Montana Big Game Combo Draw chances

Big Game Hunting > Out Of State Hunting

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Bowbender:
Thanks to all who responded, we are putting in as a group. We have 2 pts each and will each buy a third PP. I will let you know how we do. Thanks again, you guys are the best.

KNOPHISH:
Will the NR combo tag odds be affected by the deer tag reduction or is on deer tags only?

vandeman17:

--- Quote from: KNOPHISH on March 18, 2026, 02:30:40 PM ---Will the NR combo tag odds be affected by the deer tag reduction or is on deer tags only?

--- End quote ---

I could see some guys apply for the deer/elk combo and applying for an elk permit so that they can return the elk tag and retain the deer tag when not drawn

OltHunter:

--- Quote from: Bowbender on March 18, 2026, 11:02:46 AM ---Thanks to all who responded, we are putting in as a group. We have 2 pts each and will each buy a third PP. I will let you know how we do. Thanks again, you guys are the best.

--- End quote ---

You guys will 100% draw with 3 points. Have a great hunt this year!

muleyguy:
You will most likely draw with 3pts. But it might not be as much of a slam dunk as in previous years. The NR deer tags that Montana cut are coming out of a pool of tags that is created when NR who applied for the Big Game combo, and were successful, kept their elk tag but returned their deer tags, and those tags then toll down into the deer combination NR pool. That was 5000 people last yr. The cut is 50%. So that roughly equates to 2500 tags. But nobody will know the exact number until after the draw. But what many people do not understand is those tags still “exist” before the draw; they exist at the Big Game Combo. My expectation is there will be a decent amount of people who would normally apply just for the deer combo, move “up” and apply for the big game combo. And then, if successful, turn their elk tag back. So I think there will be quite a few more applicants than previous years in the big game combo pool. 3pts might still be close to 100%, but I think you are going to see some slippage off of that.

As for how to think of it if you apply as a party, or individually, then that depends. When you apply as a party, you have one “slip” of paper in the tumbler so to speak. If your group of 5 applies individually, then you have 5 “slips” of paper in the tumbler. The effect of that is “individually” one of you has a significantly greater chance of drawing if you split it, but your chances of all 5 of you getting drawn decreases. The caveat to that is the points. With 3 your chance is so high that it doesn’t make any sense to split it up. But, if you had 2 pts, then the chances of one or two of you drawing is higher then if you applied as a group.

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