Montana Moose 494-50 — Hunting District 494
Moose License 494-50 — Antlered Bull · East Big Belt-West Little Belt Mountains
- What you may take
- Moose License 494-50 — Antlered Bull
- Weapon
- Rifle
- Also open Sep 5–14, 2026 as an archery-only season, which needs a $10 archery license on top.
- Seasons (2026)
- Archery Sep 5–14, 2026 · Sep 15 – Nov 29, 2026
- Tags (2026)
- 4
- for 559 first-choice applicants
- Hunter success here (2025)
- 75%
- of everyone who hunted the area
Showing resident results. Switch to nonresident
Odds by point level — 2026 draw
Prior-draw probability for a first-choice resident applicant. 4 tags, 559 first-choice applicants. Source: 2026 Moose Drawing Statistics... · p. 2.
| Points | Your chance | Applicants | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | <1% (<1%–<1%) | 36 | 0 |
| 1 | <1% (<1%–<1%) | 43 | 0 |
| 2 | <1% (<1%–<1%) | 36 | 0 |
| 3 | <1% (<1%–<1%) | 40 | 0 |
| 4 | <1% (<1%–<1%) | 65 | 0 |
| 5 | <1% (<1%–<1%) | 34 | 0 |
| 6 | <1% (<1%–<1%) | 31 | 0 |
| 7 | <1% (<1%–<1%) | 26 | 1 |
| 8 | <1% (<1%–<1%) | 41 | 0 |
| 9 | <1% (<1%–<1%) | 23 | 0 |
| 10 | <1% (<1%–<1%) | 14 | 0 |
| 11 | <1% (<1%–<1%) | 15 | 1 |
| 12 | <1% (<1%–<1%) | 17 | 0 |
| 13 | 1% (<1%–1%) | 18 | 0 |
| 14 | 1% (1%–1%) | 6 | 0 |
| 15 | 1% (1%–1%) | 8 | 0 |
| 16 | 1% (1%–2%) | 14 | 0 |
| 17 | 2% (2%–2%) | 8 | 0 |
| 18 | 2% (2%–2%) | 13 | 0 |
| 19 | 2% (2%–2%) | 12 | 0 |
| 20 | 2% (2%–3%) | 7 | 1 |
| 21 | 3% (2%–3%) | 9 | 0 |
| 22 | 3% (2%–3%) | 4 | 1 |
| 23 | 3% (3%–3%) | 7 | 0 |
| 24 | 3% (3%–4%) | 9 | 0 |
| 25 | 4% (3%–4%) | 12 | 0 |
| 26 | 4% (4%–4%) | 11 | 0 |
Monte Carlo over published bonus-point pools. A dash means Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks did not publish a count for that level. How we compute these.
What it costs (2026 resident fees)
Optional, not counted above: Bonus point only (no application) (July 1 - Sept 30, per species) $15.
Not applying this year? A point-only purchase costs $2 and adds a point for next year's draw.
Next application window: opens Mar 1, closes May 1, 2027 (expected) · results ~May 15. Last cycle's schedule rolled forward — confirm when the agency publishes.
Point creep & years to draw
Insufficient history (0 of 3 draws) — a creep trend needs at least three draw years with a published drew-out level.
Seasons (2026)
How this tag has hunted
Across every license type in Hunting District 494, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks counted 4 hunters and 3 moose taken in 2025 — 75% of them killed something. Full Hunting District 494 profile: maps, public land, five years of harvest →
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: FWP Harvest Estimates CSV export - moose, all districts, 2005-2025
Year by year
The standard draw for residents, one row per year.
| Year | Tags | Applicants | Applicants per tag | Points needed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 4 | 559 | 139.8 | — | 2026 Moose Drawing Statistics... · p. 2 |
| 2025 | 4 | 565 | 141.3 | — | 2025 Moose Drawing Statistics... · p. 2 |
| 2024 | 4 | 630 | 157.5 | — | 2024 Moose Drawing Statistics... · p. 2 |
| 2023 | 4 | 549 | 137.3 | — | 2023 Moose Drawing Statistics... · p. 2 |
Other licenses valid in Hunting District 494
Legal cartridges for moose in Montana
From the Montana hunting laws rules on file for a rifle. "Depends" means the rule turns on your specific load — check the state page.
Spot a data error on this page? Tell us.
How to read these numbers
Every percentage on this page is a prior-draw probability: the chance an applicant with that many points would have drawn in the draw year shown, computed from the agency's published results. It is not a forecast — quotas, applicant numbers, and point creep change every year. Every figure links to the agency document it came from. Where a state does not publish a number, we show a dash, never a zero. Hunts with fewer than five tags show counts instead of percentages. Fees show the fee year used. Read the methodology for the engine details.
Not an application service
This page is informational only. Draw rules, quotas, fees, and deadlines are set by the state agency and change by commission action — confirm everything on the agency's own site before you apply, and apply through the agency, not here. We disclaim all liability for reliance on this page.