People living in Montana around the turn of the 19th century reported that they had never seen deer, elk or other huntable game. Destruction of game species was attributed to commercial hunters supplying meat for towns and for the mining, lumbering, and railroad camps of that time.

Sportsmen banded together in the WMFGA to urge the Legislature to impose bag limits and hunting seasons to foster game herds practically available to citizens for hunting. The WMFGA membership has included some of Missoula's most notable citizen leaders. The WMFGA membership rolls are reported, at one time to have had 25,000 members.

In 1975, the WMFGA began building and improving the Deer Creek Shooting Center (DCSC), located between East Missoula and Bonner, and now one of the most well-developed shooting facilities in the Northwest. The DCSC provides the larger Missoula community with a safe and suitable place to shoot and practice with a variety of different types of firearms, including pistol, rifle, shotgun and archery. The DCSC hosts competitive shooting matches, including national-level matches. The DCSC has also long hosted Hunter Education classes, local law enforcement classes, UM ROTC firearms training and qualification and occasional Army Reserve and National Guard training and qualification.