Montana Deer — Hunting District 535

Montana Hunting District 535 covers 1,771,641 acres and lies 17 miles north-west of Roundup and 43 miles south-east of Lewistown. 17% of it is public land, mostly BLM (7%) and state trust land (6%). In 2025, 1,219 people hunted deer here and took 571 — 47% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 50 tags here for 113 first-choice applicants.

Tags (2026):110 Nonresident share:capped at 10% Applicants:141 All deer success (2025):47% Public land:17% Size:1,771,641 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every deer license type on offer in Hunting District 535, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.

Chances are from the 2026 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.

Simple view Odds at every point level

535-00 Deer B License 535-00 — Antlerless Mule Deer [MULE] 5 tags · 23 applicants · Standard

9% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
535-00 Deer B License 535-00 — Antlerless Mule Deer [MULE] 5 tags · 1 applicants · Landowner

100% Undersubscribed
535-50 Deer Permit 535-50 — Antlered Buck Mule Deer [MULE] 50 tags · 113 applicants · Standard

11% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
535-50 Deer Permit 535-50 — Antlered Buck Mule Deer [MULE] 50 tags · 4 applicants · Landowner

100% Undersubscribed

Hunt	Your odds (0 pts)	As 2nd choice	Points needed	Tags / applicants	License	Season
535-00 ↗ Deer B License 535-00 — Antlerless Mule Deer [MULE]	9% Point builder	0%	—	5 / 23	Standard	Sep 5 – Dec 20, 2026
535-00 ↗ Deer B License 535-00 — Antlerless Mule Deer [MULE]	100% Undersubscribed	—	—	5 / 1 undersubscribed	Landowner	Sep 5 – Dec 20, 2026
535-50 ↗ Deer Permit 535-50 — Antlered Buck Mule Deer [MULE]	11% Point builder	0%	—	50 / 113	Standard	Sep 5 – Dec 20, 2026
535-50 ↗ Deer Permit 535-50 — Antlered Buck Mule Deer [MULE]	100% Undersubscribed	—	—	50 / 4 undersubscribed	Landowner	Sep 5 – Dec 20, 2026

What these columns mean

Your odds: the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2026 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.
As 2nd choice: Montana lets you name more than one hunt on the application. Miss on your first choice and you go into the pot for whatever tags are left, alongside everyone else's second choices. Points never help a lower choice, so this number is the same whatever you have banked — it is usually worth naming a hunt that goes undersubscribed.
Points needed: the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2026 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 deadlines: Apr 1, 2027 (expected) for the main draw · Jun 1, 2027 (expected) for B license. Full fee breakdown.

The country

Hunting District 535 within Montana

Hunting District 535 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 1,455,935 ac · 82%
BLM 132,341 ac · 7%
State trust land 107,361 ac · 6%
National Forest 51,731 ac · 3%
National Wildlife Refuge 10,807 ac · 1%
State land 6,555 ac · 0%
County or city land 885 ac · 0%
Bureau of Reclamation 0 ac · 0%
Department of Defense 0 ac · 0%
National Park Service 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.