Unit 270 (East Fork Bitterroot)
Montana Hunting Guide — Elk, Mule Deer, Whitetail
Unit 270 lies in Ravalli County and covers about 663 square miles. Ground runs from 4,413 to 7,739 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 270
Unit 270 lies in Ravalli County and covers about 663 square miles. Ground runs from 4,413 to 7,739 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 270
Montana FWP's material on unit 270 stops at the boundary — there is no agency account of where its elk live. The country below is verified; where to begin in it is our judgement, not the agency's. The unit lies in Ravalli County. It runs to about 663 square miles.
The lines of the unit: Spade Creek, Piquette Creek and Shook Mountain
Montana FWP draws unit 270 in Ravalli County with a boundary that runs on US Highway 93, USFS Trail 601, USFS Trail 56 and State Route 38, and on Spade Creek, Piquette Creek, Shook Mountain and Medicine Point, walked corner by corner in its hunting district legal descriptions. That is a legal description, not a habitat map. Its value is practical — those are the features you will navigate by, and the ridges that separate one day's country from another's.
High ground inside the line: Bare Hill, Saddle Mountain and Cliff Point
Named high points inside the unit include Bare Hill at 8,741 feet, Saddle Mountain at 8,460 feet, Cliff Point at 8,303 feet, Lewis and Clark Ridge at 8,185 feet and Shook Mountain at 7,559 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: Porcupine Saddle, Lost Trail Pass and Water Sign Meadows
Below them sit Porcupine Saddle at 7,165 feet, Lost Trail Pass at 7,017 feet, Water Sign Meadows at 6,932 feet, Two Bear Meadows at 6,805 feet and Lick Creek Saddle at 6,752 feet. These are the folds worth watching, and the ones other hunters walk past on the way to somewhere steeper. Two you can watch from a single knob is worth more than five you have to drive between.
Water: Sleeping Child Hot Springs, Clough Springs and Pollywog Spring
The water inside the unit line comes to 172 mapped stream reaches, 19 lakes, 86 stock tanks and 1 springs. Named sources include Sleeping Child Hot Springs, Clough Springs, Pollywog Spring and Star Falls. 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 32% 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 4,413 feet to 7,739 feet, averaging 5,928 — enough relief to separate summer range from winter range.
Unit 270 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
The lay of it
- 4,413–7,739 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 5,928 ft ; peaks can run higher.
- 663.2 sq mi inside the boundary.
Who owns the ground
- National Forest — 60%
- State Trust — 8%
- Private / Other — 32%
Roughly 68% is public. Carry a land-status layer anyway — these are area percentages, not a map of where the boundaries fall.
Water on the ground
- 86 tanks
- 1 springs
- 172 stream segments
- 19 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: Bare Hill (8,741 ft), Saddle Mountain (8,460 ft), Cliff Point (8,303 ft), Shook Mountain (7,559 ft)
Holding ground: Mosquito Meadows (8,155 ft), Buck Ridge Meadows (7,894 ft), Skalkaho Pass (7,259 ft), Sleeping Child Hot Springs, Clough Springs
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 270
Elk Success Rates
Montana FWP's 2023 harvest estimates carry no elk row for unit 270 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 270. 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
Where is Colorado unit 270?
What is the elk success rate in unit 270?
Where do you stay and resupply for a unit 270 hunt?
What is the mule deer success rate in unit 270?
What is the whitetail success rate in unit 270?
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Upgrade to Pro — $49/yrSources & Verification
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