Unit 72 Deer Hunting, Idaho
Idaho hunting unit · 420 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 good odds.
What hunting Unit 72 is like
Unit 72 is gentle and rolling country, with the vast majority of its ground classed as gentle slopes and only a small sliver of steep terrain. Elevations run from about 5,300 feet up to 7,300 feet, and the cover across the unit leans heavily to sagebrush, with pockets of timber, riparian growth, grass and meadow, and aspen mixed in. It is the kind of ground that rewards a hunter willing to glass long distances and cover it on foot, rather than country that demands technical climbing skill.
Only around 31 percent of the unit's 420 square miles is dependably open to public hunting, split between Idaho state endowment land and BLM ground, with endowment parcels generally open unless posted closed or leased. The rest is split between a large private majority that requires written permission and a small share of unclassified ownership that cannot be counted as either public or private. That means legal access, not terrain, is what limits a hunter's options here, and finding a way onto huntable ground takes real planning before the season opens.
Residents can buy a general regular deer tag over the counter with no draw required. Nonresidents go 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 draw. Beyond the general seasons, two controlled hunts add more limited opportunity: an antlerless-only extra tag aimed at white-tailed deer with very limited access, and an archery hunt timed to the rut.
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 finds bucks still in their summer bachelor groups, carrying velvet through most of this stretch. Summer scouting pays off more than anything else here — glassing shady pockets and north-facing slopes in the gentle, rolling terrain will turn up bedded bucks that fed through the morning. A good pattern is to glass at first light to locate a buck and mark his bed, then work a stalk in the middle of the day while he's down, or glass again in the evening and return the next morning. Once velvet sheds, the same bucks tend to hold the same routines but may bed earlier and stay down until after dark, so a buck that seems to vanish is usually just tucked into a nearby draw or crevice. Only antlered deer are legal on this regular deer tag season.
Regular deer tag · Any weapon · October 10 – October 24
By October, bucks are shifting into a more nocturnal pattern, moving mostly under low light, though most haven't strayed far from where they spent the summer. That makes the same general areas worth returning to, with more emphasis on catching deer moving at dawn or dusk rather than mid-day glassing. The regular deer tag is valid for antlered deer only during this any-weapon season, and the open sagebrush and timber mix means covering ground methodically still matters more than any single tactic.
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 72 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 |
| Controlled hunt 72-1 · Archery | November 16 – December 5 | Antlered only | Good odds | 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 long controlled hunt runs from the first of October through the end of November, spanning the shift from early fall into the heart of the rut and into winter consolidation, and it's built around filling an antlerless white-tailed deer tag. Access on this hunt is very limited, so the practical work is locating a legal way onto huntable ground before hunting begins. Snow starts to arrive in November, with lows dropping into the low 20s and around 7.7 inches falling for the month, conditions that can push deer toward lower, more open ground and make travel harder later in the season. The tag is antlerless only and restricted to white-tailed deer, so the entire hunt centers on finding does rather than working any buck sign.
Controlled hunt 72-1 · Archery · November 16 – December 5
Running from mid-November into early December, this archery hunt lands squarely in the primary rut and carries into the late-rut, winter-consolidation period, when bucks are actively seeking does. Incoming weather — snowfall builds from around 7.7 inches in November to roughly 16.5 inches in December, with lows falling to near 15°F — often pushes deer out of higher ground onto lower, more open and more glassable terrain. Fresh snow is especially useful for cutting fresh buck tracks, and the better strategy is to find concentrations of does first, since bucks are likely to be nearby or actively working through them. Only antlered deer are legal on this archery-only controlled hunt.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 5,300–7,300 ft, typically around 6,200 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 72% gentle · 26% moderate · 3% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~131 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
- Sagebrush51%
- Other cover34%
- Conifer8%
- Riparian3%
- Grass and meadow2%
- Aspen2%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land.
Land & access
About 31% of Unit 72 is public land a hunter can generally count on — Idaho state endowment land and BLM.
- Idaho state endowment land22%
- BLM9%
- Unclassified ownership6%
- Private63%
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 50°F
- September — highs around 69°F, lows around 42°F
- October — highs around 54°F, lows around 32°F, about 0.6 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 40°F, lows around 22°F, about 7.7 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 30°F, lows around 15°F, about 16.5 in of snowfall
Unit 72 deer hunting FAQ
Can a resident buy a deer tag for Unit 72 over the counter?
Yes. Residents can purchase a general regular deer tag over the counter for Unit 72 without applying through any draw. That tag covers the archery and any-weapon general seasons listed for the unit.
How do nonresidents get a general tag for Unit 72?
Nonresidents go through a random draw rather than buying over the counter. When applying, they choose a specific tag — either the regular deer tag or the white-tailed deer tag — and that choice is locked in at the time of application, not afterward.
How hard are the controlled hunts in Unit 72 to draw?
Both listed controlled hunts, the antlerless-only hunt 66A-1X and the archery hunt 72-1, carry a resident first-choice draw band of good odds. That band describes relative draw difficulty only and is not a guarantee or a percentage.
Which deer tags can be used in Unit 72?
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. Hunters should match the tag they carry to the legal animal listed for whichever season they're hunting.
How much of Unit 72 can a hunter count on for public access?
About 31 percent of the unit's 420 square miles, roughly 131 square miles, is generally open to public hunting through a mix of Idaho state endowment land and BLM ground. The remaining majority is private land requiring written permission, plus a small share of unclassified ownership that can't be counted as 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.