Unit 285 (Monture)
Montana Hunting Guide — Elk
Unit 285 lies in Missoula and Powell counties and covers about 661 square miles. Ground runs from 3,996 to 6,622 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 285
Unit 285 lies in Missoula and Powell counties and covers about 661 square miles. Ground runs from 3,996 to 6,622 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 285
Montana FWP draws an exact line around unit 285 and says nothing about where the elk stand inside it. The country below is verified; where to begin in it is our judgement, not the agency's. The unit lies in Missoula and Powell counties. It runs to about 661 square miles.
The lines of the unit: Wishard Ridge, Twin Creek and Wishard Gulch
Montana FWP draws unit 285 in Missoula and Powell counties with a boundary that runs on State Route 83, State Route 200 and USFS Road 477, and on Wishard Ridge, Twin Creek, Wishard Gulch and Sheep Mountain, walked corner by corner in its hunting district legal descriptions. Read it as a frame, not as a hint about animals. 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: Crescent Mountain, Morrell Mountain and Matt Mountain
Named high points inside the unit include Crescent Mountain at 8,613 feet, Morrell Mountain at 8,147 feet, Matt Mountain at 8,068 feet, Devine Peak at 8,011 feet and Nome Point at 7,709 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: Black Canyon, Goose Rock Flat and Red Rock Flat
Below them sit Black Canyon at 3,719 feet, Goose Rock Flat at 3,634 feet, Red Rock Flat at 3,591 feet, Dunnigan Gulch at 3,590 feet and Sheep Flats at 3,528 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: Summit Springs
The water inside the unit line comes to 259 mapped stream reaches, 46 lakes, 104 stock tanks and 1 springs. Named sources include Summit Springs. On ground with that many tanks, knowing which two or three hold water in your season is the most useful thing a scouting trip can tell you.
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 3,996 feet to 6,622 feet, averaging 5,327 — enough relief to separate summer range from winter range.
Unit 285 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
The lay of it
- 3,996–6,622 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 5,327 ft ; peaks can run higher.
- 661.2 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
- 104 tanks
- 1 springs
- 259 stream segments
- 46 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: Crescent Mountain (8,613 ft), Morrell Mountain (8,147 ft), Matt Mountain (8,068 ft), Devine Peak (8,011 ft)
Holding ground: Grizzly Basin (6,704 ft), Steves Pass (4,847 ft), Goose Rock Flat (3,634 ft), Summit 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 285
Elk Success Rates
Montana FWP's 2023 harvest estimates carry no elk row for unit 285 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 285. 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 285?
What is the elk success rate in unit 285?
Where do you stay and resupply for a unit 285 hunt?
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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