Montana Elk — Hunting District 285

Montana Hunting District 285 covers 423,930 acres and lies 30 miles north-east of Missoula and 39 miles south-east of Ronan. 76% of it is public land, mostly national forest (50%) and BLM (12%). In 2025, hunters took 113 elk here. The 2026 draw put up 3 tags here for 7 first-choice applicants.

Tags (2026):6 Nonresident share:capped at 10% Applicants:7 Public land:76% Size:423,930 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Hunting District 285, 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

285-01 Elk B License 285-01 — Antlerless Elk 3 tags · 7 applicants · Standard

— No data
285-01 Elk B License 285-01 — Antlerless Elk 3 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner

— No data

Hunt	Your odds (0 pts)	Points needed	Tags / applicants	License	Season
285-01 ↗ Elk B License 285-01 — Antlerless Elk	— No data	—	3 / 7	Standard	Sep 5 – Dec 20, 2026
285-01 ↗ Elk B License 285-01 — Antlerless Elk	— No data	—	3 / 0	Landowner	Sep 5 – Dec 20, 2026

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.

5 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 285

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

B licence — Elk B License 285-02 Standard Permit — Elk Permit 285-20 Standard Permit — Elk Permit 285-21 Standard B licence — Elk B License 285-80 Standard B licence — Elk B License 285-81 Standard

The country

Hunting District 285 within Montana

Hunting District 285 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 213,703 ac · 50%
Private 96,698 ac · 23%
BLM 49,048 ac · 12%
State land 38,280 ac · 9%
State trust land 22,044 ac · 5%
County or city land 127 ac · 0%
National Wildlife Refuge 84 ac · 0%
Tribal 42 ac · 0%
Bureau of Reclamation 0 ac · 0%
Department of Defense 0 ac · 0%
National Park Service 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.