Unit 17 Elk Hunting, Idaho
Idaho hunting unit · Selway Elk Zone · 1,517 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 17 is in the Selway 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 17 is like
Unit 17 is steep and broken country spread across three national forests — the Bitterroot, the Clearwater and the Nezperce — with the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness covering about 84% of the unit and the Frank Church - River of No Return Wilderness reaching into about 12% more. That combination means most of the unit is closed to motorized travel, and a hunter should plan on covering ground on foot or by stock. Timber dominates at lower and mid elevations, with conifer cover at 70% and 61% respectively and sagebrush filling much of the rest; higher up the mix opens up, with conifer dropping to 43% and sagebrush and grass and meadow together making up more than half of the band, giving better glassing once a hunter climbs into that country.
Public access is about as dependable as it gets on paper — essentially the entire unit, roughly 1,515 of its 1,517 square miles, is National Forest land generally open to hunting. That said, the terrain itself, with steep and rugged ground covering more than half the unit by area, makes that access anything but easy; getting into the wilderness interior takes real effort. Four fires have burned parts of the unit in recent years: the Wye fire (2024) on the north side, the Indian Ridge fire (2022) on the south side, the Lynx fire (2021) on the southwest side, and the Cascade fire (2026) on the west side. Hunters should check for current fire closures before heading in.
Elk tags here are sold through the Selway Elk Zone, shared with Units 16A, 19 and 20, and split into an A tag and a B tag with different seasons. Residents buy either over the counter, while nonresidents must apply for one specific tag — A or B — through a random draw, choosing which one when they apply rather than after the draw. Both tags are capped, sold first-come, first-served until they run out, so timing matters.
General-season elk (2026)
General elk tags are sold by zone. Unit 17 is in the Selway Elk Zone (Units 16A, 17, 19 and 20); 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 17. 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 16A, 17, 19 and 20 | September 15 – September 30 | Antlered only | Primary Rut |
| A tag · Any weapon Valid area: Units 16A, 17, 19 and 20 | October 1 – October 31 | Antlered only | Late Rut / Early Post-Rut, Post-Rut Recovery |
| B tag · Any weapon Valid area: Units 16A, 17, 19 and 20 | November 1 – November 11 | Antlered only | Migration Transition |
B tag · Any weapon · September 15 – September 30
This early B-tag season runs right through the Primary Rut phase, so bulls are at their most vocal and most preoccupied with cows, which can work in a hunter's favor in the timbered lower and mid elevations where most of the unit's cover sits. Only antlered elk are legal, and the tag is capped and sold first-come, first-served, so securing one early matters. Given the steep and broken ground and the wilderness access restrictions across most of the unit, hunters should be ready to work on foot to reach elk that are holding in rut activity away from any roaded edges.
A tag · Any weapon · October 1 – October 31
By the time the A tag opens, elk have moved into the Late Rut / Early Post-Rut phase and then the Post-Rut Recovery phase, so breeding activity is winding down and bulls settle into more predictable feeding patterns. October brings modest snowfall and lows near freezing, which can push elk to lower, more open ground where sagebrush and grass and meadow give better visibility for glassing. Antlered elk only are legal on this tag, and hunters covering the unit's steep terrain should watch the mid and lower elevation timber edges where elk often stage between cover and feed.
B tag · Any weapon · November 1 – November 11
The second B-tag season falls in the Migration Transition phase, when elk are shifting off summer and fall range toward lower ground ahead of winter. November's heavier snowfall and colder lows push that movement along, often funneling elk out of the high, rugged wilderness interior toward more accessible mid and lower elevation timber and sagebrush. Only antlered elk may be taken, and the short window means hunters need to be ready to move with the elk rather than wait them out, especially with the difficult footing that steep terrain and building snow can create.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 1,700–9,400 ft, typically around 5,800 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 9% gentle · 38% moderate · 49% steep · 4% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~1,515 sq mi
- National forests
- Bitterroot National Forest, Clearwater National Forest and Nezperce National Forest
- Designated wilderness
- Selway Bitterroot Wilderness (84%) and Frank Church - River of No Return Wilderness (12%) — 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
- Conifer70%
- Sagebrush25%
- Grass and meadow4%
Mid elevations
- Conifer61%
- Sagebrush34%
- Grass and meadow5%
Higher elevations
- Conifer43%
- Sagebrush42%
- Grass and meadow15%
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 17. 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.
- Wye fire, 2024 — about 13,000 acres in the unit (1%), mostly on its north side.
- Lynx fire, 2021 — about 12,000 acres in the unit (1%), mostly on its southwest side.
- Indian Ridge fire, 2022 — about 9,500 acres in the unit (1%), mostly on its south side.
- Cascade fire, 2026 — about 7,500 acres in the unit, mostly on its west side.
Fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center.
Land & access
About 100% of Unit 17 is public land a hunter can generally count on — National Forest.
- National Forest100%
- Private<1%
Fall weather
- August — highs around 75°F, lows around 44°F
- September — highs around 65°F, lows around 38°F
- October — highs around 50°F, lows around 31°F, about 1.5 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 38°F, lows around 23°F, about 12.4 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 31°F, lows around 18°F, about 26.7 in of snowfall
Unit 17 elk hunting FAQ
Can a resident hunter buy an elk tag for Unit 17 over the counter?
Yes. Residents can buy a general elk tag for the Selway Elk Zone, which covers Unit 17, over the counter with no draw or application required. They still choose between the zone's A tag and B tag, since each carries a different season.
How does a nonresident get a general elk tag for Unit 17?
Nonresidents must apply for a general elk tag through a random draw, and they apply for a specific tag — either the Selway Elk Zone's A tag or its B tag — at the time of application. The tag choice is made when applying, not after the draw results are known, and both tags are capped with a limited number sold.
Which elk zone and tags cover Unit 17?
Unit 17 falls in the Selway Elk Zone along with Units 16A, 19 and 20. The zone offers an A tag valid October 1 through October 31 and two B tag windows, September 15 through September 30 and November 1 through November 11, all restricted to antlered elk only.
Which Unit 17 elk seasons fall during the rut?
The September 15 through September 30 B tag season falls within the Primary Rut phase, making it the rut-timed hunt in Unit 17. The October A tag and the November B tag both fall outside the rut, covering post-rut and migration periods instead.
How much of Unit 17 is public land a hunter can count on?
Nearly all of Unit 17, about 1,515 of its 1,517 square miles, is National Forest land generally open to public hunting. That figure does not mean access is easy, though, since most of that ground sits within wilderness that is closed to motorized travel and covers steep, rugged terrain.
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.