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Antelope hunters in Montana can expect some good antelope hunting this fall, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials say.
Fawn production and winter survival have been good in the past couple of winters and antelope numbers are at average or above average levels this fall across the state.
"Antelope hunting may be as good as last year or better in much of the state, with some populations in eastern and north central Montana offering some very good hunting opportunities," said Quentin Kujala, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks wildlife management bureau chief.
Montana's general rifle season for antelope is Oct. 7-Nov. 11. During the overlap of the archery-only antelope season and the general rifle antelope season from Oct. 7-13, antelope archery hunters are required to wear hunter orange.
Antelope hunters in central and southeastern Montana may see signs of a recent outbreak of a insect-borne viral disease called bluetongue that is moving through big game populations. Wildlife biologists suspect that deer in some areas may also be succumbing to epizootic hemorrhagic disease, or EHD, that, like bluetongue, is transmitted by biting gnats. Bluetongue and EHD outbreaks usually subside when nightime temperatures drop below freezing, killing the insects.
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