Unit 31 Deer Hunting, Idaho
Idaho hunting unit · 598 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 very long odds.
What hunting Unit 31 is like
Unit 31 covers 598 square miles of rolling to moderately steep country, with elevations running from 1,800 feet up to 7,600 feet and a typical hunt around 3,700 feet. Slopes are mostly gentle to moderate, with a smaller steep component, so most of the ground here is foot-huntable without requiring technical terrain skills. Lower and mid elevations lean heavily to grass, meadow and sagebrush, with conifer showing up only at higher elevations alongside sagebrush and grass — open country that rewards glassing. Part of the unit falls within the Payette National Forest, and any designated wilderness inside it is closed to motorized travel, so foot and stock access matter in those pockets.
About half the unit, roughly 300 square miles, is generally open to public hunting across BLM, National Forest, state endowment land and a State Wildlife Management Area — the only ground a hunter can count on without asking permission, and even endowment parcels can be posted closed or leased. The other half is private and requires written permission. Fire has reshaped a meaningful share of the landscape recently: the Tartar fire burned about 41% of the unit on the southwest side and is in its first year after burning, the Mineral fire burned about 4% on the west side two to four years back, and the Keithly and Woodhead fires each touched a smaller slice on the east and northeast sides five to eight years ago. Hunters should check for current fire closures before heading in.
Tag structure here splits regular deer and white-tailed deer into separate tags with their own seasons. Residents buy either general tag over the counter, while nonresidents apply for a specific one of those tags through a random draw at the time of application. A single controlled hunt adds a rutting-season opportunity for antlered deer only, drawn at very long odds for residents on their first choice.
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 · Archery | August 30 – September 30 | Antlered or antlerless | Summer Range / Bachelor Pattern, Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition |
| White-tailed deer tag · Archery | August 30 – September 30 | Antlered or antlerless | Summer Range / Bachelor Pattern, Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition |
| Regular deer tag · Any weapon White-tailed deer only | October 10 – October 24 | Antlered; antlerless: white-tailed deer only | Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase |
| White-tailed deer tag · Any weapon | October 10 – October 31 | Antlered or antlerless | Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging |
Regular deer tag · Archery · August 30 – September 30
This archery season opens while bucks are still in velvet and bachelored in small groups through the Summer Range / Bachelor Pattern phase, carrying into the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase by mid-to-late September. Water is scarce enough that even a small seep can hold a buck, and glassing shady pockets and north-facing slopes at first light is the way to locate one before he beds for the day. The plan is to spot a buck in the morning, mark his bed, and close the distance during the middle of the day while he's down, then use the evening glassing session either for a stalk or simply to pattern him for the next morning. The regular deer tag covers either mule deer or white-tailed deer here, and either antlered or antlerless animals are legal.
White-tailed deer tag · Archery · August 30 – September 30
Running the same August 30 to September 30 window, this white-tailed deer archery season overlaps the Summer Range / Bachelor Pattern and Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phases, when bucks hold in small bachelor groups and stick close to whatever water is available. Mornings are for glassing shady pockets and north-facing slopes to find a bedded buck, then still-hunting in for a midday stalk while he's down; evenings are often better spent watching a buck until dark and returning for him at first light. Once velvet sheds late in the season bucks tend to bed earlier and hold tight until near dark, so checking small draws and crevices near where a buck was last seen is worthwhile if he seems to vanish. This tag is white-tailed deer only, but either an antlered or antlerless deer may be taken.
Regular deer tag · Any weapon · October 10 – October 24
Covering October 10 through October 24, this any-weapon season falls in the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, when bucks grow progressively more nocturnal but most haven't yet left their summer ground. That makes daylight encounters tougher and rewards hunting the same areas where deer were patterned over summer, working edges near cover at dawn and dusk. This is a white-tailed-deer-only season on the regular deer tag: an antlered deer of either sex category is legal, but antlerless harvest is restricted to white-tailed deer.
