Idaho Elk — Unit 23-3
Idaho Unit 23-3 covers 206,326 acres and lies 26 miles north of McCall and 45 miles south of Grangeville. 87% of it is public land, mostly national forest (71%) and BLM (10%). In 2025, 58 people hunted elk here and took 15 — 26% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 40 tags here for 3 first-choice applicants.
Your chance of drawing here
Every elk license type on offer in Unit 23-3, 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-
100% Undersubscribed 0% as 2nd choice
-
100% No first-choice applicants 0% as 2nd choice
| Hunt | Your odds | As 2nd choice | Points needed | Tags / applicants | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2067 ↗ Antlerless elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 23-3 | 100% Undersubscribed | 0% | — | 40 / 3 undersubscribed | Oct 15 – Nov 8, 2026 |
| 2068 ↗ Antlerless elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 23-3 | 100% No first-choice applicants | 0% | — | 25 / 0 | Dec 1–31, 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 | $854.75 |
Application window: opens May 1, closes Jun 5, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
The country
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.
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 | 58 | 15 | 26% |
| 2024 | 52 | 25 | 48% |
| 2023 | 58 | 29 | 50% |
| 2022 | 60 | 27 | 45% |
| 2021 | 53 | 24 | 45% |
What people carried (2025 harvest)
- Firearm 15 · 100% · 58 hunters, 26% success
What the agency says about the area
That portion of Unit 23 east of U.S. 95 which drains into the Little Salmon River downstream of and including the Hazard Creek Drainage, and that portion of Unit 23 which drains into the main Salmon River.
Source: Idaho Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk 2025 (general + controlled hunt tables)
Boundary: Controlled Hunts - All Species, BigGame='Elk' AND Year=2025 (hunt-area boundaries)
Harvest: Idaho Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk 2025 (general + controlled hunt tables)
Harvest: Idaho Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk 2024 (general + controlled hunt tables)
Harvest: Idaho Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk 2023 (general + controlled hunt tables)