The 2025 Montana hunting regulations hit the shelves last month in advance of the new license year that started March 1, and hunters may have noticed a change.

For years, the hunting regulations contained pages for license or permit drawing odds from the previous year. The intent of these charts was to show hunters what the odds of drawing particular licenses or permits were from year to year. The problem is that these charts were largely misleading, and in some cases, just inaccurate.

• The charts didn’t account for residency status. Nonresidents are capped at 10 percent of the drawing quota, which means far fewer licenses or permits are available to nonresidents than the statistics would indicate.
• The statistics didn’t account for bonus points. The bonus point system in Montana is random by design. And though the odds of drawing a license or permit are higher the more bonus points you have, that’s not always the way it works out.
• The statistics didn’t account for landowner preference applications. Landowner preference licenses and permits are taken from the quota before the general drawing.

FWP publishes detailed drawing statistics on its website. Rather than publish inaccurate tables, as in the past, this year FWP is directing hunters to the drawing statistics online and a more comprehensive explanation of bonus points in the regulation booklets.

A recent legislative audit found that bonus points were generally misunderstood.

“By publishing information on how bonus points work in Montana and directing people to accurate drawing statistics online, we hope we can alleviate some confusion and give people better information to influence their applications,” said Greg Lemon, communication and education division administrator for FWP.

Remember, April 1 is the deadline to apply for deer and elk permits. May 1 is the deadline to apply for moose, sheep, goat and bison licenses. Don’t wait, apply early.