2007 Montana Mule Deer hunt down due to Mild Weather
Mild weather in Montana is being blamed for a low mule deer harvest in 2007. Without snow in the high country, mule deer are not aggregating in the low, more accessible, country. Because Montana hunters can, and do, hunt multiple species at one time, it is difficult to assess mule deer success in and of itself. For example, this year, in west central Montana, it took over 11,000 hunters to come up with about 240 mule deer. In the northwest it took 12,000 hunters to harvest only 130 mule deer. In the southwest, the numbers are 2700 hunters to bag 125 mule deer.
One possible bright spot is that next years’ harvest could improve. If winter doesn’t take too much of a toll, there will be more animals for next year.
