HD 270
Elk
19.9%
Mule deer
3.9%
Whitetail
16.2%
Elk
Resident licenses
General Elk License
Availability: Over the counter
Included Includes bull elk
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.
HD 270 (East Fork Bitterroot) General Elk License opportunities, 2026 regulations p. 67.
Antlerless elk: Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18.
Brow-tined bull elk: Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18, General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20, 'Only youth ages 12-15'.
Antlerless elk: General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20, 'Only youth ages 12-15 and hunters with a PTHFV.
Only valid north of Rye Creek.
Resident hunters 75 years old and older may harvest an antlerless elk on private land.' District NOTE: 'Hunter numbers for elk are very high in HD 270 due to unlimited brow-tined bull permits.
Permits do NOT manage for older age-class bulls.'
Source: FWP regulations (2026)
Nonresident licenses
General Elk License
Availability: Draw
Included Includes bull elk
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).
HD 270 (East Fork Bitterroot) General Elk License opportunities, 2026 regulations p. 67.
Antlerless elk: Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18.
Brow-tined bull elk: Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18, General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20, 'Only youth ages 12-15'.
Antlerless elk: General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20, 'Only youth ages 12-15 and hunters with a PTHFV.
Only valid north of Rye Creek.
Resident hunters 75 years old and older may harvest an antlerless elk on private land.' District NOTE: 'Hunter numbers for elk are very high in HD 270 due to unlimited brow-tined bull permits.
Permits do NOT manage for older age-class bulls.'
Source: FWP regulations (2026)
Other permits and B-licenses may be available for this district — not yet itemized in this dataset.
6+ point bulls: 94 of 313 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 | 621 | — | 4 | — | 309 | — | 94 | — |
| 2024 | 3320 | 662 | 19.9% | 0 | 0.0% | 321 | 9.7% | 87 | 2.6% |
| 2023 | Not published | 424 | — | 0 | — | 234 | — | 54 | — |
| 2022 | 2876 | 633 | 22.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 341 | 11.9% | 113 | 3.9% |
| 2021 | Not published | 408 | — | 8 | — | 260 | — | 52 | — |
Success by residency
| Year | Residents | Nonresidents | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hunters | Harvest | Rate | Hunters | Harvest | Rate | |
| 2025 | Not published | 510 | — | Not published | 111 | — |
| 2024 | 2737 | 530 | 19.4% | 583 | 132 | 22.6% |
| 2023 | Not published | 312 | — | Not published | 113 | — |
| 2022 | 2288 | 495 | 21.6% | 588 | 138 | 23.5% |
| 2021 | Not published | 310 | — | Not published | 98 | — |
Source: Montana FWP harvest reports, 2024.
Mule Deer
Resident licenses
General Deer License
Availability: Over the counter
Not included Antlered buck mule deer is not included in this general license — it requires a separate drawn permit. See the full regulation text below for details.
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.
HD 270 (East Fork Bitterroot) General Deer License opportunities, 2026 regulations p. 66.
Either-sex white-tailed deer: Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18, General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20, 'Only valid on private land'.
Either-sex white-tailed deer (no land restriction): Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18.
Antlered buck white-tailed deer: General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20.
Either-sex white-tailed deer, youth ages 10-15 only: General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20.
The General Deer License gives NO antlered buck mule deer opportunity in HD 270 - that requires drawn permit 270-50 or 270-51.
Source: FWP regulations (2026)
Nonresident licenses
General Deer License
Availability: Draw
Not included Antlered buck mule deer is not included in this general license — it requires a separate drawn permit. See the full regulation text below for details.
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.
HD 270 (East Fork Bitterroot) General Deer License opportunities, 2026 regulations p. 66.
Either-sex white-tailed deer: Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18, General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20, 'Only valid on private land'.
Either-sex white-tailed deer (no land restriction): Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18.
Antlered buck white-tailed deer: General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20.
Either-sex white-tailed deer, youth ages 10-15 only: General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20.
The General Deer License gives NO antlered buck mule deer opportunity in HD 270 - that requires drawn permit 270-50 or 270-51.
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: 48 of 62 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 | 1968 | 77 | 3.9% | 62 | 3.2% | 48 | 2.4% |
| 2024 | Not published | 80 | — | 67 | — | 50 | — |
| 2023 | 1887 | 87 | 4.6% | 72 | 3.8% | 55 | 2.9% |
| 2022 | Not published | 67 | — | 55 | — | 42 | — |
| 2021 | 1501 | 92 | 6.1% | 70 | 4.7% | 62 | 4.1% |
Success by residency
| Year | Residents | Nonresidents | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hunters | Harvest | Rate | Hunters | Harvest | Rate | |
| 2025 | 1802 | 63 | 3.5% | 165 | 14 | 8.5% |
| 2024 | Not published | 66 | — | Not published | 14 | — |
| 2023 | 1678 | 80 | 4.8% | 209 | 7 | 3.3% |
| 2022 | Not published | 60 | — | Not published | 7 | — |
| 2021 | 1357 | 88 | 6.5% | 144 | 4 | 2.8% |
Source: Montana FWP harvest reports, 2025.
Whitetail
Resident licenses
General Deer License
Availability: Over the counter
Included Includes antlered buck whitetail
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.
HD 270 (East Fork Bitterroot) General Deer License opportunities, 2026 regulations p. 66.
Either-sex white-tailed deer: Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18, General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20, 'Only valid on private land'.
Either-sex white-tailed deer (no land restriction): Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18.
Antlered buck white-tailed deer: General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20.
Either-sex white-tailed deer, youth ages 10-15 only: General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20.
The General Deer License gives NO antlered buck mule deer opportunity in HD 270 - that requires drawn permit 270-50 or 270-51.
Source: FWP regulations (2026)
Nonresident licenses
General Deer License
Availability: Draw
Included Includes antlered buck whitetail
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.
HD 270 (East Fork Bitterroot) General Deer License opportunities, 2026 regulations p. 66.
Either-sex white-tailed deer: Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18, General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20, 'Only valid on private land'.
Either-sex white-tailed deer (no land restriction): Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18.
Antlered buck white-tailed deer: General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20.
Either-sex white-tailed deer, youth ages 10-15 only: General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20.
The General Deer License gives NO antlered buck mule deer opportunity in HD 270 - that requires drawn permit 270-50 or 270-51.
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: 159 of 252 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 | 1968 | 318 | 16.2% | 252 | 12.8% | 159 | 8.1% |
| 2024 | Not published | 414 | — | 329 | — | 210 | — |
| 2023 | 1887 | 410 | 21.7% | 333 | 17.6% | 180 | 9.5% |
| 2022 | Not published | 279 | — | 215 | — | 100 | — |
| 2021 | 1501 | 293 | 19.5% | 221 | 14.7% | 153 | 10.2% |
Success by residency
| Year | Residents | Nonresidents | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hunters | Harvest | Rate | Hunters | Harvest | Rate | |
| 2025 | 1802 | 283 | 15.7% | 165 | 35 | 21.2% |
| 2024 | Not published | 375 | — | Not published | 39 | — |
| 2023 | 1678 | 362 | 21.6% | 209 | 49 | 23.4% |
| 2022 | Not published | 243 | — | Not published | 36 | — |
| 2021 | 1357 | 257 | 18.9% | 144 | 36 | 25.0% |
Source: Montana FWP harvest reports, 2025.