For one Kalispell girl, the hunting season got off to an interesting — and rare — start.

Stormee Brewer, 13, was hunting between Kila and Rogers Lake with her grandfather Dave Pittsley when she sighted a buck, took aim and brought the deer down on Nov. 5. 

When she got to the carcass, however, she found the whitetail she killed was no buck but rather a doe with antlers.

According to Alan Wood, a deer expert and wildlife mitigation coordinator for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Brewer’s deer was a highly unusual specimen.

“It’s rare,” he said. “It probably has velvet on its antlers. A deer like that is in the one-in-10,000 sort of range.”

Wood said that though the main testosterone factories wouldn’t be present in female deer, a gland atop the kidneys can produce some of the hormone or the doe could have had a genetic mutation.

Brewer’s deer had small, 4-inch-long antlers that didn’t fork. 

She was understandably excited about her rare trophy.

“I feel amazing, and just wow,” she said. “I shot a buck last year and a doe with antlers this year.”

For only her second hunt, she was happy with the results, especially because of the relatively warm and dry weather.

Whitetail hunting is limited to bucks only in Northwest Montana except youth hunters can take does, so Brewer was covered either way.

According to check-station statistics, Northwest Montana hunters have taken 428 whitetail deer, 74 mule deer and 28 elk through Sunday.

The five-week general big-game hunting season lasts through Nov. 30.

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.