HD 170
Elk
Resident licenses
General Elk License
Availability: Over the counter
✅ Includes bull elk
Residents buy the General Elk License over the counter; the resident license availability chart (p. 12) lists no application deadline for it, and residents may instead buy a Sportsman's License that includes one.
HD 170 (Flathead River) General Elk License opportunities, 2026 regulations p. 53.
District NOTE: 'HD 170 Check Restricted Area Legal Description, Flathead Weapons Restriction Area and Blasdel WPAs.
Bad Rock Canyon WMA closed Dec. 2-May 15.
Kuhns WMA closed Dec. 2-April 1.' Brow-tined bull elk: Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18, General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20.
Brow-tined bull or antlerless elk: General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20, 'Only valid north of Lake Blaine Road and West of Hwy 35.' Elk B license 170-00 is also listed for this HD; not itemized here (general license only).
This restriction applies only to the sub-area described in the district NOTE, not to the whole hunting district, so no district-wide weapon restriction is recorded here.
Source: FWP regulations (2026)
Nonresident licenses
General Elk License
Availability: Draw
✅ Includes bull elk
Most nonresidents cannot buy their General Elk License over the counter.
Per 'Elk Licenses & Permits - General Elk License' (p. 16), it must be obtained through the April 1 drawing for one of the 17,000 Big Game Combination Licenses (the Elk Combination License also includes a General Elk License).
HD 170 (Flathead River) General Elk License opportunities, 2026 regulations p. 53.
District NOTE: 'HD 170 Check Restricted Area Legal Description, Flathead Weapons Restriction Area and Blasdel WPAs.
Bad Rock Canyon WMA closed Dec. 2-May 15.
Kuhns WMA closed Dec. 2-April 1.' Brow-tined bull elk: Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18, General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20.
Brow-tined bull or antlerless elk: General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20, 'Only valid north of Lake Blaine Road and West of Hwy 35.' Elk B license 170-00 is also listed for this HD; not itemized here (general license only).
This restriction applies only to the sub-area described in the district NOTE, not to the whole hunting district, so no district-wide weapon restriction is recorded here.
Source: FWP regulations (2026)
Other permits and B-licenses may be available for this district — not yet itemized in this dataset.
6+ point bulls: 4 of 26 total bulls harvested (2025)
Success rate history
| Year | Hunters | All | Spike | Bull | 6+ pt | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvest | Rate | Harvest | Rate | Harvest | Rate | Harvest | Rate | ||
| 2025 | Not published | 67 | — | 0 | — | 26 | — | 4 | — |
| 2024 | 588 | 56 | 9.5% | 0 | 0% | 23 | 3.9% | 6 | 1% |
| 2023 | Not published | 45 | — | 0 | — | 27 | — | 12 | — |
| 2022 | 455 | 39 | 8.6% | 0 | 0% | 10 | 2.2% | 0 | 0% |
| 2021 | Not published | 31 | — | 0 | — | 16 | — | 12 | — |
Success by residency
| Year | Residents | Nonresidents | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hunters | Harvest | Rate | Hunters | Harvest | Rate | |
| 2025 | Not published | 67 | — | Not published | 0 | — |
| 2024 | 559 | 45 | 8.1% | 28 | 10 | 35.7% |
| 2023 | Not published | 45 | — | Not published | 0 | — |
| 2022 | 444 | 39 | 8.8% | 11 | 0 | 0% |
| 2021 | Not published | 28 | — | Not published | 3 | — |
Source: Montana FWP harvest reports, 2024.
Mule Deer
Resident licenses
General Deer License
Availability: Over the counter
✅ Includes antlered buck mule deer
Residents buy the General Deer License over the counter; the resident license availability chart (p. 12) lists no application deadline for it, and residents may instead buy a Sportsman's License that includes one.
HD 170 (Flathead River) General Deer License opportunities, 2026 regulations p. 53.
District NOTE: 'HD 170 Check Restricted Area Legal Description, Flathead Weapons Restriction Area and Blasdel WPAs.
Bad Rock Canyon WMA closed Dec. 2-May 15.
Kuhns WMA closed Dec. 2-April 1.' Either-sex white-tailed deer: Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18, General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20.
Antlered buck mule deer: Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18, General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20.
Deer B licenses 170-00 and 170-20 are also listed for this HD; not itemized here (general license only).
This restriction applies only to the sub-area described in the district NOTE, not to the whole hunting district, so no district-wide weapon restriction is recorded here.
Source: FWP regulations (2026)
Nonresident licenses
General Deer License
Availability: Draw
✅ Includes antlered buck mule deer
Most nonresidents cannot buy their general deer license over the counter.
Per 'Deer Licenses & Permits - General Deer License' (p. 15), it must be obtained through one of the April 1 drawings: the Big Game (deer and elk) Combination License (17,000 issued), the Deer Combination License (4,600 issued), or a Landowner Sponsored License (2,000 issued).
Nonresidents may apply for only one of these combination licenses per year.
HD 170 (Flathead River) General Deer License opportunities, 2026 regulations p. 53.
District NOTE: 'HD 170 Check Restricted Area Legal Description, Flathead Weapons Restriction Area and Blasdel WPAs.
Bad Rock Canyon WMA closed Dec. 2-May 15.
Kuhns WMA closed Dec. 2-April 1.' Either-sex white-tailed deer: Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18, General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20.
Antlered buck mule deer: Archery Only Sep 05-Oct 18, General Oct 24-Nov 29, Heritage Muzzleloader Dec 12-Dec 20.
Deer B licenses 170-00 and 170-20 are also listed for this HD; not itemized here (general license only).
This restriction applies only to the sub-area described in the district NOTE, not to the whole hunting district, so no district-wide weapon restriction is recorded here.
Source: FWP regulations (2026)
Other permits and B-licenses may be available for this district — not yet itemized in this dataset.
4+ point mule deer bucks: 4 of 4 mule deer bucks harvested (2025)
Success rate history
| Year | Hunters | All | Buck | 4+ pt | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvest | Rate | Harvest | Rate | Harvest | Rate | ||
| 2025 | 2713 | 22 | 0.8% | 4 | 0.1% | 4 | 0.1% |
| 2024 | Not published | 36 | — | 30 | — | 12 | — |
| 2023 | 2431 | 44 | 1.8% | 34 | 1.4% | 10 | 0.4% |
| 2022 | Not published | 40 | — | 23 | — | 13 | — |
| 2021 | 2244 | 48 | 2.1% | 27 | 1.2% | 12 | 0.5% |
Success by residency
| Year | Residents | Nonresidents | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hunters | Harvest | Rate | Hunters | Harvest | Rate | |
| 2025 | 2600 | 22 | 0.8% | 113 | 0 | 0% |
| 2024 | Not published | 31 | — | Not published | 4 | — |
| 2023 | 2358 | 44 | 1.9% | 73 | 0 | 0% |
| 2022 | Not published | 40 | — | Not published | 0 | — |
| 2021 | 2169 | 41 | 1.9% | 75 | 7 | 9.3% |
Source: Montana FWP harvest reports, 2025.