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.
Tracked via Montana FWP's combined annual Upland Game Bird Season Outlook (pheasant, sage grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, gray/Hungarian partridge, chukar, dusky grouse, spruce grouse, ruffed grouse together, by region). The 2025 edition published Aug 20, 2025; a fresh direct fetch of the stable landing page (fwp.mt.gov/hunt/seasons/forecasts) on 2026-08-19 confirms it still shows only the 2025 edition — the 2026 edition appears imminent (one day short of last year's exact publish date). Sharp-tailed grouse's own signal within the Outlook comes from spring lek counts.