Montana Elk — Hunting District 575

Montana Hunting District 575 covers 524,439 acres and lies 10 miles south-west of Columbus and 23 miles north of Red Lodge. 4% of it is public land, mostly state trust land (3%) and BLM (1%). In 2025, hunters took 245 elk here. The 2021 draw put up 2 tags here for 6 first-choice applicants.

Tags (2021):4 Nonresident share:capped at 10% Applicants:6 Public land:4% Size:524,439 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Hunting District 575, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.

2 licenses on offer · 4 tags · 6 applicants in the 2021 draw

Chances are from the 2021 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.

Simple view Odds at every point level
  • 575-20 Elk Permit 575-20 — Either-sex Elk 2 tags · 6 applicants · Standard
    No data
  • 575-20 Elk Permit 575-20 — Either-sex Elk 2 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner
    No data
What these columns mean
Your odds
the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2021 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 2021 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 2021 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 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 575

Not in the table above because they had no result in the 2021 draw.

The country

Columbus Red Lodge Harlowton West Yellowstone Lewistown
Hunting District 575 within Montana
315 316 502 515 525 555 565 Columbus Red Lodge Laurel Big Timber Billings
Hunting District 575 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 500,629 ac · 95%
  • State trust land 16,257 ac · 3%
  • BLM 3,985 ac · 1%
  • State land 2,045 ac · 0%
  • County or city land 524 ac · 0%
  • Bureau of Reclamation 0 ac · 0%
  • Department of Defense 0 ac · 0%
  • National Park Service 0 ac · 0%
  • National Forest 0 ac · 0%
  • National Wildlife Refuge 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 245
2024 250
2023 215
2022 199

Residents vs nonresidents (2025)

  • Nonresident 28 taken
  • Resident 216 taken

What the agency says about the area

Elk Management Unit: Absaroka

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