Montana Hunting District 120
Elk
4.2%
Mule deer
2.4%
Whitetail
29.5%
For planning only. Seasons, license rules, and boundaries change, and this site can contain errors. Before you apply, buy a license, or hunt, confirm everything in the official FWP deer, elk & antelope regulations. Published state regulations always control. Terms of use
Elk
Licenses
General Elk License
Availability: Residents Over the counter · Nonresidents Draw
Included Includes bull elk
HD 120 (Blacktail) General Elk License opportunities, 2026 regulations p. 50.
District NOTE: 'HD 120 Check Restricted Area Legal Description (p 28-30) Smith Valley Weapons Restriction Area between Smith Lake Road and US Hwy 2 restricted to ArchEquip, shotgun, traditional handgun, muzzleloader or crossbow only' Brow-tined bull elk: Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18, General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20.
No elk B licenses or elk permits are listed for HD 120.
This restriction applies only to the sub-area described in the district NOTE, not to the whole hunting district, so no district-wide weapon restriction is recorded here.
A Bow and Arrow License is required during the Archery Only Season and to hunt in an ArchEquip-only area or hunting district (p. 12).
Residents: Residents buy the General Elk License over the counter; the resident license availability chart (p. 12) lists no application deadline for it, and residents may instead buy a Sportsman's License that includes one.
Nonresidents: Most nonresidents cannot buy their General Elk License over the counter.
Per 'Elk Licenses & Permits - General Elk License' (p. 16), it must be obtained through the April 1 drawing for one of the 17,000 Big Game Combination Licenses (the Elk Combination License also includes a General Elk License).
Source: FWP regulations (2026)
Other permits and B-licenses may be available for this district — not yet itemized in this dataset.
6+ point bulls: 22 of 62 total bulls harvested (2025)
Success rate history
| Year | Hunters | All | Spike | Bull | 6+ pt | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvest | Rate | Harvest | Rate | Harvest | Rate | Harvest | Rate | ||
| 2025 | Not published | 66 | — | 0 | — | 62 | — | 22 | — |
| 2024 | 1167 | 49 | 4.2% | 0 | 0.0% | 42 | 3.6% | 18 | 1.5% |
| 2023 | Not published | 75 | — | 3 | — | 63 | — | 18 | — |
| 2022 | 1075 | 48 | 4.5% | 0 | 0.0% | 49 | 4.6% | 7 | 0.7% |
| 2021 | Not published | 36 | — | 0 | — | 36 | — | 4 | — |
Source: Montana FWP harvest reports, 2024.
Mule Deer
Licenses
General Deer License
Availability: Residents Over the counter · Nonresidents Draw
Included Includes antlered buck mule deer
HD 120 (Blacktail) General Deer License opportunities, 2026 regulations p. 50.
District NOTE: 'HD 120 Check Restricted Area Legal Description (p 28-30) Smith Valley Weapons Restriction Area between Smith Lake Road and US Hwy 2 restricted to ArchEquip, shotgun, traditional handgun, muzzleloader or crossbow only' Either-sex white-tailed deer: Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18, General Oct 24-Oct 30.
Antlered buck mule deer: Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18, General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20.
Antlered buck white-tailed deer: General Oct 31-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20.
Either-sex white-tailed deer: General Oct 31-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20, 'Only youth ages 10-15 and hunters with a PTHFV.' Deer B license 120-00 is also listed for this HD; not itemized here (general license only).
This restriction applies only to the sub-area described in the district NOTE, not to the whole hunting district, so no district-wide weapon restriction is recorded here.
A Bow and Arrow License is required during the Archery Only Season and to hunt in an ArchEquip-only area or hunting district (p. 12).
Residents: Residents buy the General Deer License over the counter; the resident license availability chart (p. 12) lists no application deadline for it, and residents may instead buy a Sportsman's License that includes one.
Nonresidents: Most nonresidents cannot buy their general deer license over the counter.
