Hunting districts / Deer · Elk · Lion
Deer · Elk · Lion hunting district · Region 7 (Miles City)
District 705
Montana hunting district 705 (Deer · Elk · Lion), FWP Region 7 (Miles City): 6,167 sq mi in Carter, Powder River, Fallon, Custer counties; 30% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land; median elevation 3,307 ft; FWP estimated 145 elk harvested in 2025.
What stands out
- Among the most Block Management of 139 deer, elk and lion districts: 57 BMAs, about 396,756 acres. FWP Block Management (calculated)
- Among the quietest for elk hunters of 138 deer, elk and lion districts: 0.8 elk hunter-days per square mile in 2024. FWP harvest estimates (calculated per sq mi)
- Among the largest of 139 deer, elk and lion districts: 6,167 square miles. FWP district boundary
Publicly administered land
| Bureau of Land Management | 20.5% | |
| Montana state trust land | 7.4% | |
| US Forest Service | 2.3% | |
| City & county | 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 | 145 | 82 | 60 | 4 |
| 2024 | 727 | 5,123 | 203 | 79 | 125 | 0 |
| 2023 | n/e | n/e | 171 | 80 | 86 | 6 |
| 2022 | 566 | 4,039 | 184 | 66 | 118 | 0 |
| 2021 | n/e | n/e | 154 | 63 | 84 | 7 |
| 2020 | 529 | 3,535 | 127 | 48 | 75 | 4 |
| 2019 | n/e | n/e | 166 | 72 | 87 | 6 |
| 2018 | 602 | 3,834 | 159 | 79 | 76 | 4 |
| 2017 | n/e | n/e | 107 | 39 | 65 | 3 |
| 2016 | 416 | 2,923 | 90 | 43 | 47 | 0 |
| 2015 | 524 | 3,290 | 109 | 56 | 48 | 6 |
| 2014 | 351 | 2,451 | 96 | 53 | 43 | 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 (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 | 3,585 | 20,671 | 2,261 | 1,929 | 324 | 8 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 2,273 | 1,938 | 333 | 3 |
| 2023 | 3,682 | 19,348 | 2,108 | 1,682 | 411 | 14 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 2,583 | 1,903 | 662 | 18 |
| 2021 | 5,464 | 28,793 | 3,791 | 2,560 | 1,217 | 14 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 5,522 | 3,219 | 2,297 | 7 |
| 2019 | 5,643 | 27,689 | 5,075 | 3,385 | 1,644 | 46 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 4,991 | 3,217 | 1,719 | 54 |
| 2017 | 5,389 | 25,915 | 5,236 | 3,343 | 1,864 | 29 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 4,851 | 3,245 | 1,571 | 36 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 4,013 | 2,866 | 1,093 | 54 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 2,821 | 2,402 | 400 | 19 |
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 | 3,585 | 20,671 | 1,463 | 1,409 | 52 | 2 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 1,374 | 1,325 | 49 | 0 |
| 2023 | 3,682 | 19,348 | 1,294 | 1,208 | 84 | 3 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 1,759 | 1,382 | 369 | 9 |
| 2021 | 5,464 | 28,793 | 2,561 | 1,872 | 686 | 3 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 3,551 | 2,186 | 1,366 | 0 |
| 2019 | 5,643 | 27,689 | 3,680 | 2,543 | 1,103 | 34 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 3,857 | 2,556 | 1,268 | 33 |
| 2017 | 5,389 | 25,915 | 3,835 | 2,555 | 1,265 | 15 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 3,298 | 2,391 | 887 | 21 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 2,677 | 2,081 | 577 | 20 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 1,800 | 1,789 | 11 | 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 | 3,585 | 20,671 | 798 | 519 | 272 | 7 |
| 2024 | n/e | n/e | 899 | 612 | 284 | 3 |
| 2023 | 3,682 | 19,348 | 814 | 475 | 328 | 11 |
| 2022 | n/e | n/e | 824 | 521 | 293 | 9 |
| 2021 | 5,464 | 28,793 | 1,230 | 688 | 532 | 11 |
| 2020 | n/e | n/e | 1,971 | 1,033 | 931 | 7 |
| 2019 | 5,643 | 27,689 | 1,396 | 842 | 541 | 12 |
| 2018 | n/e | n/e | 1,134 | 661 | 451 | 21 |
| 2017 | 5,389 | 25,915 | 1,401 | 788 | 599 | 15 |
| 2016 | n/e | n/e | 1,552 | 854 | 684 | 15 |
| 2015 | n/e | n/e | 1,336 | 785 | 516 | 34 |
| 2014 | n/e | n/e | 1,021 | 613 | 388 | 19 |
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
- Carter, Powder River, Fallon, Custer counties
- National forests
- Custer Gallatin National Forest
- Wilderness
- None
- Wildlife management areas
- —
- Mountain ranges (GNIS)
- Ekalaka Hills, Flattops, Humbolt Hills, Long Pines
- Highest named summits
- West Butte (≈4,406 ft), Bear Skull Mountain (≈4,206 ft), Chalk Buttes (≈4,104 ft), Baldy Peak (≈4,094 ft)
- Passes and gaps
- Trenk Pass
- Towns and places
- Albion, Alzada, Baker, Bay Horse, Beaver Flats (historical), Belle Creek, Belltower, Biddle, Boyes, Capitol, Chalk Buttes (historical), Chausse (historical), Ekalaka, Elgin (historical)
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.