Unit 56 Deer Hunting, Idaho
Idaho hunting unit · 915 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.
What hunting Unit 56 is like
Unit 56 is rolling country, with some steeper breaks, spanning a wide elevation range from around 4,200 feet up to 7,500 feet, most of it gentle to moderate ground that a hunter can cover on foot without technical climbing. Sagebrush dominates the cover at every elevation band, running from about a third of the lower ground up to nearly three-quarters of the higher ground, mixed with grass and meadow lower down and a bit of conifer timber and aspen appearing higher up. There's no designated wilderness named for this unit, but the terrain still rewards glassing and patient still-hunting over hard bushwhacking.
About half the unit, roughly 455 of its 915 square miles, is generally open to public hunting across BLM, National Forest land in the Caribou and Sawtooth National Forests, Idaho state endowment ground, and a State Wildlife Management Area. That's the only ground a hunter can count on, and even then state endowment parcels can be posted closed or leased, so it pays to check before setting out. The other half of the unit is private and requires written permission to hunt.
Both general seasons in Unit 56 fall outside the November rut window, so hunters are working bucks that are patterning off summer and early-fall habits rather than rutting behavior. Residents can buy a regular deer tag over the counter with no draw required; nonresidents go through a random draw where they apply for either the regular deer tag or the white-tailed deer tag as a specific choice at the time of application, not afterward. Both general seasons carry the Motorized Hunting Rule, so foot access matters in the areas it applies.
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 Motorized Hunting Rule Applies | August 30 – September 30 | Antlered or antlerless | Summer Range / Bachelor Pattern, Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition |
| Regular deer tag · Any weapon Motorized Hunting Rule Applies | October 10 – October 24 | Antlered | Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase |
Regular deer tag · Archery · August 30 – September 30
Archery season opens while bucks are still working through the tail end of their Summer Range / Bachelor Pattern phase and carries into the Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition phase, so early on it's common to find bucks bachelored up in small groups before they scatter out as velvet comes off. Summer scouting and glassing pay off more than anything else here — cover country near where bucks have been holding, working shady pockets and north-facing slopes where the sagebrush and grass give way to any available shade. Deer don't need much water in this terrain, so a seep or a recent rain can be enough to hold a buck nearby, and forbs and browse in the sagebrush-heavy cover keep them fed. The pattern is to glass at first light to locate a bedded buck, work the stalk in the middle of the day while he's down, then glass again in the evening either for a shot at another buck or to mark one for the next morning; once velvet sheds, bucks tend to bed earlier and hold tighter, so a buck that seems to vanish is likely still there in a nearby draw or crevice. The tag is a regular deer tag valid for antlered or antlerless deer, covering mule deer or white-tailed deer, right through the end of September.
Regular deer tag · Any weapon · October 10 – October 24
By the time the any-weapon season opens in October, bucks have slid into the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, meaning most are still holding near the same ground they used through summer but are increasingly active only in low light. That makes the sagebrush flats and grass and meadow pockets across the mid and lower elevations worth still-hunting and glassing hard at dawn and dusk, since daytime sightings get tougher as the month goes on. The rolling terrain with its steeper breaks gives enough cover and topography to still work a stalk once a buck is spotted, but patience matters more than covering ground. This is an antlered-only hunt on the regular deer tag, running October 10 through October 24, and the Motorized Hunting Rule applies, so foot access counts in the areas it covers.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,200–7,500 ft, typically around 5,200 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 64% gentle · 29% moderate · 7% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~455 sq mi
- National forests
- Caribou National Forest and 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
- Other cover43%
- Sagebrush31%
- Grass and meadow26%
Mid elevations
- Sagebrush50%
- Grass and meadow25%
- Other cover24%
- Conifer1%
Higher elevations
- Sagebrush73%
- Conifer12%
- Grass and meadow11%
- Other cover3%
- Aspen1%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land.
Land & access
About 50% of Unit 56 is public land a hunter can generally count on — BLM, National Forest, Idaho state endowment land and State Wildlife Management Area.
- BLM31%
- National Forest17%
- Idaho state endowment land2%
- State Wildlife Management Area<1%
- 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 52°F
- September — highs around 75°F, lows around 44°F
- October — highs around 60°F, lows around 34°F, about 0.1 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 46°F, lows around 25°F, about 2.3 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 35°F, lows around 18°F, about 6.1 in of snowfall
Unit 56 deer hunting FAQ
Can a resident buy a deer tag for Unit 56 without applying for anything?
Yes. Residents can purchase a general regular deer tag over the counter for Unit 56 with no draw and no application required. Nonresidents go through a random draw process instead.
How do nonresidents get into Unit 56 for deer season?
Nonresidents apply through a random draw, and when applying they choose a specific tag — either the regular deer tag or the white-tailed deer tag — rather than drawing a general tag and picking afterward. The tag choice is locked in at the time of application.
Which deer tags are valid in Unit 56?
The regular deer tag covers either mule deer or white-tailed deer unless a specific season restricts it further, and both general seasons listed for Unit 56 use this tag. A separate white-tailed deer tag exists for white-tailed deer only, available to nonresidents through the draw process.
Do either of the Unit 56 general seasons fall during the rut?
No. Both the archery season and the any-weapon season take place outside the November rut window, so hunters are dealing with bucks in summer/early-fall patterns or early migration behavior rather than rutting activity.
How much of Unit 56 can a hunter count on for public access?
About half the unit, roughly 455 square miles, is generally open to public hunting across BLM, National Forest, Idaho state endowment land, and a State Wildlife Management Area. The remaining half is private land requiring written permission, and even 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.