So, I’m a MT resident eligible for resident hunting and fishing licenses as of this year (yay!).

What I can’t figure out is elk hunting in region 1. So…I can buy a general elk license for the state but how do I sign up for a draw if the unit I choose isn’t an available option on FWP’s site? Is region 1 just open? FWP’s site has elk permits available to draw for other hunting units but nothing in Region 1. (Yes, I know it’s not the best place to hunt them, but it’s what I’m going to try out for my first year doing it).

I’m not a dumb guy but these hunting regs make almost no sense to me. The amount of missing critical information is pretty disheartening.  

To complicate matters even more, my old man wants to come elk hunting around here as a non-resident (a fool and his money). What the heck do I tell him to do? Drop $1K on a deer/elk combo license? I’m certain he’ll not be able to to put in for an elk permit in Region 1 either.

Nothing I’ve found in the regs spells this out. I’ve spent literal hours online trying to find some critical answers to basic questions with no results, hence, I’m asking here.

Who’s got some insight for me?

I am in the same boat as yourself. I never considered myself a complete idiot until I went to purchase my first MT hunting license this year (today actually).   Good Luck and safety in your hunts this year!

That's the plan today.

Pull up a chair, class is in session.

Your journey starts by downloading the hunting regulations.

On page 7, you'll see an explanation of hunting regions and districts.


So basically, the region is just the way they organize the state for administration. It doesn't really have anything to do with you. In other words, you don't need to know which region you're hunting in. The Hunting District you're in is what matters.

On page 33, you'll see a hunting district map for Region 1.

There are legal definitions for the boundaries of these districts later in the pamphlet, but if you're going to be near a boundary, check out the FWP's Hunt Planner or just get a GPS chip from OnXmaps.

So as an example, let's say you're looking to hunt in Hunting District 100. If you flip through to page 46, you'll see the regulations for that Hunting District.


So for elk in HD100, your General Elk License allows you to take a Brow-tined Bull or Antlerless Elk during Archery Season. However, it's only good for a brow-tined bull during the General and Muzzleloader seasons unless you have a PTHFV (Permit To Hunt From Vehicle, AKA "disabled")

If you want to be able to take a cow during the general season and can't get a PTHFV, you can put in for the Elk B license (100-00). But that license is drawing only, and only 25 will be awarded. You can look at page 44 for the drawing statistics. 100-00 had 275 applications last year, for a drawing success rate of 9.09%.

For me, the more confusing part was figuring out which licenses I needed to buy. So let me break it down for you:

Required Licenses for any hunting, because government is so efficient
Base Hunting License (You need to get or apply for any tags)
Conservation License (You need this to get or apply for any tags)
Bow License (You need this to hunt with a bow during archery season)

Once you have the above licenses, you can think about getting your tags. If you are just hunting elk and all you need is the general tag, then all you need to add to this is the General Elk License.


As for your old man, I'd recommend hunting for a few years here first before buying an out of state tag. They're crazy expensive and your first year or two you'll just be looking for a good spot anyway.

Hey OP move to Alaska if you want easy tags.


One of the reasons I will not move back.

Way easier when I was young to hunt in MT. We moved out in 88 so lots has changed and not for the better.

This is helpful, thanks!

Happy to help!

ETA: I should also clarify something a little further. When you see "Brow-tined bull or Antlerless", it doesn't mean you can shoot anything. It means that any bull you shoot must have a brow tine. So no spikes! Just thought I should point that out. While it may seem obvious when you're looking at the regs, it can be easy to forget when you've trudged around for weeks and not seen anything, then suddenly have a shot on a bull. Make sure it has a brow tine!



I like to hunt with open sights or low magnification scopes (easier to hit moving targets). But I make sure to always have my binoculars easily accessible so I can always verify antlers. It sucks when you miss out on a shot because you couldn't be sure.

OP, I'm in the same boat. Need to buy my stuff tonight, in fact.

Good info!

His post helped me connect the dots. Kudos, and much needed.

It also helped me figure out the non-resident stuff for my dad. He's taking a pass on paying $708 for a 4% chance of a draw for deer in 103 or 122 (based on last year's draw results). Guess he'll just have to slaughter some corn fed whitetails in his home state of Wisconsin.

Elk is unobtainium up here this year for non residents....

Yeah, find a good place to hunt before spending that kind of money. Your dad can always come along with you, he just can't take a game animal. So don't bother getting a tag for him until you're confident you've found a good place to fill it.

OP - As a first year resident you have so much to learn about the areas that I wouldn't get too caught up in draw tags. Just apply for one of the hardest to get units (which you will not get), pay for the points, and begin accumulating points for when you might know enough about different areas to want to use them. There are plenty of decent areas included with your general tag.

Heck that's still my approach and I've been hunting here for a while.

And yes if your father pays the full meal deal for a non-resident deer and elk permit, he'll be able to hunt the same general tag units that you can. But it's a lot of money to spend if you're just getting to know the area.

That's news to me...I was told he'd still have to draw a permit to hunt. So, he'd be able to hunt under a general license in a zone that allows, say, antlered buck deer or brow tined elk as a non-resident? No permit draw necessary for those general units? Still, it's quite expensive and I don't think he'll go for it this year.

Correct. Unless something has drastically changed recently. I actually sprung the money for the non-resident combo tag when I moved back to MT years ago so have first hand experience with it. There are a limited number of those tags though and maybe people do “put in” for them? It’s been years since I was in that situation but I got a leftover.

Another option if you want to hunt with him are B tags, some of which are unlimited. For example, last time I checked a 300 WT doe B tag was $100 non-resident ($10 resident). I don’t know your region very well but there are a shit ton of deer up there so probably something similar.

I was in the exact same spot 3 years ago. They still don’t make much sense to me but I am learning, slowly. The good news is the folks at FWP are super helpful and will actually try to help you plan. If you have an office close-by, stop in for a visit. Alternatively, the game wardens if you spot one, will help too - I had one help me clean out my fly box over lunch of flies that just don’t work here.

Good luck and be safe.

The only game wardens I’ve asked for help refused it. Said they didn’t have time to help me drag an elk.

Quoted:


The only game wardens I've asked for help refused it. Said they didn't have time to help me drag an elk. /quote]

+2
Never ran into a helpful game warden.
Most were grumpy as hell.

You also never know when they're gonna show up with cameras and put you on TV.

Only interaction I have had was when I harvested a cow and a calf elk on a damage hunt. It was about an hour before the end of shooting light and I had just finished dressing them out,he and another hunter come pulling up on an atv's and asked if I needed help. I gladly accepted and they drug them both back to the truck and gave my buddy and I a ride out as well. It was probably a good two miles back to the truck,we would have been there for a while and would have had to make several trips.