Unit 27 Deer Hunting, Idaho
Idaho hunting unit · 1,536 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 27 is like
Unit 27 sits almost entirely inside the Frank Church - River of No Return Wilderness, spread across the Boise, Payette and Salmon-Challis national forests. The ground is steep and broken, running from valley bottoms near 3,000 feet up past 10,400 feet, with the great majority of the terrain classed as steep or rugged. Because the wilderness is closed to motorized travel, this is foot-and-stock country almost everywhere, and glassing from vantage points is the practical way to locate deer before committing to a climb or a stalk.
Public hunting access is about as complete as it gets in Idaho — nearly the entire unit is national forest, state endowment land or wildlife management area, though endowment parcels can occasionally be posted closed or leased. Several fires have reshaped parts of the cover in recent years: the Boundary fire (2021) burned roughly 62,000 acres on the southwest side, the Kiwah fire (2018) burned about 16,000 acres on the west side, and the Birch fire (2024) and Norton fire (2022) burned smaller acreages toward the middle of the unit. The two older burns are now thick with regrowth and deadfall, while the two more recent ones are opening up into some of the more productive glassing and feeding ground in the unit; hunters should check for current fire closures before heading in.
Tag options split along species lines. Residents buy either the regular deer tag or the white-tailed deer tag over the counter, while nonresidents apply for one of those two specific tags in a random draw rather than drawing a general tag and choosing afterward. On top of that, Controlled hunt 27 offers a separate, limited-tag opportunity for antlered deer only, drawn independently and running through part of the rut.
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
This early season opens in the Velvet Shed phase and runs through the Early Fall Migration and into the start of the Early Pre-Rut staging period, so bucks are still holding largely to their summer country for much of it. The pattern is to glass at first light to find a buck, mark where he beds for the day, and either stalk him at midday or watch him again in the evening and return the next morning. As October wears on bucks grow increasingly nocturnal, so persistence on the same drainages pays off, and by the tail end of the month some deer begin drifting toward their rutting ground, worth watching the country between summer range and that staging ground. This tag is for antlered deer only, and the steep, broken terrain rewards good optics as much as legwork.
White-tailed deer tag · Any weapon · September 15 – November 18
Running the longest of the three seasons, this hunt starts in the same Velvet Shed and Early Fall Migration phases as the general season but pushes on through Early Pre-Rut staging and into the Primary Rut by mid-November. Through September and October the approach is the same glass-and-stalk routine — find a bedded buck in the morning, work him at midday, or watch him into the evening for a return the next day — while bucks grow steadily more nocturnal as fall progresses. Once the rut arrives, incoming weather can push deer out of the high country onto more open, easier-to-glass ground, and fresh snow is a good time to cut fresh buck tracks; finding does is the surest way to find the bucks nearby. Because this tag allows either antlered or antlerless white-tailed deer, hunters can capitalize on the wider window and the rut activity that the regular deer tag misses.
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 27 is valid only in its own hunt area.
| Season | Dates | Legal deer | Resident draw | Rut phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controlled hunt 27 · Any weapon 1st choice only Unlimited Controlled Hunt | 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 27 · Any weapon · November 1 – November 18
Falling entirely within the Early Pre-Rut staging period and the Primary Rut, this hunt covers deer at their most catchable and most mobile. Late-season staging has deer moving between summer range and rutting ground, and once the rut is underway weather fronts can shove animals out of the high, steep country onto lower, more glassable slopes — fresh snow is worth checking for tracks. Bucks are traveling with or near does through this stretch, so locating does is the fastest way to locate a buck. Only antlered deer are legal, and the hunt draws as the Unlimited Controlled Hunt with good odds for resident first-choice applicants, though it remains a random draw with a limited number of tags.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 3,000–10,400 ft, typically around 7,200 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 5% gentle · 27% moderate · 63% steep · 5% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~1,533 sq mi
- National forests
- Boise National Forest, Payette National Forest and Salmon-Challis National Forest
- Designated wilderness
- Frank Church - River of No Return Wilderness (95%) — 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
- Sagebrush55%
- Conifer29%
- Grass and meadow16%
Mid elevations
- Sagebrush50%
- Conifer38%
- Grass and meadow13%
Higher elevations
- Sagebrush40%
- Conifer36%
- Grass and meadow24%
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 27. 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.
- Boundary fire, 2021 — about 62,000 acres in the unit (6%), mostly on its southwest side.
- Birch fire, 2024 — about 18,000 acres in the unit (2%), toward the middle of the unit.
- Kiwah fire, 2018 — about 16,000 acres in the unit (2%), mostly on its west side.
- Norton fire, 2022 — about 11,000 acres in the unit (1%), toward the middle of the unit.
Fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center.
Land & access
About 100% of Unit 27 is public land a hunter can generally count on — National Forest, Idaho state endowment land and State Wildlife Management Area.
- National Forest100%
- Idaho state endowment land<1%
- State Wildlife Management Area<1%
- Private<1%
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 74°F, lows around 42°F
- September — highs around 65°F, lows around 35°F
- October — highs around 50°F, lows around 27°F, about 3.2 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 36°F, lows around 18°F, about 17.5 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 29°F, lows around 11°F, about 36.7 in of snowfall
Unit 27 deer hunting FAQ
Can a resident buy a deer tag for Unit 27 over the counter?
Yes. Residents can buy either the regular deer tag or the white-tailed deer tag over the counter without applying or waiting on a draw. Both tags have their own season dates and legal-animal rules that must be followed.
How do nonresidents get a general tag for Unit 27?
Nonresidents cannot simply buy a general tag; they enter a random draw and must apply for a specific tag, either the regular deer tag or the white-tailed deer tag, at the time of application. The tag is chosen when applying, not after the draw is complete.
How hard is it to draw Controlled hunt 27?
Controlled hunt 27 is a pure random draw with a limited number of tags, and the resident first-choice odds are rated as good odds for the Unlimited Controlled Hunt category. A good rating is not a guarantee, since the hunt still has a capped number of tags available.
Which deer tags are valid in Unit 27?
The regular deer tag covers mule deer or white-tailed deer for antlered animals only, running September 15 to October 31. The white-tailed deer tag is specific to white-tailed deer, allows either antlered or antlerless animals, and runs September 15 to November 18.
How much of Unit 27 is public land a hunter can count on?
Nearly the entire unit, about 100 percent, is generally open to public hunting through national forest, state endowment land and wildlife management area ground. State endowment parcels are the one exception to watch, since individual pieces can occasionally be posted closed or leased.
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.