Montana Hunting District 270
Elk
19.9%
Mule deer
3.9%
Whitetail
16.2%
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 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.'
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: 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 | — |
Source: Montana FWP harvest reports, 2024.
Mule Deer
Licenses
General Deer License
Availability: Residents Over the counter · Nonresidents 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.
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.
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: 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% |
Source: Montana FWP harvest reports, 2025.
Whitetail
Licenses
General Deer License
Availability: Residents Over the counter · Nonresidents Draw
Included Includes antlered buck whitetail
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.
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: 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% |
Source: Montana FWP harvest reports, 2025.