Hunting districts / Bighorn sheep
Bighorn sheep hunting district · Region 5 (Billings)
District 501
Montana hunting district 501 (Bighorn sheep), FWP Region 5 (Billings): 595 sq mi in Stillwater, Park, Carbon counties; 69% USFS, BLM, state trust and FWP land (mostly Custer Gallatin National Forest); median elevation 8,182 ft; FWP estimated 5 sheep harvested in 2025.
What stands out
- Among the busiest for sheep hunters of 36 bighorn sheep districts: 0.8 sheep hunter-days per square mile in 2025. FWP harvest estimates (calculated per sq mi)
- Among the highest sheep harvests of 36 bighorn sheep districts: 5 sheep harvested in 2025 (FWP estimate). FWP harvest estimates
- Among the highest of 36 bighorn sheep districts: median elevation 8,182 ft. AWS Terrain Tiles (calculated)
- Among the most wilderness of 36 bighorn sheep districts: 55% designated wilderness. USFS wilderness boundaries (calculated)
- Among the most rugged of 36 bighorn sheep districts: 8,304 ft from low point to high point. AWS Terrain Tiles (calculated)
Publicly administered land
| US Forest Service | 67.8% | |
| Montana state trust land | 0.9% | |
| Bureau of Land Management | 0.3% |
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 | 84 | 458 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 77 | 666 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 71 | 435 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 57 | 224 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 55 | 416 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 75 | 346 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 49 | 292 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 42 | 229 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 37 | 270 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | 38 | 241 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | 51 | 437 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | 51 | 353 | 3 | 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
- Stillwater, Park, Carbon counties
- National forests
- Custer Gallatin National Forest
- Wilderness
- Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness (55%)
- Wildlife management areas
- —
- Mountain ranges (GNIS)
- Beartooth Mountains, Granite Range
- Highest named summits
- Mount Wood (≈12,454 ft), Tempest Mountain (≈12,343 ft), Mount Peal (≈12,303 ft), Mount Hague (≈12,287 ft)
- Passes and gaps
- Bull of the Woods Pass, Lulu Pass, Daisy Pass, Wolverine Pass
- Towns and places
- Dean, Fishtail, George Place, George Place (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.