Idaho Moose — Unit 12-5
Idaho Unit 12-5 covers 200,182 acres and lies 40 miles east of Orofino and 73 miles east of Lewiston. 100% of it is public land, mostly national forest (99%). In 2025, 2 people hunted moose here and took 2 — 100% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 2 tags here for 3 first-choice applicants.
Your chance of drawing here
Every moose license type on offer in Unit 12-5, 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-
0% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice
| Hunt | Your odds | As 2nd choice | Points needed | Tags / applicants | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3047 ↗ Antlered moose, any weapon, Hunt Area 12-5 | 0% Long shot | 0% | — | 2 / 3 | Aug 30 – Nov 23, 2025 |
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 | $2,857.50 | $230.75 | $2,857.50 |
Application window: opens Apr 1, closes Apr 30, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
The country
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Who owns the ground
- National Forest 198,794 ac · 99%
- Other public 836 ac · 0%
- Private 551 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 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 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| 2024 | 2 | 1 | 50% |
| 2023 | 2 | 1 | 50% |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| 2021 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| 2018 | 2 | 1 | 50% |
| 2017 | 2 | 1 | 50% |
| 2016 | 2 | 1 | 50% |
| 2015 | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| 2014 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| 2013 | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| 2012 | 4 | 1 | 25% |
| 2011 | 4 | 1 | 25% |
| 2010 | 4 | 2 | 50% |
| 2009 | 4 | 2 | 50% |
| 2008 | 7 | 4 | 57% |
| 2007 | 7 | 3 | 43% |
| 2006 | 7 | 3 | 43% |
| 2005 | 7 | 5 | 71% |
What people carried (2025 harvest)
- Firearm 2 · 100% · 2 hunters, 100% success
What the agency says about the area
That portion of Unit 12 north of the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River from the Smith Creek Road (Forest Service Road 101) upstream to the mouth of the Lochsa River, that portion on the north side of the Lochsa River upstream to, but excluding, the Lost Creek drainage, and that portion on the south side of the Lochsa River from its mouth upstream to, but excluding, the Old Man Creek drainage.
Source: Idaho Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, moose 2025 (controlled hunt table)
Boundary: Controlled Hunts - All Species, BigGame='Moose' AND Year=2025 (hunt-area boundaries)
Harvest: Idaho Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, moose 2025 (controlled hunt table)
Harvest: Idaho Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, moose 2024 (controlled hunt table)
Harvest: Idaho Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, moose 2023 (controlled hunt table)