Where do I buy a Montana hunting license?

Montana hunting licenses and tags are sold by the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) through its official licensing site. Buy direct from the agency rather than a reseller, and complete hunter education first if your birth year requires it.

When is Montana hunting season?

Seasons differ by species, weapon and zone, and the Montana season dates change every year. Our Montana deer guide summarizes the 2025 deer season structure; for every other species, check the current Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) regulations before you plan a hunt.

What can you hunt in Montana?

Besides mule deer, white-tailed deer, our species guides single out Montana for mule deer, elk, moose, pronghorn antelope, black bear, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, mountain lion, sharp-tailed grouse, coyote. Each species guide explains tags, seasons and tactics.

Where is public hunting land in Montana?

Good starting points include Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, Missouri River Breaks BLM lands, Custer Gallatin National Forest. Confirm access rules, closures and special regulations with the managing agency before you go.

Hunting · State by State

Montana Hunting Guide

What to hunt in Montana, what it costs, the laws that matter and where the public land is — with the official Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) links.

Capped nonresident tags, millions of acres of public land, and legendary Missouri River Breaks mule deer make Montana a bucket-list western hunt.

Montana is really two deer states in one. East of the Continental Divide, rolling prairie, badlands, and the famous Missouri River Breaks hold big mule deer bucks in low-density but huntable numbers, with terrain that rewards glassing and long stalks over dozens of miles of BLM and Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge land. West of the Divide and along the state's major rivers, whitetails dominate in agricultural valleys, cottonwood bottoms, and timbered foothills.

Agency: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP)
Region: Mountain West
Deer rank: #16 of 50
Species guides: 11

Montana hunting license and tag costs

Deer license and tag prices as last reviewed. Other species' permits are listed in the agency fee schedule.

License / tag	Price
Nonresident conservation license	approx. $10
Nonresident base hunting license	approx. $15
Nonresident deer combination license (general)	approx. $650, capped/drawn
Nonresident deer B-license (antlerless, where available)	approx. $50–$100

Montana hunting laws to know

Rules that catch hunters out most often. Not a substitute for the regulations book.

Topic	Rule
Blaze orange	Hunter orange is required for all hunters and their companions during any firearms season — at least 400 square inches visible from all sides.
Baiting	Baiting big game, including deer, is illegal statewide in Montana.
Crossbows	Legal during archery season only for hunters with a permit for disability, or during any firearms season for all hunters; check current-year archery crossbow rules.
Sunday hunting	Allowed statewide; no Sunday closure in Montana.
Legal firearms	Centerfire rifles and handguns of legal caliber are the standard general-season weapon; shotgun-only zones are not used in Montana as they are in some Midwest states.
Tagging/reporting	Harvested deer must be validated (tagged) immediately, and many hunting districts require mandatory harvest reporting online, even if you did not harvest an animal.
CWD carcass transport	Special carcass-transport and mandatory testing rules apply within designated CWD management zones; whole carcasses generally cannot leave those zones untested.
Hunter education	Required for anyone born after Jan. 1, 1985 before purchasing a Montana hunting license, with an apprentice option available for first-time hunters.

Montana deer season structure (2025)

Season dates and permit requirements vary significantly by hunting district (HD) and species — always check the current-year deer, elk, and antelope regulations booklet before applying.

Season	Weapon	Typical window
Archery	Bow / crossbow (with permit)	Early Sept. – mid-Oct.
General rifle	Centerfire rifle	Late Oct. – last Sunday in Nov.
Youth deer weekend	Rifle	Weekend before the general opener
Special/late whitetail antlerless	Rifle	Varies by hunting district, into December/January

What you can hunt in Montana

Deer — Mule deer, White-tailed deer
Very good · ranked #16 of 50 for deer.
Mule Deer
Big country, general-season deer with a combination license
Access: Nonresident combination license drawn randomly each spring
Elk
Big public country and a general elk tag inside the combination license
Access: Nonresident combination license by random draw, April 1 deadline
Moose
Shiras moose in classic mountain willow country
Access: Once-in-a-lifetime draw; 10–30 years of points is typical
Pronghorn Antelope
Excellent eastern-plains hunting and large blocks of public and block-management land
Access: Draw with good odds in most districts; June deadline
Black Bear
Spring spot-and-stalk on green logging roads and avalanche chutes
Access: Over-the-counter tags; two bears allowed in many Idaho units
Bighorn Sheep
The best Rocky Mountain bighorn units in the Lower 48
Access: Once-in-a-lifetime draw; odds well under 1% even with maximum points
Mountain Goat
Strong Rocky Mountain herds in classic high alpine terrain
Access: Once-in-a-lifetime draw; extremely low odds, especially for nonresidents
Mountain Lion
Strong lion densities, hound hunting legal, over-the-counter tags in many units
Access: Over-the-counter licenses; some units have harvest quotas that close mid-season
Sharp-Tailed Grouse
Huge expanses of native prairie with light hunting pressure
Access: Over-the-counter upland bird license
Coyote
Vast open prairie ideal for long-range calling and spotting
Access: Over-the-counter license

Public hunting land in Montana

Montana's public-land base is enormous, and the state's Block Management program adds millions more acres of private land access each fall specifically for hunters.

Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge
National wildlife refuge · North-central Montana (Missouri River Breaks)
Over a million acres along the Missouri River, widely regarded as some of the best big-buck mule deer breaks country in the West.
Official page
Missouri River Breaks BLM lands
BLM · North-central/eastern Montana
Rugged, roadless badlands and coulees bordering the CMR Refuge; classic spot-and-stalk mule deer terrain.
Official page
Custer Gallatin National Forest
National forest · South-central Montana
Mixed mule deer and whitetail habitat in foothills and timber near Bozeman, Billings, and the Absaroka-Beartooth front.
Official page
Lolo National Forest
National forest · Western Montana
Heavily timbered western forest with strong whitetail numbers in river drainages near Missoula.
Official page
Block Management ranchland (statewide)
Private land (public access program) · Statewide, concentrated in eastern prairie regions
FWP pays landowners to allow public hunting access; sign-up is typically first-come or by permission slip at local FWP offices each fall.
Official page
Milk River and Yellowstone River bottoms
River corridor / mixed public-private · Northeastern and southeastern Montana
Cottonwood river bottoms holding some of the state's highest whitetail densities and mature buck potential.
Official page

Official Montana links

Last reviewed 2025.

Nearby state hunting guides

Questions

Frequently asked

Where do I buy a Montana hunting license?: Montana hunting licenses and tags are sold by the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) through its official licensing site. Buy direct from the agency rather than a reseller, and complete hunter education first if your birth year requires it.
When is Montana hunting season?: Seasons differ by species, weapon and zone, and the Montana season dates change every year. Our Montana deer guide summarizes the 2025 deer season structure; for every other species, check the current Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) regulations before you plan a hunt.
What can you hunt in Montana?: Besides mule deer, white-tailed deer, our species guides single out Montana for mule deer, elk, moose, pronghorn antelope, black bear, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, mountain lion, sharp-tailed grouse, coyote. Each species guide explains tags, seasons and tactics.
Where is public hunting land in Montana?: Good starting points include Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, Missouri River Breaks BLM lands, Custer Gallatin National Forest. Confirm access rules, closures and special regulations with the managing agency before you go.