Montana Closes HD 502 to Bighorn Sheep Hunting Half Hour After Sunset Nov. 3

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks posted a notice on Nov. 2, 2026, closing Hunting District 502 to all bighorn sheep hunting one-half hour after sunset on Tuesday, November 3. The closure is by order of the Montana Fish & Wildlife Commission and covers the district as described in the current legal descriptions.

HD 502, the Hellroaring district, is one of five unlimited-license bighorn districts, with districts 300, 303, 500 and 501. The 2026 regulations set its season at Sept. 15 to Nov. 29 for a legal ram and give it a harvest quota of two. Unlimited licenses have no cap on the number sold, one per hunter, and any ram taken counts against the district quota.

The regulations say an unlimited district closes on a 24-hour notice when the quota is reached or approached. The Nov. 2 notice names no harvest count and gives no reason. It lists no exceptions, and the closure covers “ALL” bighorn sheep.

A hunter who harvests a bighorn in HD 502 must report it within 24 hours by phone or through the MyFWP portal, under the district note in the regulations. The head and cape must then be presented intact to an FWP office, game warden or designated employee within 48 hours.

A hunter who takes a ram on an unlimited license may not apply for or receive another ram license for the next seven years. A license holder for a district that closes on reaching its quota may not hunt there after the closure.

The HD 502 season would otherwise have run through Nov. 29. FWP posts quota status by phone at 1-800-385-7826 and on its Current Restrictions & Closures page, and the closure takes effect one-half hour after sunset on Nov. 3, 2026.