Idaho Bighorn Sheep — Unit 28-2
Idaho Unit 28-2 covers 300,587 acres and lies 11 miles south-west of Salmon and 96 miles north of Ketchum. 93% of it is public land, mostly national forest (68%) and BLM (24%). 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 103 first-choice applicants.
Your chance of drawing here
Every bighorn sheep license type on offer in Unit 28-2, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5013 ↗ Rams Only Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, any weapon, Hunt Area 28-2 | 0% Long shot | 0% | — | 2 / 103 | Aug 30 – Oct 13, 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 203,955 ac · 68%
- BLM 70,696 ac · 24%
- Private 21,560 ac · 7%
- State land 2,547 ac · 1%
- Other public 1,828 ac · 1%
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% |
| 2022 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| 2021 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| 2020 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| 2019 | 2 | 1 | 50% |
| 2018 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| 2017 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| 2016 | 2 | 1 | 50% |
| 2015 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| 2014 | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| 2013 | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| 2012 | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| 2011 | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| 2010 | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| 2009 | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| 2008 | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| 2007 | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| 2006 | 2 | 1 | 50% |
| 2005 | 2 | 1 | 50% |
What people carried (2025 harvest)
- Firearm 2 · 100% · 2 hunters, 100% success
What the agency says about the area
That portion of Unit 28 that drains into the Salmon River, upstream from but excluding Pine Creek drainage.
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)