Unit 71 Deer Hunting, Idaho
Idaho hunting unit · 529 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 good odds.
What hunting Unit 71 is like
Unit 71 sits in rolling to moderately steep country, running from about 4,500 feet up to 9,300 feet, with most of the ground falling in the gentle-to-moderate range. Sagebrush dominates the cover at every elevation band, giving way to more conifer and aspen higher up, with grass and meadow and small pockets of riparian scattered through. Much of it is foot-and-glass country: open enough to spot deer from a distance, but with enough draws, timber pockets, and terrain breaks to make a stalk possible. The Caribou National Forest anchors the public ground here, and any designated wilderness within it is closed to motorized travel, so hiking in is part of the deal.
Only about 34% of the unit — roughly 180 square miles — is dependably open to public hunting, split between National Forest, BLM, a State Wildlife Management Area, and Idaho state endowment land, the last of which can still be posted closed or leased on a given parcel. The remaining 66% is private and requires written permission. The Two And A Half fire and the Ross Fork fire, both from 2022, burned a combined roughly 5% of the unit on its northwest side; this fall lands two to four years out from those burns, a window when the open ground left by fire tends to glass well and grow good feed. Hunters working those areas should check for current fire closures before heading in.
Tag options here follow Idaho's general structure: residents buy a general deer tag over the counter, no application needed, while nonresidents go through a random draw in which they apply for either the regular deer tag or the white-tailed deer tag as a specific choice up front. On top of the general seasons, a controlled hunt offers an antlerless-only opportunity for white-tailed deer, drawn separately and by pure random draw with no points involved.
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 |
| Regular deer tag · Any weapon | October 10 – October 24 | Antlered | Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase |
Regular deer tag · Archery · August 30 – September 30
Late August into September, bucks are still in velvet and bachelored up, holding to the same rolling sagebrush country and timber edges they used through summer. Glassing is the game — glass at first light to locate a buck and mark where he beds, then close the distance in the middle of the day while he's down. A small seep or a passing rainstorm is enough water for a mature buck, so don't expect deer to be tied to obvious water sources. Once velvet sheds later in the month, bucks hold the same pattern but tend to bed earlier and stay put later, so a buck that seems to vanish is usually just tucked into a nearby crevice or draw. The regular deer tag covers this hunt, and only antlered deer are legal.
Regular deer tag · Any weapon · October 10 – October 24
By the second week of October, bucks have shifted into a more nocturnal pattern, moving less in daylight but generally staying close to the same ground they held all summer. That makes the earlier scouting pay off — knowing where bucks were bedding and feeding through August and September narrows down where to focus glassing now. With cover thinning across sagebrush flats and into the conifer and aspen higher up, spotting movement at dawn and dusk becomes more important than covering ground at midday. This is a general season hunt on the regular deer tag, antlered deer only.
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 71 is valid only in its own hunt area.
| Season | Dates | Legal deer | Resident draw | Rut phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controlled hunt 66A-1X · Any weapon Extra antlerless tag; White-tailed deer only, Very limited access; 77 and 78 | October 1 – November 30 | Antlerless only | Good 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 66A-1X · Any weapon · October 1 – November 30
This controlled hunt runs long, from the start of October through the end of November, covering the shift into migration staging and on through the primary rut and into winter consolidation. It's an antlerless-only opportunity limited to white-tailed deer, with very limited access making it a tough draw to fill even after tags are in hand — residents drawing hunt 66A-1X face good odds relative to hunts 77 and 78, but tags are still limited. Late-season hunters should expect some snow and lows near freezing by November, conditions that can push deer to lower, more open ground where riparian and grass pockets meet sagebrush. Success here comes down to persistence and access more than tactics, since the terrain and cover options are the same rolling sagebrush-to-timber country described across the unit, just worked later in the year and for antlerless deer only.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,500–9,300 ft, typically around 5,800 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 49% gentle · 40% moderate · 11% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~180 sq mi
- National forests
- Caribou 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
- Sagebrush46%
- Other cover41%
- Grass and meadow10%
- Riparian2%
Mid elevations
- Sagebrush65%
- Other cover15%
- Grass and meadow8%
- Conifer6%
- Aspen5%
- Riparian2%
Higher elevations
- Sagebrush47%
- Conifer37%
- Aspen12%
- Grass and meadow2%
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 71. 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.
- Two And A Half fire, 2022 — about 9,300 acres in the unit (3%), mostly on its northwest side.
- Ross Fork fire, 2022 — about 6,300 acres in the unit (2%), mostly on its northwest side.
Fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center.
Land & access
About 34% of Unit 71 is public land a hunter can generally count on — National Forest, BLM, State Wildlife Management Area and Idaho state endowment land.
- National Forest21%
- BLM10%
- State Wildlife Management Area1%
- Idaho state endowment land1%
- Unclassified ownership<1%
- Private66%
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 83°F, lows around 51°F
- September — highs around 72°F, lows around 43°F
- October — highs around 57°F, lows around 33°F, about 0.3 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 42°F, lows around 24°F, about 3.8 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 32°F, lows around 17°F, about 9.9 in of snowfall
Unit 71 deer hunting FAQ
Can a resident hunter buy a deer tag for Unit 71 without applying for anything?
Yes. Residents purchase the general regular deer tag over the counter with no draw or application required. That tag is valid for the archery season running August 30 through September 30 and the any-weapon season running October 10 through October 24, both antlered-only.
How does a nonresident get a general deer tag for Unit 71?
Nonresidents go through a random draw rather than buying over the counter. When applying, they choose a specific tag up front — 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.
How hard is it to draw the controlled hunt in Unit 71?
Controlled hunt 66A-1X, an antlerless-only white-tailed deer hunt with very limited access, carries good odds for residents drawing as a first choice relative to hunts 77 and 78. It's still a pure random draw with a limited number of tags, so a good-odds band is not a guarantee.
Which deer tags actually work in Unit 71?
The regular deer tag covers mule deer or white-tailed deer during the archery and any-weapon general seasons, both restricted to antlered deer. A separate white-tailed-deer-only controlled hunt (66A-1X) offers an antlerless tag for those who draw it.
How much of Unit 71 can a hunter count on reaching without needing permission?
About 34%, or roughly 180 square miles, is generally open to public hunting across National Forest, BLM, a State Wildlife Management Area, and Idaho state endowment land. The remaining 66% is private and requires written permission, and even the state endowment parcels can be posted closed or leased, so access still needs checking before heading in.
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.