Hunting districts / Deer · Elk · Lion
Deer · Elk · Lion hunting district · Region 5 (Billings)
District 515
Montana hunting district 515 (Deer · Elk · Lion), FWP Region 5 (Billings): 2,521 sq mi in Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Golden Valley, Yellowstone counties; 7% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land; median elevation 4,180 ft; FWP estimated 340 elk harvested in 2025.
What stands out
- Among the most private of 139 deer, elk and lion districts: 7% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land. MSL Public Lands (calculated)
- Among the most Block Management of 139 deer, elk and lion districts: 29 BMAs, about 117,921 acres. FWP Block Management (calculated)
- Among the largest of 139 deer, elk and lion districts: 2,521 square miles. FWP district boundary
Publicly administered land
| Montana state trust land | 6.3% | |
| US Fish & Wildlife Service | 0.5% | |
| Bureau of Land Management | 0.5% | |
| City & county | 0.2% | |
| Montana FWP | 0.2% | |
| Other State of Montana | 0.1% |
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 | 340 | 185 | 152 | 4 |
| 2024 | 968 | 6,815 | 234 | 129 | 105 | 0 |
| 2023 | n/e | n/e | 268 | 151 | 108 | 9 |
| 2022 | 971 | 7,136 | 264 | 168 | 92 | 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 | 2,329 | 12,505 | 1,095 | 889 | 197 | 9 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 1,123 | 913 | 201 | 9 |
| 2023 | 2,337 | 13,017 | 1,180 | 730 | 447 | 3 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 1,165 | 794 | 364 | 7 |
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 | 2,329 | 12,505 | 680 | 646 | 34 | 0 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 719 | 648 | 68 | 3 |
| 2023 | 2,337 | 13,017 | 747 | 491 | 256 | 0 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 809 | 606 | 196 | 7 |
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 | 2,329 | 12,505 | 416 | 243 | 163 | 9 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 404 | 265 | 133 | 6 |
| 2023 | 2,337 | 13,017 | 433 | 239 | 191 | 3 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 356 | 188 | 168 | 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
- Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Golden Valley, Yellowstone counties
- National forests
- —
- Wilderness
- None
- Wildlife management areas
- Big Lake
- Mountain ranges (GNIS)
- Cayuse Hills, Franklin Hills
- Highest named summits
- Lone Indian Butte (≈5,092 ft), Choo-heh-meen Hills (≈4,993 ft), Stephens Hill (≈4,925 ft), Wild Horse Butte (≈4,724 ft)
- Passes and gaps
- None named in GNIS
- Towns and places
- Acton, Barber, Baseline, Belmont, Broadview, Busteed, Cameron Park, Cushman, Dodgetown (historical), Golden Valley Colony, Harlowton, Hesper, Knob Hill, Laurel
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.