Per 'Deer Licenses & Permits - General Deer License' (p. 15), it must be obtained through one of the April 1 drawings: the Big Game (deer and elk) Combination License (17,000 issued), the Deer Combination License (4,600 issued), or a Landowner Sponsored License (2,000 issued).
Nonresidents may apply for only one of these combination licenses per year.
Source: FWP regulations (2026)
Other permits and B-licenses may be available for this district — not yet itemized in this dataset.
4+ point mule deer bucks: 28 of 45 mule deer bucks harvested (2025)
Deer rates divide each species' harvest by all deer hunters in the district — FWP doesn't count mule deer and whitetail hunters separately.
Success rate history
| Year | Hunters | All | Buck | 4+ pt | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvest | Rate | Harvest | Rate | Harvest | Rate | ||
| 2025 | 2179 | 52 | 2.4% | 45 | 2.1% | 28 | 1.3% |
| 2024 | Not published | 34 | — | 31 | — | 12 | — |
| 2023 | 2206 | 47 | 2.1% | 44 | 2.0% | 20 | 0.9% |
| 2022 | Not published | 49 | — | 49 | — | 32 | — |
| 2021 | 1956 | 36 | 1.8% | 36 | 1.8% | 20 | 1.0% |
Source: Montana FWP harvest reports, 2025.
Whitetail
Licenses
General Deer License
Availability: Residents Over the counter · Nonresidents Draw
Included Includes antlered buck whitetail
HD 120 (Blacktail) General Deer License opportunities, 2026 regulations p. 50.
District NOTE: 'HD 120 Check Restricted Area Legal Description (p 28-30) Smith Valley Weapons Restriction Area between Smith Lake Road and US Hwy 2 restricted to ArchEquip, shotgun, traditional handgun, muzzleloader or crossbow only'
Either-sex white-tailed deer: Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18, General Oct 24-Oct 30.
Antlered buck white-tailed deer: General Oct 31-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20.
Either-sex white-tailed deer: General Oct 31-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20, 'Only youth ages 10-15 and hunters with a PTHFV.' Deer B license 120-00 is also listed for this HD; not itemized here (general license only).
This restriction applies only to the sub-area described in the district NOTE, not to the whole hunting district, so no district-wide weapon restriction is recorded here.
A Bow and Arrow License is required during the Archery Only Season and to hunt in an ArchEquip-only area or hunting district (p. 12).
Residents: Residents buy the General Deer License over the counter; the resident license availability chart (p. 12) lists no application deadline for it, and residents may instead buy a Sportsman's License that includes one.
Nonresidents: Most nonresidents cannot buy their general deer license over the counter.
Per 'Deer Licenses & Permits - General Deer License' (p. 15), it must be obtained through one of the April 1 drawings: the Big Game (deer and elk) Combination License (17,000 issued), the Deer Combination License (4,600 issued), or a Landowner Sponsored License (2,000 issued).
Nonresidents may apply for only one of these combination licenses per year.
Source: FWP regulations (2026)
Other permits and B-licenses may be available for this district — not yet itemized in this dataset.
4+ point whitetail bucks: 334 of 509 whitetail bucks harvested (2025)
Deer rates divide each species' harvest by all deer hunters in the district — FWP doesn't count mule deer and whitetail hunters separately.
Success rate history
| Year | Hunters | All | Buck | 4+ pt | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvest | Rate | Harvest | Rate | Harvest | Rate | ||
| 2025 | 2179 | 642 | 29.5% | 509 | 23.4% | 334 | 15.3% |
| 2024 | Not published | 691 | — | 579 | — | 385 | — |
| 2023 | 2206 | 657 | 29.8% | 554 | 25.1% | 332 | 15.0% |
| 2022 | Not published | 662 | — | 484 | — | 292 | — |
| 2021 | 1956 | 620 | 31.7% | 498 | 25.5% | 299 | 15.3% |
Source: Montana FWP harvest reports, 2025.