Hunter Harvest Report: Elk and mule deer keep on climbing in 2025

There isn't a whole lot of fluctuation within the 10-year average (indicated by the dotted yellow line) and each year's harvest tally, represented by the brown bar graphs.

Fish and Game wildlife managers point out that based on hunter harvest, aerial surveys, and survival data, elk populations are doing very well-not to mention a couple of real bright spots.

"Harvest of six-point bulls is the highest it's been in five years," said Fish and Game's Deer and Elk Coordinator, Toby Boudreau. "We're also seeing a 14% bump in total harvest since 2023."

Now, not to read the tea leaves and get too far out ahead of this year's coming elk season, but this seems like a good spot to bring up that "headscratcher" of a harvest dip in the 2023 season. Afterall, elk populations were healthy and stable following that previous winter and into summer.

That mild winter (which was a godsend following the brutal 2022-23 winter) was incredibly dry, but that summer, however, benefitted from ample precipitation, greening up elk summer range and thus keeping them fat and happy at higher-than-normal elevations. Last year's summer did not play out that way.

Currently, as we crawl out of one of the driest, warmest winters experienced in recent decades, only time will tell if we see another similar trend in fall 2026. Successful elk hunters, believe it or not, go where the elk are. And when pitiful snowpacks and peak summer temperatures start blistering the landscape in June or even late-spring, those elk tend to go where the resources are, so keep that in mind.

We will definitely dive deeper into this year's hunting outlook more as the season approaches and environmental conditions play out, but the reason I bring this up is to keep it in the back of your mind as you begin scouting your usual honey holes later in June and July.

MULE DEER

By the numbers

• Total mule deer harvest in 2025: 24,588
• 2024 harvest total: 23,898
• Overall hunter success rate: 32%
• Antlered: 21,539
• Antlerless: 3,050
• Taken during general hunts: 18,655 (28% success rate)
• Taken during controlled hunts: 5,933 (52% success rate)

How it stacks up

Much like elk, the 2025 mule deer harvest doesn't really bring up any red flags. Last year's harvest was well-within the 10-year average, which if you note the presence of the seemingly astronomical 2016 harvest in the chart below, is still hovering right below 25,452 (10-year average).