Hunting districts / Moose
Moose hunting district · Region 4 (Great Falls)
District 496
Montana hunting district 496 (Moose), FWP Region 4 (Great Falls): 5,697 sq mi in Fergus, Judith Basin, Wheatland, Golden Valley counties; 29% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land; median elevation 4,698 ft; FWP estimated 4 moose harvested in 2025.
What stands out
- Among the deepest snow right now of 34 moose districts: 11 in at a SNOTEL station inside. NRCS SNOTEL (measured)
- Among the most Block Management of 74 moose districts: 62 BMAs, about 290,950 acres. FWP Block Management (calculated)
- Among the most private of 74 moose districts: 29% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land. MSL Public Lands (calculated)
- Among the largest of 74 moose districts: 5,697 square miles. FWP district boundary
Publicly administered land
| US Forest Service | 19.2% | |
| Montana state trust land | 5.3% | |
| Bureau of Land Management | 3.6% | |
| Montana FWP | 0.4% | |
| US Fish & Wildlife Service | 0.3% | |
| 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.
Moose harvest estimates
| Year | Hunters | Days | Total Harvest | Bulls | Cows | Calves |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4 | 81 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 4 | 80 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 3 | 74 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 4 | 60 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 4 | 58 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 4 | 51 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 2019 | 4 | 42 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 4 | 40 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2017 | 4 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | 4 | 56 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | 4 | 86 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | 4 | 136 | 3 | 3 | 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. Boundaries of a numbered district can change between years.
Landscape
- Counties
- Fergus, Judith Basin, Wheatland, Golden Valley counties
- National forests
- Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest
- Wilderness
- None
- Wildlife management areas
- Judith River, Big Snowy Mountains, Haymaker
- Mountain ranges (GNIS)
- Big Snowy Mountains, Castle Mountains, Judith Mountains, Little Snowy Mountains
- Highest named summits
- Big Baldy Mountain (≈9,147 ft), Yogo Peak (≈8,763 ft), Greathouse Peak (≈8,638 ft), Long Mountain (≈8,550 ft)
- Passes and gaps
- Daisy Notch, Elk Saddle, Half Moon Pass, Daisy Narrows, Morrisy Coulee Narrows, Nevada Narrows
- Towns and places
- Akerville (historical), Andersonville (historical), Ayers Ranch Colony, Barker, Battrick (historical), Beaver Creek, Becket, Box Springs (historical), Bruno, Buffalo, Cameron (historical), Camp Three, Canyon (historical), Castle Town
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.