AmmoSight

Montana Elk Draw Odds

In the 2026 draw Montana offered 129 elk hunts to nonresidents, drawn by a lottery weighted by bonus points. At 0 points a nonresident had at least an even chance in 14 hunts open to every hunter.

Applications Close
166 days
Apr 1

Open Mar 1
Main draw, Combination: closes Apr 1, 2027 (expected)
B license: closes Jun 1, 2027 (expected)

Cost to Apply
$93

Kept if you miss

Tags
2,683

2026 draw · nonresidents capped at 10%

Nonresident Applicants
9,797

2026 draw, first choice

Expected dates are projected from this year's calendar; the agency sets next year's exact dates.

Point only: $25 nonresident · Jul 1 – Sep 30 · Closed, reopens Jul 1, 2027 (expected) → Buying Points in Montana

How the Montana Draw Works (30-Second Version)

Bonus points (squared).

Every applicant gets points² + 1 entries in a random draw, so more points mean more chances, but never a guarantee.

Who can apply, fees and deadlines in Montana

Best Bets at 0 Points

Odds × hunter success × public land, 10 tags or more. Private-land, ranch, landowner and youth hunts left out.

Bull or Either-Sex

595-21

Hunting district 595 · Either-sex archery · Elk Permit · Either-sex Elk

40%
Success
—
Public
—
Season
Sep 5–Oct 18

411-21

Hunting district 411 · Either-sex archery · Elk Permit · Either-sex Elk

25%
Success
—
Public
21%
Season
Sep 5–Oct 18

447-21

Hunting district 447 · Either-sex archery · Elk Permit · Either-sex Elk

19%
Success
—
Public
21%
Season
Sep 5–Oct 18

620-21

Hunting district 620 · Either-sex archery · Elk Permit · Either-sex Elk

12%
Success
—
Public
41%
Season
Sep 5–Oct 18

455-21

Hunting district 455 · Either-sex archery · Elk Permit · Either-sex Elk

8%
Success
—
Public
>99%
Season
Sep 5–Oct 18

217-10

Hunting district 217 · Either-sex rifle · Elk Permit · Brow-tined Bull or Antlerless Elk

4%
Success
—
Public
29%
Season
Sep 5–Dec 20

Cow

293-01

Hunting district 293 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk

100%
Success
—
Public
56%
Season
Aug 15–Dec 20

422-00

Hunting district 422 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk

100%
Success
—
Public
45%
Season
Sep 5–Dec 20

210-03

Hunting district 210 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk

100%
Success
—
Public
44%
Season
Oct 24–Dec 20

213-00

Hunting district 213 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk

87%
Success
—
Public
59%
Season
Sep 5–Dec 20

370-02

Hunting district 370 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk

100%
Success
—
Public
38%
Season
Sep 5–Dec 20

410-01

Hunting district 410 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk

91%
Success
—
Public
47%
Season
Sep 5–Oct 18

Every Hunt at 0 Points

129 hunt codes drawn in 2026 · 14 at 50% or better · first choice · nonresident standard

Last year's odds were off by about 4 percentage points for applicants near the points needed. How we check

90–100% 50–89% 10–49% 1–9% under 1% fewer than 5 tags: one applicant swings it
One Line per Hunt Odds at Every Point Level
007-00 Hunting district 007 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk 9% —
100-00 Hunting district 100 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk <1% (small sample) —
101-00 Hunting district 101 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk 1% —
101-01 Hunting district 101 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk 3% (small sample) —
101-50New 2026 Hunting district 101 · Bull rifle · Elk Permit · Brow-tined Bull Elk (unlimited quota) 100% —
103-00 Hunting district 103 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk <1% (small sample) —
104-00 Hunting district 104 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk <1% (small sample) —
121-00 Hunting district 121 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk 3% —
121-01 Hunting district 121 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk 2% (small sample) —
122-00 Hunting district 122 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk <1% (small sample) —
123-00 Hunting district 123 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk 2% (small sample) —
124-00 Hunting district 124 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk 3% (small sample) —
170-00 Hunting district 170 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk 47% —
200-00 Hunting district 200 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk — —
201-00 Hunting district 201 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk 3% —
202-00 Hunting district 202 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk 7% —
204-00 Hunting district 204 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk 16% —
210-02 Hunting district 210 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk 6% —
210-03 Hunting district 210 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk 100% —
210-04 Hunting district 210 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk 18% —
211-00 Hunting district 211 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk 19% —
212-00 Hunting district 212 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk 49% (small sample) —
213-00 Hunting district 213 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk 87% —
213-01 Hunting district 213 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk 50% —
215-01 Hunting district 215 · Antlerless rifle · Elk B License · Antlerless Elk 10% —

