Unit 13 Deer Hunting, Idaho
Idaho hunting unit · 345 sq mi
General season — resident tags over the counter
Residents buy general deer tags over the counter — no draw, no points. Nonresident general tags are allocated by random draw. It also has 1 controlled hunt, drawn by pure random draw with no points — resident odds good odds.
What hunting Unit 13 is like
Unit 13 sits on steep and broken ground, dropping from a low point around 900 feet up to roughly 6,100 feet, with most of the country running through the 3,500-foot mid-elevations. Nearly half the unit qualifies as steep terrain by area, and this is foot-hunting country for anyone willing to work it — glassing from vantage points and working timber edges pays off more than road hunting. At lower elevations the cover leans toward grass and meadow with sagebrush mixed in and some conifer; climbing into the mid and upper bands, timber increasingly takes over, giving hunters more cover to work but also more country to cover on foot. The Nezperce National Forest anchors much of the public ground here, and any designated wilderness within it is closed to motorized travel, reinforcing the on-foot nature of the hunt.
Only about 28 percent of Unit 13, roughly 97 square miles, is generally open to public hunting across BLM, National Forest, state endowment land and a State Wildlife Management Area — the rest, about 72 percent, is private and requires written permission. Even the public parcels aren't a sure thing, since state endowment ground can be posted closed or leased. Few roads reach into the unit, and that combination of limited access and heavy private ownership is the real limiting factor here, more so than the terrain itself. The Jones Creek fire burned about 4,400 acres on the unit's south side in 2022, and hunters working that ground this fall are hunting it two to four years out — worth checking on before heading in, along with any other current fire closures.
Tag options here are straightforward but distinct: residents buy general deer tags over the counter, while nonresidents go through a random draw in which they apply for either the regular deer tag or the white-tailed deer tag as a specific choice from the start — never something chosen after the fact. Beyond the general white-tailed season, Unit 13 also offers a controlled hunt for any-weapon deer hunters, drawn independently and with a limited number of tags. Neither season falls within the November primary rut, so hunters here are working pre-rut and migration patterns rather than rutting behavior.
General-season deer (2026)
The Regular Deer tag is valid for mule deer or white-tailed deer unless a season says otherwise; the White-tailed Deer tag is white-tailed deer only. Residents buy general deer tags over the counter; nonresident general tags are allocated by random draw.
| Season | Dates | Legal deer | Rut phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| White-tailed deer tag · Any weapon Very limited access because of few roads and private property | October 10 – November 3 | Antlered or antlerless | Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging |
White-tailed deer tag · Any weapon · October 10 – November 3
This white-tailed deer season opens with bucks settling into an increasingly nocturnal pattern, most still holding near the same ground they used through summer. As October winds down, deer start drifting toward their rutting range, so the better play is glassing the country that connects summer haunts to that eventual rut ground rather than waiting on any one spot. Any hunter can take an antlered or antlerless deer under this tag, but access is the real challenge — few roads reach into Unit 13 and most of the ground is private, so success leans heavily on finding legal entry points onto the public timber and grass-and-meadow country described for this unit. Working the fringes of the Jones Creek burn, now two to four years removed from fire, can pay off in early morning and late evening as deer move between the open feed and the standing timber around it.
Controlled deer hunts (2026)
Controlled hunts have a limited number of tags and are drawn by pure random draw — Idaho uses no points, so years of applying do not improve the odds. First choices are drawn before second choices. A hunt marked as covering part of Unit 13 is valid only in its own hunt area.
| Season | Dates | Legal deer | Resident draw | Rut phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controlled hunt 13 · Any weapon Very limited access because of few roads and private property | October 10 – November 3 | Antlered only | Good odds | Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging |
Resident draw is a band in words from the 2026 first-choice results: good, fair, long or very long odds. It is not a published percentage, and nonresident odds differ. Youth-only hunts are shown without a band.
