Hunting districts / Deer · Elk · Lion
Deer · Elk · Lion hunting district · Region 2 (Missoula)
District 281
Montana hunting district 281 (Deer · Elk · Lion), FWP Region 2 (Missoula): 379 sq mi in Lewis And Clark, Powell counties; 75% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land (mostly Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest); median elevation 5,531 ft; FWP estimated 77 elk harvested in 2025.
Publicly administered land
| US Forest Service | 60.2% | |
| Montana state trust land | 6.7% | |
| Bureau of Land Management | 5.1% | |
| Montana FWP | 2.8% | |
| US Fish & Wildlife Service | 0.3% |
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 | 77 | 60 | 14 | 3 |
| 2024 | 1,213 | 9,303 | 83 | 53 | 30 | 0 |
| 2023 | n/e | n/e | 79 | 68 | 11 | 0 |
| 2022 | 997 | 6,801 | 102 | 77 | 22 | 3 |
| 2021 | n/e | n/e | 52 | 43 | 9 | 0 |
| 2020 | 1,119 | 8,728 | 77 | 55 | 20 | 2 |
| 2019 | n/e | n/e | 91 | 69 | 22 | 0 |
| 2018 | 1,324 | 10,062 | 157 | 106 | 48 | 3 |
| 2017 | n/e | n/e | 155 | 100 | 52 | 3 |
| 2016 | 1,532 | 11,271 | 135 | 101 | 26 | 8 |
| 2015 | 1,415 | 10,093 | 117 | 82 | 32 | 3 |
| 2014 | 1,538 | 11,739 | 130 | 99 | 31 | 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 (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 | 1,229 | 7,880 | 373 | 334 | 35 | 4 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 354 | 333 | 21 | 0 |
| 2023 | 1,153 | 8,211 | 295 | 252 | 43 | 0 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 288 | 253 | 35 | 0 |
| 2021 | 956 | 6,190 | 315 | 300 | 16 | 0 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 263 | 243 | 21 | 0 |
| 2019 | 929 | 6,219 | 236 | 213 | 21 | 2 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 355 | 317 | 37 | 0 |
| 2017 | 951 | 5,814 | 283 | 245 | 38 | 0 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 371 | 320 | 48 | 3 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 371 | 319 | 51 | 2 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 329 | 284 | 42 | 3 |
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 | 1,229 | 7,880 | 88 | 88 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 75 | 72 | 3 | 0 |
| 2023 | 1,153 | 8,211 | 69 | 69 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 71 | 68 | 3 | 0 |
| 2021 | 956 | 6,190 | 51 | 51 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 28 | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 929 | 6,219 | 40 | 34 | 6 | 0 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 60 | 60 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 951 | 5,814 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 57 | 54 | 3 | 0 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 56 | 56 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 49 | 49 | 0 | 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 | 1,229 | 7,880 | 285 | 247 | 35 | 4 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 279 | 260 | 19 | 0 |
| 2023 | 1,153 | 8,211 | 226 | 183 | 43 | 0 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 217 | 185 | 32 | 0 |
| 2021 | 956 | 6,190 | 265 | 249 | 16 | 0 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 236 | 215 | 21 | 0 |
| 2019 | 929 | 6,219 | 196 | 179 | 15 | 2 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 295 | 258 | 37 | 0 |
| 2017 | 951 | 5,814 | 239 | 201 | 38 | 0 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 315 | 266 | 45 | 3 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 315 | 263 | 51 | 2 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 280 | 235 | 42 | 3 |
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
- Lewis And Clark, Powell counties
- National forests
- Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, Lolo National Forest
- Wilderness
- Scapegoat Wilderness (3%)
- Wildlife management areas
- Blackfoot-Clearwater
- Mountain ranges (GNIS)
- —
- Highest named summits
- Daly Peak (≈8,219 ft), Stonewall Mountain (≈8,166 ft), Spread Mountain (≈7,963 ft), Arrastra Mountain (≈7,864 ft)
- Passes and gaps
- Echo Pass, Cadotte Pass
- Towns and places
- Copper Camp (historical), Geary, Silver King (historical)
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.