Decent but not great they do kill more in 215 than 335 I believe but these are both lower numbers than some districts you can look up the harvest reports on MTfwp website if you want to get an idea of hunter numbers and harvests http://fwp.mt.gov/hunting/planahunt/harvestReports.html is the link.
I live in 335. Elk numbers are on par with previous years. Good access, but heavily roaded. And being only 10 minutes from Helena, herds of orange abound.
I'm not that old (30), but in the last 20 years I have watched the growth of Helena spread south into Northern Jefferson County, doubling the population of the county. There's a road on top of every ridge and in the belly of every gulch, and the Deer A tags are unlimited, which really disturbs the elk hunting.
I love this district and grew up in it, but it gets way too much pressure.
Wouldn't be hunting with all the pumpkins during the rifle season. Archery only. Does it see a lot of pressure during archery as well....even for us willing to but the miles on our hiking boots?
The pressure certainly is reduced during archery. As far as putting miles on your boot leather, that is my main bitch with this district - there are very few areas that exist that aren't within a mile of a forest service/mining road.
It's definitely better during archery, and if you avoid the places that get hammered ,mainly around Park Lake, you can often have a gulch to yourself.
Thanks for the info guys. I used to live in Billings and would go to the breaks every year for archery. Now my odds of drawing a permit for 410 are only about 1 in 3. Just trying to make a "plan B".