Unit 59A Deer Hunting, Idaho
Idaho hunting unit · 403 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 59A is like
Unit 59A covers 403 square miles of rolling country, with some steeper breaks, ranging from around 4,900 feet up to 11,400 feet, with most of the hunting happening around 6,700 feet. At lower elevations the ground opens into grass and meadow with sagebrush mixed in, while the mid elevations turn heavily to sagebrush with a bit of conifer, and the higher country carries the most timber alongside sagebrush and pockets of grass and meadow. Much of this is foot country and glassing country rather than thick, close-quarters hunting, with enough elevation change to test legs and enough open ground to make optics worthwhile.
About 84 percent of the unit, roughly 340 square miles, is generally open to public hunting across National Forest, BLM and Idaho state endowment land, including ground within the Targhee National Forest. That is the figure a hunter can count on, though state endowment parcels can be posted closed or leased and are only generally open. The remaining private land, around 15 percent of the unit, requires written permission before it can be hunted.
Deer hunters here work with two distinct tags. Residents buy general regular deer tags and general white-tailed deer tags over the counter with no draw required. Nonresidents go through a random draw for a general tag, and they apply for either the regular deer tag or the white-tailed deer tag as a specific choice at the time of application, not after the draw. Beyond the general seasons, Controlled hunt 58-1 offers an any-weapon opportunity deep into the fall and rut, but it is a pure random draw with a limited number of tags and very long odds for resident first-choice applicants.
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 | Summer Range / Bachelor Pattern, Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition |
| White-tailed 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 |
| White-tailed deer tag · Any weapon Motorized Hunting Rule Applies | October 10 – October 31 | Antlered or antlerless | Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging |
| White-tailed deer tag · Any weapon Motorized Hunting Rule Applies | November 10 – December 9 | Antlered or antlerless | Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging, Primary Rut, Late Rut / Winter Consolidation |
Regular deer tag · Archery · August 30 – September 30
This archery season opens while bucks are still working through summer patterns and closes as they finish shedding velvet, giving hunters a full month of glassing-based hunting. Early on, bucks are bachelored up and predictable, feeding on forbs and browse into the morning before bedding in shade, so working the shady pockets and north-facing slopes at first light pays off. The plan is to glass a buck onto his bed, then close the distance in the middle of the day while he holds tight, or to watch him into the evening and come back the following morning. Once velvet sheds toward late September, bucks keep similar habits but may bed earlier and stay put longer, so a buck that seems to vanish is usually still nearby in a crevice or draw. This tag is valid for an antlered regular deer only, and the Motorized Hunting Rule applies throughout.
White-tailed deer tag · Archery · August 30 – September 30
Running the same August 30 to September 30 window, this white-tailed deer archery season rewards the same summer scouting and patient glassing as the regular deer archery hunt. Bucks are bachelored and still in velvet through much of it, feeding on forbs and browse before bedding in shade for the bulk of the day, which makes shady pockets and north-facing slopes worth checking at first light. The stalk-the-bed approach works here too: locate a buck early, mark his bed, and move on him at midday, or glass him into darkness and return the next morning. After velvet sheds late in the season bucks may bed earlier and hold tighter, so a buck that disappears from view is likely just tucked into a nearby draw. Unlike the regular deer archery tag, this one allows either an antlered or antlerless white-tailed deer, and the Motorized Hunting Rule applies.
Regular deer tag · Any weapon · October 10 – October 24
By the second week of October, bucks are sliding into the nocturnal pattern of the Early Fall Migration phase, moving mostly under cover of darkness and staying close to the same country they held through summer. That makes this any-weapon window a grind of covering the same summer range hard, since deer haven't yet begun shifting toward rutting grounds. The regular deer tag here is antlered only, so does and fawns are off the table, and the Motorized Hunting Rule applies across the unit. Hunters should expect to work the same drainages and slopes that produced sightings back in summer and early fall rather than chase deer to new ground.
