Dan Furlong's elk green chili verde won best chili at last October's Hunters' Feed. He had already won the two years before that. The Madisonian's account of the 2025 Feed was written by first-time judge Mati Bishop, who said the win was "no surprise." He described the chili as "light brothy, yet packed with an array of intense flavors" and wondered in print whether the award might someday be called "the Furlong."
That makes this year's chili division a three-time champion going for a fourth. It's the 40th Hunters' Feed, according to the Ennis Chamber of Commerce, and it runs Friday, October 23, 2026, from 3 to 5 p.m. Furlong cooked alongside plenty of others last year. Main Street businesses, a restaurant kitchen, the public library and a wildlife-collision coalition all brought dishes. The judges were a county commissioner, a deputy county attorney and the man who processes the lion's share of the area's wild game.
The Friday before the opener, every year
The Chamber's page puts the timing simply: the Feed is "held every year on the Friday before rifle season opens." Cooks "of all abilities" bring wild game dishes, and anyone can sign up on the Chamber's entry form. The Feed is free. Dishes go out for public tasting and voting, and the awards cover best chili, best non-chili, most unusual and best overall, according to the Southwest Montana event listing.
The afternoon has three parts, and they happen in two places:
| Time | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 3:00–5:00 p.m. | Hunters' Feed tasting and voting | Main Street |
| About 5:15 p.m. | Winners announced | Willie's Distillery |
| 5:30–7:30 p.m. | 11th Annual Critter Call Competition, with prizes | Willie's Distillery |
The Chamber also promises live music at local bars and store specials all day. A free ice cream truck will hand out Wilcoxson's, and every donation collected there goes to Shodair Children's Hospital in Helena.
The sponsor logos on the 2026 page are mostly Madison Valley names: D&D Tire Supply, NAPA Auto Parts, D&D Auto, Deemo's, The Madison Range, the Madisonian and Summit. The Madisonian reported that D&D Auto was title sponsor in 2025 and entered a pot of its own. Its chili was "a very straightforward traditional approach" that Bishop called "well executed and delicious." In other words, one sponsor that paid for the event also cooked at it.
Who held the clipboards
Last year's judging panel shows how the Feed draws on the whole town. The Madisonian reports that Chamber event coordinator Stephanie Mohr ran the event with Kathy Taylor. They handed bright orange aprons to five judges.
- Bill Todd, Madison County commissioner, in his third year in a row as a judge
- Colton Lauer, deputy county attorney, in his second year, who was looking for heat as he worked through the 15 entries
- Chris DiMichele of Deemo's, who the paper says handles "the lion's share of the wild game harvested in the area"
- Two first-time judges, Bishop among them
Judges scored every dish from one to nine in three categories: appearance, taste and mouth feel.
DiMichele's role says a lot about the event. The man who processes most of the area's wild game spends the afternoon before the opener tasting what other people do with it. He also has history with the Feed. The Madisonian writes that his memories go back to the 1990s, "before there were plaques or trophies, when only bragging rights were up for grabs," and that back then DiMichele was winning it himself.
The 2025 field, stop by stop
The Madisonian story covers the full judging route, and the stops show how many different kinds of places take part. Here are last year's entries as the judges came to them:
- Shedhorn Sports served a bolognese Bishop said "would be a hit at any hunting camp."
- Dan Furlong brought the elk green chili verde that won best chili for the third year running.
- Other cooks along the route served an elk kofta in baharat sauce and an elk andouille gumbo.
- The Longbranch was a stop for palate cleansers, where staff were getting ready for the evening crowd.
- Willie's Distillery served walking tacos and won both the People's Choice Award and the judges' award for best non-chili.
- The Continental Divide brought two dishes, prepared by executive chef Jon Kulon's team. An arancini filled with rattlesnake, rabbit and jalapeño sausage won the professional division. They also served an ancho chili.
- D&D Auto entered a traditional chili.
- The Madison Valley Public Library went with a "Calypso chili" and played calypso music at the table.
