Sunday of antelope rifle opener cold and rainy in southeast MT, but hunters report improved antelope numbers >

MILES CITY – Antelope hunters out for last weekend’s rifle season opener encountered a sunny Saturday and a cold and rainy Sunday. Hunters visiting check stations in southeast Montana on Sunday reported antelope numbers as adequate to improving. Upland bird hunters didn’t fare as well as antelope hunters, but overall harvest success rates at all the stations ranged from 53 to 61 percent.

Hysham Check Station

Region 7 FWP staff visited with 139 parties and 244 hunters on Sunday. Sixty‑one percent of all hunters, including bird hunters, reported a harvest, which is about 6 percent above the 10‑year average for the opening weekend of antelope season.

Crews checked 140 antelope (101 bucks and 39 does), which was 22 fewer than last year but 9 percent above the 10‑year average. Most antelope hunters reported seeing adequate or improving numbers in the areas they hunted.

Upland game bird hunters did not fare as well and reported poor bird numbers, especially for sharp‑tailed grouse. Although sharp‑tailed grouse lek counts were above average this spring, nesting and brood‑rearing conditions were not favorable possibly due to record heat in July and overall drought conditions. According to wildlife biologist Steve Atwood, this year is another example of how fickle upland game bird populations can be on an annual basis.

No elk or deer passed through the biological check station.

FWP staff try to be considerate of hunters’ time and work to collect important biological data as quickly as possible to keep them moving. One way hunters can help expedite the process is to load their animals with the heads near the rear of their vehicle, especially if they have a topper on their pickup.

Broadus Check Station

Wildlife staff operated their annual check station in Broadus, where the conditions were less than favorable on a cold and rainy Sunday, compared to the warm and sunny weather on Saturday.

Throughout Sunday, staff checked 123 parties with 267 hunters, which was up from the 2025 season with 112 parties and 221 total hunters who came through.

Staff saw 178 total antelope on Sunday (107 bucks and 71 does), up from the 2025 opener when 127 antelope (85 bucks, 42 does) were checked. Approximately two-thirds of the bucks that could be aged were 3.5 years old or older.

Overall, most of the hunters were satisfied with their hunt on opening weekend, and many reported seeing adequate antelope numbers, with some hunters stating it was the most they have seen in many years.

Harvest success was the same as last year, with 53 percent of hunters successfully harvesting an antelope, which is slightly below the harvest success rate for opening weekend. No deer or elk were checked.

Mosby Check Station

Weather at the Mosby check station was also rainy and cold, with temperatures around 40 degrees. A total of 77 parties and 152 hunters came through the check station. Of the hunters checked, 91 were successful, yielding a harvest success rate of 60 percent, which is 7 percent below last year. However, 2,000 more antelope tags were issued this year in this portion of Region 7.

Ninety-one antelope were brought through the check station, 30 of which were does, and 61 bucks.

Additionally, one mallard duck was checked, and several unsuccessful upland bird hunters stopped as well. Most reported low success and difficulties finding birds to hunt.

A few archery elk hunters came through the check station, none of which was successful.

Overall, of the hunters who came through, most reported being satisfied with their hunts.

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