On the national scale, Montana's counties score low; Madison leads the state at 19. No Montana county is marked as inside a big metro in this snapshot. Gallatin, Missoula and Fergus share a displayed score of 13 in second through fourth place. The county order compares documented big-buck history per estimated bow-huntable acre on a national scale. That gives hunters a specific county comparison, while leaving permits and the actual property to be checked separately.
KEY FINDINGS
- Madison leads Montana at 19. No Montana county is marked as inside a big metro in this snapshot. A big metro means a Census metro area of 1 million people or more.
- Gallatin, Missoula and Fergus share a displayed score of 13. Gallatin is second, Missoula third and Fergus fourth in the underlying order.
- Seven counties display 12. Flathead, Cascade, Powder River, Powell, Treasure, Lewis and Clark and Ravalli share that score. Their underlying order is kept, and a shared displayed score marks a close group rather than a measured gap.
- All 56 Montana counties are rated. The score is a relative Buck Index. It is not an official county harvest rate.
Montana county finder
Where does your county rank?
Derived FDR scores on a national 0 to 100 scale. History: 2011 through 2025. Captured October 17, 2026. Order uses the underlying rate before rounding. Zero is a valid score. Not rated means the county has no qualifying bow-huntable acreage or is mostly inside city limits. Counties marked metro sit inside a Census metro area of 1 million people or more.
10 of 56 entries shown
| State rank | County | Buck Index |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madison | 19 |
| 2 | Gallatin | 13 |
| 3 | Missoula | 13 |
| 4 | Fergus | 13 |
| 5 | Flathead | 12 |
| 6 | Cascade | 12 |
| 7 | Powder River | 12 |
| 8 | Powell | 12 |
| 9 | Treasure | 12 |
| 10 | Lewis and Clark | 12 |
01County comparison
Madison leads, with Gallatin, Missoula and Fergus next
Madison holds first place at 19. Gallatin, Missoula and Fergus share a displayed score of 13 in second through fourth place. The national scoring frame matters: Madison's 19 sits on a 0 to 100 scale built for the whole country, so the score reads against that wider comparison.
The denominator is modeled bow-huntable acreage. A county with less qualifying acreage can rank high when its documented big-buck history is concentrated relative to that acreage. The score does not identify which parcel produced that history or whether a hunter can gain access to it.
02County comparison
Places two through twenty-four cluster between 10 and 13
Flathead, Cascade, Powder River, Powell, Treasure, Lewis and Clark and Ravalli share a displayed score of 12 in fifth through eleventh place. Musselshell, Beaverhead, Dawson, Silver Bow, Toole and Jefferson share a displayed score of 11 in twelfth through seventeenth place. Rosebud, Carter, Richland, Teton, Broadwater, Pondera and Lake share a displayed score of 10 in eighteenth through twenty-fourth place.
Madison in first through Ravalli in eleventh span a seven-point displayed range, from 19 to 12. Montana's displayed scores run from 19 down to 4, so the full table is more useful than a short winners list when a specific property becomes available.
03County comparison
Lower-band counties sit between 4 and 9
Park, Petroleum, Stillwater, Roosevelt, Carbon, Chouteau, Meagher and Yellowstone share a displayed score of 9 in twenty-fifth through thirty-second place. Blaine is thirty-third at 8, and Sanders thirty-fourth at 8. Hill is forty-ninth at 7, and Glacier fiftieth at 7.
Valley, Garfield and Phillips share a displayed score of 6 in fifty-second through fifty-fourth place. Custer and Big Horn share a displayed score of 4 in fifty-fifth and fifty-sixth place. Madison's 19 is well above Custer's and Big Horn's 4 under this measure. That gap is a documented difference in county history after the acreage adjustment. Explaining that gap would require evidence beyond the score.
04County comparison
Keep the county, management unit and property together
The state wildlife agency's deer hunting information supplies the agency context for regulations and permit geography. This report does not allocate management-unit harvest totals to counties. Before a county becomes a trip, check the unit and permit conditions for the exact ground being considered.
The state wildlife agency's hunting information is the place to check before choosing ground. Start with a county you can actually hunt, then compare the substitutes that fit the same trip. A move from Gallatin to Missoula changes the rank number while leaving the displayed Buck Index at 13. Access may make that decision long before the index does.
05Basis of this report
Sources and method
FDR derived this October 17, 2026 snapshot from the 2011 through 2025 history window. Scores use estimated bow-huntable acreage and national scaling. They are sensitive to reporting and modeled-area choices. The public display ranges from 0 to 100, with no interpretation as harvest odds, population density or guaranteed access.
Compare the other states in the FDR county report series.
NOTES AND SOURCES
- Derived FDR scores on a national 0 to 100 scale. History: 2011 through 2025. Captured October 17, 2026. Order uses the underlying rate before rounding. Zero is a valid score. Not rated means the county has no qualifying bow-huntable acreage or is mostly inside city limits. Counties marked metro sit inside a Census metro area of 1 million people or more.
Fully Drawn Research is an independent data analysis desk, not affiliated with any state wildlife agency, transportation agency, mapping provider or outfitter. FDR county scores and interpretations are independent analysis. A county ranking does not evaluate an individual property.
Keep reading
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