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; hunter counts not published. Its most applied-for hunt, 285-01, put up 3 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 7 nonresident first-choice applicants, 1 of whom drew.
2 licenses · NR capped at 10%
first choice, NR
not published
51% Forest Service
423,930 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Every License in Hunting District 285
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 285-01 Standard | Elk B License 285-01 — Antlerless Elk | 3% (small sample) | — | |
| 285-01 Landowner | Elk B License 285-01 — 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. Not in the table, with no 2026 result: 285-02, 285-20, 285-21, 285-80, 285-81.
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 | 113 |
| 2024 | 56 |
| 2023 | 89 |
| 2022 | 87 |
2025 split: nonresidents 25, residents 89
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 | 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 | <1% |
| National Wildlife Refuge | 84 ac | <1% |
| Tribal | 42 ac | <1% |
| Bureau of Reclamation | 0 ac | <1% |
| Department of Defense | 0 ac | <1% |
| National Park Service | 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: Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex
▸ 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. 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