(BOZEMAN, Mont.)—Nearly three thousand hunters passed through game check stations in southwest Montana on the opening weekend of the 2016 general deer and elk season.
 
It was an average start to the season with pleasant fall temperatures across the region. Most check stations reported harvest numbers very much on par with the past several years.
 
The check station at Alder saw the highest percentage of successful deer and elk hunters at 13 percent with the highest number of deer harvested in the region. Meanwhile, the most elk (44) were taken in the Madison, also where the highest number of hunters was reported.
 
Here’s a look at the data:

*Only operated on Sunday (first time check station run at this location).                                                                                
 
In addition to deer and elk, many of the stations reported other game taken:
 
Alder: Three antelope and a black bear;
Cameron: Four antelope;
Divide: Three antelope and a black bear;
            Gallatin: One moose, one mountain goat, and one bighorn sheep ewe;
Mill Creek: One wolf and two antelope.
 
Hunters are reminded that they must stop at all check stations that they pass on their way to or from hunting—even if they have not harvested any animals.  The general rifle season for deer and elk runs through Sunday, Nov. 27.