Hunting districts / Deer · Elk · Lion
Deer · Elk · Lion hunting district · Region 3 (Bozeman)
District 343
Montana hunting district 343 (Deer · Elk · Lion), FWP Region 3 (Bozeman): 246 sq mi in Lewis And Clark County; 53% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land (mostly Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest); median elevation 5,441 ft; FWP estimated 165 elk harvested in 2025.
What stands out
- Among the busiest for elk hunters of 138 deer, elk and lion districts: 45.7 elk hunter-days per square mile in 2024. FWP harvest estimates (calculated per sq mi)
Publicly administered land
| US Forest Service | 38.7% | |
| Bureau of Land Management | 11.1% | |
| Montana state trust land | 2.4% | |
| Other State of Montana | 1.2% | |
| Montana FWP | 0.6% |
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 | 165 | 66 | 95 | 4 |
| 2024 | 1,318 | 11,212 | 153 | 66 | 84 | 3 |
| 2023 | n/e | n/e | 111 | 53 | 52 | 6 |
| 2022 | 1,041 | 8,439 | 168 | 87 | 81 | 0 |
| 2021 | n/e | n/e | 63 | 38 | 21 | 4 |
| 2020 | 1,167 | 9,443 | 151 | 62 | 89 | 0 |
| 2019 | n/e | n/e | 150 | 82 | 62 | 6 |
| 2018 | 1,118 | 9,262 | 127 | 56 | 64 | 8 |
| 2017 | n/e | n/e | 172 | 100 | 72 | 0 |
| 2016 | 1,298 | 11,122 | 155 | 63 | 83 | 8 |
| 2015 | 1,161 | 10,149 | 168 | 85 | 78 | 6 |
| 2014 | 1,230 | 9,098 | 155 | 102 | 51 | 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 (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 | 1,112 | 7,733 | 241 | 212 | 29 | 0 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 258 | 220 | 38 | 0 |
| 2023 | 949 | 6,944 | 238 | 210 | 28 | 0 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 159 | 136 | 22 | 0 |
| 2021 | 826 | 5,774 | 157 | 137 | 19 | 0 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 195 | 155 | 37 | 3 |
| 2019 | 831 | 6,473 | 130 | 104 | 26 | 0 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 209 | 167 | 42 | 0 |
| 2017 | 571 | 4,352 | 243 | 157 | 83 | 3 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 250 | 181 | 69 | 0 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 251 | 201 | 47 | 3 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 148 | 111 | 37 | 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 | 1,112 | 7,733 | 190 | 176 | 14 | 0 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 201 | 196 | 6 | 0 |
| 2023 | 949 | 6,944 | 172 | 170 | 2 | 0 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 104 | 101 | 4 | 0 |
| 2021 | 826 | 5,774 | 107 | 102 | 5 | 0 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 128 | 125 | 0 | 3 |
| 2019 | 831 | 6,473 | 97 | 83 | 13 | 0 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 178 | 152 | 27 | 0 |
| 2017 | 571 | 4,352 | 157 | 124 | 34 | 0 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 194 | 151 | 43 | 0 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 166 | 160 | 6 | 0 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 100 | 97 | 3 | 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 | 1,112 | 7,733 | 52 | 37 | 15 | 0 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 57 | 24 | 32 | 0 |
| 2023 | 949 | 6,944 | 66 | 40 | 26 | 0 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 54 | 36 | 19 | 0 |
| 2021 | 826 | 5,774 | 50 | 35 | 15 | 0 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 67 | 30 | 37 | 0 |
| 2019 | 831 | 6,473 | 33 | 20 | 13 | 0 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 31 | 16 | 15 | 0 |
| 2017 | 571 | 4,352 | 86 | 33 | 50 | 3 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 55 | 30 | 26 | 0 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 85 | 40 | 41 | 3 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 48 | 14 | 34 | 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
- Lewis And Clark County
- National forests
- Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest
- Wilderness
- None
- Wildlife management areas
- Canyon Creek
- Mountain ranges (GNIS)
- General Robert E Lee Range (not official)
- Highest named summits
- Granite Butte (≈7,536 ft), Greenhorn Mountain (≈7,490 ft), Mount Belmont (≈7,287 ft), Edward Mountain (≈6,663 ft)
- Passes and gaps
- Stemple Pass, Priest Pass
- Towns and places
- Atlantic City (historical), Austin, Belmont (historical), Blue Cloud (historical), Canyon Creek, Forest Heights, Frontier Town, Gloster, Marysville, Skyline, Trinity (historical), Weed, Wilborn
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.