Hunting districts / Deer · Elk · Lion
Deer · Elk · Lion hunting district · Region 4 (Great Falls)
District 421
Montana hunting district 421 (Deer · Elk · Lion), FWP Region 4 (Great Falls): 810 sq mi in Cascade, Lewis And Clark counties; 11% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land; median elevation 3,985 ft; FWP estimated 184 elk harvested in 2025.
What stands out
- Among the most private of 139 deer, elk and lion districts: 11% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land. MSL Public Lands (calculated)
Publicly administered land
| Montana state trust land | 9.0% | |
| US Forest Service | 1.1% | |
| Bureau of Land Management | 0.9% | |
| City & county | 0.5% | |
| Montana FWP | 0.4% |
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 | 184 | 84 | 96 | 4 |
| 2024 | 596 | 3,737 | 167 | 68 | 99 | 0 |
| 2023 | n/e | n/e | 154 | 96 | 55 | 3 |
| 2022 | 478 | 2,615 | 103 | 47 | 56 | 0 |
| 2021 | n/e | n/e | 136 | 81 | 51 | 4 |
| 2020 | 335 | 2,316 | 89 | 54 | 29 | 6 |
| 2019 | n/e | n/e | 90 | 60 | 30 | 0 |
| 2018 | 323 | 1,754 | 118 | 39 | 72 | 6 |
| 2017 | n/e | n/e | 87 | 49 | 33 | 6 |
| 2016 | 393 | 2,092 | 106 | 44 | 59 | 3 |
| 2015 | 419 | 1,884 | 175 | 82 | 87 | 6 |
| 2014 | 443 | 2,067 | 177 | 52 | 117 | 8 |
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 | 1,325 | 7,802 | 800 | 583 | 214 | 4 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 820 | 604 | 213 | 3 |
| 2023 | 1,313 | 7,340 | 797 | 529 | 268 | 0 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 676 | 476 | 194 | 6 |
| 2021 | 741 | 3,178 | 435 | 312 | 123 | 0 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 411 | 312 | 96 | 3 |
| 2019 | 422 | 1,724 | 236 | 166 | 66 | 3 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 285 | 208 | 77 | 0 |
| 2017 | 474 | 2,440 | 270 | 226 | 44 | 0 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 296 | 232 | 64 | 0 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 270 | 259 | 11 | 0 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 238 | 204 | 31 | 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 (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 | 1,325 | 7,802 | 403 | 365 | 38 | 0 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 413 | 352 | 61 | 0 |
| 2023 | 1,313 | 7,340 | 370 | 300 | 70 | 0 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 296 | 273 | 23 | 0 |
| 2021 | 741 | 3,178 | 185 | 157 | 28 | 0 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 213 | 179 | 34 | 0 |
| 2019 | 422 | 1,724 | 146 | 123 | 20 | 3 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 165 | 149 | 16 | 0 |
| 2017 | 474 | 2,440 | 168 | 147 | 21 | 0 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 236 | 181 | 55 | 0 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 197 | 194 | 3 | 0 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 159 | 141 | 18 | 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 | 1,325 | 7,802 | 397 | 218 | 176 | 4 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 407 | 252 | 152 | 3 |
| 2023 | 1,313 | 7,340 | 427 | 230 | 198 | 0 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 379 | 203 | 170 | 6 |
| 2021 | 741 | 3,178 | 251 | 156 | 95 | 0 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 198 | 133 | 62 | 3 |
| 2019 | 422 | 1,724 | 89 | 44 | 46 | 0 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 121 | 59 | 62 | 0 |
| 2017 | 474 | 2,440 | 103 | 80 | 23 | 0 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 60 | 51 | 9 | 0 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 73 | 65 | 8 | 0 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 79 | 62 | 13 | 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 (2018, 2020, 2022, 2024). Boundaries of a numbered district can change between years.
Landscape
- Counties
- Cascade, Lewis And Clark counties
- National forests
- Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest
- Wilderness
- None
- Wildlife management areas
- —
- Mountain ranges (GNIS)
- —
- Highest named summits
- Rogers Mountain (≈6,854 ft), Sunset Mountain (≈6,493 ft), Roberts Mountain (≈6,375 ft), Mount Cecelia (≈6,089 ft)
- Passes and gaps
- Mission Hill, Rocky Gap
- Towns and places
- Cascade Colony, Dearborn (historical), Fair Haven Colony, Fort Shaw, Manchester, Saint Peter, Simms, Sun Prairie, Wolf Creek
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.