Big game season is coming to an end with very low deer counts, but good elk counts in Northwestern Montana.
Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks officials say that so far, 589 whitetail deer have been taken compared to 814 this time last year.
The count is 112 mule deer compared to last year's 135. But unlike deer, the elk harvest is on par, and even a little bit higher than 2008 numbers.
115 elk have been checked compared to 109 last year. According to FWP Wildlife Manager Jim Williams, the number of whitetail bucks brought through the check stations so far is close to the record low from 1997. That record sits at 310bucks.
Wolf hunting shut down as of November 16th, but the general big game hunting season continues until Sunday, November 29th.
