Montana Hunting District 130
Elk
3.7%
Mule deer
2.2%
Whitetail
29.2%
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 130 (Swan) General Elk License opportunities, 2026 regulations p. 52.
District NOTE: 'Swan River National Wildlife Refuge restricted to ArchEquip 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 130.
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: 4 of 33 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 | 44 | — | 0 | — | 33 | — | 4 | — |
| 2024 | 893 | 33 | 3.7% | 0 | 0.0% | 33 | 3.7% | 12 | 1.3% |
| 2023 | Not published | 48 | — | 0 | — | 39 | — | 12 | — |
| 2022 | 887 | 39 | 4.4% | 3 | 0.3% | 25 | 2.8% | 9 | 1.0% |
| 2021 | Not published | 40 | — | 0 | — | 33 | — | 7 | — |
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 130 (Swan) General Deer License opportunities, 2026 regulations p. 52.
District NOTE: 'Swan River National Wildlife Refuge restricted to ArchEquip only.' Either-sex white-tailed deer: Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18 (no General Season listed).
Antlered buck white-tailed deer: General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20.
Antlered buck mule deer: Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18, General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20.
Either-sex white-tailed deer: General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20, 'Only youth ages 10-15 and hunters with a PTHFV.' Deer B license 130-00 and deer permit 130-50 are 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: 31 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 | 2069 | 45 | 2.2% | 45 | 2.2% | 31 | 1.5% |
| 2024 | Not published | 32 | — | 32 | — | 32 | — |
| 2023 | 1785 | 20 | 1.1% | 20 | 1.1% | 20 | 1.1% |
| 2022 | Not published | 33 | — | 27 | — | 20 | — |
| 2021 | 1820 | 14 | 0.8% | 14 | 0.8% | 10 | 0.5% |
Source: Montana FWP harvest reports, 2025.
Whitetail
Licenses
General Deer License
Availability: Residents Over the counter · Nonresidents Draw
Included Includes antlered buck whitetail
HD 130 (Swan) General Deer License opportunities, 2026 regulations p. 52.
District NOTE: 'Swan River National Wildlife Refuge restricted to ArchEquip only.'
Either-sex white-tailed deer: Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18 (no General Season listed).
Antlered buck white-tailed deer: General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20.
Either-sex white-tailed deer: General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20, 'Only youth ages 10-15 and hunters with a PTHFV.' Deer B license 130-00 and deer permit 130-50 are 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: 351 of 546 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 | 2069 | 605 | 29.2% | 546 | 26.4% | 351 | 17.0% |
| 2024 | Not published | 568 | — | 551 | — | 398 | — |
| 2023 | 1785 | 534 | 29.9% | 461 | 25.8% | 291 | 16.3% |
| 2022 | Not published | 522 | — | 393 | — | 236 | — |
| 2021 | 1820 | 550 | 30.2% | 504 | 27.7% | 281 | 15.4% |
Source: Montana FWP harvest reports, 2025.