A mountain lion claimed the third-largest entry for mule deer. Steve Stayner happened upon a record-breaking Arizona buck in 1994 while looking for deer in Coconino County.

Pending other trophy mule deer killed this season, he added, it is the largest recorded from Missoula County. He figures the "green score" would rank it around 18th in the Montana record book.

We're talking multiple weeks of 40-below temperatures. This nearly wiped out two of the world's largest herds of mule deer and pronghorn. About 40,000 died, down from about 70,000.