Hunting District 502: public land and hunting map
Hunting District 502 is one of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’s 139 deer, elk and lion hunting districts in Montana. It covers about 732 square miles (468,363 acres), and roughly 6.6% of it is public land: BLM 6.4%.
- 6.6%public land
- 732square miles
- 30,912public acres
- 5neighbouring units
Measured Oct 12, 2026 from agency boundaries and USGS PAD-US 4.1 · sources and method
Who manages the land
- Bureau of Land Management6.4%
Share of the unit’s area. Federal agencies plus state wildlife, trust and natural-resource land, as the WikiHunt map classifies it. The rest is private, tribal, local or other land.
Rut: Published rut estimates for Montana differ by region and species: Nov 21 – Dec 1, Mid – late November and ≈ Nov 21, each with its source on the rut page. Rut dates and sources for Montana.
Units next to Hunting District 502
Montana season dates, 2026
Statewide general seasons. Many units have their own dates, quotas or draw-only hunts, so check the unit in the regulations before you go.
| Species | Season | 2026 dates |
|---|---|---|
| Deer | Archery Deer | Sep 5 – Oct 18 |
| Deer | General Rifle Deer | Oct 24 – Nov 29 |
| Elk | Archery Elk | Sep 5 – Oct 18 |
| Elk | General Rifle Elk | Oct 24 – Nov 29 |
| Pronghorn | Rifle Antelope | Oct 10 – Nov 8 |
| Moose | Moose | Sep 15 – Nov 29 |
| Black bear | Fall Bear | Sep 15 – Nov 29 |
Full notes on the Montana page · Montana regulations.
Questions
How much of Hunting District 502 is public land?
About 6.6% of Hunting District 502 (30,912 of 468,363 acres) is federal or state public land in USGS PAD-US 4.1, mostly Bureau of Land Management. Public land is not always open land: check access and closures before you go.
Who manages the land in Hunting District 502?
Bureau of Land Management: 6.4%. The rest is private, tribal, local government or other land.
Which units border Hunting District 502?
Hunting District 515, Hunting District 525, Hunting District 555, Hunting District 575 and Hunting District 590.
Where are the season dates and rules for Hunting District 502?
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks sets them. Start at the Montana hunting regulations. WikiHunt shows the statewide general seasons on the Montana page and in the app.
Sources and method
- Boundary: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, the same layer the WikiHunt map draws.
- Public land: USGS Protected Areas Database (PAD-US) 4.1, Fee Managers layer (public domain).
- Method: the unit and PAD-US polygons are simplified to about 100 m and measured on a grid of about 250 cells across the unit, so overlapping records are counted once. Expect about ±1 percentage point.
- Season dates: WikiHunt’s season table, updated Sep 2, 2026, checked against each state’s published regulations. Dates change; the regulations win.
- Last updated: Oct 12, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.