Unit 63 Deer Hunting, Idaho
Idaho hunting unit · 2,009 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 63 is like
Unit 63 is gentle and rolling country, with essentially no steep or rugged ground anywhere in the unit. Mean slope sits at a mild 1.5 degrees, and the land runs from about 4,400 feet up to 6,600 feet, so the limiting factor for a hunter here is rarely legs or lungs. Cover across the unit leans heavily to sagebrush, with grass and meadow filling out much of the rest, which makes for open sightlines but also means deer can spot a hunter just as easily as a hunter spots them. It is foot-accessible country almost everywhere terrain is concerned, with no wilderness designation to speak of, and success comes down to glassing and covering ground rather than climbing it.
Only about 28 percent of Unit 63, roughly 570 square miles, is generally open to public hunting through a mix of BLM, Idaho state endowment land, and a State Wildlife Management Area — and even endowment land can be posted closed or leased, so it pays to check before counting on a parcel. Another 37 percent falls into an unclassified ownership category that is neither reliably public nor reliably private, and the remaining 35 percent is private ground requiring written permission. That leaves legal access, not terrain, as the real gatekeeper in this unit — a hunter can see a lot of country here but can't assume they can walk into all of it.
Tag structure in Unit 63 splits along species lines. Residents buy general regular deer tags and white-tailed deer tags over the counter with no draw required, while nonresidents go through a random draw in which they apply for one specific tag — either the regular deer tag or the white-tailed deer tag — at the time of application, not after draw results are known. The regular deer tag covers either mule deer or white-tailed deer except where a season restricts it further, while the white-tailed deer tag is white-tailed deer only; each carries its own season dates and legal-animal rules, so it is worth matching the right tag to the right hunt before the season opens.
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 | 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 · Short-range weapons | October 10 – October 24 | Antlered | Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase |
| White-tailed deer tag · Short-range weapons | October 10 – October 31 | Antlered; antlerless: youth only | Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging |
| White-tailed deer tag · Archery | November 1 – December 19 | 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 on summer range, bachelored up in small groups and carrying velvet into early-to-mid September, then shifting into the velvet shed and early fall transition as the month wears on. In this open, gentle country, summer scouting and glassing matter more than anything else — look for deer near any available water, since a mature buck can get by on very little, and watch how heavily they lean on forbs and browse. Bucks typically feed into the morning before bedding in shade for most of the day, so glassing shady pockets and any north-facing slopes at first light is the way to locate one, then a stalk can be made while he's bedded in the middle of the day. Evening glassing works too, more often to mark a buck for a morning return than for an evening stalk; once velvet sheds the pattern holds but bucks may bed earlier and stay put later, and a buck that seems to vanish is usually still nearby in a small crevice or draw. The regular deer tag is valid this season for antlered deer only.
White-tailed deer tag · Archery · August 30 – September 30
Running the same August 30 through September 30 window, this white-tailed deer archery season finds bucks still bachelored and in velvet through early-to-mid September before easing into the velvet shed and early fall transition. The wide-open sagebrush and grass cover here rewards patient glassing over blind still-hunting — find deer near water or forb-heavy feeding areas in the morning, then watch for bucks bedding in shade or on north-facing slopes through the heat of the day. A first-light sighting followed by a midday stalk on a bedded buck is the standard approach, and evening glass sessions are often more useful for setting up a return the next morning than for an immediate stalk. Once velvet sheds behavior barely changes, though bucks may bed earlier and hold tight longer, so a buck that disappears from view is worth still checking nearby draws and crevices. Unlike the regular deer tag, the white-tailed deer tag here allows taking either an antlered or an antlerless deer.
Regular deer tag · Short-range weapons · October 10 – October 24
By the short-range weapons opener in October, bucks are deep into the early fall migration and increasingly nocturnal, though most haven't yet left the same general country they occupied all summer. That nocturnal shift makes daylight encounters tougher in this open, rolling terrain, since a buck that's moving mostly after dark leaves fewer chances to catch him up and feeding or cruising in the open. The smart play is still to work the same areas that held bucks through summer, glassing early and late for any daylight movement rather than expecting deer to have relocated. The regular deer tag is legal for antlered deer only during this stretch.