Showing 1–25 of 129 · sorted by hunting district · 328 hunts not offered in 2026 hidden — show discontinued hunts

Show all 129 hunts
What These Columns Mean
Odds at your points
—
the share of first-choice applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2026 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year. A badge marked * had under five tags, so one applicant either way swings it.
Pts needed
—
the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2026 draw; the ▲ or ▼ is how far that cut has moved since the earliest draw we hold. A 0 marks a hunt that went Undersubscribed: fewer first-choice applicants than tags, so everyone who applied drew.
Tags / apps
—
tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them.
Success
—
the share of hunters in the hunting district who killed an animal, from the latest harvest report on file. It is the whole hunting district's figure, not the hunt's.
All 148 Hunting Districts

Each hunting district has its own page: where it is on the map, how much of it is public land, what the hunters who went there killed last season, and every license type you can apply for inside it.

007 100 89% public 101 79% public 103 51% public 104 78% public 110 86% public 120 27% public 121 82% public 122 54% public 123 91% public 124 66% public 130 90% public 140 93% public 141 98% public 150 100% public 170 10% public 200 89% public 201 77% public 202 94% public 204 64% public 210 43% public 211 82% public 212 78% public 213 58% public 214 59% public 215 51% public 216 90% public 217 29% public 240 80% public 250 97% public 260 13% public 261 62% public 262 4% public 270 85% public 280 100% public 281 75% public 282 88% public 284 15% public 285 76% public 290 18% public 291 20% public 292 52% public 293 56% public 298 7% public 301 87% public 302 76% public 303 74% public 304 45% public 309 8% public 310 91% public 311 15% public 312 23% public 313 86% public 314 42% public 315 20% public 316 99% public 317 67% public 318 82% public 319 78% public 320 45% public 321 63% public 322 26% public 323 74% public 324 48% public 329 66% public 331 81% public 335 56% public 339 29% public 340 49% public 341 343 54% public 350 82% public 360 55% public 361 80% public 370 38% public 380 42% public 388 16% public 390 10% public 391 40% public 392 91% public 393 13% public 394 396 399 400 13% public 401 9% public 403 11% public 404 8% public 405 9% public 406 9% public 410 47% public 411 21% public 412 16% public 413 34% public 415 98% public 416 47% public 417 37% public 418 21% public 419 11% public 420 53% public 421 12% public 422 45% public 424 98% public 425 40% public 426 21% public 432 47% public 441 37% public 442 99% public 444 16% public 445 12% public 446 23% public 447 21% public 448 74% public 450 23% public 451 17% public 452 39% public 455 99% public 471 19% public 502 11% public 515 7% public 525 64% public 535 17% public 540 34% public 555 68% public 565 99% public 575 4% public 580 22% public 590 10% public 595 600 20% public 620 41% public 621 77% public 622 74% public 630 67% public 640 15% public 650 14% public 652 62% public 670 44% public 690 19% public 698 699 700 37% public 701 19% public 702 12% public 703 16% public 704 30% public 705 30% public 799
Report an error on this page

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

About These Numbers

Every percentage here is the chance an applicant with that many points had in the draw year shown, computed from the agency's published results; quotas, applicant numbers and point levels change every year. A dash means the agency did not publish the number. Under five tags the percentage is flagged: one applicant either way swings it. Check the agency's site and apply there; we don't take applications. How we compute these.