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Montana Hunt Planner

Apply for Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep, Mountain Goats, and Shiras Moose every year. You'll have to front $750 per tag. Additionally, you'll need to put forward $20 per year to participate in the bonus point system. A single $20 fee will get you a bonus point for each species for which you apply. Montana does not allow you to apply for "points only."

The draw hunts for Montana deer and elk are, for nonresidents, complicated and expensive to apply for, and are certainly less attractive than those offered by other states. You have to draw a general license first, and then apply for limited draw hunts. Largely because of this, I look elsewhere for deer and elk.

Montana has some good antelope hunting, but Wyoming offers such good antelope hunting that I've never felt the need to travel further from home (for me) to hunt in Montana.

Apply every year for wild, Boone-and-Crockett-eligible bison. This application is due late in the year, in September. Hunts are the following December, January, and February. One of the few free-ranging bison hunts in the Lower 48, this is again an attractive draw hunt at "only" $750. The hunt has been surrounded by controversy, as have all other aspects of bison management in Montana. The hunt occurs outside Yellowstone, where for years the state has slaughtered bison to prevent possible (but grossly unlikely) brucellosis transmission to domestic cattle while the bison are on their wintering grounds (the obvious question being: why can't we keep the cattle out instead?). To the extent that bison need to be controlled, a sport hunt is clearly the way to do it. I apply every year. Montana uses a random draw for bison -- no bonus points.

Species Notes General Tag Quality Limited Tag Quality Odds of Drawing Limited Tags Strategy
Antelope Wyoming is more tempting for a non-trophy hunt, other states are more tempting for a trophy hunt. Average Good Average Consider applying for top trophy regions.
Bison Odds are 1 in 100, but this is one of the very few wild bison hunts out there. N/A Unknown Poor Apply!
Elk Colorado is more tempting for a non-trophy hunt, other states are more tempting for a trophy hunt. Average Good Poor Pass.
Mule Deer Tempting for a non-trophy hunt, other states are more tempting for a trophy hunt. Average Excellent Poor Pass on the high-end hunts. Consider for a non-trophy hunt.
Sheep, Rocky Mountain Bighorn Montana is widely considered the best place in the world for trophy Bighorns. Poor Excellent Poor Apply!
Whitetail Good western whitetail state, but beyond my experience. Good N/A N/A Pass.
Mountain Goat Good goat hunting, acceptable odds, well worth applying for. N/A Good Average Apply!
Moose Good moose state, although you have to hunt pretty hard. N/A Good Average Apply!