White-tailed deer tag · Short-range weapons · October 10 – October 31
This white-tailed deer short-range weapons season covers a longer window, from October 10 through October 31, spanning both the early fall migration's nocturnal buck phase and the start of the early pre-rut migration corridor staging period. Early on, bucks are like their regular-tag counterparts — mostly still on summer range but harder to catch moving in daylight — so hunters do well to keep working known summer areas. As the calendar pushes toward the end of the month, deer may begin drifting toward rutting ground, and the country between summer range and rutting range becomes worth glassing as staging areas develop. Any hunter may take an antlered deer this season, while an antlerless deer may only be taken by a youth hunter.
White-tailed deer tag · Archery · November 1 – December 19
Spanning November 1 through December 19, this white-tailed deer archery season opens with deer still finishing their pre-rut staging move before sliding into the primary rut and finally the late rut and winter consolidation by season's end. Bucks are rutting hard through November, and incoming weather — snowfall builds from under 2 inches in November to over 6 inches in December, with lows dropping toward 11°F — can push deer down out of higher ground onto flatter, more glassable terrain that suits this unit's rolling character well. Glassing early and late in the day pays off, and a fresh snowfall is an especially good time to cut fresh buck tracks; the more reliable strategy is to find the does, since rutting bucks will most likely be nearby or tending them directly. Either an antlered or an antlerless white-tailed deer is legal on this tag through the entire season.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,400–6,600 ft, typically around 4,900 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 100% gentle · 1% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~570 sq mi
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.
Across the unit
- Sagebrush53%
- Other cover30%
- Grass and meadow18%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land.
Land & access
About 28% of Unit 63 is public land a hunter can generally count on — BLM, Idaho state endowment land and State Wildlife Management Area.
- BLM21%
- Idaho state endowment land7%
- State Wildlife Management Area<1%
- Unclassified ownership37%
- Private35%
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 49°F
- September — highs around 75°F, lows around 41°F
- October — highs around 60°F, lows around 30°F, about 0.1 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 43°F, lows around 20°F, about 1.9 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 31°F, lows around 11°F, about 6.3 in of snowfall
Unit 63 deer hunting FAQ
Can a resident buy a deer tag for Unit 63 without entering a draw?
Yes. Residents can buy both the general regular deer tag and the general white-tailed deer tag over the counter, with no application or draw required. This applies to the archery and short-range weapons seasons listed for the unit.
How do nonresidents get a general deer tag for Unit 63?
Nonresidents go through a random draw rather than buying tags over the counter. When applying, a nonresident must choose the specific tag they want — either the regular deer tag or the white-tailed deer tag — since the tag is selected at the time of application, not after the draw is decided.
What is the difference between the regular deer tag and the white-tailed deer tag in Unit 63?
The regular deer tag is valid for either mule deer or white-tailed deer unless a specific season restricts it further, while the white-tailed deer tag can only be filled with a white-tailed deer. Each tag has its own season dates and its own rules for what counts as a legal animal, so hunters should check the season they intend to hunt before assuming either tag applies.
Which Unit 63 season falls during the rut?
The white-tailed deer archery season running November 1 through December 19 is the one that falls during the November rut, covering the primary rut phase along with the pre-rut staging and late-rut periods on either side of it. The other general seasons — both archery seasons starting August 30 and both short-range weapons seasons in October — occur before the rut begins.
How much of Unit 63 can a hunter count on for public access?
About 28 percent of the unit, roughly 570 square miles, is generally open to public hunting through BLM, Idaho state endowment land, and a State Wildlife Management Area. Even that land isn't a sure thing since endowment parcels can be posted closed or leased, and the remaining ground is split between private land requiring written permission and an unclassified category that shouldn't be assumed to be either public or private.
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.