Idaho Elk 2023 — Unit 45

Antlered elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 45

What you may take
Antlered elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 45
Weapon
Rifle
Where
Unit 45
64% public of 815,688 acres
Season (2026)
Oct 1–31, 2026
Tags (2026)
125
for 185 first-choice applicants · nonresidents capped at 10%
Hunter success here (2025)
10%
of everyone who hunted the area

Showing nonresident results. Switch to resident

Odds by point level — 2026 draw

Prior-draw probability for a first-choice nonresident applicant. tags, 185 first-choice applicants. Source: IDFG Hunt Planner drawing odds... · CHunt=2023.

Points Your chance Applicants Drawn
0 6%

First-choice tags drawn ÷ first-choice applicants, as published. A dash means Idaho Department of Fish and Game did not publish a count for that level. How we compute these.

What it costs (2026 nonresident fees)

Cash to apply
$203
Out of pocket if unsuccessful
$203
Total if drawn
$854.75
Refunded if unsuccessful
$0

At the 2026 odds, expected cost per hunt-year ranges from $3,781.33 (enough points to draw) to $3,781.33 (lowest published odds).

Nonresident controlled hunt application fee (per person, per species) - nonrefundable · paid at application $18 source
Nonresident hunting license (adult; includes 3-day fishing) - required to apply for any controlled hunt · paid at application $185 source
Nonresident elk tag (general or controlled) - bought only if drawn, by Aug 1 · paid if drawn, refundable $651.75 source

Optional, not counted above: Access / Depredation fee (charged with the first annual license of the year) $10.

Next application window: opens May 1, closes Jun 5, 2027 (expected) · results ~June 17. Last cycle's schedule rolled forward — confirm when the agency publishes.

Point creep & years to draw

No points in this draw — every applicant has the same chance each year, so there is no cut to creep and nothing to build toward.

Seasons (2026)

Split 1: Oct 1–31, 2026 p. number=2023

How this tag has hunted

Across every license type in Unit 45, Idaho Department of Fish and Game counted 326 hunters and 34 elk taken in 2025 — 10% of them killed something. Full Unit 45 profile: maps, public land, five years of harvest →

Hunters holding this license type (2025) — the rest of the area's hunters held something else:

What they hunted Hunters Harvest Success Days per animal
Type 2023 117 61 52%
Type 2194 4 4 100%

Idaho's figures are counts from mandatory hunter reports and check stations rather than survey estimates, so they behave differently from the survey states. Source: Idaho Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk 2025 (general + controlled hunt tables) Idaho Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk 2024 (general + controlled hunt tables)

As a lower choice

2nd choice
0%

Drawn at this choice ÷ applicants listing it at this choice, as published. Points do not help a lower choice.

Year by year

The standard draw for nonresidents, one row per year. Idaho runs a second, random pass after the points pass; it is shown beside the year it belongs to.

Year Tags Applicants Applicants per tag Points needed Published odds Random pass Source
2026 125 185 1.5 6% IDFG Hunt Planner drawing odds... · CHunt=2023
2025 125 188 1.5 6% 0 tags IDFG Hunt Planner drawing odds... · CHunt=2023
2022 100 150 1.5 7% 0 tags IDFG Hunt Planner drawing odds... · CHunt=2023

Earlier years, when this number was a different hunt

Idaho reassigns hunt numbers between years. In these years 2023 stood for another unit or weapon, so they are listed here rather than counted as this hunt's history or in its point-creep trend.

Year · what it was Tags Applicants Applicants per tag Points needed Source
2024 · Unit 46-1 15 25 1.7 IDFG Hunt Planner drawing odds... · CHunt=2023
2023 · Unit 46-1 15 40 2.7 IDFG Hunt Planner drawing odds... · CHunt=2023

Legal cartridges for elk in Idaho

From the Idaho hunting laws rules on file for a rifle. "Depends" means the rule turns on your specific load — check the state page.

.22-250 Remington
.223 Remington from $0.42/rd
.243 Winchester from $1.11/rd
.25-06 Remington
6.5 Creedmoor
6.5 Grendel
.270 Winchester from $0.16/rd
7mm-08 Remington
7mm Remington Magnum
.30-06 Springfield
.300 AAC Blackout from $0.56/rd
.300 Winchester Magnum from $1.25/rd
.30-30 Winchester
.308 Winchester
.338 Winchester Magnum
.350 Legend from $1.07/rd
.35 Whelen
.360 Buckhammer
.400 Legend
.444 Marlin
.450 Bushmaster from $2.00/rd
.45-70 Government from $1.97/rd
.50 Beowulf
Spot a data error on this page? Tell us.

Every report is checked against the agency source before we change anything.

How to read these numbers

Every percentage on this page is a prior-draw probability: the chance an applicant with that many points would have drawn in the draw year shown, computed from the agency's published results. It is not a forecast — quotas, applicant numbers, and point creep change every year. Every figure links to the agency document it came from. Where a state does not publish a number, we show a dash, never a zero. Hunts with fewer than five tags show counts instead of percentages. Fees show the fee year used. Read the methodology for the engine details.

Not an application service

This page is informational only. Draw rules, quotas, fees, and deadlines are set by the state agency and change by commission action — confirm everything on the agency's own site before you apply, and apply through the agency, not here. We disclaim all liability for reliance on this page.