Unit 20A Deer Hunting, Idaho
Idaho hunting unit · 755 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 20A is like
Unit 20A is steep and broken country running from low river bottoms near 2,200 feet up to peaks above 9,300 feet, with a typical elevation around 6,100 feet. Nearly the whole unit lies within the Frank Church - River of No Return Wilderness, spanning ground managed by the Payette National Forest and the Salmon-Challis National Forest, so almost all of it is foot and stock travel with no motorized access. Cover shifts with elevation but sagebrush holds a steady share at every band, mixing with conifer timber and pockets of grass and meadow that open up more at mid and higher elevations.
Four fires have reshaped parts of the unit in recent years: the Patrol Point fire (2022) and the Elkhorn fire (2023) burned across the north and northeast sides, the Dismal fire (2022) burned on the east side, and the Big Bear fire (2025) burned on the north side. The older three burns are now two to four years past the fire, a stretch when the open ground left by dead timber makes for easier glassing and the flush of new grass and brush can put deer in excellent condition. The Big Bear fire is still within its first year, meaning deer displaced by it are settling into new ground with water and feed, and the burn itself is unstable underfoot when wet. Nearly all of the unit's roughly 754 square miles is National Forest or State Wildlife Management Area ground generally open to hunting, though wilderness travel and steep terrain make that access demanding rather than easy; hunters should check for current fire closures before heading in.
Deer tags here work two ways. Residents buy a general regular deer tag or white-tailed deer tag over the counter, no application needed. Nonresidents enter a random draw for a general tag, choosing at the time of application whether they want the regular deer tag or the white-tailed deer tag, since the tag is picked before the draw rather than after. On top of the general seasons, Controlled hunt 20A offers a late-season any-weapon hunt for antlered deer only, drawn at good odds for residents.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular deer tag · Any weapon | September 15 – October 31 | Antlered | Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition, Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging |
| White-tailed deer tag · Any weapon | September 15 – November 18 | Antlered or antlerless | Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition, Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging, Primary Rut |
Regular deer tag · Any weapon · September 15 – October 31
Early in this season bucks are just out of velvet and holding to summer patterns, feeding into the morning before bedding in shade for most of the day, which makes shady pockets and north-facing slopes the places to glass. A buck that disappears from view is usually still nearby in a crevice or draw rather than gone, so it pays to work the small terrain features around a bedding area. Through October bucks grow steadily more nocturnal but mostly stay near their summer range, and only toward the end of the month do they start drifting toward rutting ground, worth watching for on the country between summer range and rut range. The regular deer tag covers antlered mule deer or white-tailed deer only through October 31, before the rut arrives, so this is a spot-and-stalk game built around morning and evening glassing sessions and patient midday stalks on bedded bucks.
White-tailed deer tag · Any weapon · September 15 – November 18
This tag runs long enough to cover the same early fall pattern as the general season and then carry into the rut itself. Early on, bucks feed into the morning and bed in shade for most of the day, and the same tactic of glassing at first light, marking a bed, and stalking at midday applies, with evening glassing set up either for a stalk or to relocate a buck for the next morning. By October bucks are increasingly nocturnal but still close to summer range, shifting toward rutting ground only late in the month. Once November arrives bucks are in the primary rut, and incoming weather can push deer down out of the high country onto ground that is easier to glass and reach; fresh snow is especially useful for cutting fresh buck tracks, and finding does is usually the fastest way to find a buck. The white-tailed deer tag is the only general tag legal for antlerless deer as well as antlered, and it runs all the way to November 18, giving it by far the widest window of any tag in the unit.
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 20A is valid only in its own hunt area.
| Season | Dates | Legal deer | Resident draw | Rut phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controlled hunt 20A · Any weapon | November 1 – November 18 | Antlered only | Good odds | Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging, Primary Rut |
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 20A · Any weapon · November 1 – November 18
This controlled hunt opens right at the tail end of the pre-rut migration and runs through the heart of the primary rut. Deer are still finishing their move from summer range toward rutting ground as the hunt begins, so glassing the corridor between the two areas can pay off in the first days. Once the rut takes hold, weather moving through tends to push deer out of high country onto lower, more glassable ground, and fresh snow is a good sign to look for tracks and work them toward bedded or moving bucks. Tags are antlered only and the hunt draws at good odds for resident applicants, a solid option for a late-season, rut-focused hunt on foot in wilderness country.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 2,200–9,300 ft, typically around 6,100 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 15% gentle · 39% moderate · 39% steep · 7% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~754 sq mi
- National forests
- Payette National Forest and Salmon-Challis National Forest
- Designated wilderness
- Frank Church - River of No Return Wilderness (90%) — closed to motorized vehicles
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
- Sagebrush48%
- Conifer44%
- Grass and meadow7%
- Other cover1%
Mid elevations
- Sagebrush48%
- Conifer36%
- Grass and meadow16%
Higher elevations
- Sagebrush49%
- Conifer36%
- Grass and meadow14%
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 20A. 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.
- Patrol Point fire, 2022 — about 17,000 acres in the unit (3%), mostly on its northeast side.
- Big Bear fire, 2025 — about 15,000 acres in the unit (3%), mostly on its north side.
- Elkhorn fire, 2023 — about 14,000 acres in the unit (3%), mostly on its north side.
- Dismal fire, 2022 — about 9,500 acres in the unit (2%), mostly on its east side.
Fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center.
Land & access
About 100% of Unit 20A is public land a hunter can generally count on — National Forest and State Wildlife Management Area.
- National Forest100%
- State Wildlife Management Area<1%
- Private<1%
Fall weather
- August — highs around 75°F, lows around 39°F
- September — highs around 65°F, lows around 33°F, about 0.2 in of snowfall
- October — highs around 51°F, lows around 26°F, about 3.5 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 38°F, lows around 17°F, about 15.9 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 30°F, lows around 10°F, about 29.1 in of snowfall
Unit 20A deer hunting FAQ
Can a resident buy a deer tag for Unit 20A over the counter?
Yes. Residents can buy either the regular deer tag or the white-tailed deer tag over the counter with no application or draw required, as long as they intend to hunt within the dates and legal-animal rules set for each tag.
How do nonresidents get a general tag for Unit 20A?
Nonresidents enter a random draw for a general tag, and they choose the specific tag they want, either the regular deer tag or the white-tailed deer tag, at the time they apply. The tag is not selected after the draw; it is part of the application itself.
How hard is it to draw Controlled hunt 20A?
Controlled hunt 20A is a pure random draw with a limited number of tags, and residents applying as a first choice face good odds. It is not guaranteed and Idaho deer hunting has no points system to build toward a future draw.
Which deer tags are legal to use in Unit 20A?
The regular deer tag is valid for antlered mule deer or white-tailed deer from September 15 through October 31. The white-tailed deer tag covers antlered or antlerless white-tailed deer from September 15 through November 18, and Controlled hunt 20A adds an antlered-only any-weapon season from November 1 through November 18.
Which Unit 20A seasons fall during the rut?
The white-tailed deer tag season and Controlled hunt 20A both run into the primary rut, which falls November 11 through November 25. The regular deer tag season closes October 31 and ends before the rut begins.
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.