Idaho Elk — Unit 43

Idaho Unit 43 covers 448,263 acres and lies 35 miles west of Ketchum. 97% of it is public land, mostly national forest (94%) and BLM (1%). In 2025, 920 people hunted elk here and took 64 — 7% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 125 tags here for 287 first-choice applicants.

Tags (2026):145 Nonresident share:capped at 10% Applicants:377 Hunter success (2025):7% Public land:97% Size:448,263 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Unit 43, 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

2019 Antlered elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 43 20 tags · 90 applicants

2% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice
2020 Antlered elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 43 125 tags · 287 applicants

4% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice

Hunt	Your odds	As 2nd choice	Points needed	Tags / applicants	Season
2019 ↗ Antlered elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 43	2% Long shot	0%	—	20 / 90	Oct 1–14, 2026
2020 ↗ Antlered elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 43	4% Long shot	0%	—	125 / 287	Oct 15 – Nov 10, 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

Unit 43 within Idaho

Unit 43 and its neighbours

Zoomable USGS topo, aerial imagery and shaded relief, with the neighboring areas drawn on.

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

Who owns the ground

National Forest 423,591 ac · 94%
Private 13,474 ac · 3%
BLM 5,868 ac · 1%
Bureau of Reclamation 3,331 ac · 1%
Other public 1,052 ac · 0%
State land 944 ac · 0%

Source: BLM Idaho Surface Management Agency (land ownership / SMA)

Nearby areas

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's figures are counts from mandatory hunter reports and check stations rather than survey estimates, so they behave differently from the survey states.