Montana Elk — Hunting District 312

Montana Hunting District 312 covers 317,087 acres and lies 9 miles north-east of Manhattan and 18 miles north of Bozeman. 23% of it is public land, mostly national forest (18%) and state trust land (3%). In 2025, hunters took 281 elk here. The 2015 draw put up 20 tags here for 8 first-choice applicants.

Tags (2015):40 Nonresident share:capped at 10% Applicants:8 Public land:23% Size:317,087 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Hunting District 312, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.

2 licenses on offer · 40 tags · 8 applicants in the 2015 draw

Chances are from the 2015 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.

Simple view Odds at every point level
  • 312-00 Elk B License 312-00 20 tags · 8 applicants · Standard
    100% Undersubscribed
  • 312-00 Elk B License 312-00 20 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner
    100% No first-choice applicants
What these columns mean
Your odds
the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2015 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 2015 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.
1 hunt not offered in 2015 is 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 window: opens Mar 1, closes Apr 1, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.

Other licenses valid in Hunting District 312

Not in the table above because they had no result in the 2015 draw.

The country

Manhattan Townsend Ennis West Yellowstone Red Lodge
Hunting District 312 within Montana
304 309 311 315 320 370 380 390 393 451 Manhattan Belgrade Bozeman Townsend Livingston
Hunting District 312 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

  • Private 242,889 ac · 77%
  • National Forest 56,822 ac · 18%
  • State trust land 10,273 ac · 3%
  • BLM 4,185 ac · 1%
  • State land 2,187 ac · 1%
  • County or city land 507 ac · 0%
  • National Wildlife Refuge 63 ac · 0%
  • Bureau of Reclamation 0 ac · 0%
  • Department of Defense 0 ac · 0%
  • National Park Service 0 ac · 0%
  • Tribal 0 ac · 0%
  • Other public 0 ac · 0%

Source: Deer Elk Lion 2026-2027 Hunting District Landcover and Land Ownership Calculations

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.

Season Harvest
2025 281
2024 230
2023 240
2022 285

Residents vs nonresidents (2025)

  • Nonresident 46 taken
  • Resident 235 taken

What the agency says about the area

Elk Management Unit: Bridger

Source: Deer and Elk Hunting Districts (2026 and 2027 Seasons)

Boundary: Deer and Elk Hunting Districts (2026 and 2027 Seasons)

Harvest: 2025 Elk Harvest Estimates (MyFWP Harvest Estimates Search, District=ALL)

Harvest: 2024 Elk Harvest Estimates (MyFWP Harvest Estimates Search, District=ALL)

Harvest: 2023 Elk Harvest Estimates (MyFWP Harvest Estimates Search, District=ALL)

How we compute draw odds · All Montana elk hunts