Unit 48 Deer Hunting, Idaho
Idaho hunting unit · 610 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 2 controlled hunts, drawn by pure random draw with no points — resident odds from good odds to very long odds.
What hunting Unit 48 is like
Unit 48 is steep and broken country in the Sawtooth National Forest, ranging from around 4,800 feet up to nearly 11,700 feet, with most of the ground falling in the moderate-to-steep classes. At lower elevations sagebrush dominates with pockets of grass and riparian growth; moving up, conifer takes over the mid and higher bands, mixed with meadow openings. It is largely foot-hunting country: the mix of steep slopes and timbered draws rewards hunters willing to glass long distances and then close the gap on foot, and the terrain often hides bedded deer in shady pockets and small crevices that only careful glassing will turn up.
About 83 percent of the unit, roughly 508 square miles, is National Forest, BLM, or Idaho state endowment land generally open to public hunting, though endowment parcels can be posted closed or leased and access is never guaranteed just because ground is public. The remaining 17 percent is private and requires written permission. The Glendale fire burned about 7,500 acres on the unit's southeast side, and this fall falls in the two-to-four-year window after that burn, a stretch when open ground makes glassing easier and new growth pulls deer in to feed morning and evening near the unburned timber edge; hunters should check for current fire closures before heading in.
Residents can buy a general regular deer tag or a white-tailed deer tag over the counter with no draw required. Nonresidents get into the general season through a random draw, applying for either the regular deer tag or the white-tailed deer tag as a specific choice at the time of application, not after the fact. Beyond the general season, Unit 48 also offers two controlled hunts drawn by pure random draw with no points involved, each with its own limited number of tags and season.
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 |
| Regular deer tag · Any weapon | October 10 – October 31 | Antlered | Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging |
Regular deer tag · Archery · August 30 – September 30
Archery hunters working the general season from August 30 through September 30 are chasing bucks still in velvet and bachelored up through most of this stretch, with velvet shedding by mid-September. The pattern here is glass first, move second: find a buck at first light, mark where he beds for the day, then close the distance at midday while he's down, since a buck that seems to vanish is usually still tucked into a nearby crevice or draw. Evening glassing often works better for locating a buck to return to at dawn than for a same-day stalk. This tag is good for antlered or antlerless deer, and the shady pockets and north-facing slopes scattered through the unit's timber and broken ground are worth the extra glassing time.
Regular deer tag · Any weapon · October 10 – October 31
By the time the any-weapon general season opens on October 10, bucks are sliding into a more nocturnal pattern and mostly still holding near their summer ground, though by the season's close in late October some begin drifting toward rutting country. Early snowfall and cooling temperatures through the month don't shut things down, but they do push hunters toward glassing the terrain between summer range and the corridors deer will use heading into the rut. This tag is antlered only, so time spent confirming headgear before closing in matters. Working the edges between open sagebrush and timber, especially where deer might stage before migrating, is the more productive play as the month wears on.
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 48 is valid only in its own hunt area.
| Season | Dates | Legal deer | Resident draw | Rut phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controlled hunt 43-1 · Archery | August 15 – September 30 | Antlered or antlerless | Good odds | Summer Range / Bachelor Pattern, Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition |
| Controlled hunt 48 · Any weapon | November 10 – November 24 | Antlered only | Very long 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 43-1 · Archery · August 15 – September 30
Controlled hunt 43-1 runs archery-only from August 15 through September 30, covering the same velvet-and-bachelor stretch as the general archery season, with bucks shifting out of velvet by mid-September but keeping similar habits afterward. The glass-and-stalk rhythm holds all season: locate a buck early, watch him bed, and make the move at midday, or use the evening sit to pattern him for a return trip at first light. Deer lean on forbs and browse and don't need much water to get by, so a small seep can be enough to hold a good buck nearby. This hunt allows antlered or antlerless deer and, for residents, carries good odds in the first-choice draw, making it one of the more attainable controlled options in the unit.
Controlled hunt 48 · Any weapon · November 10 – November 24
Controlled hunt 48 falls squarely in the rut, running any-weapon from November 10 through November 24 as bucks move through the tail end of pre-rut staging and into the primary rut itself. Weather this time of year turns colder with meaningful snowfall, and that's an advantage: incoming storms push deer out of high country onto lower, easier-to-glass ground, and fresh snow makes tracking fresh buck sign straightforward. The best strategy is finding does first, since bucks will be traveling with or checking nearby groups, and glassing hardest in the early morning and late evening hours. Tags are antlered only, and for residents the first-choice draw runs very long odds, so this hunt is a rare chance rather than a dependable plan.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,800–11,700 ft, typically around 7,200 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 18% gentle · 35% moderate · 45% steep · 2% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~508 sq mi
- National forests
- Sawtooth 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
- Sagebrush67%
- Grass and meadow10%
- Conifer8%
- Other cover8%
- Riparian6%
Mid elevations
- Sagebrush47%
- Conifer43%
- Grass and meadow9%
- Other cover1%
Higher elevations
- Conifer40%
- Grass and meadow31%
- Sagebrush27%
- Other cover2%
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 48. 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.
- Glendale fire, 2024 — about 7,500 acres in the unit (2%), mostly on its southeast side.
Fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center.
Land & access
About 83% of Unit 48 is public land a hunter can generally count on — National Forest, BLM and Idaho state endowment land.
- National Forest69%
- BLM12%
- Idaho state endowment land2%
- Private17%
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 47°F
- September — highs around 65°F, lows around 40°F
- October — highs around 51°F, lows around 30°F, about 1 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 38°F, lows around 20°F, about 12.9 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 30°F, lows around 13°F, about 27.9 in of snowfall
Unit 48 deer hunting FAQ
Can a resident buy a deer tag for Unit 48 over the counter?
Yes. Residents can purchase either the general regular deer tag or the white-tailed deer tag over the counter without applying for a draw. These tags are valid during the general archery and any-weapon seasons set for the unit.
How do nonresidents get a general deer tag for Unit 48?
Nonresidents 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 they submit their application. The tag is not chosen after the draw results come back, so the decision has to be made up front.
How hard is it to draw one of the controlled hunts in Unit 48?
Controlled hunt 43-1, an archery hunt, carries good odds for resident first-choice applicants, making it one of the more accessible controlled draws available here. Controlled hunt 48, an any-weapon rut hunt, carries very long odds for residents, so it should be treated as a long-shot opportunity rather than something to count on.
Which deer tags are valid in Unit 48?
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. Both general and controlled hunt tags in the unit carry their own legal-animal restrictions, such as antlered-only or antlered-or-antlerless, so it pays to check each season's specifics.
Which Unit 48 season falls during the rut?
Controlled hunt 48, running any-weapon from November 10 through November 24, falls during the primary rut and the tail end of pre-rut staging. The general archery season, general any-weapon season, and Controlled hunt 43-1 archery season all fall outside the rut window.
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.