MontanaHunting Report

Hunting districts / Deer · Elk · Lion

Deer · Elk · Lion hunting district · Region 4 (Great Falls)

District 412

Montana hunting district 412 (Deer · Elk · Lion), FWP Region 4 (Great Falls): 660 sq mi in Fergus County; 16% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land; median elevation 3,996 ft; FWP estimated 253 elk harvested in 2025.

FWP district boundary, 2026 regulations. A boundary on a map does not grant access to any land inside it.
Area660 sq mi
USFS · BLM · state trust · FWP16%
Median elevation3,996 ft
Elevation range3,219–6,289 ft

Publicly administered land

Bureau of Land Management10.9%
Montana state trust land4.8%

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

YearHuntersDaysTotal HarvestBullsCowsCalves
2025n/en/e2531171297
20246144,376186107763
2023n/en/e17981943
20226433,75415085650
2021n/en/e16078820
20206304,54817595790
2019n/en/e208831179
20186674,351206721286
2017n/en/e2256314814
20165703,951179641086
20156524,3952075213718
20146073,5632277913217

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

YearHuntersDaysTotal HarvestBucksDoesFawns
20251,1396,6547325401920
2024n/en/e8856632220
20231,4217,4749306902390
2022n/en/e9186452730
20211,5087,6749986953030
2020n/en/e1,0157003087
20191,3656,7519507172330
2018n/en/e9837312456
20171,2996,2018527461014
2016n/en/e792700893
2015n/en/e759726330
2014n/en/e632618140

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

YearHuntersDaysTotal HarvestBucksDoesFawns
20251,1396,654353314400
2024n/en/e361336250
20231,4217,474393356380
2022n/en/e467373940
20211,5087,674524434900
2020n/en/e520450700
20191,3656,751488441470
2018n/en/e556482713
20171,2996,201525493320
2016n/en/e500465323
2015n/en/e46146100
2014n/en/e39039000

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

YearHuntersDaysTotal HarvestBucksDoesFawns
20251,1396,6543792261530
2024n/en/e5243271970
20231,4217,4745363352020
2022n/en/e4512721790
20211,5087,6744742612130
2020n/en/e4952502387
20191,3656,7514622761860
2018n/en/e4272501743
20171,2996,201326253694
2016n/en/e292235570
2015n/en/e299266330
2014n/en/e242228140

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
Fergus County
National forests
—
Wilderness
None
Wildlife management areas
—
Mountain ranges (GNIS)
Judith Mountains, North Moccasin Mountains, South Moccasin Mountains
Highest named summits
Judith Peak (≈6,348 ft), Red Mountain (≈6,119 ft), Collar Peak (≈6,053 ft), Crystal Peak (≈6,050 ft)
Passes and gaps
Ross Pass
Towns and places
Amherst, Andersonville (historical), Ayers Ranch Colony, Baxter, Brooks, Canyon (historical), Cheadle (historical), Chippewa (historical), Corbly (historical), Deerfield Colony, Fergus, Fords Creek Colony, Giltedge, Hilger

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.

Neighboring districts

  • HD 419 10% public · 3,927 ft median
  • HD 417 34% public · 3,143 ft median
  • HD 411 20% public · 4,350 ft median
  • HD 426 21% public · 3,396 ft median
  • HD 410 39% public · 2,894 ft median

Sources

Live weather, snow, fire and access conditions are in the atlas card for this district.