Montana Deer — Hunting District 421

Montana Hunting District 421 covers 519,303 acres and lies 32 miles south-west of Great Falls and 48 miles north of Helena. 12% of it is public land, mostly state trust land (9%) and national forest (1%). In 2025, 1,325 people hunted deer here and took 800 — 60% of them killed something. The 2013 draw put up 7 tags here for 21 first-choice applicants.

Tags (2013):14 Nonresident share:capped at 10% Applicants:21 All deer success (2025):60% Public land:12% Size:519,303 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every deer license type on offer in Hunting District 421, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.

Chances are from the 2013 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.

Simple view Odds at every point level

421-00 Deer B License 421-00 7 tags · 21 applicants · Standard

32% Long shot
421-00 Deer B License 421-00 7 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner

100% No first-choice applicants

Hunt	Your odds (0 pts)	Points needed	Tags / applicants	License
421-00 ↗ Deer B License 421-00	32% Long shot	—	7 / 21	Standard
421-00 ↗ Deer B License 421-00	100% No first-choice applicants	—	7 / 0	Landowner

What these columns mean

Your odds: the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2013 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year.
The badge: plain language for that number. Likely draw 75% or better · Real chance 40%+ · Long shot 15%+ · Point builder below that, so you are applying mainly to bank a point · Undersubscribed means fewer first-choice applicants than tags, so everyone who applied drew.
Points needed: the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2013 draw, and how that cut has moved since the earliest draw we hold.
Tags / applicants: tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them. Under five tags we print counts instead of a percentage, because one applicant either way swings it.

What it costs to apply (2026 nonresident fees)

License	Up front	Gone if you miss	If you draw
Standard license	$65	$65	$65
Landowner license	$65	$65	$65

Application window: opens Mar 1, closes Apr 1, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.

The country

Hunting District 421 within Montana

Hunting District 421 and its neighbours

Zoomable USGS topo, aerial imagery and shaded relief, with the neighboring areas drawn on.

Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.

Who owns the ground

Private 457,195 ac · 88%
State trust land 46,633 ac · 9%
National Forest 5,868 ac · 1%
BLM 4,466 ac · 1%
County or city land 2,804 ac · 1%
State land 1,817 ac · 0%
Bureau of Reclamation 0 ac · 0%
Department of Defense 0 ac · 0%
National Park Service 0 ac · 0%
National Wildlife Refuge 0 ac · 0%
Tribal 0 ac · 0%
Other public 0 ac · 0%

Source: Deer Elk Lion 2026-2027 Hunting District Landcover and Land Ownership Calculations

Nearby areas

How the hunting has gone

What Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast. 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.