Hunting districts / Bighorn sheep
Bighorn sheep hunting district · Region 5 (Billings)
District 500
Montana hunting district 500 (Bighorn sheep), FWP Region 5 (Billings): 370 sq mi in Park, Sweet Grass, Stillwater counties; 100% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land (mostly Custer Gallatin National Forest); median elevation 8,934 ft; FWP estimated 2 sheep harvested in 2025.
What stands out
- Among the busiest for sheep hunters of 36 bighorn sheep districts: 1.0 sheep hunter-days per square mile in 2025. FWP harvest estimates (calculated per sq mi)
- Among the most public of 36 bighorn sheep districts: 100% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land. MSL Public Lands (calculated)
- Among the most wilderness of 36 bighorn sheep districts: 97% designated wilderness. USFS wilderness boundaries (calculated)
- Among the highest of 36 bighorn sheep districts: median elevation 8,934 ft. AWS Terrain Tiles (calculated)
Publicly administered land
| US Forest Service | 99.5% |
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 | 55 | 384 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 65 | 268 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 75 | 623 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 47 | 335 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 68 | 516 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 55 | 333 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 54 | 335 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 30 | 203 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 34 | 183 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | 26 | 174 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | 41 | 285 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | 21 | 107 | 2 | 2 | 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
- Park, Sweet Grass, Stillwater counties
- National forests
- Custer Gallatin National Forest
- Wilderness
- Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness (97%)
- Wildlife management areas
- —
- Mountain ranges (GNIS)
- —
- Highest named summits
- Tumble Mountain (≈11,253 ft), Mount Douglas (≈11,230 ft), Chalice Peak (≈11,040 ft), Two Sisters (≈10,981 ft)
- Passes and gaps
- Columbine Pass, Boulder Pass, Jordan Pass
- Towns and places
- Independence, Lazy Day (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.