District 404, Montana

Predominantly flat to gently rolling short-grass plains and cultivated fields at roughly 3,000–4,000 feet elevation, with limited topographic relief except for river and coulee breaks along the Teton River and its tributaries. No alpine, forest, or montane terrain is present.

The district is almost entirely private land (approximately 91–92% private per FWP, ~8% public). Public land is fragmented: state trust lands (~6%), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service parcels (~0.7%), Bureau of Reclamation lands (~0.5%), BLM (~0.1%), and Montana FWP lands (~0.1%) — no U.S. Forest Service acreage is present. The primary highway framework is I-15 (Conrad to Great Falls), US Hwy 87 (Fort Benton to Great Falls), US Hwy 89 (Fairfield/Choteau corridor), Hwy 200 (Vaughn), and secondary routes including Rte 219 (Pendroy), Rte 365 (Brady), Rte 564, and Hwy 223. Access to huntable land depends heavily on landowner permission or Montana FWP Block Management Areas (BMAs); Region 4 maintains 156 BMAs covering approximately 1.3 million acres of private and isolated public land. A Teton-Spring Creek Cooperative Hunting Area (TSCA) exists within the district and carries special check-restricted area regulations (see current FWP Regs). The Brinkman Game Preserve within the broader HD 404 area is closed to all big game hunting. No wilderness, national forest, or large contiguous public blocks are present.

Landcover is approximately 79% human land use (dryland farming — wheat, barley, and other row crops dominate), 13% native grassland and mixed-grass prairie, 5% shrubland and steppe, and 2.5% riparian/wetland corridors along the Teton River and minor drainages. No forest or woodland cover exists within the district.

Mule deer are the primary big-game species and the district is known for producing quality bucks; white-tailed deer also occur along riparian corridors and field edges. Elk are present in very low numbers — FWP regulations carry an explicit note that elk numbers are low and will be difficult to find. Pronghorn antelope are abundant across the plains portion; the antelope HD 404 (which covers a larger area of ~4,695 sq mi across eight counties) is described as one of Montana's largest antelope districts with a strong history of quality bucks, though a recent die-off caused a temporary population dip. Upland game birds — pheasant, sharp-tailed grouse, and Hungarian partridge — are distributed through cropland and grassland habitats. CWD was detected for the first time in HD 404 in fall 2024: two initial screens on a mule deer buck harvested north of Great Falls returned positive, but a final confirmatory test was negative; FWP elected to treat this as a first detection. Hunters should check current FWP CWD advisories.

Season dates reflect 2024 LandTrust data (most recent retrievable); the 2026 FWP regulations PDF exceeded fetch limits. Season structure is expected to remain similar but should be verified against current 2026 FWP regulations before publication. The deer/elk HD 404 boundary (~1,944 sq mi) and antelope HD 404 boundary (~4,695 sq mi, eight counties) differ; pronghorn data reflects the broader antelope district. Mule deer B-license 404-00 quota of 300 is from LandTrust 2024 data. Antelope quotas (404-20: 200 either-sex + 404-30: 100 doe/fawn = 300 total) confirmed via LandTrust 2024. CWD: initial screens positive, confirmatory test negative — FWP treated as first detection (Nov 2024). HuntScore reports success index 36/100, ease of draw 67/100, public access 9/100 for the unit.