Unit 216 (West Rock Creek-Quigg Peak)
Montana Hunting Guide — Elk
Unit 216 lies in Granite and Missoula counties and covers about 296 square miles. Ground runs from 4,357 to 7,766 feet. Montana FWP publishes no per-unit elk success figure we can verify for this unit. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
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Elk Hunting in Unit 216
Unit 216 lies in Granite and Missoula counties and covers about 296 square miles. Ground runs from 4,357 to 7,766 feet. Montana FWP publishes no per-unit elk success figure we can verify for this unit. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
Where to Find Elk in Unit 216
Montana FWP's material on unit 216 stops at the boundary — there is no agency account of where its elk live. Every place named below sits inside the unit line. Which of them holds animals in your season is for you to find out. The unit lies in Granite and Missoula counties. It runs to about 296 square miles.
The lines of the unit: Skalkaho Pass, Bitterroot-Rock Creek Divide and Rock Creek
Montana FWP draws unit 216 in Granite and Missoula counties with a boundary that runs on USFS Trail 215 and State Route 38, and on Skalkaho Pass, Bitterroot-Rock Creek Divide, Rock Creek and Eagle Creek, walked corner by corner in its hunting district legal descriptions. It tells you the shape of the unit and nothing about its inhabitants. What it does give you is the way in: the rivers and highways you cross, and the divides that decide which drainage you end up in.
High ground inside the line: Dome Shaped Mountain, Quigg Peak and Big Hogback Ridge
Named high points inside the unit include Dome Shaped Mountain at 8,649 feet, Quigg Peak at 8,403 feet, Big Hogback Ridge at 8,312 feet, Sandstone Ridge at 8,273 feet and Hogback Point at 8,190 feet. Several carry a public-land flag in our data, which makes them the first places to try for a view. Elk on low, open country live on distance and visibility, so they see you first.
Holding ground: Floe Gulch, Aurora Gulch and Wapato Gulch
Below them sit Floe Gulch at 5,895 feet, Aurora Gulch at 5,831 feet, Wapato Gulch at 5,820 feet, Anaconda Gulch at 5,708 feet and Coal Gulch at 5,701 feet. Those are the basins, parks and bottoms this unit has, and they are what you glass into from above. Two you can watch from a single knob is worth more than five you have to drive between.
Water: Gunbarrel Spring
The water inside the unit line comes to 65 mapped stream reaches, 4 lakes, 59 stock tanks and 2 springs. Named sources include Gunbarrel Spring. Nothing in the data says which of them run in autumn, so a scouting trip earns its fuel.
Reading the land status
Our ownership read for this unit is approximate — it comes out as National Forest 60%, Private / Other 17%, BLM 15% and State Trust 8%, so treat it as a starting point and check a current land-status layer before you plan a route. The unit runs from 4,357 feet to 7,766 feet, averaging 6,279 — enough relief to separate summer range from winter range.
Unit 216 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
The lay of it
- 4,357–7,766 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 6,279 ft ; peaks can run higher.
- 296 sq mi inside the boundary.
Who owns the ground
- National Forest — 60%
- BLM — 15%
- State Trust — 8%
- Private / Other — 17%
Roughly 83% is public. Carry a land-status layer anyway — these are area percentages, not a map of where the boundaries fall.
Water on the ground
- 59 tanks
- 2 springs
- 65 stream segments
- 4 lakes
Counts from mapping data, so this is how many exist, not how many hold water in a dry year. Sitting water only pays where you find fresh tracks.
Named features inside the unit
Glass from: Dome Shaped Mountain (8,649 ft), Quigg Peak (8,403 ft), Big Hogback Ridge (8,312 ft), Sandstone Ridge (8,273 ft)
Holding ground: Lawrie Gulch (6,329 ft), Oasis Gulch (5,969 ft), Floe Gulch (5,895 ft), Gunbarrel Spring
Every one of these was tested against the unit polygon before it went on the map. They are starting points, not agency recommendations.
How to Hunt Elk in Unit 216
Elk Success Rates
Montana FWP's 2023 harvest estimates carry no elk row for unit 216 that we can read back to this unit on its own. Where the agency reports a unit inside a grouping, or prints a table our parser cannot resolve to a single column, we leave the number out rather than publish a statewide average as though it had been measured here. Montana FWP's current harvest estimates are the place to check before you apply.
Elk Draw Odds
Draw odds data not available for this specific unit/species combination in our database.
Search Montana Draw OddsMontana FWP's draw recap has no elk record we can tie to unit 216. That usually means the licence is sold over the counter, is issued under a hunt code covering several units, or was not offered in the years we hold. Rather than estimate a point requirement, we leave it blank — check Montana FWP's own draw recap for the hunt code you mean to apply for.
Unit Logistics & Expectations
Frequently Asked Questions
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What is the elk success rate in unit 216?
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Every fact on this page is tied to a primary source below. Last fact-checked 2026-10-24.
- Montana FWP Hunting District Legal Descriptions, 2026/2027 — deer-elk hunting districts (pp. 19-35) — Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks · supports: GMU boundary description, Counties the unit lies in · accessed 2026-10-24
- FWP hunting district feature services — deer/elk, antelope, moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat districts (2026 and 2027 seasons) — Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks · supports: Mapped extent of the unit, Which named ground falls inside the unit line · accessed 2026-10-24