Unit 371

Key landmarks for orientation include Crow Peak and Elkhorn Peak on the western ridges, visible for miles across the basins; the Limestone Hills (a National Guard training area) and Bonanza Ridge provide mid-range reference points. Radersburg Pass offers a navigation landmark on the southern boundary. Major creek drainages—Indian Creek, McCarty Creek, Dry Creek, and Rawhide Creek—serve as travel corridors and water sources.

South Fork Lakes and Leslie Lake mark water features hunters can use for camping or day-hunt logistics. The sagebrush flats and parks (Half Moon Park, Boulder Park, Turnley Meadows) are visually distinctive from high points.

Terrain ranges from around 3,800 feet along the river drainages to nearly 9,400 feet on the southwestern divide, though most huntable country sits in the 4,500–6,000 foot band. The landscape is predominantly open and rolling—sagebrush parks and grassland flats interspersed with low ridges, buttes, and scattered timber on north-facing slopes and ridge crests. Named flats like Sagebrush Park, Tacoma Park, and Cooney Park reflect the character of the basins.

Ponderosa and Douglas-fir appear at higher elevations, but the dominant pattern is open country suitable for pronghorn and elk movement through sage and grass.

With roughly 900 miles of roads in the unit and strong connections to State and Forest Service systems, access is generous relative to unit size. Proximity to I-90 and nearby towns distributes hunting pressure, though the well-known river and creek bottoms draw predictable traffic. Most access radiates from Hassel, Parker, and Radersburg; the back-country ridges and upper basins receive less foot traffic.

USFS roads provide entry to higher elevations and remote basins, and private ranch access—gatekeeping several side drainages—creates natural pressure zones. Early season often sees concentrated use near convenient Forest Service pullouts.

Unit 371 occupies the intermountain terrain of central Broadwater and Jefferson counties, bounded by the Jefferson River on the south and east, the Missouri River on the northeast, and the Boulder-Missouri Divide on the southwest. Interstate 90 and three-digit highways provide reference points near Three Forks and Townsend. The unit encompasses roughly 500+ square miles of foothill and basin country, a transitional zone between the lower Missouri River valley and higher mountain terrain to the south and west.

Hassel and Radersburg serve as logical jumping-off points for access.

The Jefferson and Missouri rivers form the unit's primary water boundaries and support riparian hunting opportunities. Perennial creeks include Indian Creek, McCarty Creek, Spring Creek, and Dry Creek, draining through the unit toward the rivers. Numerous named springs (Mammoth Springs, Half Moon Springs, Piedmont Spring, Silver Spring) dot the upland basins but may be unreliable late season.

South Fork Lakes, Leslie Lake, and Plunket Lake provide limited standing water. Most of the open basin country is seasonally dry, making riparian corridors and established springs critical for hunting strategy, especially in early and late seasons.

Unit 371 is pronghorn country across the sage basins and parks. Early season hunts the open flats where herds are visible from glassing saddles; focus on sagebrush park transitions and ridge lines overlooking movement corridors. Elk use the timbered ridges (Bonanza Ridge, Limestone Hills, upper Dry Creek drainages) and move through the unit seasonally; rut hunting targets the open parks where bulls push does.

Early fall offers best glassing conditions across the basins. Whitetail deer use riparian cover along all major creeks. Late season demands proximity to water and willows.

The Limestone Hills area and upper drainages (Rawhide, Elkhorn) hold deer and elk but require a longer push from road. Spring hunting and archery seasons reward off-trail exploration of the drainages and ridge saddles.