| Window | Dates | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Season | 01 SEP 2026 – 01 JAN 2027 | 123d |
As publishedSep 1 (res.) / Sep 11 (nonres.) - Jan 1, 2027; closed west of Continental Divide
Closed west of the Continental Divide.Due to restoration efforts sharp-tails may now be encountered west of the Divide, but hunting there remains closed. Resident season Sep 1, 2026 - Jan 1, 2027; nonresident starts Sep 11, 2026, same close date.
Montana's sharp-tailed grouse splits into two genuinely distinct populations. The huntable core is common and abundant across much of central and eastern Montana per the Montana Field Guide. DNA analysis (cited by a 2017 MSU/FWP restoration plan) has shown the historical western-Montana birds were genetically similar to the Great Plains population rather than a distinct Columbian subspecies, and that population is now extirpated or nearly so west of the Continental Divide. Separately, FWP has run an active, well-documented reintroduction program in western Montana since fall 2021 (translocating birds from eastern Montana to the Blackfoot Valley, the lower Bitterroot Valley near Florence, and the Flint Creek Valley near Drummond, 75 males in the first fall 2021 release, roughly 97 birds total by end of 2022, 144 in 2023, 212 in 2024, under a 10-year, up-to-180-birds-per-year permit), with translocated males re-establishing leks at or near sites used before the historical local extinction. Hunting west of the Continental Divide remains legally closed despite these re-established populations.
Montana FWP's 2026 Upland Game Bird Season Outlook, published August 31, splits sharp-tailed grouse four ways, and the regions genuinely disagree. Region 6 divides down its middle: the eastern half is below average and down from last year after two difficult hatching seasons, while the western half has improved three years running and now sits slightly above its long-term average. Region 7 carries both the good news and the bad, with lek attendance above average but down around 40 percent from last spring. Region 4 came in similar to last year and still below the historical average. Region 5 should run closer to average, with spotty encounters in favorable habitat and thinner numbers wherever the drought hit hardest. There's no single statewide direction this year, which makes where you go matter more than usual. Western Region 6 is the strongest read on the board.
Two consecutive difficult hatching years across the eastern range, set against three years of steady improvement in western Region 6.
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