Big Game by StateThe public record of western draws

Montana · Elk · District 291

Montana elk b licence 291-03

How many people put this elk b licencefirst and how many of them drew it — year by year, separately for each of the four pools Montana draws, and separately at every bonus point level. Every figure comes from a Fish, Wildlife & Parks report linked at the foot of this page.

What the 2026 drawing did

Montana set a quota of 400 on 291-03 in 2026 and drew 400 — the quota filled. Across the four pools FWP draws separately, 3 nonresident landowner applicants put it first and 3 drew, 100.00%; 6 resident landowner applicants put it first and 6 drew, 100.00%; 60 nonresident applicants put it first and 36 drew, 60.00%; 372 resident applicants put it first and 355 drew, 95.43%.

Published in 7 of the drawing years FWP has posted, 2020 to 2026.

Drawing pool

First-choice success rate, by pool and year

The rate is the first-choice applicants in a pool who drew, divided by the first-choice applicants in that pool. Both are exact integers FWP printed in the same row, and it is the measure the department's own drawing statistics tool publishes: "the percentage of 1st choice applicants that were successful". A dash means nobody in that pool applied, so the draw answered nothing — absent, not nought.
YearPoolPool capPut it firstDrew on first choiceFirst-choice success ratePut it 2nd or 3rdDrew on 2nd or 3rd
2026Nonresident40603660.00%90
2026Resident40037235595.43%1290
2026Nonresident landowner4033100.00%——
2026Resident landowner6066100.00%——
2025Nonresident25562239.29%50
2025Resident25032321867.49%1230
2025Nonresident landowner2533100.00%——
2025Resident landowner3877100.00%——
2024Nonresident25402255.00%70
2024Resident25034721862.82%1490
2024Nonresident landowner2511100.00%——
2024Resident landowner3899100.00%——
2023Nonresident25352262.86%160
2023Resident25032821966.77%1080
2023Nonresident landowner2522100.00%——
2023Resident landowner3877100.00%——
2022Nonresident25341750.00%190
2022Resident25034922865.33%1210
2022Nonresident landowner2500———
2022Resident landowner3855100.00%——
2021Nonresident15471225.53%160
2021Resident15044313430.25%1100
2021Nonresident landowner1500———
2021Resident landowner2344100.00%——
2020Nonresident35343088.24%20
2020Resident35034631490.75%950
2020Nonresident landowner3511100.00%——
2020Resident landowner5355100.00%——

Pool cap is FWP's own QTA column, and it is a ceiling rather than an allocation. The resident regular cap equals the overall quota; the nonresident caps are ten per cent of it and cover landowner and regular nonresidents together; the resident landowner cap is fifteen per cent. The department states plainly that the ceiling is not a floor: "although the nonresident quotas are set at 10%, that entire quota may not be drawn by nonresidents", and that if every resident applicant draws, nonresidents may go over ten per cent.

Landowner rows are a different drawing, not a subset of the one below them.Landowner preference is the first stage, worth up to fifteen per cent of the quota to resident landowners, and its applicants are counted apart from the regular pool throughout. FWP publishes the landowner pools at first choice only, which is why their second and third columns are dashes rather than noughts.

Draw rate at each bonus point level

One row per bonus point level per pool per year, exactly as FWP's Detailed Bonus Point report publishes it. The rate is that level's successes divided by its applications — both exact integers in the same printed row.
YearPoolBonus pointsAppliedDrewDrew at this level
2026Nonresident018738.89%
2026Nonresident1302066.67%
2026Nonresident28787.50%
2026Nonresident34250.00%
2026Resident0988788.78%
2026Resident119018496.84%
2026Resident26767100.00%
2026Resident31212100.00%
2026Resident411100.00%
2026Resident522100.00%
2026Resident622100.00%
2026Nonresident landowner133100.00%
2026Resident landowner066100.00%
2025Nonresident0600.00%
2025Nonresident1361336.11%
2025Nonresident213861.54%
2025Nonresident311100.00%
2025Resident0934851.61%
2025Resident116711468.26%
2025Resident2524586.54%
2025Resident399100.00%
2025Resident422100.00%
2025Nonresident landowner022100.00%
2025Nonresident landowner111100.00%
2025Resident landowner055100.00%
2025Resident landowner122100.00%
2024Nonresident07342.86%
2024Nonresident122940.91%
2024Nonresident27685.71%
2024Nonresident344100.00%
2024Resident01093935.78%
2024Resident117712168.36%
2024Resident2464393.48%
2024Resident31515100.00%
2024Nonresident landowner111100.00%
2024Resident landowner077100.00%
2024Resident landowner122100.00%
2023Nonresident1201575.00%
2023Nonresident24125.00%
2023Nonresidentnot stated11654.55%
2023Resident116712071.86%
2023Resident2363597.22%
2023Resident31515100.00%
2023Resident422100.00%
2023Resident622100.00%
2023Residentnot stated1064542.45%
2023Nonresident landowner122100.00%
2023Resident landowner211100.00%
2023Resident landownernot stated66100.00%
2022Nonresident110660.00%
2022Nonresident288100.00%
2022Nonresidentnot stated16318.75%
2022Resident11218066.12%
2022Resident2968487.50%
2022Resident31212100.00%
2022Resident411100.00%
2022Resident511100.00%
2022Residentnot stated1185042.37%
2022Resident landownernot stated55100.00%
2021Nonresident020315.00%
2021Nonresident111100.00%
2021Nonresidentnot stated26830.77%
2021Resident02145224.30%
2021Resident1371848.65%
2021Resident21111100.00%
2021Resident333100.00%
2021Resident411100.00%
2021Residentnot stated1774927.68%
2021Resident landowner011100.00%
2021Resident landownernot stated33100.00%
2020Nonresident0111090.91%
2020Nonresident111100.00%
2020Nonresidentnot stated221986.36%
2020Resident015313688.89%
2020Resident1545296.30%
2020Resident21313100.00%
2020Resident344100.00%
2020Resident411100.00%
2020Residentnot stated12110889.26%
2020Nonresident landownernot stated11100.00%
2020Resident landownernot stated55100.00%

No bonus point level guarantees a licence in Montana, and this page does not publish one. FWP squares your bonus points and adds them to your current application as extra chances — three points give ten chances, ten points give a hundred and one — so the drawing is a weighted lottery and not a queue. More points is better odds every time, and a place in line never.

Not stated is FWP's own blank cell, and it is not the same as nought. The department's reports frequently carry both a nought-point row and a blank one for the same pool in the same year, with different application counts, and both are inside the district total it prints. FWP does not say what separates them, so they are shown apart rather than added together into a "no points" figure it never published.

Sources for this licence

Other licences in these districts

Bonus points are one of Montana's two point systems and the only one that applies here. The other, preference points, exists on nonresident combination licences alone and works in the opposite way. See how these numbers are produced and checked, or the Montana application deadlines.