Montana hunting regs don't usually change this dramatically in a single cycle. Between the legislature, the commission's December meeting, and a complete overhaul of how you buy a license, 2026 is genuinely different — not "read the fine print" different, but "your whole plan might be wrong" different.

"It's true, some of these changes will reduce revenue coming to FWP from license sales, but when it comes down to it, this is about protecting the resource, not revenue." — FWP Director Christy Clark

That's a direct statement from a fish and wildlife director, and it's not one you hear often. Dropping the resident deer license cap from eight to three is a real conservation commitment — the kind of thing that gets hunters mad at the counter and vindicated ten years later when the herds come back.

"Something has to be done. We have a lot of overcrowding." — Commission Chair Lesley Robinson

If you've glassed eastern Montana mule deer country in the last few years, you already know what she's talking about. More tags, more trucks, more pressure — and the deer numbers show it. The private-land-only restriction on most Mule Deer B licenses is going to redirect a lot of hunters, which means some pressure just moves rather than disappears. Worth thinking about when you're scouting new ground.

The 2025 Montana Legislature passed a law that implements a Nonresident Shed Hunting License for Montana's Wildlife Management Areas (WMA). Additionally, this new law prohibits nonresidents from picking up antlers on WMAs for the first seven days they are open to the public in the spring.

A helicopter. Someone landed a National Guard helicopter on private land to collect antlers. That's apparently what it takes to get shed hunting legislation passed — which tells you something about how seriously people are taking that pursuit now.

The archery let-off change is the one that'll sneak up on competitive archers who also hunt. No cap on let-off percentage means bows that were previously tournament-only are now legal in the field. If you've been shooting a high-let-off setup at 3D matches and keeping a separate hunting rig, that distinction just went away in Montana.

For those of you who cross the border to hunt elk or deer up there — has the nonresident fee increase changed how you're planning your seasons, or are Montana tags still worth it compared to drawing odds in other western states?

Read the full article in The Handbook → | By The Boise Gun Club Team