Idaho Elk 2028
Antlered elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 49 in Unit 49, any legal weapon, Oct 1–14, 2026. 65% public land, mostly BLM.
No points in this draw. Every applicant has the same chance each year.
Your odds · 2026 draw
about 1 in 25, every year you apply
Every applicant has the same chance each year: in 2026, 20 tags (all residencies) went to 49 nonresident first-choice applicants.
Points: none, same chance every year
- Tags
- 20
- Nonresident Applicants
- 49
- Success
- 62%
First-choice nonresidents; the tags are shared by every residency; nonresidents capped at 10%. Success: 2028 hunters, 2025.
Odds by Year, 2023–2026
Odds (tags ÷ applicants) ran from 24% to 100% across 2023–2026.
Wait 1 year after drawing before applying again.
What It Costs · 2026 NR Fees
Closes Jun 5 · 230 daysThe $18 nonresident controlled hunt application fee (per person, per species) - nonrefundable is not refunded. The $185 nonresident hunting license (adult; includes 3-day fishing) - required to apply for any controlled hunt is not refunded. Drawing adds the $651.75 nonresident elk tag (general or controlled) - bought only if drawn, by Aug 1.
Optional, not counted above: Access / Depredation fee (charged with the first annual license of the year) $10.
- Opens
- May 1, 2027
- Closes
- Jun 5, 2027
- Results
- about Jun 17
Next application window: Open May 1 – Jun 5, 2027 (expected). Dates are last cycle's, rolled forward until Idaho Department of Fish and Game publishes 2027.
▸ Every Fee, With Sources
- Nonresident controlled hunt application fee (per person, per species) - nonrefundable · paid at application $18 IDFG 2026 License, Tag, and Permit Costs
- Nonresident hunting license (adult; includes 3-day fishing) - required to apply for any controlled hunt · paid at application $185 IDFG 2026 License, Tag, and Permit Costs
- Nonresident elk tag (general or controlled) - bought only if drawn, by Aug 1 · paid if drawn, refundable $651.75 IDFG 2026 License, Tag, and Permit Costs
Details
Odds in This Draw · 2026 Draw
| Who | Chance | Applied | Drew |
|---|---|---|---|
| Everyone | 4% (small sample) | — | 2 |
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. As a lower choice, 2028 drew no one in 2026, so lower-choice odds are left out.
Draw results: IDFG 2026 Hunt Planner drawing odds, retrieved Aug 31, 2026.
How It Hunted, 2025
| Who | Hunters | Harvest | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2028 | 16 | 10 | 62% |
| 2029 | 171 | 85 | 50% |
| 2138 | 65 | 18 | 28% |
| 2159 | 45 | 10 | 22% |
| 2196 | 9 | 5 | 56% |
| All of Unit 49 | 1,096 | 295 | 27% |
Adding up Idaho Department of Fish and Game's published lines for Unit 49 gives 1,096 hunters and 295 elk taken in 2025, and 27% of them took an elk (sum of published weapon rows). The first rows are hunters holding this license type; the rest of the area's hunters held something else. 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: IDFG 2025 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk; IDFG 2024 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk.
▸ Year-by-Year Numbers 4 draws
The standard draw for nonresidents, one row per year. Idaho files a second pass separately; it is shown beside the year it belongs to.
| Year | Tags (All Res.) | Nonresident Applicants | Per Tag | Published Odds | Random Pass | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 20 | 49 | — | 4% | — | IDFG 2026 Hunt Planner drawing odds |
| 2025 | 20 | 82 | — | 2% | — | IDFG 2025 Hunt Planner drawing odds |
| 2024 | 175 | 174 | — | 10% | 0 tags | IDFG 2024 Hunt Planner drawing odds |
| 2023 | 175 | 194 | — | 9% | 0 tags | IDFG 2023 Hunt Planner drawing odds |
Earlier Years, When This Number Was a Different Hunt
Idaho reassigns hunt numbers between years. In these years 2028 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 | Per Tag | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 · Unit 48 | 135 | 105 | — | IDFG 2022 Hunt Planner drawing odds |
Other Licenses Valid in Unit 49
- 2029 Antlered elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 49 Oct 15–31 · 175 tags · 206 applied 8%
- 2138 Antlerless or Antlered elk, muzzleloader, Hunt Area 49 Nov 1–14 · 75 tags · 29 applied 24%
- 2159 Antlerless elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 49 (youth only)Youth only Oct 10–31 · 50 tags · 5 applied 60% (small sample)
Odds for a first-choice nonresident. * fewer than 5 tags.
▸ Legal Cartridges 23 on file for Idaho elk
23 cartridges on file are legal for elk with a rifle in Idaho (this license takes any legal weapon). Rules and sources: Idaho hunting laws.
▸ Sources 14
- IDFG 2026 Hunt Planner drawing odds draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- IDFG 2025 Hunt Planner drawing odds earlier draws, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- IDFG 2024 Hunt Planner drawing odds earlier draws, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- IDFG 2023 Hunt Planner drawing odds earlier draws, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Idaho Department of Administration, Office of Administrative Rules / Idaho Fish and Game Commission 2026 IDAPA 13.01.04 draw rules, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- IDFG 2026 License, Tag, and Permit Costs fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- IDFG 2026 Hunt Planner hunt list seasons, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- IDFG 2025 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- IDFG 2024 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- IDFG 2023 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- IDFG 2022 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- IDFG 2021 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- IDFG 2025 Controlled hunt area boundaries boundary, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Idaho State Office 2026 BLM Surface Management Agency land ownership, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
About These Numbers
Odds are from the 2026 draw, the latest on file, computed from Idaho Department of Fish and Game's published results (first-choice tags drawn ÷ first-choice applicants, as published). They are what happened in that draw, not a forecast. Under five tags a percentage carries a *, because one applicant either way swings it. A dash means the agency did not publish the number, and a date marked expected is last cycle's schedule rolled forward. How we compute these.
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We don't take applications: check Idaho Department of Fish and Game's site and apply there.
Prior-draw odds from Idaho Department of Fish and Game's results, not a forecast · Methodology · All Idaho elk hunts