Yes, crossbows are legal in Montana. You can own one without a permit, and you can hunt with one during the general rifle season. What you cannot do is use a crossbow during Montana’s archery-only seasons, because the state does not classify crossbows as archery equipment.
Ownership Rules
Montana’s criminal weapons statutes in Title 45, Chapter 8 of the Montana Code list prohibited items like firearms, knives with blades four inches or longer, slingshots, and brass knuckles. Crossbows are not on those lists.1Montana State Legislature. Montana Code 45-8-361 – Possession or Allowing Possession of Weapon in School Building The statute covering weapons in prisons and detention facilities also names specific deadly weapons without including crossbows.2Montana State Legislature. Montana Code 45-8-318 – Possession of Deadly Weapon by Prisoner or Youth in Facility For target shooting, home use, or general possession, no permit or license is required.
When You Can Hunt With a Crossbow
The rule that matters most: crossbows are not allowed during Montana’s archery-only seasons. The Fish and Wildlife Commission treats them as distinct from standard archery tackle, and Fish, Wildlife & Parks has been consistent on the point.3Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. 2025 Permit to Modify Archery Equipment During the general rifle season, a crossbow is legal to use like any other weapon permitted in that season.
Hunters coming from states where crossbows count as archery equipment often miss this. In Montana, carrying a crossbow during archery season means hunting with an illegal weapon for that season, no matter what license you hold.
Equipment Requirements
If you’re using a crossbow to hunt, Montana sets specific minimums for the bolt and broadhead:
- Arrow length of at least 20 inches, measured from the nock to the tip of the broadhead.
- Combined shaft and broadhead weight of at least 300 grains.
- Broadhead cutting diameter of at least 7/8 inch. Expandable broadheads qualify if they meet that minimum when fully open.
- No explosive materials or chemicals on arrow tips.
- Scopes only if they are not battery-assisted and are no more than 4x magnification.
- No mechanical arrow or bolt drop compensation devices.
Montana does not impose a minimum draw weight on crossbows.4Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Fish and Wildlife Commission Policy on Archery Season Intent The arrow weight and broadhead specs do the work of ensuring adequate energy for a clean kill. All of these appear in the annual hunting regulations published by FWP.
Licenses You Need
Before buying any hunting license in Montana, you need a conservation license. State law makes it a prerequisite for every resident and nonresident hunting, fishing, and trapping license.5Montana State Legislature. Montana Code 87-2-201 – Conservation License Required and Prerequisite for Other Licenses Add a base hunting license and the species tag for whatever you’re pursuing.
Because Montana only allows crossbow hunting during rifle season, you do not need a bow-and-arrow license to use one. The bowhunter education requirement is tied to purchasing that archery license.6Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Bowhunter Education A general hunting license and the appropriate tags cover a crossbow hunter.
Transporting a Crossbow
Montana requires a crossbow to be uncocked when it is in a motor vehicle. That applies between hunting spots and on the drive home. A cocked crossbow in a vehicle raises both a safety issue and a legal one.
Weapon Restricted Areas
Some public lands in Montana are designated Weapon Restricted Areas, usually places where homes, roads, or farms sit too close to allow standard rifle use. Crossbows are permitted in certain WRAs during the general rifle season, and never during archery-only seasons.7Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Weapon Restricted Areas Each WRA has its own weapon rules, so check the specific area in the annual regulations or the FWP Hunt Planner before you head out.
The Disability Permit Does Not Cover Crossbows
Montana issues a Permit to Modify Archery Equipment (PTMAE) for hunters with qualifying permanent disabilities that affect their ability to operate a standard bow. The permit authorizes modified archery tackle for archery season, but it does not authorize a crossbow during archery season. That limit has held across recent permit years.3Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. 2025 Permit to Modify Archery Equipment A physician must document the qualifying condition, and the permit requires a hunting companion who can help with setup and pursuit.
Crossbows and Felony Convictions
Under federal law, the definition of “firearm” covers weapons that expel a projectile by the action of an explosive, along with their frames, receivers, and silencers.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 921 – Definitions Crossbows use mechanical tension, not an explosive charge, so they fall outside that definition. The federal ban on felons possessing firearms does not reach crossbows.
Montana’s weapons statutes work the same way. The state restricts felons and prisoners from specific weapons like firearms, knives, and knuckles, and does not name crossbows.2Montana State Legislature. Montana Code 45-8-318 – Possession of Deadly Weapon by Prisoner or Youth in Facility Owning a crossbow and being allowed to hunt are separate questions, though. A felony conviction can strip hunting, fishing, and trapping privileges for years or for life, depending on the offense. If your privileges have been revoked, a legal crossbow does not restore your ability to hunt.
Penalties for Using a Crossbow in the Wrong Season
Using a crossbow during a closed season, or breaking equipment rules, falls under Montana’s general hunting violation statutes. Penalties escalate with each conviction inside a 10-year window. By a third offense, the range is $5,000 to $10,000 in fines, up to a year in jail, and lifetime revocation of hunting privileges in Montana.9Montana State Legislature. Montana Code 87-6-902 – Third Offense Penalties Even a first-time equipment violation can cost you your license for that year. Confirm your season dates and gear against the current regulations before you hunt.