Montana Elk · Hunting District 261
Montana Hunting District 261 covers 137,418 acres and lies 11 miles east of Hamilton and 31 miles west of Philipsburg. 62% of it is public land, mostly national forest (56%) and state trust land (5%). In 2025, hunters took 57 elk here; hunter counts not published. Its most applied-for hunt, 261-00, put up 5 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 6 nonresident first-choice applicants, 1 of whom drew.
2 licenses · NR capped at 10%
first choice, NR
not published
56% Forest Service
137,418 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Every License in Hunting District 261
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 261-00 Standard | Elk B License 261-00 — Antlerless Elk | 24% | — | |
| 261-00 Landowner | Elk B License 261-00 — Antlerless Elk | 100% | — |
First-choice nonresident odds at your points, 2026 draw. Cut = points the last tag went at; ▲ = points added since the earliest draw on file. Not in the table, with no 2026 result: 261-01, 261-70, 261-80.
Draw results: Montana FWP 2026 Elk B License 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 | 57 |
| 2024 | 48 |
| 2023 | 25 |
| 2022 | 89 |
2025 split: nonresidents 2, residents 55
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
| National Forest | 76,514 ac | 56% |
| Private | 51,944 ac | 38% |
| State trust land | 6,527 ac | 5% |
| State land | 2,404 ac | 2% |
| BLM | 0 ac | <1% |
| Bureau of Reclamation | 0 ac | <1% |
| Department of Defense | 0 ac | <1% |
| National Park Service | 0 ac | <1% |
| County or city 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: Sapphire
▸ Sources 11
- Montana FWP 2026 Elk B License 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.
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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 · All Montana elk hunts