Unit 14 Elk Hunting, Idaho
Idaho hunting unit · Elk City Elk Zone · 574 sq mi
General season — resident tags over the counter
Residents buy general elk tags over the counter — no draw, no points. General elk is sold by zone: Unit 14 is in the Elk City Elk Zone, whose A and B tags carry different seasons. Nonresident general tags are allocated by random draw. The zone's A tag and B tag are capped: a limited number, sold first-come, first-served.
What hunting Unit 14 is like
Unit 14 sits mostly within the Nezperce National Forest, with the Gospel Hump Wilderness covering about 7.4 percent of the unit in its higher country. Elevation runs from a low of 1,300 feet up to 8,000 feet, and the terrain overall is mixed, with substantial steep ground worked into the mix of gentle benches and moderate slopes. At lower elevations elk have grass and meadow and conifer to work with, while mid and upper elevations shift heavily to conifer timber with sagebrush mixed in. Foot travel and a willingness to climb pay off here, and the wilderness portion is closed to motorized travel, so hunters covering that ground do it on foot or horseback.
About 66 percent of Unit 14, roughly 379 square miles, is generally open to public hunting across National Forest, BLM and Idaho state endowment land, though endowment parcels can be posted closed or leased and should never be assumed open without checking. The remaining 34 percent is private and requires written permission before setting foot on it. That still leaves a large public base to hunt, but finding elk on it takes legwork rather than assuming easy access anywhere in the unit.
Unit 14 falls in the Elk City Elk Zone alongside Units 15 and 16, and general elk tags here are sold by that zone rather than by unit. Residents buy general elk tags over the counter with no draw required, while nonresidents go through a random draw in which they apply for a specific zone tag — either the A tag or the B tag — chosen at the time of application, not afterward. Both the A tag and B tag are capped, sold first-come, first-served until they run out, and each carries its own season, weapon and legal-animal rules that a hunter needs to match to how and when they want to hunt this unit.
General-season elk (2026)
General elk tags are sold by zone. Unit 14 is in the Elk City Elk Zone (Units 14, 15 and 16); a hunter chooses its A tag or its B tag, and each carries its own seasons. The windows below are the ones valid in Unit 14. Residents buy the tag over the counter; nonresident general tags are allocated by random draw.
| Season | Dates | Legal elk | Rut phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| B tag · Any weapon Valid area: Units 14, 15 and 16 | October 10 – October 24 | Antlered only | Late Rut / Early Post-Rut, Post-Rut Recovery |
| A tag · Muzzleloader Valid area: Units 14, 16 | November 21 – December 5 | Antlerless only | Migration Transition, Winter Range |
B tag · Any weapon · October 10 – October 24
By the time this any-weapon season opens, elk have moved past the September rut and into the Late Rut / Early Post-Rut phase before settling into Post-Rut Recovery by its close. No season here falls during the rut itself, so calling-driven rutting behavior is not part of this hunt. The better approach is working the timber and mixed cover across the moderate-to-steep ground that makes up most of Unit 14, still-hunting or glassing the transition zones between conifer and open grass and sagebrush. This is a B tag, any-weapon season valid across Units 14, 15 and 16, and it is antlered-only, so hunters are looking for bulls in that post-rut window when animals are settling back into more predictable patterns.
A tag · Muzzleloader · November 21 – December 5
This late-season muzzleloader hunt lands during the Migration Transition phase and runs into the Winter Range phase, as elk shift out of higher country ahead of the season's heavier snow. November brings modest snowfall and cold lows, but by December snowfall increases substantially and lows drop further, both of which push animals toward lower-elevation grass, meadow and sagebrush ground where they winter. This A tag is antlerless-only and valid in Units 14 and 16, so the focus is locating cows and calves that have already dropped into that lower-elevation cover rather than climbing into the high timber. Hunters willing to handle the cold and deeper snow late in the run have the advantage of animals concentrating in more open, lower ground that is easier to glass than the timbered mid and upper elevations.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 1,300–8,000 ft, typically around 4,500 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 27% gentle · 38% moderate · 32% steep · 4% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~379 sq mi
- National forests
- Nezperce National Forest
- Designated wilderness
- Gospel Hump Wilderness (7%) — closed to motorized vehicles
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 meadow37%
- Other cover24%
- Conifer20%
- Sagebrush19%
Mid elevations
- Conifer65%
- Sagebrush21%
- Grass and meadow13%
- Other cover1%
Higher elevations
- Conifer78%
- Sagebrush15%
- Grass and meadow6%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land.
Land & access
About 66% of Unit 14 is public land a hunter can generally count on — National Forest, Idaho state endowment land and BLM.
- National Forest59%
- Idaho state endowment land4%
- BLM3%
- National Park Service<1%
- Private34%
Idaho state endowment land is generally open to hunting unless posted closed or leased — check the parcel before planning around it.
Hunting is allowed on some National Park Service land (a national preserve, for example) but not in national monuments or historical parks — check where it is allowed.
Fall weather
- August — highs around 80°F, lows around 49°F
- September — highs around 70°F, lows around 42°F
- October — highs around 55°F, lows around 33°F, about 0.4 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 41°F, lows around 25°F, about 3.3 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 34°F, lows around 19°F, about 10.2 in of snowfall
Unit 14 elk hunting FAQ
Can a resident buy an elk tag for Unit 14 over the counter?
Yes, residents can buy a general elk tag over the counter with no draw or application needed. That tag is for the Elk City Elk Zone, which covers Unit 14 along with Units 15 and 16, and the resident chooses between the zone's A tag and B tag based on season and weapon.
How do nonresidents get a general elk tag for Unit 14?
Nonresidents go through a random draw rather than buying over the counter. When applying, they apply for a specific tag — the Elk City Elk Zone's A tag or B tag — and that choice is locked in at application, not selected after the draw results come out.
Which elk zone and tags cover Unit 14?
Unit 14 is part of the Elk City Elk Zone, shared with Units 15 and 16. The zone offers an A tag and a B tag with different seasons and weapons, and both are capped, sold first-come, first-served until they sell out.
Do any of Unit 14's elk seasons fall during the rut?
No. Both general seasons available in Unit 14, the any-weapon B tag and the muzzleloader A tag, fall outside the September rut period entirely, landing instead in post-rut, migration and winter-range phases.
How much of Unit 14 is public land a hunter can count on?
About 66 percent of the unit, roughly 379 square miles, is generally open to public hunting through National Forest, BLM and Idaho state endowment land. The remaining 34 percent is private and requires written permission, and even the endowment parcels within the public share can occasionally be posted closed or leased.
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.