Hunting districts / Deer · Elk · Lion
Deer · Elk · Lion hunting district · Region 2 (Missoula)
District 217
Montana hunting district 217 (Deer · Elk · Lion), FWP Region 2 (Missoula): 142 sq mi in Granite, Powell counties; 29% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land; median elevation 4,749 ft; FWP estimated 105 elk harvested in 2025.
What stands out
- Among the busiest for elk hunters of 138 deer, elk and lion districts: 30.7 elk hunter-days per square mile in 2024. FWP harvest estimates (calculated per sq mi)
- Among the smallest of 139 deer, elk and lion districts: 142 square miles. FWP district boundary
Publicly administered land
| US Forest Service | 27.9% | |
| Montana state trust land | 1.2% | |
| Bureau of Land Management | 0.1% |
Area of Montana State Library 'Montana Public Lands' polygons (derived from the Montana Cadastral Framework, Department of Revenue ownership records) intersected with the FWP district boundary, measured in NAD83(2011) Montana State Plane (EPSG:6514). Ownership is not access: some public land is closed to hunting or has no legal access.
Elk harvest estimates
| Year | Hunters | Days | Total Harvest | Bulls | Cows | Calves |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | n/e | n/e | 105 | 66 | 39 | 0 |
| 2024 | 544 | 4,378 | 92 | 47 | 43 | 2 |
| 2023 | n/e | n/e | 87 | 60 | 25 | 2 |
| 2022 | 444 | 3,361 | 109 | 57 | 53 | 0 |
| 2021 | n/e | n/e | 81 | 47 | 34 | 0 |
| 2020 | 525 | 4,094 | 120 | 47 | 67 | 6 |
| 2019 | n/e | n/e | 79 | 37 | 42 | 0 |
| 2018 | 796 | 5,141 | 116 | 36 | 78 | 3 |
| 2017 | n/e | n/e | 234 | 71 | 159 | 5 |
| 2016 | 1,053 | 7,345 | 301 | 42 | 240 | 20 |
FWP estimates from the annual hunter harvest survey; they carry sampling error. "n/e": FWP did not estimate district-level hunter numbers that year (2019, 2021, 2023, 2025). Boundaries of a numbered district can change between years.
Deer harvest estimates
| Year | Hunters | Days | Total Harvest | Bucks | Does | Fawns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 486 | 3,268 | 151 | 97 | 54 | 0 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 141 | 82 | 59 | 0 |
| 2023 | 508 | 3,229 | 137 | 97 | 41 | 0 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 154 | 70 | 85 | 0 |
| 2021 | 401 | 2,834 | 132 | 58 | 70 | 4 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 135 | 54 | 80 | 0 |
| 2019 | 383 | 2,640 | 147 | 65 | 82 | 0 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 237 | 121 | 112 | 3 |
| 2017 | 355 | 1,761 | 162 | 135 | 27 | 0 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 101 | 87 | 14 | 0 |
FWP estimates from the annual hunter harvest survey; they carry sampling error. "n/e": FWP did not estimate district-level hunter numbers that year (2018, 2020, 2022, 2024). Boundaries of a numbered district can change between years.
Mule Deer harvest estimates
| Year | Hunters | Days | Total Harvest | Bucks | Does | Fawns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 486 | 3,268 | 52 | 49 | 4 | 0 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 44 | 36 | 8 | 0 |
| 2023 | 508 | 3,229 | 32 | 27 | 5 | 0 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 40 | 29 | 12 | 0 |
| 2021 | 401 | 2,834 | 44 | 18 | 27 | 0 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 13 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| 2019 | 383 | 2,640 | 39 | 23 | 16 | 0 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 57 | 35 | 23 | 0 |
| 2017 | 355 | 1,761 | 59 | 59 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 31 | 26 | 5 | 0 |
FWP estimates from the annual hunter harvest survey; they carry sampling error. "n/e": FWP did not estimate district-level hunter numbers that year (2018, 2020, 2022, 2024). Boundaries of a numbered district can change between years.
Whitetail harvest estimates
| Year | Hunters | Days | Total Harvest | Bucks | Does | Fawns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 486 | 3,268 | 98 | 49 | 50 | 0 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 97 | 46 | 51 | 0 |
| 2023 | 508 | 3,229 | 105 | 70 | 36 | 0 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 114 | 41 | 73 | 0 |
| 2021 | 401 | 2,834 | 88 | 41 | 43 | 4 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 122 | 50 | 72 | 0 |
| 2019 | 383 | 2,640 | 108 | 42 | 66 | 0 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 180 | 87 | 90 | 3 |
| 2017 | 355 | 1,761 | 103 | 77 | 27 | 0 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 70 | 61 | 9 | 0 |
FWP estimates from the annual hunter harvest survey; they carry sampling error. "n/e": FWP did not estimate district-level hunter numbers that year (2018, 2020, 2022, 2024). Boundaries of a numbered district can change between years.
Landscape
- Counties
- Granite, Powell counties
- National forests
- Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest
- Wilderness
- None
- Wildlife management areas
- —
- Mountain ranges (GNIS)
- —
- Highest named summits
- Mount Princeton (≈7,795 ft), Jones Mountain (≈6,752 ft), Lone Tree Hill (≈6,250 ft), Douglas Mountain (≈6,207 ft)
- Passes and gaps
- None named in GNIS
- Towns and places
- Drummond, Goldcreek, Haskell (historical), Jens, Lingenpolter, Maxville, New Chicago, Wall City
Elevations sampled on a regular grid inside the district from AWS Terrain Tiles (Terrarium, zoom 10, ~105 m pixels; compiled from USGS 3DEP and SRTM). Approximate: summits read lower than their surveyed height.
Sources
- District boundary: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks hunting district layer.
- Public land: Montana State Library, Montana Public Lands (published 2026-10-06).
- Harvest: FWP Harvest Estimates, retrieved 2026-10-30.
- Places: USGS Geographic Names Information System. Wilderness and forests: USDA Forest Service.
- Elevation: AWS Terrain Tiles (USGS 3DEP, SRTM).
Live weather, snow, fire and access conditions are in the atlas card for this district.