Hunting districts / Deer · Elk · Lion
Deer · Elk · Lion hunting district · Region 5 (Billings)
District 590
Montana hunting district 590 (Deer · Elk · Lion), FWP Region 5 (Billings): 2,916 sq mi in Yellowstone, Musselshell, Big Horn, Golden Valley counties; 10% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land; median elevation 3,369 ft; FWP estimated 766 elk harvested in 2025.
What stands out
- Among the highest elk harvests of 138 deer, elk and lion districts: 766 elk harvested in 2025 (FWP estimate). FWP harvest estimates
- Among the most private of 139 deer, elk and lion districts: 10% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land. MSL Public Lands (calculated)
- Among the largest of 139 deer, elk and lion districts: 2,916 square miles. FWP district boundary
Publicly administered land
| Montana state trust land | 5.2% | |
| Bureau of Land Management | 4.2% | |
| City & county | 0.3% | |
| Montana FWP | 0.3% | |
| US Fish & Wildlife Service | 0.1% | |
| 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 | 766 | 382 | 376 | 8 |
| 2024 | 2,494 | 18,625 | 750 | 310 | 435 | 6 |
| 2023 | n/e | n/e | 651 | 300 | 345 | 6 |
| 2022 | 2,283 | 16,649 | 712 | 323 | 360 | 30 |
| 2017 | n/e | n/e | 660 | 252 | 389 | 19 |
| 2015 | 1,943 | 14,901 | 513 | 214 | 265 | 34 |
| 2014 | 1,780 | 11,789 | 394 | 220 | 163 | 11 |
| 2013 | n/e | n/e | 333 | 173 | 150 | 10 |
| 2012 | 1,795 | 12,043 | 497 | 169 | 314 | 15 |
| 2011 | 1,625 | 10,762 | 417 | 178 | 207 | 31 |
| 2010 | 1,414 | 9,516 | 365 | 178 | 175 | 12 |
| 2009 | 1,623 | 11,505 | 345 | 168 | 158 | 20 |
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 | 3,919 | 24,766 | 1,734 | 1,367 | 359 | 7 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 1,841 | 1,451 | 387 | 3 |
| 2023 | 3,941 | 23,209 | 1,868 | 1,225 | 628 | 16 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 2,039 | 1,302 | 716 | 21 |
| 2021 | 3,920 | 24,128 | 1,895 | 1,206 | 689 | 0 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 2,442 | 1,597 | 804 | 41 |
| 2019 | 4,154 | 22,267 | 2,370 | 1,841 | 509 | 20 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 2,071 | 1,583 | 480 | 8 |
| 2017 | 3,939 | 21,514 | 2,282 | 1,770 | 492 | 21 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 2,168 | 1,733 | 423 | 12 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 1,814 | 1,692 | 114 | 8 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 1,275 | 1,173 | 96 | 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 | 3,919 | 24,766 | 1,003 | 948 | 56 | 0 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 957 | 893 | 64 | 0 |
| 2023 | 3,941 | 23,209 | 1,033 | 758 | 262 | 13 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 1,034 | 797 | 226 | 11 |
| 2021 | 3,920 | 24,128 | 1,001 | 728 | 272 | 0 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 1,501 | 1,135 | 349 | 17 |
| 2019 | 4,154 | 22,267 | 1,531 | 1,287 | 233 | 10 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 1,503 | 1,207 | 296 | 0 |
| 2017 | 3,939 | 21,514 | 1,685 | 1,366 | 298 | 21 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 1,698 | 1,370 | 316 | 12 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 1,361 | 1,325 | 34 | 2 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 928 | 893 | 33 | 3 |
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 | 3,919 | 24,766 | 731 | 420 | 304 | 7 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 884 | 559 | 323 | 3 |
| 2023 | 3,941 | 23,209 | 836 | 467 | 366 | 3 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 1,004 | 505 | 490 | 10 |
| 2021 | 3,920 | 24,128 | 894 | 478 | 417 | 0 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 941 | 462 | 455 | 24 |
| 2019 | 4,154 | 22,267 | 839 | 554 | 275 | 10 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 568 | 377 | 183 | 8 |
| 2017 | 3,939 | 21,514 | 597 | 403 | 193 | 0 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 470 | 363 | 107 | 0 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 453 | 367 | 80 | 6 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 347 | 281 | 63 | 3 |
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
- Yellowstone, Musselshell, Big Horn, Golden Valley counties
- National forests
- —
- Wilderness
- None
- Wildlife management areas
- Yellowstone, Grant Marsh
- Mountain ranges (GNIS)
- Bull Mountains
- Highest named summits
- Dunn Mountain (≈4,741 ft), Johnston Mountain (≈4,619 ft), Three Buttes (≈4,491 ft), Square Butte (≈4,396 ft)
- Passes and gaps
- Stag Run
- Towns and places
- Absher (historical), Anita, Ballantine, Billings, Billings Heights, Bull Mountain, Bundy, Carperville (historical), Cline, Comanche, Corinth, Custer, Delphia, Elso
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.