The 2009 big game hunting season started relatively slowly on Sunday, and the first wolf of the general season was harvested in Northwest Montana.

The six Northwest Montana check stations reported results on par with last year's opener. A total of 2,566 hunters stopped at the stations, the lowest number since 1999.

Hunters checked 83 whitetail deer compared to 80 last year, 12 mule deer compared to 19 last year and 19 elk compared to 15 last year. A total of 34 whitetail bucks were checked, compared to 23 last year.

The Swan Valley check station had the highest count of whitetails, at 33, and the U.S. 2 check station west of Kalispell was the busiest for elk, with eight.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials said several nice six-point bull elk were harvested.

Jeremy Nelson of Kalispell, for example, was hunting early Sunday when he was surprised by a bull elk coming down a ridge. He dropped the bull and spent most of the day dragging it out.

Zach Kriskovich, a 14-year-old from Bigfork, was hunting with his mother, Lorri, when they ran into a small group of elk. Zach ended up harvesting a large, 4-year-old cow.

At the Olney check station northwest of Whitefish, Kalispell hunter Jay Madsen stopped in with a gray wolf that he shot in the Lazy Creek area north of Whitefish.

It was the first wolf to be taken during the general season in Northwest Montana.

Three other wolves have since been reported to the state for Wolf Management Unit One, which covers the entire northern tier of the state.

The remaining quota for wolves in the unit is 34.

Hunters are reminded that either-sex whitetails are legal game through Nov. 8. After that, it is buck-only for whitetails for the rest of the season. Mule deer hunting is limited to bucks all season. Hunters ages 12 to 15 can harvest antlerless whitetails and elk all season in most of Northwest Montana hunting districts.