- Madison Passages offered a "Did Not Get Across" chili, made by Linda Owen.
When the ballots were in, the judges sat down at Burnt Tree Brewing.
The list includes a fly-and-outdoor shop, a distillery, a fine-dining kitchen, an auto business, a public library and a conservation coalition. They all cooked on the same street on the same afternoon. Willie's won the crowd vote with walking tacos, a dish Bishop called a take on a Friday night football tradition. The Chamber's 2026 schedule puts both the awards and the Critter Call at Willie's.
The chili with a roadkill display
Of all the 2025 entries, the Madison Passages table had the most to say beyond the food. Bishop put its "Did Not Get Across" chili at the top of his own ballot, even though Furlong took the official award. He mentioned the group's displays of roadkill incidents and its playful offers to bribe the judges.
The name is a joke with a purpose. According to the Madisonian, Madison Passages brings together Preserve Raynolds Pass, the Madison Valley Ranchlands Group, Henry's Fork Wildlife Alliance, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, the Center for Large Landscape Conservation and the National Parks Conservation Association. Their shared goal is fewer collisions between vehicles and wildlife.
The Madison Valley Ranchlands Group's Madison Passages page says the partnership formed in September 2025, just weeks before that Feed. It says the 2026 focus is community outreach and making sure local priorities shape whatever comes next. The group's citizen-science page asks volunteers to log live and dead wildlife they see on US 287 and MT 87 using the Survey123/ROaDS app. No crossing project on those two highways appears on the Montana Department of Transportation's current active-project list for its wildlife and transportation partnership. The work right now is outreach and data collection. A chili table on Main Street two hours before rifle season fits that work well, since the crowd is full of people about to drive those roads at dawn.
The week around the Feed
The Feed sits inside a busy stretch on the Madison Valley calendar. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks dates for 2026 frame it:
- October 15–16: youth deer-only hunt
- October 23: Hunters' Feed, 3–5 p.m., then awards and the Critter Call at Willie's
- October 24 to November 29: general deer and elk rifle season
The river is still running that week too. Montana Angler's Upper Madison report dated October 9 said the river near Ennis was fishing consistently. Trout were opportunistic, dry-fly fishing was hit-or-miss, and small baetis emergers and winged ants were among the suggested patterns. A gauge report updated October 10 showed 778 CFS and 56.7°F below Hebgen, with clear water. It also warned that forecast rain or snow could push flows up and cloud the river. Those numbers are a snapshot from about two weeks before the Feed, so conditions on the 23rd may be different.
Anyone heading to the river near town that week should know the rules. Under FWP's 2026 fishing regulations, the stretches from Varney Bridge to Ennis Bridge and from Ennis Bridge to Ennis Lake are artificial lures only. Hooks must be barbless and single-pointed. Rainbows are catch-and-release, except that anglers 14 and younger may keep one. FWP also tells anglers to check for emergency changes. Its current closures page lists a Big Hole drought closure and a Sun River construction closure, and nothing on the Madison.
Shop hours change around this time of year as well. Madison River Fishing Company lists winter hours of Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Sunday. In summer it's open seven days, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Its site doesn't say when the switch happens this year. The Continental Divide's site still shows summer hours, Wednesday through Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m. Calling ahead the week of the Feed is safer than trusting a website.
What to watch on the 23rd
All the 2025 results above are last year's. The 2026 field won't be known until the tables go up on Main Street. A few things are already clear. Furlong would be going for a fourth straight best-chili award if he enters. The Continental Divide is the professional-division champion. Willie's won the crowd vote last year and hosts the night's second half this year. The Chamber is billing this one as the 40th. Entries go through the Chamber's sign-up form, and anyone with a recipe can join.
At Joszie and Jason Driear, we love seeing the Madison Valley come together on Main Street like this. If you're a valley landowner wondering about elk on the back pasture, or how the land around Ennis is used, we're always glad to talk it through over a cup of chili. Get in touch.
