Hunting districts / Bighorn sheep
Bighorn sheep hunting district · Region 3 (Bozeman)
District 301
Montana hunting district 301 (Bighorn sheep), FWP Region 3 (Bozeman): 858 sq mi in Madison, Gallatin counties; 44% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land (mostly Custer Gallatin National Forest); median elevation 6,749 ft; FWP estimated 2 sheep harvested in 2025.
What stands out
- Among the most rugged of 36 bighorn sheep districts: 6,198 ft from low point to high point. AWS Terrain Tiles (calculated)
Publicly administered land
| US Forest Service | 39.4% | |
| Montana state trust land | 2.1% | |
| Bureau of Land Management | 1.8% | |
| Other State of Montana | 1.3% | |
| Montana FWP | 0.8% | |
| 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.
Sheep harvest estimates
| Year | Hunters | Days | Total Harvest | Rams | Ewes | Lambs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 3 | 71 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 5 | 70 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 5 | 40 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 7 | 143 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 5 | 53 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 8 | 126 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 12 | 139 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| 2017 | 17 | 102 | 16 | 7 | 8 | 0 |
| 2016 | 17 | 76 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 0 |
| 2015 | 5 | 53 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | 5 | 62 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 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
- Madison, Gallatin counties
- National forests
- Custer Gallatin National Forest, Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest
- Wilderness
- Lee Metcalf Wilderness (22%)
- Wildlife management areas
- Bear Creek, Gallatin
- Mountain ranges (GNIS)
- Madison Range, Spanish Peaks
- Highest named summits
- Lone Mountain (≈11,053 ft), Gallatin Peak (≈10,820 ft), Cedar Mountain (≈10,597 ft), Sphinx Mountain (≈10,469 ft)
- Passes and gaps
- McCormack Pass
- Towns and places
- Anceney, Atkins, Beacon Point, Big Sky, Big Sky Meadow Village, Big Sky Mountain Village, Cameron, Cowboys Heaven, Eldridge (historical), Gallatin Gateway, Gallatin Gateway Inn Park, Jeffers, Red Bluff, Watkins
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.