Idaho Bighorn Sheep — Unit 21L
Idaho Unit 21L covers 285,079 acres and lies 28 miles north-west of Salmon and 94 miles east of Grangeville. 98% of it is public land, mostly national forest (98%). In 2025, 2 people hunted rocky mountain bighorn here and took 2 — 100% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 2 tags here for 58 first-choice applicants.
Your chance of drawing here
Every bighorn sheep license type on offer in Unit 21L, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.
Chances are from the 2026 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.
Simple view Odds at every point level-
0% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice
| Hunt | Your odds | As 2nd choice | Points needed | Tags / applicants | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5023 ↗ Rams Only Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, any weapon, Hunt Area 21L | 0% Long shot | 0% | — | 2 / 58 | Oct 14–31, 2025 |
What these columns mean
- Your odds —
- the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2026 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year.
- The badge —
- plain language for that number. Likely draw 75% or better · Real chance 40%+ · Long shot 15%+ · Point builder below that, so you are applying mainly to bank a point · Undersubscribed means fewer first-choice applicants than tags, so everyone who applied drew.
- As 2nd choice —
- Idaho lets you name more than one hunt on the application. Miss on your first choice and you go into the pot for whatever tags are left, alongside everyone else's second choices. Points never help a lower choice, so this number is the same whatever you have banked — it is usually worth naming a hunt that goes undersubscribed.
- Points needed —
- the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2026 draw, and how that cut has moved since the earliest draw we hold.
- Tags / applicants —
- tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them. Under five tags we print counts instead of a percentage, because one applicant either way swings it.
What it costs to apply (2026 nonresident fees)
| License | Up front | Gone if you miss | If you draw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per application | $2,857.50 | $230.75 | $2,857.50 |
Application window: opens Apr 1, closes Apr 30, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
The country
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Who owns the ground
- National Forest 280,553 ac · 98%
- Private 4,020 ac · 1%
- Other public 228 ac · 0%
Source: BLM Idaho Surface Management Agency (land ownership / SMA)
How the hunting has gone
What Idaho Department of Fish and Game publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast. Idaho Department of Fish and Game publishes these per hunt rather than per unit; the rows below add its own figures together, since a hunter holds one tag for the species in a season. Idaho's figures are counts from mandatory hunter reports and check stations rather than survey estimates, so they behave differently from the survey states.
| Season | Hunters | Harvest | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| 2024 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| 2023 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
What people carried (2025 harvest)
- Firearm 2 · 100% · 2 hunters, 100% success
What the agency says about the area
That portion of Unit 21 south and east of the Lower Salmon River Trail (Forest Service Trail 162) to its junction with the Square Top-West Horse Trail (Forest Service Trail 158), east of the Square Top-West Horse Trail to the junction with the Horse Creek Trail (Forest Service Trail 159), east of the Horse Creek Trail to the junction with Reynolds Creek Trail (Forest Service Trail 167), east of the Reynolds Creek Trail to the junction with Square Top-West Horse Trail, then north and east of the Square Top-West Horse Trail to the unit boundary.
Source: Idaho Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep 2025 (controlled hunt table)
Boundary: Controlled Hunts - All Species, BigGame='Rocky Mtn Sheep' AND Year=2025 (hunt-area boundaries)
Harvest: Idaho Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep 2025 (controlled hunt table)
Harvest: Idaho Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep 2024 (controlled hunt table)
Harvest: Idaho Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep 2023 (controlled hunt table)