Montana Elk · Hunting District 217
Montana Hunting District 217 covers 91,277 acres and lies 17 miles north-east of Philipsburg and 31 miles north of Anaconda. 29% of it is public land, mostly national forest (28%) and state trust land (1%). In 2025, hunters took 105 elk here; hunter counts not published. Its most applied-for hunt, 217-10, put up 17 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 40 nonresident first-choice applicants, 11 of whom drew.
8 licenses · NR capped at 10%
first choice, NR
not published
28% Forest Service
91,277 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Best Bets at 0 Points
Ranked by your odds times how often that license type's hunters filled their tag in 2025. Nonresident, first choice, 2026 draw; licenses with at least 10 tags that anyone can buy.
- Success
- —
- Season
- Sep 5 – Dec 20
- Tags / Apps
- 16 / 9
- If Drawn
- $92.50
- Success
- —
- Season
- Aug 15 – Dec 20
- Tags / Apps
- 15 / 3
- If Drawn
- $92.50
- Success
- —
- Season
- Sep 5 – Dec 20
- Tags / Apps
- 17 / 40
- If Drawn
- $92.50
Every License in Hunting District 217
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 217-01 Standard | Elk B License 217-01 — Antlerless Elk | 42% | — | |
| 217-01 Landowner | Elk B License 217-01 — Antlerless Elk | 100% | — | |
| 217-02 Standard | Elk B License 217-02 — Antlerless Elk | 100% | — | |
| 217-02 Landowner | Elk B License 217-02 — Antlerless Elk | 100% | — | |
| 217-10 Standard | Elk Permit 217-10 — Brow-tined Bull or Antlerless Elk | 4% | — | |
| 217-10 Landowner | Elk Permit 217-10 — Brow-tined Bull or Antlerless Elk | 100% | — | |
| 217-11 Standard | Elk Permit 217-11 — Brow-tined Bull or Antlerless Elk | 16% (small sample) | — | |
| 217-11 Landowner | Elk Permit 217-11 — Brow-tined Bull or Antlerless Elk | 100% (small sample) | — |
First-choice nonresident odds at your points, 2026 draw. Cut = points the last tag went at; ▲ = points added since the earliest draw on file.
Draw results: Montana FWP 2026 Elk B License Drawing Statistics Report; Montana FWP 2026 Elk Permit Drawing Statistics Report, retrieved Aug 31, 2026.
If you draw (2026 nonresident fees): Standard $92.50 ($92.50 to apply) · Landowner $92.50 ($92.50 to apply). Deadlines: Apr 1, 2027 (expected) for the main draw · Jun 1, 2027 (expected) for B license. Full fee breakdown.
Harvest
| Year | Elk |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 105 |
| 2024 | 92 |
| 2023 | 87 |
| 2022 | 109 |
2025 split: nonresidents 13, residents 92
What Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks publishes after each season, for everyone who hunted the area: harvest statistics, not draw odds. Hunter counts not published for 2025. 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. Source: Montana FWP 2025 Elk Harvest Estimates; Montana FWP 2024 Elk Harvest Estimates; Montana FWP 2023 Elk Harvest Estimates.
The Ground
| Private | 64,579 ac | 71% |
| National Forest | 25,484 ac | 28% |
| State trust land | 1,131 ac | 1% |
| BLM | 45 ac | <1% |
| County or city land | 9 ac | <1% |
| Bureau of Reclamation | 0 ac | <1% |
| Department of Defense | 0 ac | <1% |
| National Park Service | 0 ac | <1% |
| State land | 0 ac | <1% |
| National Wildlife Refuge | 0 ac | <1% |
| Tribal | 0 ac | <1% |
| Other public | 0 ac | <1% |
Source: Montana FWP 2026-2027 Deer Elk Lion Hunting District….
What the Agency Says About the Area
Elk Management Unit: Flint Creek
▸ Sources 12
- Montana FWP 2026 Elk B License Drawing Statistics Report draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Montana FWP 2026 Elk Permit Drawing Statistics Report draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Montana Legislature 2026 MCA 87-2-113 Application fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Montana Legislature 2026 MCA 87-2-116 Base hunting license… fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Montana FWP 2026 Hunting Requirements fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Montana FWP 2026 Nonresident License Fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Montana FWP 2025 Elk Harvest Estimates harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Montana FWP 2024 Elk Harvest Estimates harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Montana FWP 2023 Elk Harvest Estimates harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Montana FWP 2022 Elk Harvest Estimates harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Montana FWP 2026 Deer and Elk Hunting Districts boundary, area description, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Montana FWP 2026-2027 Deer Elk Lion Hunting District… land ownership, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
About These Numbers
Odds are from the 2026 draw, the latest on file, computed from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks' published results. They are what happened in that draw, not a forecast. Under five tags a percentage carries a *, because one applicant either way swings it. A dash means the agency did not publish the number, and a date marked expected is last cycle's schedule rolled forward. How we compute these.
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We don't take applications: check Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks's site and apply there.
Prior-draw odds from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks' results, not a forecast · Methodology · All Montana elk hunts