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Mule deer buck with wide antlers grazing in grass on the National Elk Refuge, Wyoming

406-51 Deer Permit Draw Odds, Montana

Deer permit, district 406-51 (wt), from FWP's 2023 to 2026 drawing statistics. Jump to resident odds or nonresident odds.

Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS Mountain Prairie) via Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Credits
FactValue
DrawingDeer permit, district 406-51 (wt)
2026 total quota25
2026 nonresident cap (FWP's NR quota column)2
2026 landowner preference cap: resident / nonresident4 / 2
2026 first-choice applicants: resident / nonresident186 / 3
2026 drawn on first choice: resident / nonresident21 / 0
2026 first-choice odds: resident / nonresident11.3% / 0.0%
2026 total successful (all choices and pools)25

Resident odds by bonus point (2026 drawing)

Share of first-choice resident applicants at each bonus-point level who drew, from FWP's 2026 bonus point report. Each applicant gets one chance plus their points squared, so the draw favors high point holders without a hard cutoff. How Montana bonus points work.

Bonus pointsChances in drawing1st-choice applicantsDrawnOdds at this level
011300.0%
125024.0%
253412.9%
31029310.3%
41722522.7%
5261516.7%
637600.0%
750200.0%
8655480.0%
9824125.0%
101012150.0%
1112211100.0%
1522622100.0%

Resident outlook for 2027

If first-choice demand keeps its 2023 to 2026 trend (+20 applicants a year), about 206 residents would apply in 2027; with the same number of first-choice licenses, overall first-choice odds would be about 10%. Average bonus points among first-choice applicants are trending to about 3.2 (+0.17 a year), a measure of point creep in a weighted draw. Confidence: low.

Landowner preference (residents, 2026): 5 first-choice applicants, 4 drawn.

Nonresident odds by bonus point (2026 drawing)

Share of first-choice nonresident applicants at each bonus-point level who drew, from FWP's 2026 bonus point report. Each applicant gets one chance plus their points squared, so the draw favors high point holders without a hard cutoff. How Montana bonus points work.

Bonus pointsChances in drawing1st-choice applicantsDrawnOdds at this level
01100.0%
12200.0%

Nonresident outlook for 2027

If first-choice demand keeps its 2023 to 2026 trend (+0 applicants a year), about 3 nonresidents would apply in 2027; with the same number of first-choice licenses, overall first-choice odds would be about 0%. Average bonus points among first-choice applicants are trending to about 0.8 (+0.11 a year), a measure of point creep in a weighted draw. Confidence: low.

First-choice odds by year

First-choice draws over first-choice applicants in the regular drawing (landowner preference excluded).

Draw yearQuotaRes applicantsRes oddsNR applicantsNR odds
20232512517.6%30.0%
20242516412.8%20.0%
20252515413.6%30.0%
20262518611.3%30.0%

Outlook method: see the top of the Montana points explainer and our forecast method. It is a trend line, not a promise.

Notes from TagCanyon

Deadline

Deer and elk permits: FWP's 2026 window ran Mar 1 to Apr 1, 2026 (11:45 p.m. Mountain), with results in mid-April. FWP has not posted 2027 dates yet; the April 1 deadline has held in recent years. FWP application and drawing dates.

Source: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP), 2026 Drawing Statistics reports (MyFWP drawing statistics, FWP application and drawing dates). Tables, outlooks and text are TagCanyon's own; FWP does not warrant or endorse them. Not affiliated with FWP. Retrieved Oct 17, 2026.