Montana Mountain Lion — Hunting District 540
Montana Hunting District 540 covers 373,650 acres and lies 16 miles north-west of Harlowton and 39 miles east of White Sulphur Springs. 34% of it is public land, mostly national forest (26%) and state trust land (6%). In 2025, hunters took 3 mountain lion here.
Your chance of drawing here
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks has not offered a mountain lion license in Hunting District 540 in any draw we hold. It has a page because the agency still publishes harvest for it — the Montana mountain lion hunts that are on offer are drawn elsewhere.
The country
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Who owns the ground
- Private 247,618 ac · 66%
- National Forest 98,681 ac · 26%
- State trust land 24,212 ac · 6%
- State land 1,345 ac · 0%
- BLM 1,008 ac · 0%
- County or city land 672 ac · 0%
- Bureau of Reclamation 0 ac · 0%
- Department of Defense 0 ac · 0%
- National Park Service 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 | 3 |
| 2024 | 4 |
| 2023 | 1 |
| 2022 | 2 |
| 2021 | 4 |
| 2020 | 5 |
| 2019 | 5 |
| 2018 | 3 |
| 2017 | 2 |
| 2016 | 6 |
| 2015 | 3 |
| 2014 | 3 |
Residents vs nonresidents (2025)
- Nonresident 1 taken
- Resident 2 taken
Boundary: Mountain Lion Management Units (2026 and 2027 Seasons)
Harvest: 2025 Reported Mountain Lion Harvest
Harvest: 2024 Reported Mountain Lion Harvest
Harvest: 2023 Reported Mountain Lion Harvest