Hunting districts / Deer · Elk · Lion
Deer · Elk · Lion hunting district · Region 4 (Great Falls)
District 420
Montana hunting district 420 (Deer · Elk · Lion), FWP Region 4 (Great Falls): 77 sq mi in Judith Basin County; 53% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land; median elevation 5,331 ft; FWP estimated 80 elk harvested in 2025.
What stands out
- Among the busiest for elk hunters of 138 deer, elk and lion districts: 30.9 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: 77 square miles. FWP district boundary
Publicly administered land
| US Forest Service | 27.5% | |
| Montana FWP | 17.5% | |
| Montana state trust land | 7.1% | |
| Bureau of Land Management | 1.0% |
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 | 80 | 34 | 45 | 0 |
| 2024 | 314 | 2,385 | 80 | 41 | 37 | 3 |
| 2023 | n/e | n/e | 37 | 12 | 25 | 0 |
| 2022 | 296 | 2,061 | 58 | 21 | 37 | 0 |
| 2021 | n/e | n/e | 83 | 42 | 34 | 6 |
| 2020 | 332 | 2,147 | 39 | 18 | 19 | 2 |
| 2019 | n/e | n/e | 59 | 28 | 31 | 0 |
| 2018 | 365 | 2,371 | 73 | 44 | 27 | 2 |
| 2017 | n/e | n/e | 79 | 41 | 34 | 3 |
| 2016 | 361 | 2,541 | 79 | 33 | 35 | 11 |
| 2015 | 425 | 2,832 | 87 | 32 | 46 | 9 |
| 2014 | 332 | 1,817 | 67 | 18 | 46 | 4 |
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 | 382 | 2,558 | 130 | 111 | 19 | 0 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 115 | 90 | 24 | 0 |
| 2023 | 332 | 1,921 | 118 | 85 | 30 | 3 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 90 | 65 | 26 | 0 |
| 2021 | 300 | 1,981 | 119 | 108 | 11 | 0 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 104 | 74 | 30 | 0 |
| 2019 | 328 | 2,124 | 141 | 112 | 29 | 0 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 88 | 63 | 25 | 0 |
| 2017 | 313 | 1,793 | 103 | 85 | 14 | 3 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 79 | 70 | 9 | 0 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 69 | 60 | 9 | 0 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 45 | 40 | 6 | 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 | 382 | 2,558 | 78 | 72 | 6 | 0 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 71 | 69 | 3 | 0 |
| 2023 | 332 | 1,921 | 66 | 60 | 7 | 0 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 40 | 36 | 3 | 0 |
| 2021 | 300 | 1,981 | 81 | 81 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 44 | 44 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 328 | 2,124 | 79 | 72 | 7 | 0 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 31 | 31 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 313 | 1,793 | 71 | 65 | 3 | 3 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 39 | 33 | 6 | 0 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 46 | 46 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 28 | 28 | 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 | 382 | 2,558 | 52 | 39 | 13 | 0 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 43 | 22 | 22 | 0 |
| 2023 | 332 | 1,921 | 52 | 26 | 23 | 3 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 51 | 29 | 22 | 0 |
| 2021 | 300 | 1,981 | 38 | 27 | 11 | 0 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 61 | 31 | 30 | 0 |
| 2019 | 328 | 2,124 | 62 | 40 | 22 | 0 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 56 | 31 | 25 | 0 |
| 2017 | 313 | 1,793 | 32 | 21 | 11 | 0 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 39 | 36 | 3 | 0 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 23 | 14 | 9 | 0 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 17 | 11 | 6 | 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
- Judith Basin County
- National forests
- Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest
- Wilderness
- None
- Wildlife management areas
- Judith River
- Mountain ranges (GNIS)
- —
- Highest named summits
- Tollgate Mountain (≈7,772 ft), Tepee Butte (≈6,562 ft), Reed Hill (≈6,509 ft)
- Passes and gaps
- None named in GNIS
- Towns and places
- Cameron (historical), Sapphire Village, Utica, Yogo Crossing
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.