Hunting at Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge

Hunting

The Refuge is open to waterfowl hunting and archery-only hunting for white-tailed deer, both of which have occurred on the refuge since 1965. Please review our hunting and fishing brochure for maps and regulations. In addition to the site-specific regulations mentioned in the hunting brochure, all State of Montana hunting regulations apply to Service lands. All entry to Refuge hunting areas is restricted to five specific hunter access parking areas, and all hunter access parking areas have sign-in boxes to collect harvest data. A kiosk in the parking lot for the waterfowl hunting area provides refuge-specific waterfowl hunting regulations and information.

Report Illegal Hunting Activities/Poaching

Federal Hotline for Refuges ONLY: You can call 1-844-FWS-TIPS (397-8477) or email NWR_TIPs@fws.gov 24 hours a day. You'll be asked for the type of incident as well as the date, place (refuge name or county/state) and approximate time of the incident. You may leave your name and contact information, which will aid law enforcement in the response and investigation, or you may remain anonymous. Any contact information provided will be used for official purposes only.

Montana Hotline ONLY: Call the toll-free TIP-MONT Hotline at 1-800-TIP-MONT (800-847-6668). 

White-tailed Deer Archery Hunting

The Refuge is located in a State hunting district that only permits white-tailed deer to be harvested using a bow. The earliest reference to archery hunting for deer on the refuge is found in the “Wildlife Inventory Plan” (Refuge files 1966). The plan stated that controlled archery hunts were taking place on the refuge, but only in the river bottom. Today, 82 percent of the refuge (2,275 acres) land is open to all licensed archery hunters. That includes those with disabilities; the area by the former manager residence (west-central), has now three designated spots for archers with disabilities. Visit the Refuge multimedia page to review a series of photos or click on this hyperlink: Accessible Archery Area. Contact Refuge staff for additional details on accessible archery hunting.

Hunters must walk to designated hunting areas from these access sites. Archery hunting in one particular area, the waterfowl hunt area, is permitted in September except during the youth waterfowl hunt weekend; thereafter, archery hunting is permitted during waterfowl hunting season on Mondays and Thursdays. Harvest follows Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks regulations; this information can be found by navigating from the Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks website homepage. All hunting is on a first-come first-serve basis. 

Here are some stats from the recent 2019/20 season:

Waterfowl Hunting 

The size of the waterfowl hunting area has remained fairly consistent at 654 acres. In 1983 the refuge established 28 hunting blinds within this area. Today 14 blinds remain and 2 blinds (numbers 2 and 7) are reserved for hunters with Montana disability licenses. Hunters with disabilities are allowed to park near these blinds along Wildfowl Lane, please communicate with Refuge staff on specifics. 

Blinds 1, 2, 5, 7, 11 and 13 are above ground; blinds 3, 6, 9, 12, 14 and 15 are pit blinds. Blinds 8 and 10 are concrete. All hunters must enter and exit the hunt area through the waterfowl hunt area parking lot. Outside of the opening weekend (hunting only by public drawing), hunting is conducted on a first-come first-serve basis. There is no waterfowl hunting on Mondays and Thursdays during the hunt season.    

Waterfowl hunters may only possess and use nontoxic shot on refuge lands and waters when hunting waterfowl.

Ducks Unlimited has an excellent website for improving your quality of hunt; there are pages for shooting tips and breaking bad habits. 

2019/2020 blind use