Idaho

Idaho is celebrated for its rugged wilderness, immense public land acreage, and versatile elk hunting opportunities. Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) offers both over-the-counter (OTC) elk zone tags (subject to nonresident quotas sold on December 1) and prestigious controlled draw hunts.

Key hunting zones include the legendary Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, the Selway-Bitterroot, Clearwater drainage, and the Diamond Creek zone. Archery hunters in September hike into deep backcountry canyons to call herd bulls during peak rut. Rifle seasons in October and November test mental and physical fortitude across steep, shale-covered slopes and thick brush river breaks.

Idaho offers diverse mule deer opportunities spanning sagebrush deserts, timbered mountains, and deep river canyons. While general OTC tags allow broad public-land access across southern and central Idaho, the state's controlled late-season muzzleloader and rifle hunts are world-famous for producing monster rutting bucks.

Trophy controlled units in southern Idaho (Units 40, 44, 45, 54) feature open sage hills where giant bucks move down from high elevations in November to breed does. In western and central Idaho, rugged wilderness units (Hells Canyon and the Salmon River breaks) reward backpack hunters who glass steep benches and rock bluffs with high-power spotting scopes.

The dense coniferous forests, river valleys, and agricultural edges of northern and north-central Idaho (the Idaho Panhandle and Clearwater regions) hold some of the densest wild whitetail populations in the West.

Units 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, and 10A offer generous general tag seasons, long rifle hunting windows, and high success rates. Unlike Midwest farm hunts, northern Idaho whitetail hunting is a true big-woods pursuit featuring timber still-hunting, glassing clearcuts, and tracking rutting bucks through fresh mountain snow along high cedar ridges.

The high desert basins, lava flats, and sagebrush plains of southern and eastern Idaho support robust pronghorn herds. Idaho antelope are recognized for sharp eyesight, keen survival instincts, and fast speeds across rough volcanic rock terrain.

Top controlled hunt areas include Units 29, 36A, 37, 50, and 58 in the Big Lost and Little Lost River valleys and Pahsimeroi Valley. Archery seasons in August provide excellent waterhole action, while October rifle controlled hunts offer classic spot-and-stalk opportunities requiring belly crawls and strategic use of sagebrush cover.

Idaho is uniquely blessed with two distinct subspecies of wild sheep: the Rocky Mountain bighorn (found in the central Salmon River and Frank Church wilderness) and the California bighorn (inhabiting the arid, sheer red-rock canyons of the Owyhee desert).

All sheep tags are controlled draw licenses. The Salmon River canyon hunts (Units 19, 20, 20A, 21) are legendary for sheer vertical climbs, where hunters navigate thousands of feet of elevation from river bottoms to high granite ridges. Jetboat and raft access along the Salmon River corridor is frequently used to reach secluded, roadless sheep country.

Idaho supports stable Shiras moose numbers across both northern timberlands and southeastern aspen/willow drainages. IDFG allocates bull and cow moose permits via its April controlled hunt draw.

Top bull moose areas include the Priest Lake and St. Joe National Forests in the Panhandle, alongside Caribou-Targhee National Forest in eastern Idaho. The late September and October rut is the prime window, allowing hunters to call bulls out of thick swamp willows and dense alder thickets into close archery or rifle distance.

Idaho is one of the premier cougar hunting states in America, featuring long seasons, abundant public land, and healthy lion densities. Hound hunting with experienced houndsmen is the primary method of pursuit.

The central and northern river breaks—particularly Hells Canyon and the Clearwater basin—offer textbook winter lion habitat where mule deer and elk congregate on low-elevation winter ranges. Hunters run hound packs on fresh powder snow, following hounds across steep timber and rimrock to bay mature toms. Nonresident hound permits and general tags are available over-the-counter.

Idaho is famed for generous black bear opportunities, offering both spring (April–June) and fall (August–October) seasons. In most units, hunters can purchase OTC tags, with second tags available at reduced rates in high-density predator management zones.

Idaho permits hound hunting, baiting (with IDFG bait site permits), and spot-and-stalk hunting. High color-phase rates (cinnamon, chocolate, blonde) make Idaho bears highly sought after. In spring, spot-and-stalk hunters glass greening avalanche shoots and south-facing logging cuts, while fall hunters locate bears gorging on huckleberries and hawthorn berries in mountain drainages.