Controlled hunt 13 · Any weapon · October 10 – November 3
Controlled hunt 13 runs the same stretch as the general white-tailed season and finds deer in the same early transition — bucks staying nocturnal and holding near summer range into mid-October, then beginning to shift toward rutting corridors as the month closes. Antlered deer only are legal here, so glassing for shooter bucks along the travel routes between summer and rut range is the priority, especially where timber gives way to open feed. Access is just as limited as the general season, with few roads and heavy private ownership boxing hunters into the public ground and any negotiated private parcels available. Resident hunters face good odds in the first-choice draw for this hunt, and the same two-to-four-year-old Jones Creek burn on the unit's south side is worth a look for deer using the open ground morning and evening before slipping back into cover.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 900–6,100 ft, typically around 3,500 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 17% gentle · 31% moderate · 47% steep · 6% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~97 sq mi
- National forests
- Nezperce National Forest
Habitat & cover
What grows here, by elevation. Each band adds to 100% on its own — these are shares of that band, not of the unit.
Lower elevations
- Grass and meadow48%
- Sagebrush32%
- Conifer18%
- Other cover2%
Mid elevations
- Grass and meadow38%
- Conifer33%
- Sagebrush29%
Higher elevations
- Conifer43%
- Sagebrush31%
- Grass and meadow25%
- Other cover1%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land.
Recent fires
Wildfires in the last several seasons that burned a meaningful share of Unit 13. Fire perimeters show where a fire burned, not how hot — and closures change through the year, so check current fire closures and restrictions before you go.
- Jones Creek fire, 2022 — about 4,400 acres in the unit (2%), mostly on its south side.
Fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center.
Land & access
About 28% of Unit 13 is public land a hunter can generally count on — BLM, National Forest, Idaho state endowment land and State Wildlife Management Area.
- BLM10%
- National Forest9%
- Idaho state endowment land8%
- State Wildlife Management Area<1%
- Private72%
Idaho state endowment land is generally open to hunting unless posted closed or leased — check the parcel before planning around it.
Fall weather
- August — highs around 86°F, lows around 54°F
- September — highs around 76°F, lows around 47°F
- October — highs around 60°F, lows around 38°F
- November — highs around 46°F, lows around 31°F, about 0.4 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 38°F, lows around 25°F, about 2.2 in of snowfall
Unit 13 deer hunting FAQ
Can a resident buy a deer tag for Unit 13 over the counter?
Yes. Residents can purchase a general deer tag over the counter without applying or waiting on a draw. This applies to both the regular deer tag and the white-tailed deer tag, subject to each tag's own season and legal-animal rules.
How do nonresidents get a general tag in Unit 13?
Nonresidents enter a random draw for the general tag, and the specific tag is chosen at the time of applying, not afterward. An applicant selects either the regular deer tag or the white-tailed deer tag as part of that application, and whichever one they apply for is the one they draw.
How hard is it to draw Controlled hunt 13?
Controlled hunt 13 is a pure random draw with a limited number of tags, and the resident first-choice draw odds for this hunt are listed as good. That is a words-only band, not a guarantee, and nonresident applicants should not assume the same odds apply to them.
Which deer tags are valid in Unit 13?
The regular deer tag covers either mule deer or white-tailed deer unless a specific season restricts it further, while the white-tailed deer tag is valid for white-tailed deer only. Unit 13's general season and its controlled hunt both fall under these tag structures with their own dates and legal-animal restrictions.
How much of Unit 13 can a hunter count on for public access?
About 28 percent of the unit, roughly 97 square miles, is generally open to public hunting across BLM, National Forest, state endowment land and a State Wildlife Management Area. The remaining 72 percent is private land requiring written permission, and even the public state endowment parcels can be posted closed or leased in places.
Data sources & methodology
- Idaho Fish and Game — Idaho Big Game 2026 Seasons & Rules — general and controlled season dates, legal animals and the brochure's unit notes
- Idaho Fish and Game — Idaho Hunt Planner — unit boundaries, the national forests and wilderness areas in each unit, and controlled-hunt drawing results behind the odds bands
- Idaho Fish and Game — 2026 Nonresident General Tags and Tags Allocated to Outfitters — which general elk zone tags are capped
- USGS / MRLC — National Land Cover Database — habitat and cover classes by elevation band
- USGS PAD-US — Protected Areas Database of the United States — land ownership and access
- Daymet daily climate, 1991–2020 (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) — fall weather
- National Interagency Fire Center — wildfire perimeters — recent fires, their size and where they burned
Controlled-hunt draw difficulty is a qualitative band from resident first-choice results, not published odds. Land shares are separate, non-overlapping categories. Confirm current dates and rules in the Idaho Big Game Seasons & Rules brochure before you hunt. Unit data last updated September 29, 2026.