Montana Bighorn Sheep 421-20 — Hunting District 421

Bighorn Sheep License 421-20 — Any Ram · Deep Creek

What you may take
Bighorn Sheep License 421-20 — Any Ram (antlered)
Weapon
Rifle
Also open Sep 5–14, 2026 as an archery-only season, which needs a $10 archery license on top.
Where
Hunting District 421 — Deep Creek
100% public of 96,104 acres
Seasons (2026)
Archery Sep 5–14, 2026 · Sep 15 – Nov 29, 2026
Tags (2026)
1
for 639 first-choice applicants · nonresidents capped at 10%
Hunter success here (2025)
100%
of everyone who hunted the area

Showing nonresident results. Switch to resident

Odds by point level — 2026 draw

Prior-draw probability for a first-choice nonresident applicant. 1 tags, 639 first-choice applicants. Source: 2026 Bighorn Sheep Drawing... · p. 1.

Points Your chance Applicants Drawn
0 0% (0%–<1%) 24 0
1 <1% (<1%–<1%) 33 0
2 <1% (<1%–<1%) 29 0
3 <1% (<1%–<1%) 31 0
4 <1% (<1%–<1%) 27 0
5 <1% (<1%–<1%) 21 0
6 <1% (<1%–<1%) 28 0
7 <1% (<1%–<1%) 30 0
8 <1% (<1%–<1%) 33 0
9 <1% (<1%–<1%) 36 0
10 <1% (<1%–<1%) 23 0
11 <1% (<1%–<1%) 28 0
12 <1% (<1%–<1%) 23 0
13 <1% (<1%–<1%) 19 0
14 <1% (<1%–<1%) 18 0
15 <1% (<1%–<1%) 17 0
16 <1% (<1%–<1%) 28 0
17 <1% (<1%–<1%) 19 0
18 <1% (<1%–<1%) 17 0
19 <1% (<1%–<1%) 26 0
20 <1% (<1%–<1%) 24 1
21 <1% (<1%–<1%) 16 0
22 <1% (<1%–<1%) 16 0
23 <1% (<1%–<1%) 15 0
24 <1% (<1%–<1%) 10 0
25 <1% (<1%–<1%) 23 0
26 <1% (<1%–<1%) 25 0

Monte Carlo over published bonus-point pools. A dash means Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks did not publish a count for that level. How we compute these.

What it costs (2026 nonresident fees)

Cash to apply
$110
Out of pocket if unsuccessful
$110
Total if drawn
tag fee not on file
Refunded if unsuccessful
$0
Application fee, Bighorn Sheep (nonrefundable, per species) · paid at application $50 source
Base hunting license (annual, assessed with first hunting license or application) · paid at application $50 source
Conservation license (prerequisite for all licenses) · paid at application $10 source
Bonus point bought with a Bighorn Sheep application (per species; required for accumulated points to count) · only for a point bought without applying — an unsuccessful applicant gets the point free $20 source

Optional, not counted above: Bonus point only (no application), Bighorn Sheep (July 1 - Sept 30) $75 and Bonus point only (no application) (July 1 - Sept 30, per species) $25.

Not applying this year? A point-only purchase costs $20 (Jul 1 – Sep 30, expected) and adds a point for next year's draw.

Next application window: opens Mar 1, closes May 1, 2027 (expected) · results ~May 15. Last cycle's schedule rolled forward — confirm when the agency publishes.

Point creep & years to draw

Insufficient history (0 of 3 draws) — a creep trend needs at least three draw years with a published drew-out level.

Seasons (2026)

Split 1: Sep 5–14, 2026 archery only p. 34
Split 2: Sep 15 – Nov 29, 2026 p. 34

How this tag has hunted

Across every license type in Hunting District 421, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks counted 1 hunters and 1 bighorn sheep taken in 2025 — 100% of them killed something. Full Hunting District 421 profile: maps, public land, five years of harvest →

Montana's figures blend mandatory reporting with a phone and mail survey. FWP does not publish district-level hunter counts for elk or antelope, so success rates are missing for those. Source: FWP Harvest Estimates CSV export - bighorn sheep, all districts, 2005-2025

Year by year

The standard draw for nonresidents, one row per year.

Year Tags Applicants Applicants per tag Points needed Source
2026 1 639 639.0 2026 Bighorn Sheep Drawing... · p. 1
2025 0 0 2025 Bighorn Sheep Drawing... · p. 1
2024 0 0 2024 Bighorn Sheep Drawing... · p. 1
2023 0 0 2023 Bighorn Sheep Drawing... · p. 1
2022 0 0 2022 Bighorn Sheep Drawing... · p. 2
2021 1 400 400.0 2021 Bighorn Sheep Drawing... · p. 1
2020 0 0 2020 Bighorn Sheep Drawing... · p. 2
2019 0 0 2019 Bighorn Sheep Drawing... · p. 2
2018 0 0 2018 Bighorn Sheep Drawing... · p. 2
2017 1 298 298.0 2017 Bighorn Sheep Drawing... · p. 2
2016 0 0 2016 Bighorn Sheep Drawing... · p. 2
2015 0 0 2015 Bighorn Sheep Drawing... · p. 2
2014 1 229 229.0 2014 Bighorn Sheep Drawing... · p. 1

Other licenses valid in Hunting District 421

Legal cartridges for bighorn sheep in Montana

From the Montana hunting laws rules on file for a rifle. "Depends" means the rule turns on your specific load — check the state page.

.22-250 Remington
.223 Remington from $0.42/rd
.243 Winchester from $1.11/rd
.25-06 Remington
6.5 Creedmoor
6.5 Grendel
.270 Winchester from $0.16/rd
7mm-08 Remington
7mm Remington Magnum
.30-06 Springfield
.300 AAC Blackout from $0.56/rd
.300 Winchester Magnum from $1.25/rd
.30-30 Winchester
.308 Winchester
.338 Winchester Magnum
.350 Legend from $1.07/rd
.35 Whelen
.360 Buckhammer
.400 Legend
.444 Marlin
.450 Bushmaster from $2.00/rd
.45-70 Government from $1.97/rd
.50 Beowulf
Spot a data error on this page? Tell us.

Every report is checked against the agency source before we change anything.

How to read these numbers

Every percentage on this page is a prior-draw probability: the chance an applicant with that many points would have drawn in the draw year shown, computed from the agency's published results. It is not a forecast — quotas, applicant numbers, and point creep change every year. Every figure links to the agency document it came from. Where a state does not publish a number, we show a dash, never a zero. Hunts with fewer than five tags show counts instead of percentages. Fees show the fee year used. Read the methodology for the engine details.

Not an application service

This page is informational only. Draw rules, quotas, fees, and deadlines are set by the state agency and change by commission action — confirm everything on the agency's own site before you apply, and apply through the agency, not here. We disclaim all liability for reliance on this page.