Montana Hunting District 284
Elk
14.5%
Mule deer
7.5%
Whitetail
8.0%
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
Weapon restrictions: archery
Season: 2026-09-05 to 2026-11-29
HD 284 (Lincoln Archery District) General Elk License opportunities, 2026 regulations p. 68.
Brow-tined bull or antlerless elk: General Season Sep 05-Nov 29, 'ArchEquip only'.
District NOTE: 'HD 284 Check Restricted Area Legal Description (p 28-30) Lincoln Closed Area; Deer and Elk hunting is restricted to ArchEquip Only.' No elk B licenses or elk permits are listed for HD 284.
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 8 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 | 15 | — | 0 | — | 8 | — | 4 | — |
| 2024 | 221 | 32 | 14.5% | 0 | 0.0% | 9 | 4.1% | 3 | 1.4% |
| 2023 | Not published | 26 | — | 0 | — | 18 | — | 6 | — |
| 2022 | 167 | 12 | 7.2% | 0 | 0.0% | 7 | 4.2% | 7 | 4.2% |
| 2021 | Not published | 43 | — | 0 | — | 31 | — | 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
Weapon restrictions: archery
Season: 2026-09-05 to 2026-11-29
HD 284 (Lincoln Archery District) General Deer License opportunities, 2026 regulations p. 68.
Antlered buck mule deer and antlered buck white-tailed deer: General Season Sep 05-Nov 29, 'ArchEquip only'.
District NOTE: 'HD 284 Check Restricted Area Legal Description (p 28-30) Lincoln Closed Area; Deer and Elk hunting is restricted to ArchEquip Only.' No deer B licenses or deer permits are listed for HD 284.
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: 11 of 14 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 | 174 | 13 | 7.5% | 14 | 8.0% | 11 | 6.3% |
| 2024 | Not published | 3 | — | 3 | — | 0 | — |
| 2023 | 120 | 7 | 5.8% | 6 | 5.0% | 3 | 2.5% |
| 2022 | Not published | 10 | — | 10 | — | 3 | — |
| 2021 | 200 | 3 | 1.5% | 3 | 1.5% | 3 | 1.5% |
Source: Montana FWP harvest reports, 2025.
Whitetail
Licenses
General Deer License
Availability: Residents Over the counter · Nonresidents Draw
Included Includes antlered buck whitetail
Weapon restrictions: archery
Season: 2026-09-05 to 2026-11-29
HD 284 (Lincoln Archery District) General Deer License opportunities, 2026 regulations p. 68.
Antlered buck mule deer and antlered buck white-tailed deer: General Season Sep 05-Nov 29, 'ArchEquip only'.
District NOTE: 'HD 284 Check Restricted Area Legal Description (p 28-30) Lincoln Closed Area; Deer and Elk hunting is restricted to ArchEquip Only.' No deer B licenses or deer permits are listed for HD 284.
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: 11 of 11 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 | 174 | 14 | 8.0% | 11 | 6.3% | 11 | 6.3% |
| 2024 | Not published | 35 | — | 27 | — | 15 | — |
| 2023 | 120 | 20 | 16.7% | 20 | 16.7% | 10 | 8.3% |
| 2022 | Not published | 23 | — | 16 | — | 13 | — |
| 2021 | 200 | 46 | 23.0% | 45 | 22.5% | 38 | 19.0% |
Source: Montana FWP harvest reports, 2025.