Montana

Montana's big game hunting is run by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP). Most limited licenses and special permits are awarded through random drawings, and Montana uses two different point systems depending on what you're applying for.

For special permits and most drawn licenses, Montana uses bonus points, which it squares before the draw to give you extra chances. Separately, nonresident combination licenses (the license that lets nonresidents hunt deer and/or elk statewide) use preference points, where 75% of licenses go to the applicants holding the most points and 25% are drawn randomly among those with no points.

Before applying, you need a Conservation License plus a base hunting license ($10 resident / $15 nonresident) and an Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Pass. Nonresidents who want to hunt deer or elk generally start with a combination license drawing.

Bonus points are extra chances that accumulate one per year until you draw your first-choice license or permit; because Montana squares them, 10 bonus points give 101 chances ((10 x 10) + 1). You can hold different bonus point totals for each species, and you can buy a bonus point separately in a year you don't apply. Nonresident-combination preference points are capped at 3, and are lost if you skip applying in consecutive years or once you draw. A preference point can be purchased over the counter for $100 (July 1–Dec 31) if you aren't applying that year.

Applications are submitted through FWP's Online Licensing System. Nonresidents apply for a single combination license, and both residents and nonresidents can then apply for the various species permits and B licenses (antlerless tags).

Up to 5 people may apply together as a party; FWP averages the party's points (to three decimals) to set the group's priority. On a combination-plus-elk-permit application you may select an 80% refund option, but taking it if you draw the combo resets your preference points to zero.

Dates shift slightly each year, so confirm them in the current regulations. As a guide: nonresident combination licenses are due around April 1 (application window roughly March 1–April 1), and deer/elk permits are also due around April 1 with results in mid-April.

Antelope and Deer B / Elk B licenses are typically due June 1 (results mid-June). Moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat and bison applications are due around May 1 with results in mid-May. Deadlines are 11:45 p.m. MST.

For bonus-point species, everyone who applies gets one chance, and each bonus point adds squared chances on top; the lowest randomly assigned number wins, so more points strongly improve—but never guarantee—your odds. For nonresident combination licenses, 75% are handed out in order of most preference points and the remaining 25% go to a random draw of zero-point applicants.

How TAGZ turns these mechanics into projected draw odds is covered separately in the odds methodology.

Figures are approximate—see the current fee schedule for exact amounts. Resident big game licenses are inexpensive (general deer around $16, general elk around $20, antelope around $14). Nonresident costs are much higher: the general deer combination is about $744, elk combination about $1,078, and the deer-and-elk big game combination about $1,278.

Every application carries a $5 nonrefundable fee, except moose, sheep, goat and bison, which carry a $50 fee for nonresidents ($10 for residents). Once-in-a-lifetime species licenses (moose/sheep/goat/bison) run about $125 for residents and $1,250 for nonresidents.