White-tailed deer tag · Any weapon · October 10 – October 31
This white-tailed any-weapon season opens alongside the regular deer rifle hunt but runs a week longer, into the last day of October, spanning the same nocturnal buck pattern and reaching into the start of migration toward rutting ground. Early on, bucks are still holding close to their summer range and moving mostly at night, so hunters are best served working familiar ground. By the tail end of the season, deer may start drifting toward their rut country, so glassing the stretch between summer range and likely rutting ground can pay off as October closes. This tag allows either an antlered or antlerless white-tailed deer, and the Motorized Hunting Rule applies.
White-tailed deer tag · Any weapon · November 10 – December 9
Opening well into the pre-rut and running through the primary rut and into winter consolidation, this late white-tailed season is the rut hunt of the unit. Early on, deer continue drifting from summer range toward rutting ground, and by mid-November bucks are fully rutting and traveling with does. Weather moving through in November and December, with snowfall building each month and lows dropping well below freezing, tends to push deer out of the high country onto lower, more glassable ground, and fresh snow is worth checking for fresh buck tracks. The approach is simple: find the does, since bucks will be with them or close by, and glass hard in the early and late hours. This tag allows either an antlered or antlerless white-tailed deer under the Motorized Hunting Rule.
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 59A is valid only in its own hunt area.
| Season | Dates | Legal deer | Resident draw | Rut phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controlled hunt 58-1 · Any weapon Motorized Hunting Rule Applies | October 10 – November 30 | Antlered only | Very long odds | Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging, Primary Rut, Late Rut / Winter Consolidation |
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 58-1 · Any weapon · October 10 – November 30
Controlled hunt 58-1 stretches from October 10 through November 30, covering the full arc from the nocturnal buck phase through migration staging and into the heart of the rut and its winter consolidation. Early in the season bucks hold close to summer range and move mostly at night, then begin drifting toward rutting ground late in October, so glassing the country between the two is the way to stay on them. Once the primary rut arrives in November, bucks travel with does, and snow moving into the high country can push deer down to lower, easier-to-glass ground, with fresh snow useful for cutting fresh buck tracks. This tag is antlered only under the Motorized Hunting Rule, and it draws through a pure random draw with very long odds for resident first-choice applicants, so it should not be counted on as a yearly plan.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,900–11,400 ft, typically around 6,700 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 50% gentle · 30% moderate · 19% steep · 1% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~340 sq mi
- National forests
- Targhee 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 meadow62%
- Sagebrush32%
- Other cover6%
Mid elevations
- Sagebrush69%
- Grass and meadow25%
- Conifer5%
- Other cover1%
Higher elevations
- Sagebrush49%
- Conifer38%
- Grass and meadow12%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land.
Land & access
About 84% of Unit 59A is public land a hunter can generally count on — National Forest, BLM and Idaho state endowment land.
- National Forest43%
- BLM39%
- Idaho state endowment land2%
- Unclassified ownership<1%
- Private15%
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 79°F, lows around 48°F
- September — highs around 68°F, lows around 40°F
- October — highs around 53°F, lows around 30°F, about 0.6 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 38°F, lows around 19°F, about 4.3 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 28°F, lows around 11°F, about 8.9 in of snowfall
Unit 59A deer hunting FAQ
Can a resident buy a deer tag for Unit 59A over the counter?
Yes. Residents can buy either the general regular deer tag or the general white-tailed deer tag over the counter with no draw or application required. Nonresidents follow a different path through a random draw.
How do nonresidents get a general tag in Unit 59A?
Nonresidents enter a random draw for a general tag, and they must choose between the regular deer tag or the white-tailed deer tag at the time they apply. The specific tag is picked when applying, not after the draw results are known.
How hard is it to draw Controlled hunt 58-1?
Controlled hunt 58-1 is a pure random draw with a limited number of tags, and the resident first-choice draw odds are rated very long odds. It should not be treated as a dependable way to hunt the unit's rut in a given year.
Which deer tags are legal to hunt with in Unit 59A?
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 tags have their own separate season structure within the unit.
How much of Unit 59A is open to public hunting?
About 84 percent of the unit, roughly 340 square miles, is generally open to public hunting across National Forest, BLM and Idaho state endowment land, including ground within the Targhee National Forest. The remaining land is private and requires written permission to access.
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.