Montana Hunting District 290
Elk
19.7%
Mule deer
5.4%
Whitetail
22.4%
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 290 (Helmville-Ovando Archery District) General Elk License opportunities, 2026 regulations p. 69.
District NOTE: 'HD 290 Check Restricted Area Legal Description (p 28-30) Aunt Molly WMA restricted to ArchEquip Only for all big game hunting; East Ovando Archery Area restricted to ArchEquip only for all big game hunting.' Brow-tined bull or antlerless elk: Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18, General Oct 24-Nov 29, Late Season Nov 30-Jan 01, 'ArchEquip Only'.
Antlerless elk: General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20, 'Firearms allowed outside of East Ovando Archery Area/Aunt Molly WMA'.
Note that HD 290's General Elk License is NOT entirely archery-only: the brow-tined bull or antlerless opportunity is ArchEquip Only, but the antlerless opportunity allows firearms outside of the East Ovando Archery Area/Aunt Molly WMA.
Elk B license 290-01 is also listed for this HD; not itemized here (general license only).
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), they must obtain one through the drawing for one of the 17,000 Big Game Combination Licenses, applying in the random lottery drawing by April 1.
The separate NONRESIDENT License and Permit Availability Chart (p. 13) states that the Elk Combination includes a General Elk License and lists 'Elk Combination - Drawing' at $1,112.00, apply by April 1.
Source: FWP regulations (2026)
Other permits and B-licenses may be available for this district — not yet itemized in this dataset.
6+ point bulls: 11 of 21 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 | 80 | — | 0 | — | 21 | — | 11 | — |
| 2024 | 264 | 52 | 19.7% | 0 | 0.0% | 31 | 11.7% | 13 | 4.9% |
| 2023 | Not published | 46 | — | 0 | — | 19 | — | 2 | — |
| 2022 | 177 | 26 | 14.7% | 0 | 0.0% | 13 | 7.3% | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2021 | Not published | 42 | — | 0 | — | 22 | — | 0 | — |
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 2026-12-15
HD 290 (Helmville-Ovando Archery District) General Deer License opportunities, 2026 regulations p. 69.
District NOTE: 'HD 290 Check Restricted Area Legal Description (p 28-30) Aunt Molly WMA restricted to ArchEquip Only for all big game hunting; East Ovando Archery Area restricted to ArchEquip only for all big game hunting.' Either-sex white-tailed deer: General Sep 05-Nov 29, Late Season Nov 30-Dec 15, 'ArchEquip only'.
Antlered buck mule deer: General Sep 05-Nov 29, Late Season Nov 30-Dec 15, 'ArchEquip only'.
Every General Deer License opportunity listed for HD 290 is marked 'ArchEquip only'.
A Bow and Arrow License is required to archery hunt in an ArchEquip-only area or hunting district (p. 15).
Deer B licenses 290-00, 290-01 and 290-02 are also listed for this HD; not itemized here (general license only).
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), they must obtain a General Deer License through one of the following 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 can apply for only one of these combo licenses each year, and the random lottery drawing deadline is April 1.
The separate NONRESIDENT License and Permit Availability Chart (p. 13) states that the Deer Combination includes a General Deer License and lists 'Deer Combination - Drawing' at $760.00, apply by April 1.
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: 10 of 17 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 | 317 | 17 | 5.4% | 17 | 5.4% | 10 | 3.2% |
| 2024 | Not published | 9 | — | 9 | — | 6 | — |
| 2023 | 190 | 20 | 10.5% | 20 | 10.5% | 13 | 6.8% |
| 2022 | Not published | 26 | — | 24 | — | 13 | — |
| 2021 | 230 | 19 | 8.3% | 19 | 8.3% | 11 | 4.8% |
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 2026-12-15
HD 290 (Helmville-Ovando Archery District) General Deer License opportunities, 2026 regulations p. 69.
District NOTE: 'HD 290 Check Restricted Area Legal Description (p 28-30) Aunt Molly WMA restricted to ArchEquip Only for all big game hunting; East Ovando Archery Area restricted to ArchEquip only for all big game hunting.'
Either-sex white-tailed deer: General Sep 05-Nov 29, Late Season Nov 30-Dec 15, 'ArchEquip only'.
Every General Deer License opportunity listed for HD 290 is marked 'ArchEquip only'.
A Bow and Arrow License is required to archery hunt in an ArchEquip-only area or hunting district (p. 15).
Deer B licenses 290-00, 290-01 and 290-02 are also listed for this HD; not itemized here (general license only).
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), they must obtain a General Deer License through one of the following 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 can apply for only one of these combo licenses each year, and the random lottery drawing deadline is April 1.
The separate NONRESIDENT License and Permit Availability Chart (p. 13) states that the Deer Combination includes a General Deer License and lists 'Deer Combination - Drawing' at $760.00, apply by April 1.
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: 24 of 37 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 | 317 | 71 | 22.4% | 37 | 11.7% | 24 | 7.6% |
| 2024 | Not published | 61 | — | 29 | — | 17 | — |
| 2023 | 190 | 54 | 28.4% | 37 | 19.5% | 30 | 15.8% |
| 2022 | Not published | 67 | — | 38 | — | 33 | — |
| 2021 | 230 | 52 | 22.6% | 31 | 13.5% | 12 | 5.2% |
Source: Montana FWP harvest reports, 2025.