Hunting districts / Deer · Elk · Lion
Deer · Elk · Lion hunting district · Region 5 (Billings)
District 540
Montana hunting district 540 (Deer · Elk · Lion), FWP Region 5 (Billings): 583 sq mi in Wheatland, Meagher counties; 34% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land; median elevation 5,135 ft; FWP estimated 205 elk harvested in 2025.
Publicly administered land
| US Forest Service | 26.4% | |
| Montana state trust land | 6.5% | |
| Montana FWP | 0.4% | |
| Bureau of Land Management | 0.3% | |
| City & county | 0.2% |
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 | 205 | 97 | 100 | 7 |
| 2024 | 1,259 | 9,219 | 315 | 95 | 210 | 10 |
| 2023 | n/e | n/e | 299 | 105 | 170 | 24 |
| 2022 | 1,188 | 8,123 | 292 | 141 | 145 | 7 |
| 2021 | n/e | n/e | 268 | 119 | 134 | 15 |
| 2020 | 1,091 | 7,267 | 261 | 86 | 162 | 14 |
| 2019 | n/e | n/e | 350 | 111 | 212 | 28 |
| 2018 | 1,058 | 6,074 | 277 | 91 | 166 | 21 |
| 2017 | n/e | n/e | 366 | 174 | 178 | 15 |
| 2016 | 1,178 | 7,985 | 243 | 79 | 151 | 13 |
| 2015 | 1,134 | 7,101 | 278 | 109 | 147 | 22 |
| 2014 | 1,012 | 5,715 | 268 | 116 | 135 | 17 |
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 | 859 | 5,251 | 281 | 186 | 88 | 7 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 268 | 194 | 74 | 0 |
| 2023 | 739 | 4,201 | 209 | 153 | 56 | 0 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 270 | 193 | 77 | 0 |
| 2021 | 826 | 4,844 | 212 | 163 | 49 | 0 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 280 | 203 | 77 | 0 |
| 2019 | 669 | 3,488 | 243 | 190 | 44 | 8 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 296 | 215 | 78 | 4 |
| 2017 | 817 | 3,853 | 351 | 277 | 74 | 0 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 285 | 240 | 45 | 0 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 238 | 207 | 31 | 0 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 233 | 216 | 11 | 6 |
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 | 859 | 5,251 | 123 | 112 | 11 | 0 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 102 | 99 | 3 | 0 |
| 2023 | 739 | 4,201 | 82 | 78 | 3 | 0 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 141 | 125 | 16 | 0 |
| 2021 | 826 | 4,844 | 133 | 124 | 10 | 0 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 170 | 141 | 29 | 0 |
| 2019 | 669 | 3,488 | 130 | 121 | 9 | 0 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 185 | 168 | 17 | 0 |
| 2017 | 817 | 3,853 | 186 | 174 | 12 | 0 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 181 | 175 | 6 | 0 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 146 | 146 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 153 | 153 | 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 | 859 | 5,251 | 158 | 74 | 77 | 7 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 166 | 95 | 71 | 0 |
| 2023 | 739 | 4,201 | 128 | 75 | 53 | 0 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 129 | 68 | 61 | 0 |
| 2021 | 826 | 4,844 | 78 | 39 | 39 | 0 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 110 | 62 | 48 | 0 |
| 2019 | 669 | 3,488 | 113 | 69 | 35 | 8 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 111 | 46 | 61 | 4 |
| 2017 | 817 | 3,853 | 165 | 103 | 62 | 0 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 104 | 65 | 40 | 0 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 92 | 61 | 31 | 0 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 80 | 64 | 11 | 6 |
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
- Wheatland, Meagher counties
- National forests
- Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest
- Wilderness
- None
- Wildlife management areas
- Haymaker
- Mountain ranges (GNIS)
- —
- Highest named summits
- Mount High (≈8,222 ft), Bluff Mountain (≈8,186 ft), Daisy Peak (≈7,713 ft), Muddy Mountain (≈7,448 ft)
- Passes and gaps
- Daisy Notch, Daisy Narrows, Morrisy Coulee Narrows, Nevada Narrows, Haymaker Narrows
- Towns and places
- Findon (historical), Gauglersville (historical), Jellison Place, Martinsdale Colony
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.