Montana Elk — Hunting District 121

Montana Hunting District 121 covers 627,778 acres and lies 24 miles north-west of Thompson Falls and 35 miles south of Libby. 82% of it is public land, mostly national forest (81%) and state trust land (1%). In 2025, hunters took 237 elk here. The 2026 draw put up 15 tags here for 39 first-choice applicants.

Tags (2026):34 Nonresident share:capped at 10% Applicants:46 Public land:82% Size:627,778 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Hunting District 121, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.

4 licenses on offer · 34 tags · 46 applicants in the 2026 draw

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
  • 121-00 Elk B License 121-00 — Antlerless Elk 15 tags · 39 applicants · Standard
    No data
  • 121-00 Elk B License 121-00 — Antlerless Elk 15 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner
    No data
  • 121-01 Elk B License 121-01 — Antlerless Elk 2 tags · 7 applicants · Standard
    No data
  • 121-01 Elk B License 121-01 — Antlerless Elk 2 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner
    No data
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.
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.
4 hunts not offered in 2026 are hidden — show discontinued hunts.

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.

Other licenses valid in Hunting District 121

Not in the table above because they had no result in the 2026 draw.

The country

Thompson Falls Kalispell Eureka Missoula Hamilton
Hunting District 121 within Montana
103 104 120 122 123 124 170 200 Thompson Falls Libby Plains Kalispell Whitefish
Hunting District 121 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

  • National Forest 510,133 ac · 81%
  • Private 99,502 ac · 16%
  • State trust land 3,515 ac · 1%
  • State land 2,762 ac · 0%
  • County or city land 502 ac · 0%
  • BLM 0 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%
  • Private or other non-public land 11,362 ac · 2%

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

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.

Season Harvest
2025 237
2024 246
2023 226
2022 171

Residents vs nonresidents (2025)

  • Nonresident 12 taken
  • Resident 226 taken

What the agency says about the area

Elk Management Unit: Lower Clark Fork

Source: Deer and Elk Hunting Districts (2026 and 2027 Seasons)

Boundary: Deer and Elk Hunting Districts (2026 and 2027 Seasons)

Harvest: 2025 Elk Harvest Estimates (MyFWP Harvest Estimates Search, District=ALL)

Harvest: 2024 Elk Harvest Estimates (MyFWP Harvest Estimates Search, District=ALL)

Harvest: 2023 Elk Harvest Estimates (MyFWP Harvest Estimates Search, District=ALL)

How we compute draw odds · All Montana elk hunts