Idaho Elk — Unit 8-1
Idaho Unit 8-1 covers 266,072 acres and lies 13 miles north-east of Moscow and 32 miles south-west of St. Maries. 10% of it is public land, mostly national forest (7%) and state land (3%). In 2025, 25 people hunted elk here and took 10 — 40% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 25 tags here for 21 first-choice applicants.
Your chance of drawing here
Every elk license type on offer in Unit 8-1, 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-
10% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice
| Hunt | Your odds | As 2nd choice | Points needed | Tags / applicants | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2050 ↗ Antlerless elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 8-1 | 10% Long shot | 0% | — | 25 / 21 | Oct 20 – Dec 1, 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 | 25 | 10 | 40% |
| 2024 | 23 | 11 | 48% |
| 2023 | 22 | 12 | 55% |
| 2022 | 64 | 30 | 47% |
| 2021 | 68 | 26 | 38% |
What people carried (2025 harvest)
- Firearm 10 · 100% · 25 hunters, 40% success
What the agency says about the area
That portion of Units 8 and 8A north of the following line: Beginning at the western boundary of Unit 8 at its junction with State Highway 8, then east on Highway 8 to State Highway 9, then northwest on Highway 9 to State Highway 6, then north on Highway 6 to the Unit 8A boundary.
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)