor chronic wasting disease (CWD). Testing is voluntary in most of northwest Montana, but mandatory for certain licenses near Libby, including the White-tailed Deer B License 199-20 in Hunting Districts 100, 103, and 104, and the Mule Deer Permit 103-50 in Hunting District 103.
Hunters can have animals sampled at CWD sampling stations, most FWP offices, or collect and mail samples themselves.
FWP strongly recommends obtaining a negative test result before processing or donating meat.
If the animal tests positive for CWD, FWP will advise the hunter on proper carcass and meat disposal and give instructions on how to request a replacement license.
Hunters should properly dispose of carcass waste to help prevent the spread of CWD and other diseases. Brain, spinal tissue, and other high-risk parts should be left at the kill site when possible or disposed of at a Class II landfill.
In northwest Montana, here’s how you can get your animal sampled this fall:
General Deer & Elk Season
Hunters may self-submit samples
Visit the Libby CWD Sampling Station, located at the Montana Department of Transportation shop on US Hwy 2. It will be open Saturdays, Sundays & Mondays, 10 a.m. – dusk.
Visit a game check station open on weekends
Visit the Region 1 office in Kalispell (490 N. Meridian) during business hours, Monday–Friday.
Learn more about CWD at: https://fwp.mt.gov/conservation/chronic-wasting-disease/
Muzzleloader Heritage Hunting Season
The Muzzleloader Heritage hunting season is Dec. 13-21, 2025.
During the muzzleloader heritage season, a person may take a deer or elk with any unused license or permit that is valid on the last day of the general hunting season.
Hunters can use plain lead projectiles and a muzzleloading rifle that is charged with loose black powder, loose pyrodex, or an equivalent loose black powder substitute and ignited by a flintlock, wheel lock, matchlock or percussion mechanism using a percussion or musket cap.
The muzzleloading rifle must be a minimum of .45 caliber and may not have more than two barrels.
During the Muzzleloader Heritage season, hunters may not use a muzzleloading rifle that requires insertion of a cap or primer into the open breech of the barrel (inline), is capable of being loaded from the breech, or is mounted with an optical magnification device.
Use of pre-prepared paper or metallic cartridges, sabots, gas checks or other similar power and range-enhancing manufactured loads that enclose the projectile from the rifling or bore of the firearm is also prohibited.
Many of Montana’s Wildlife Management Areas have seasonal closures from Dec. 2 through May 14. Dates may vary depending on the site. Before heading to the field, hunters should review the regulations for each hunting district they plan to hunt. A list of WMAs and seasonal closure dates are available online at: https://fwp.mt.gov/conservation/wildlife-management-areas.
Northwest Montana Check Station Results
