Montana Elk — Hunting District 215

Montana Hunting District 215 covers 370,737 acres and lies 9 miles south-east of Deer Lodge and 23 miles west of Boulder. 51% of it is public land, mostly national forest (36%) and state land (8%). In 2025, hunters took 346 elk here. The 2026 draw put up 40 tags here for 48 first-choice applicants.

Tags (2026):130 Nonresident share:capped at 10% Applicants:107 Public land:51% Size:370,737 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Hunting District 215, 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

215-01 Elk B License 215-01 — Antlerless Elk 25 tags · 56 applicants · Standard

10% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
215-01 Elk B License 215-01 — Antlerless Elk 25 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner

100% No first-choice applicants
215-02 Elk B License 215-02 — Antlerless Elk 40 tags · 48 applicants · Standard

72% Real chance 0% as 2nd choice
215-02 Elk B License 215-02 — Antlerless Elk 40 tags · 3 applicants · Landowner

100% Undersubscribed

Hunt	Your odds (0 pts)	As 2nd choice	Points needed	Tags / applicants	License	Season
215-01 ↗ Elk B License 215-01 — Antlerless Elk	10% Point builder	0%	—	25 / 56	Standard	Sep 5 – Dec 20, 2026
215-01 ↗ Elk B License 215-01 — Antlerless Elk	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	25 / 0	Landowner	Sep 5 – Dec 20, 2026
215-02 ↗ Elk B License 215-02 — Antlerless Elk	72% Real chance	0%	—	40 / 48	Standard	Oct 24 – Jan 8, 2027
215-02 ↗ Elk B License 215-02 — Antlerless Elk	100% Undersubscribed	—	—	40 / 3 undersubscribed	Landowner	Oct 24 – Jan 8, 2027

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.

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

Other licenses valid in Hunting District 215

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

B licence — Elk B License 215-00 Standard B licence — Elk B License 215-80 Standard B licence — Elk B License 215-81 Standard

The country

Hunting District 215 within Montana

Hunting District 215 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 178,954 ac · 48%
National Forest 134,169 ac · 36%
State land 31,475 ac · 8%
State trust land 21,057 ac · 6%
County or city land 2,335 ac · 1%
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%

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.