Montana Elk · Hunting District 555
Montana Hunting District 555 covers 505,880 acres and lies 26 miles east of Red Lodge and 39 miles south of Laurel. 68% of it is public land, mostly BLM (38%) and national forest (22%). In 2025, hunters took 59 elk here; hunter counts not published. Its most applied-for hunt, 555-20, put up 2 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 25 nonresident first-choice applicants, 2 of whom drew.
4 licenses · NR capped at 10%
first choice, NR
not published
38% BLM
505,880 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Every License in Hunting District 555
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 555-00 Standard | Elk B License 555-00 — Antlerless Elk | 1% (small sample) | — | |
| 555-00 Landowner | Elk B License 555-00 — Antlerless Elk | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| 555-20 Standard | Elk Permit 555-20 — Either-sex Elk | <1% (small sample) | — | |
| 555-20 Landowner | Elk Permit 555-20 — Either-sex 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.
Draw results: Montana FWP 2026 Elk B License Drawing Statistics Report; Montana FWP 2026 Elk Permit 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 | 59 |
| 2024 | 44 |
| 2023 | 30 |
| 2022 | 28 |
2025 split: nonresidents 4, 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
| BLM | 192,184 ac | 38% |
| Private | 158,947 ac | 31% |
| National Forest | 109,776 ac | 22% |
| National Park Service | 26,659 ac | 5% |
| State trust land | 16,744 ac | 3% |
| State land | 101 ac | <1% |
| County or city land | 50 ac | <1% |
| Bureau of Reclamation | 0 ac | <1% |
| Department of Defense | 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: Absaroka
▸ Sources 12
- Montana FWP 2026 Elk B License Drawing Statistics Report draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Montana FWP 2026 Elk Permit 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.
Report an error on this page
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