Skerhunter
WKR
In the Official Montana 2025 Draw thread there has been a lot of confusion (me included) on how the non-resident draw actually works. After talking with Montana FWP I'm not sure I fully grasp it yet either, but below is a summary of what they provided me.
Primary Draw - this draw is conducted solely on preference points. 75% of the tags go to people with the most preference points and the remaining 25% go to people with 0 points. They give out 17,000 total tags (big game combo and elk combo). When you look at the draw statistics you are looking at results from this draw and this draw only. As we know you must draw a non-resident big game combo or elk combo tag before you can enter the drawing for limited entry.
When you fill out the app you can select if you want a refund and to return your general tag, if you don't draw a limited entry tag. Example - Applied with 3 points, drew a big game combo, but didn't get your limited entry permit, so you opt for a refund. Now your big game combo is is available in the "released portion" of the draw.
This link gives some good examples starting on page 6 ( chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://fwp.mt.gov/binaries/content/assets/fwp/aboutfwp/legislature/2025/ly-23.pdf )
You can apply for deer, deer + elk, or just elk, number of apps drives available tags for each. Example - I apply for elk only and draw in the initial drawing - that makes a deer tag available to someone else in the "released portion" of the drawing.
2024 Example - 4,600 base quota deer permits + 1,120 Land owner released + 4, 776 released from ppl applied for elk combo = 10,496 general deer combo tags.
Once the initial draw is done, we move into the "released portion" of the draw. Note to people who apply in a party, if your app is not filled out exactly (refund selection and tags applied for) the same by everyone in your party your group gets split up during this draw! Montana claims this portion of the draw is done based on preference points, but that is not entirely true (we know people report drawing with less than 2 points, while guys with 2 points don't draw).
There are two parts to the released tag draw - tags returned by people with preference points go to people with preference points. Tags returned by people with 0 preference points go to people with 0 points.
Then it falls off the rails - the tags get issued to someone who had the same refund option selected in the draw and was next in line from the initial drawing based on the number of preference points. This is how we get people drawing with less than 2 points in this portion of the draw. They put a lot of emphasis on how the app is completed for "refund options" (how party apps get split up also). Depending on applications for a given year you could draw with 1 point.
They also stated they can't post the actual draw results because they are too complex (too many variations of apps every year). I asked them to post something online for next year to give us some type of visual example of how the draw "might work".
Primary Draw - this draw is conducted solely on preference points. 75% of the tags go to people with the most preference points and the remaining 25% go to people with 0 points. They give out 17,000 total tags (big game combo and elk combo). When you look at the draw statistics you are looking at results from this draw and this draw only. As we know you must draw a non-resident big game combo or elk combo tag before you can enter the drawing for limited entry.
When you fill out the app you can select if you want a refund and to return your general tag, if you don't draw a limited entry tag. Example - Applied with 3 points, drew a big game combo, but didn't get your limited entry permit, so you opt for a refund. Now your big game combo is is available in the "released portion" of the draw.
This link gives some good examples starting on page 6 ( chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://fwp.mt.gov/binaries/content/assets/fwp/aboutfwp/legislature/2025/ly-23.pdf )
You can apply for deer, deer + elk, or just elk, number of apps drives available tags for each. Example - I apply for elk only and draw in the initial drawing - that makes a deer tag available to someone else in the "released portion" of the drawing.
2024 Example - 4,600 base quota deer permits + 1,120 Land owner released + 4, 776 released from ppl applied for elk combo = 10,496 general deer combo tags.
Once the initial draw is done, we move into the "released portion" of the draw. Note to people who apply in a party, if your app is not filled out exactly (refund selection and tags applied for) the same by everyone in your party your group gets split up during this draw! Montana claims this portion of the draw is done based on preference points, but that is not entirely true (we know people report drawing with less than 2 points, while guys with 2 points don't draw).
There are two parts to the released tag draw - tags returned by people with preference points go to people with preference points. Tags returned by people with 0 preference points go to people with 0 points.
Then it falls off the rails - the tags get issued to someone who had the same refund option selected in the draw and was next in line from the initial drawing based on the number of preference points. This is how we get people drawing with less than 2 points in this portion of the draw. They put a lot of emphasis on how the app is completed for "refund options" (how party apps get split up also). Depending on applications for a given year you could draw with 1 point.
They also stated they can't post the actual draw results because they are too complex (too many variations of apps every year). I asked them to post something online for next year to give us some type of visual example of how the draw "might work".
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