Montana Elk · Hunting District 290
Montana Hunting District 290 covers 33,766 acres and lies 40 miles north of Deer Lodge. 18% of it is public land, mostly wildlife refuge (12%) and state land (4%). In 2025, hunters took 80 elk here; hunter counts not published. Its most applied-for hunt, 290-01, put up 20 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 16 nonresident first-choice applicants, 10 of whom drew.
2 licenses · NR capped at 10%
first choice, NR
not published
13% Fish & Wildlife Service
33,766 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.
Every License in Hunting District 290
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 290-01 Standard | Elk B License 290-01 — Antlerless Elk | 49% | — | |
| 290-01 Landowner | Elk B License 290-01 — 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.
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). Open Mar 1 – Apr 1, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
Harvest
| Year | Elk |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 80 |
| 2024 | 52 |
| 2023 | 46 |
| 2022 | 26 |
2025 split: nonresidents 11, residents 69
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 | 26,935 ac | 80% |
| National Wildlife Refuge | 4,119 ac | 12% |
| State land | 1,225 ac | 4% |
| State trust land | 584 ac | 2% |
| BLM | 84 ac | <1% |
| County or city land | 3 ac | <1% |
| Bureau of Reclamation | 0 ac | <1% |
| Department of Defense | 0 ac | <1% |
| National Park Service | 0 ac | <1% |
| National Forest | 0 ac | <1% |
| Tribal | 0 ac | <1% |
| Other public | 0 ac | <1% |
| Private or other non-public land | 813 ac | 2% |
Source: Montana FWP 2026-2027 Deer Elk Lion Hunting District….
What the Agency Says About the Area
Elk Management Unit: Garnet
▸ 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