Idaho Elk · Unit 31

Idaho Unit 31 covers 382,777 acres and lies 17 miles north of Weiser and 29 miles north of Payette. 49% of it is public land, mostly BLM (23%) and national forest (19%). In 2025, 1,767 people hunted elk here and took 435, a 25% success rate (sum of published weapon rows). Its most applied-for hunt, 2163, put up 50 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 113 nonresident first-choice applicants, 5 of whom drew.

No points in this draw. Every applicant has the same chance each year.

Tags, 2026

650

7 licenses · NR capped at 10%

Applicants

417

first choice, NR

Hunter Success

25%

2025, all licenses

Public Land

49%

23% BLM

Size

598 mi²

382,777 acres

Weiser Payette McCall 22-2X 22 22-1 23-1 24-1X 24-2 31-1X 31-3X 33-1X 33-2 31

25%

hunter success · 2025

1,767 hunters, 435 elk

25%hunter success 2025 · 1,767 hunters, 435 elk

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

Best Bets

Ranked by your odds times how often that license type's hunters filled their tag in 2025. Nonresident, first choice, 2026 draw; licenses with at least 10 tags that anyone can buy.

2008

Standard · bull

Antlered elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 31

Success: 25%
Season: Oct 15–31
Tags / Apps: 75 / 111
If Drawn: $854.75

2009

Standard · bull

Antlered elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 31

Success: 25%
Season: Nov 1–14
Tags / Apps: 75 / 75
If Drawn: $854.75

2073

Standard · cow

73%

Antlerless elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 31

Success: 25%
Season: Oct 15–31
Tags / Apps: 150 / 15
If Drawn: $854.75

2074

Standard · cow

100%

Antlerless elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 31

Success: 25%
Season: Nov 1–14
Tags / Apps: 150 / 13
If Drawn: $854.75

Every License in Unit 31

90–100% 50–89% 10–49% 1–9% under 1% fewer than 5 tags: one applicant swings it

	What	Season		Tags / Apps
2008	Antlered elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 31	Oct 15–31	6%	75 / 111	—
2009	Antlered elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 31	Nov 1–14	9%	75 / 75	—
2073	Antlerless elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 31	Oct 15–31	73%	150 / 15	—
2074	Antlerless elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 31	Nov 1–14	100%	150 / 13	—
2112	Antlerless or Antlered elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 31	Oct 1–14	1% (small sample)	50 / 85	—
2156 · youth	Antlerless elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 31 (youth only)	Oct 15 – Nov 14	100%	100 / 5	—
2163 · youth	Antlerless or Antlered elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 31 (youth only)	Oct 1–14	4%	50 / 113	—

First-choice nonresident odds, 2026 draw. No points in this draw: every applicant has the same chance.

Draw results: IDFG 2026 Hunt Planner drawing odds, retrieved Aug 31, 2026.

If you draw (2026 nonresident fees): $854.75 ($203 to apply). Open May 1 – Jun 5, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.

Harvest

Year	Hunters	Elk	Success
2025 (summed)	1,767	435	25%
2024 (summed)	820	235	29%
2023 (summed)	790	196	25%
2022 (summed)	911	223	24%
2021 (summed)	917	259	28%

2025 by License	Hunters	Elk	Success
2008	69	26	38%
2009	66	33	50%
2073	125	22	18%
2074	131	42	32%
2112	48	27	56%
2156	82	26	32%
2163	46	31	67%

2025 split: firearm 359 (83%) from 1,331 hunters, 27%, archery 76 (17%) from 431 hunters, 18%, muzzleloader 0 (0%)

What Idaho Department of Fish and Game publishes after each season, for everyone who hunted the area: harvest statistics, not draw odds. Idaho Department of Fish and Game publishes no whole-unit line for 2025; a year's total is the sum of published weapon rows, added only where the lines do not overlap. 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; IDFG 2023 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk.

The Ground

Private	189,757 ac	50%
BLM	88,554 ac	23%
National Forest	71,678 ac	19%
State land	28,803 ac	8%
Bureau of Reclamation	80 ac	<1%
National Wildlife Refuge	71 ac	<1%
Other public	61 ac	<1%

Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Idaho State Office 2026 BLM Surface Management Agency.

Next Door

What the Agency Says About the Area

All of Unit 31.

Source: IDFG 2025 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk.

▸ Sources 9

IDFG 2026 Hunt Planner drawing odds draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
IDFG 2026 License, Tag, and Permit Costs fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
IDFG 2025 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk harvest, area description, 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. 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.

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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 · All Idaho elk hunts