Idaho Elk 2026 — Unit 48
Antlered elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 48
- What you may take
- Antlered elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 48
- Weapon
- Rifle
- Season (2026)
- Oct 1–14, 2026
- Tags (2026)
- 20
- for 51 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, 51 first-choice applicants. Source: IDFG Hunt Planner drawing odds... · CHunt=2026.
| Points | Your chance | Applicants | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 4% | — | — |
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)
At the 2026 odds, expected cost per hunt-year ranges from $5,828.21 (enough points to draw) to $5,828.21 (lowest published odds).
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)
How this tag has hunted
Across every license type in Unit 48, Idaho Department of Fish and Game counted 497 hunters and 52 elk taken in 2025 — 10% of them killed something. Full Unit 48 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 2026 | 19 | 8 | 42% | — |
| Type 2027 | 142 | 54 | 38% | — |
| Type 2137 | 60 | 10 | 17% | — |
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
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 | 20 | 51 | 2.6 | — | 4% | — | IDFG Hunt Planner drawing odds... · CHunt=2026 |
| 2025 | 20 | 74 | 3.7 | — | 3% | — | IDFG Hunt Planner drawing odds... · CHunt=2026 |
| 2024 | 150 | 140 | 0.9 | — | 11% | 0 tags | IDFG Hunt Planner drawing odds... · CHunt=2026 |
| 2023 | 150 | 117 | 0.8 | — | 13% | — | IDFG Hunt Planner drawing odds... · CHunt=2026 |
Earlier years, when this number was a different hunt
Idaho reassigns hunt numbers between years. In these years 2026 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 · Unit 46-2 | 40 | 67 | 1.7 | — | IDFG Hunt Planner drawing odds... · CHunt=2026 |
Other licenses valid in Unit 48
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.
Spot a data error on this page? Tell us.
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.