Unit 76 Deer Hunting, Idaho
Idaho hunting unit · 1,390 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 76 is like
Unit 76 sits across rolling to moderately steep country, with about half the ground gentle, a bit more moderate, and only a small share steep. Elevations run from around 5,800 feet up to nearly 9,900 feet, typical hunting country near 6,800 feet, and cover shifts with that climb — sagebrush and riparian bottoms low down, sagebrush and conifer mixing through the middle elevations, and conifer and sagebrush dominating up high. Much of this is foot country: no rugged badlands to speak of, but enough moderate and steep ground, especially higher up, to make for a full day's work on foot. Caribou National Forest and Targhee National Forest anchor the public backbone of the unit, and any designated wilderness within them is closed to motorized travel.
About 54 percent of the unit's roughly 1,390 square miles is generally open to public hunting — national forest, BLM, state endowment, and wildlife management area ground a hunter can count on, though state endowment parcels can be posted closed or leased and are never a sure thing. Private land makes up about 44 percent of the unit and requires written permission, with a small unclassified slice rounding out the rest.
Residents buy a general regular deer tag over the counter with no draw required, while nonresidents go through a random draw in which they apply for a specific tag — regular deer or white-tailed deer — chosen at the time of application, not after draw results are known. Beyond the two general seasons, the unit also carries a pair of controlled hunts, each a pure random draw with a limited number of tags and no points involved at any step — one an antlerless-only extra tag aimed at white-tailed deer, the other an archery hunt for antlered deer covering only part of the unit.
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 |
| 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
Late summer into September finds bucks still in their bachelor groups, holding velvet before shedding it as the month wears on, and this is prime glassing season in Unit 76. Scouting pays off more than anything else here — glass at first light across the sagebrush and timber edges to locate a buck, watch where he beds for the day, then close the distance at midday while he's settled in shade or a north-facing pocket. Water is not the key it might seem; a mature buck can get by on very little, so focus on feeding activity in forbs and browse instead. Evening glassing often just re-confirms a bedded buck's location for a morning follow-up, and once velvet sheds bucks tend to bed earlier and stay put longer, so a buck that seems to vanish is likely tucked into a nearby draw or crevice. Only antlered deer are legal on this regular tag, and the motorized hunting rule applies throughout.
Regular deer tag · Any weapon · October 10 – October 24
By October the rut is still a ways off and bucks are settling into a nocturnal pattern, moving less in daylight but generally staying near the same country they held through summer. Cooling temperatures and the season's light snowfall don't change the hunt dramatically, but they do signal deer starting to firm up their fall patterns across the mid and higher elevations. This is a short window, so still-hunting timbered edges and glassing the fringes of sagebrush flats where bucks were bedding earlier in the fall is a reasonable approach. Only antlered deer are legal under the regular tag, and the motorized hunting rule applies.
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 76 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; Motorized Hunting Rule Applies in Units 66A, 73, 75, 76; 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 Covers only part of this unit | 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 controlled hunt runs long, from early October through the end of November, spanning the shift from nocturnal fall patterns through the pre-rut staging, the primary rut, and into late-rut consolidation. It is an antlerless-only tag for white-tailed deer, with very limited access built into the hunt and the motorized hunting rule in effect. Snowfall increases through the period, from light in October to considerably heavier by November, and colder nights push deer to settle into more consistent late-season patterns as the unit's phases move toward winter consolidation. A hunter drawn for this tag should expect to work the unit's cover for antlerless white-tailed deer specifically, with resident draw odds for the hunt running good.
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 consolidation period, and it covers only part of the unit rather than all of it. Bucks are rutting hard through this stretch, and incoming weather — heavier snow and colder nights as November gives way to December — can push deer down out of the high country onto ground that's easier to glass and reach. Early and late light are the times to be glassing, and a fresh snowfall is worth checking for tracks; finding does is often the fastest way to find a rutting buck nearby. Only antlered deer are legal, and resident draw odds for this hunt run good.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 5,800–9,900 ft, typically around 6,800 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 46% gentle · 42% moderate · 12% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~752 sq mi
- National forests
- Caribou National Forest and 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
- Other cover41%
- Sagebrush31%
- Riparian25%
- Conifer2%
Mid elevations
- Sagebrush67%
- Conifer24%
- Aspen4%
- Riparian4%
- Other cover1%
- Grass and meadow1%
Higher elevations
- Conifer54%
- Sagebrush39%
- Aspen4%
- Grass and meadow2%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land.
Land & access
About 54% of Unit 76 is public land a hunter can generally count on — National Forest, BLM, Idaho state endowment land and State Wildlife Management Area.
- National Forest43%
- BLM7%
- Idaho state endowment land3%
- State Wildlife Management Area<1%
- Unclassified ownership2%
- Private44%
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 78°F, lows around 46°F
- September — highs around 68°F, lows around 38°F
- October — highs around 54°F, lows around 29°F, about 1.2 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 40°F, lows around 20°F, about 11.1 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 30°F, lows around 12°F, about 20.6 in of snowfall
Unit 76 deer hunting FAQ
Can a resident buy a deer tag for Unit 76 over the counter?
Yes. Residents can buy a general regular deer tag over the counter for Unit 76 without applying in any draw. Nonresidents do not have this option and must go through a random draw process instead.
How do nonresidents get a general tag in Unit 76?
Nonresidents enter a random draw and must apply for a specific tag — either the regular deer tag or the white-tailed deer tag — at the time they apply. The specific tag is chosen when applying, not after the draw results are known.
How hard are the controlled hunts in Unit 76 to draw?
Both controlled hunts listed for Unit 76 — the antlerless-only 66A-1X hunt and the archery-only 72-1 hunt — carry a resident first-choice draw band of good odds. Neither is guaranteed, and both are pure random draws with a limited number of tags available.
Which deer tags work in Unit 76?
The regular deer tag covers both mule deer and white-tailed deer unless a specific season restricts it further, while the white-tailed deer tag is valid for white-tailed deer only. Controlled hunt 66A-1X is an antlerless-only white-tailed deer tag, and controlled hunt 72-1 is an antlered-only archery tag.
Which Unit 76 seasons fall during the November rut?
Controlled hunt 66A-1X and controlled hunt 72-1 both run into the primary rut period in November. The two general seasons, by contrast, occur outside the rut — the archery season in late summer and early fall, and the any-weapon season in mid-October.
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.