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Deer Hunting in Montana HD 540 - South Little Belt Mountains

This 3,585-square-mile EMU encompasses the area in and around the Little Belt Mountains, which are located south and east of Great Falls, and north and east of White Sulphur Springs. Private land, including coniferous elk habitat, surrounds the Little ...

HD 540 - South Little Belt Mountains

Scores

Scores
User Scores
Ease of Drawing
96
 
96
Success
35
 
35
Trophy Potential
1
 
1
Public Access
33
 
33
Ease of Terrain
0
 
N/A
Room to Breathe
11
 
11
Opportunity
73
 
73
Convenience
32
 
32
Ease of Effort
44
 
44
51
HuntScore

Access Notes

Bureau of Land Management
US Forest Service
Local Gov't
State Gov't
Indian Reservation
State Wildlife/Wilderness Areas
National Park Service
Army Corps
Other Federal Land
Other

Land Ownership
Legend

Those portions of Meagher and Wheatland Counties lying within the following-described boundary: Beginning at Harlowton, then westerly along US Highway 12 to Spring Creek-Whitetail Cabin Road (USFS Road 274), then northerly along said road to its intersection with the Willow Park Road (USFS Road 189), then easterly along said road to its intersection with USFS Trail 603, then easterly along said trail to the Mt. High Lookout Tower, then easterly along USFS Road 382 to a permanent boundary marker (Wheatland/Judith Basin county line) then northeasterly along the Wheatland County line to US Highway 191, then southerly along said highway to Harlowton, the point of beginning.

Access varies across the EMU and among hunting districts. Portions of the EMU currently have high road densities, providing easy access by vehicle, but other areas are reasonably remote and better ... Create a free account to read the rest of this access note!

County

Meagher, Wheatland

Size

584 Square Miles (373,495 Acres)

Land Ownership

35% Public, 28% USFS, 7% State

Latitude/Longitude

46.5904, -110.0916

Wildfires

Check for current or recent wildfires in this area.

Amenities

There are 4 hospitals, 2 hotels, 3 campgrounds, and 1 grocery stores within a 20 mile radius.

Deer Notes

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HuntScore Tip

Public land and private land percentages can sometime be misleading. A unit may have 80% public land, but a particluar species may only occupy 20% on the entire area. And that 20% species distribution may lie 100% within private lands. Does that sound confusing? Just remember that there are always exceptions to the rule, and land ownership is just one piece of the puzzle.

Management Plan

Deer Management Plan

State Agency Website

Visit Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks

Other Species in Unit

Elk, Mountain Lion,

Businesses Serving Deer Hunters In HD 540 - South Little Belt Mountains

Advertise Your Business!

Category: Guide/Outfitter

: 555-555-5555

: [email protected]

: www.yourbusiness.com

About

Are you an outfitter, hunting guide, game processor or local hotel? Do you have landowner tags, lease land, or have an lodge? Advertise on HuntScore and reach hunters interested in this hunting unit! Send us an email at [email protected] to learn more. Read about advertising on huntscore here

Unit Elevation Profile

HuntScore generates thousands of synthetic hikes in the unit to create an elevation profile. This profile is what you can expect to experience within a 2 mile hike from a road or trail in this unit.

Elevation in this unit ranges from 4117' to 8133' with a median elevation of 5602'. If you are preparing to hunt this unit you should train for hiking up and down slopes of 6.3%.

Distribution of Slopes From Hikes
Common Slope

This is typical incline or decline experienced while hiking from a road or trail in the unit

Elevation Range
Max Elevation: 8133'
Median Elevation: 5602'
Min Elevation: 4117'

Common Elevation Profiles

Deer Over The Counter Hunts (2020)

Below are OTC hunts available for HD 540 - South Little Belt Mountains.
Residency Species Deer Sex Manner Season Type Dates Notes
RS
M
ANY
G
OTC
all archery only seasons: 09/05 - 10/18, all regular rifle seasons: 10/24 - 11/29
RS
E
ANY
Y
OTC
all archery only seasons: 09/05 - 10/18, all regular rifle seasons: 10/24 - 11/29 Only youth ages 10-15. Not valid on National Forest Lands.
RS
E
ANY
G
OTC
all archery only seasons: 09/05 - 10/18, all regular rifle seasons: 10/24 - 11/29

Deer Drawing Stats (2021)

Total Quota
1,210
Licenses Drawn
421
Licenses Surplus
789
Resident Quota
1,089
Nonresident Quota
121
Landowner Quota
0
Youth Quota
0
92.6%
Overall Unit
1st Choice Draw Odds
Choose a hunt below to take a deeper dive into hunt scores, drawing trends, and harvest data.
Stats Apply For Sex Manner Season Type Quota Drawn Surplus Resident Draw Odds NonResident Draw Odds Min Res. Points Min NonRes. Points Notes
598-00-B
F
ANY
G
1200 411 789
100%
100%
0 0 Only valid in HDs 511, 540, 570, and 580.
540-00-B
F
ANY
G
10 10 0
25.8%
14.3%
0 0 Not valid on National Forest Lands.

Deer Harvest Stats (2021)

Total Hunters
826
Total Harvest
212
Harvest Male
163
Harvest Female
49
25.7%
Average Success
Manner Season Type Sex Deer Species Hunters Harvest Male Female Youth Success Rate Days Hunter
ALL
ALL
NA
N/A
E
826 212
163
49
0
25.67% 6
Any
Any
N
N/A
E
189 73
55
19
0
38.62% 7
Any
Any
R
N/A
E
638 138
108
30
0
21.63% 6
HuntScore Tip: Ever hunt a unit with a 100% success rate and not see any animals? If you're nodding your head to any of these scenarios then you're one of the people who knows that statistics are a good guide, but they aren't a guarantee.

Harvests Trends

Overall harvests trends are broken down by hunt_code, manner, season, sex, type, and species of deer (if applicable) to the extent state wildlife managers provide such data.

Total Harvest

Success Rate

Avg. Days Hunted

Weather Insights

Weather can vary by elevation. See how weather varies by elevation within a unit by selecting an elevation range. Elevation ranges are based on weather stations in or near the unit. Not all weather elements are available within the unit.

Average Temps

Use temperature ranges to plan and prepare for your hunt. Large swings indicate a good layering system should be used. Be sure to make note of the extreme temperatures as these often pose the greatest risk to hunters. If you plan on hunting in higher elevation, as a rule of thumb, expect the tempture to decrease roughly 5° for every 1000' in elevation gain.

WITH A FREE ACCOUNT GET:

  • Precip totals by month
  • Snow depth by month
  • Min/Max precip and snow depth
  • Average # of days between precip or snow event
  • Wind speed and wind direction by month
  • Sunshine and cloud cover stats by month
  • Probability of other weather events (thunder, hail, etc...) by by month

Precipitation

The probability of precipitation is the likelihood of experience rain, snow, hail, etc... on a given day within the month. A good trick is to invert the probability to estimate how many days will pass, on average, between precipitation events. Hover or click a month to see how many days will pass between precipitation events.

Use the average and maximum precipitation events to set expetations for what rain gear to bring. Also remember that water availability can influence wildlife patterns, so be sure to check out the current weather patterns leading up to your hunt.

Snow

Each month of the year brings it's own challenges for weather. Select a month to see what you can expect and how to prepare for extreme events.

Likely Wind Directions

Wind Speed

Sunshine




Cloud Cover




Other Weather Events

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