Montana Hunting District 417
Elk
44.1%
Mule deer
36.8%
Whitetail
12.3%
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
Not included Bull elk is not included in this general license — it requires a separate drawn permit or B-license. See the full regulation text below for details.
HD 417 (Armells Creek) General Elk License opportunities, 2026 regulations p. 96.
Antlerless Elk: Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18, General Oct 24-Nov 29, Late Nov 30-Feb 15, 'Only valid south of D-Y Trail to intersection of Knox Ridge Road, then south of Knox Ridge Road thereafter.
Not valid west of Stafford Ferry Rd.'.
District NOTE: HD 417 Check Restricted Area Legal Description (p 28-30) Charles M.
Russell (CMR) National Wildlife Refuge and U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers.
Elk hunters in HD 417 may also hunt on islands in the Missouri River adjacent to where their elk permit is valid.
Island is defined as land completely surrounded by water at the time of the hunt.
Elk B licenses 004-00 and 417-02 and Elk Permits 417-20 and 417-21 are 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: 151 of 185 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 | 302 | — | 0 | — | 185 | — | 151 | — |
| 2024 | 662 | 292 | 44.1% | 2 | 0.3% | 183 | 27.6% | 148 | 22.4% |
| 2023 | Not published | 245 | — | 0 | — | 105 | — | 85 | — |
| 2022 | 822 | 278 | 33.8% | 3 | 0.4% | 158 | 19.2% | 120 | 14.6% |
| 2021 | Not published | 208 | — | 3 | — | 102 | — | 71 | — |
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 417 (Armells Creek) General Deer License opportunities, 2026 regulations p. 96.
Either-sex White-tailed Deer: Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18, General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20.
District NOTE: HD 417 Check Restricted Area Legal Description (p 28-30) Charles M.
Russell (CMR) National Wildlife Refuge and U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers.
Elk hunters in HD 417 may also hunt on islands in the Missouri River adjacent to where their elk permit is valid.
Island is defined as land completely surrounded by water at the time of the hunt.
Deer B licenses 004-00, 004-01 and 417-00 and Deer Permit 417-50 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: 54 of 84 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 | 253 | 93 | 36.8% | 84 | 33.2% | 54 | 21.3% |
| 2024 | Not published | 74 | — | 71 | — | 50 | — |
| 2023 | 750 | 262 | 34.9% | 239 | 31.9% | 164 | 21.9% |
| 2022 | Not published | 339 | — | 288 | — | 182 | — |
| 2021 | 1161 | 519 | 44.7% | 403 | 34.7% | 257 | 22.1% |
Source: Montana FWP harvest reports, 2025.
Whitetail
Licenses
General Deer License
Availability: Residents Over the counter · Nonresidents Draw
Included Includes antlered buck whitetail
HD 417 (Armells Creek) General Deer License opportunities, 2026 regulations p. 96.
Either-sex White-tailed Deer: Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18, General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20.
District NOTE: HD 417 Check Restricted Area Legal Description (p 28-30) Charles M.
Russell (CMR) National Wildlife Refuge and U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers.
Elk hunters in HD 417 may also hunt on islands in the Missouri River adjacent to where their elk permit is valid.
Island is defined as land completely surrounded by water at the time of the hunt.
Deer B licenses 004-00, 004-01 and 417-00 and Deer Permit 417-50 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: 18 of 22 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 | 253 | 31 | 12.3% | 22 | 8.7% | 18 | 7.1% |
| 2024 | Not published | 65 | — | 50 | — | 44 | — |
| 2023 | 750 | 47 | 6.3% | 28 | 3.7% | 25 | 3.3% |
| 2022 | Not published | 48 | — | 29 | — | 26 | — |
| 2021 | 1161 | 65 | 5.6% | 38 | 3.3% | 31 | 2.7% |
Source: Montana FWP harvest reports, 2025.