Idaho Deer — Unit 78

Idaho Unit 78 covers 156,763 acres and lies 15 miles south-west of Montpelier and 34 miles south of Soda Springs. 72% of it is public land, mostly national forest (68%) and BLM (3%). In 2025, 193 people hunted deer here and took 32 — 17% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 175 tags here for 275 first-choice applicants.

Tags (2026):225 Nonresident share:capped at 10% Applicants:307 Hunter success (2025):17% Public land:72% Size:156,763 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every deer license type on offer in Unit 78, 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

1060 Antlered deer (mule or white-tailed), any weapon/archery, Hunt Area 78 175 tags · 275 applicants

6% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice
1099 Antlered deer (mule or white-tailed), muzzleloader, Hunt Area 78 50 tags · 32 applicants

16% Long shot 10% as 2nd choice

Hunt	Your odds	As 2nd choice	Points needed	Tags / applicants	Season
1060 ↗ Antlered deer (mule or white-tailed), any weapon/archery, Hunt Area 78	6% Long shot	0%	—	175 / 275	Aug 30 – Oct 31, 2026
1099 ↗ Antlered deer (mule or white-tailed), muzzleloader, Hunt Area 78 Muzzleloader	16% Long shot	10%	—	50 / 32	Oct 1–9, 2026

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	$203	$203	$554.75

Application window: opens May 1, closes Jun 5, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.

The country

Unit 78 within Idaho

Unit 78 and its neighbours

Zoomable USGS topo, aerial imagery and shaded relief, with the neighboring areas drawn on.

Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.

Who owns the ground

National Forest 106,064 ac · 68%
Private 43,290 ac · 28%
BLM 5,411 ac · 3%
State land 1,893 ac · 1%

Source: BLM Idaho Surface Management Agency (land ownership / SMA)

Nearby areas

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's figures are counts from mandatory hunter reports and check stations rather than survey estimates, so they behave differently from the survey states.