White-tailed deer tag · Any weapon · October 10 – October 31
This white-tailed deer any-weapon season runs longer, from October 10 through October 31, spanning the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase and into the Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging phase. Early on, bucks are increasingly nocturnal and still holding near summer range, so hunting known summer haunts pays off; by the last days of October some deer begin shifting toward rutting ground, so glassing the country between summer range and likely rut areas can intercept early movers. The white-tailed deer tag allows either an antlered or antlerless deer through the full run of this season.
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 31 is valid only in its own hunt area.
| Season | Dates | Legal deer | Resident draw | Rut phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controlled hunt 31 · Any weapon | October 10 – November 24 | Antlered only | Very long odds | Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, 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 31 · Any weapon · October 10 – November 24
Controlled hunt 31 stretches from October 10 clear through November 24, covering the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, the Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging phase, and the Primary Rut itself, which makes it the one season here that lands squarely in the rut. Early weeks call for hunting nocturnal bucks near their summer ground and then watching migration corridors as deer stage toward rutting areas; once into November, bucks are actively rutting and a bit of November snow — this unit sees only light monthly totals with lows near 28°F — can push deer down out of the high country onto easier, more glassable ground and leave fresh tracks to follow. Finding does is the surest way to find bucks, since they'll be nearby or trailing close behind. Draw odds for residents on this any-weapon, antlered-only hunt run very long, so it's a tag worth applying for but not counting on.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 1,800–7,600 ft, typically around 3,700 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 30% gentle · 48% moderate · 22% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~300 sq mi
- National forests
- Payette 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 meadow50%
- Other cover27%
- Sagebrush23%
Mid elevations
- Grass and meadow56%
- Sagebrush42%
- Conifer2%
Higher elevations
- Sagebrush48%
- Conifer29%
- Grass and meadow22%
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 31. 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.
- Tartar fire, 2026 — about 158,000 acres in the unit (41%), mostly on its southwest side.
- Keithly fire, 2018 — about 18,000 acres in the unit (5%), mostly on its east side.
- Mineral fire, 2024 — about 15,000 acres in the unit (4%), mostly on its west side.
- Woodhead fire, 2020 — about 9,300 acres in the unit (2%), mostly on its northeast side.
Fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center.
Land & access
About 50% of Unit 31 is public land a hunter can generally count on — BLM, National Forest, Idaho state endowment land and State Wildlife Management Area.
- BLM23%
- National Forest19%
- Idaho state endowment land6%
- State Wildlife Management Area2%
- Unclassified ownership<1%
- Private50%
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 55°F
- September — highs around 76°F, lows around 47°F
- October — highs around 60°F, lows around 37°F
- November — highs around 44°F, lows around 28°F, about 2.8 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 34°F, lows around 21°F, about 11.3 in of snowfall
Unit 31 deer hunting FAQ
Can a resident buy a deer tag for Unit 31 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. Nonresidents, by contrast, must go through a random draw for a specific one of those tags.
How do nonresidents get a general deer tag in Unit 31?
Nonresidents apply through a random draw, and they choose the specific tag — either the regular deer tag or the white-tailed deer tag — at the time they apply. The tag cannot be chosen after the draw; it's selected as part of the application itself.
How hard is it to draw the controlled hunt in Unit 31?
Controlled hunt 31, the any-weapon hunt running October 10 through November 24, carries very long odds for residents on their first choice. It's a pure random draw with a limited number of tags and no points system to improve the odds over time.
Which deer tags are valid in Unit 31?
The regular deer tag is valid for either mule deer or white-tailed deer unless a specific season restricts it, while the white-tailed deer tag is valid for white-tailed deer only. Both tags have their own separate archery and any-weapon seasons with different dates and legal-animal rules.
How much of Unit 31 is public land a hunter can count on?
About half the unit, roughly 300 square miles, is generally open to public hunting across BLM, National Forest, state endowment land and a State Wildlife Management Area. The remaining half is private and requires written permission, and even the open state endowment parcels 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.