Hunters in the Thompson Falls area improved their white-tailed deer and mule deer hauls over last year’s general rifle season, while whitetail buck and elk harvest numbers were down, according to data from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

The wildlife agency’s final tallies, compiled from reported harvest by hunters stopping at Region One check stations, showed hunters shot 195 whitetails this year, up 11.4 percent from 2015.

Of those, only 123 were bucks, compared with 136 last year. Sixteen mule deer were reported at the check station, up slightly from 2015, while elk harvest dropped slightly from 33 to 27 this year.

The check station reported a total of 2,162 hunters during the general rifle season. The 11 percent success rate was the second-highest of Region One’s six game checks, and a slight improvement over the 10.7 percent success rate reported in 2015.

Region-wide, 17,656 hunters reported an overall success rate of 9.7 percent and bagged 1,494 whitetails, the highest total in the last seven hunting seasons. Of those, more than two thirds were bucks.

FWP Region One Wildlife Manager Neil Anderson stated in a press release that the wildlife agency has been tracking several years of good fawn survival in Northwest Montana, and this year’s check-station sample confirms that hunters were able to see and take good numbers of white-tailed deer despite mild hunting conditions.

Elk numbers at the check stations were down slightly and mule deer numbers were up.

Wolf harvest was also up slightly, with 34 shot in Region One out of a total 106 statewide. The season continues through March 15.