Unit 52 Elk Hunting, Idaho
Idaho hunting unit · Smoky - Bennett Elk Zone · 821 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 52 is in the Smoky - Bennett Elk Zone, whose A and B tags carry different seasons. Nonresident general tags are allocated by random draw. It also has 3 controlled hunts, drawn by pure random draw with no points — resident odds from long odds to very long odds. The zone's B tag is capped: a limited number, sold first-come, first-served.
What hunting Unit 52 is like
Unit 52 is gentle and rolling country, with a mean slope of under four degrees and almost none of the ground classified as steep or rugged. Elevations run from 3,500 feet up to 6,600 feet, and across that range the cover leans heavily on sagebrush and grass and meadow, with sagebrush dominance increasing the higher a hunter goes and small pockets of riparian cover showing up at mid and high elevations. This is foot-friendly, open-country hunting rather than dark-timber wilderness work — the flatter terrain makes for long looks and long walks, with cover thinner than in steeper units.
About 68 percent of the unit, roughly 562 square miles, is generally open to public hunting through a mix of BLM, Idaho state endowment land, and a State Wildlife Management Area. That is the only ground a hunter can count on going in, and even endowment parcels can be posted closed or under lease, so it pays to check status before setting a boot down. The remaining 31 percent is private and closed without written permission, so a look at land status ahead of time matters as much as picking a season.
Unit 52 sits in the Smoky - Bennett Elk Zone alongside Units 43, 44, 45 and 48, and general tags are sold by that zone rather than by unit. Residents buy the zone's general elk tags over the counter with no draw required, while nonresidents apply for a specific zone tag — A or B — through a random draw, choosing which tag they want at the time they apply rather than after draw results are known. On top of the general option, Unit 52 also carries its own controlled hunts, drawn separately by pure random draw with a limited number of tags issued each year.
General-season elk (2026)
General elk tags are sold by zone. Unit 52 is in the Smoky - Bennett Elk Zone (Units 43, 44, 45, 48 and 52); 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 52. 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 44, 45 and 52 | November 10 – November 24 | Antlerless only | Migration Transition |
B tag · Any weapon · November 10 – November 24
By the second week of November elk in Unit 52 are well into the migration transition, shifting off summer range as conditions push them toward lower ground, and this antlerless season runs through the back half of that shift. Hunters filling a cow or calf tag do best working the open sagebrush and grass and meadow flats where elk cross gentle, rolling terrain with little steep ground to fight through. Early winter weather is already a factor, with snowfall around 2.8 inches and lows near 24°F, conditions that can nudge animals into motion and open up sightlines across the more exposed lower and mid elevations. The tag is antlerless only, so all effort goes into locating and closing on cows and calves rather than tracking bulls.
Controlled elk 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 52 is valid only in its own hunt area.
| Season | Dates | Legal elk | Resident draw | Rut phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controlled hunt 45-1 · Archery Motorized Hunting Rule Applies | August 30 – September 30 | Antlered only | Long odds | Pre-Rut Transition, Rut Onset, Primary Rut |
| Controlled hunt 52 · Any weapon Motorized Hunting Rule Applies | October 1 – October 31 | Antlered only | Long odds | Late Rut / Early Post-Rut, Post-Rut Recovery |
| Controlled hunt 52 · Any weapon | December 1 – December 31 | Antlered or antlerless | Very long odds | Winter Range |
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 45-1 · Archery · August 30 – September 30
This archery hunt opens in the pre-rut transition and runs through rut onset and into the heart of the primary rut, covering the stretch when bull behavior changes the most through the fall. In the season's early days bulls are still shedding velvet and holding close to the same ground they used all summer, and sitting water sources or glassing the open sagebrush and grass and meadow country for a spot-and-stalk works well given how little cover there is to hide movement. As the calendar pushes into rut onset and then full rut, bulls become more active and more vocal, which rewards hunters willing to cover the gentle, rolling ground on foot and use the open terrain to their advantage. Only antlered bulls are legal, and the hunt draws at long odds for residents, with the Motorized Hunting Rule in effect.
Controlled hunt 52 · Any weapon · October 1 – October 31
Running the entire month of October, this any-weapon hunt spans the late rut and early post-rut into full post-rut recovery, a stretch when bull activity is winding down from its peak. The wide-open, low-relief terrain in Unit 52 means elk have fewer places to disappear, so hunters can lean on glassing sagebrush and grass and meadow country to locate bulls before making a move. Only antlered elk are legal here, the Motorized Hunting Rule applies, and the hunt draws at long odds for residents.
Controlled hunt 52 · Any weapon · December 1 – December 31
December's controlled hunt falls entirely in the winter range phase, when elk have settled onto lower-elevation ground for the season. Snowfall averages around 10.2 inches for the month with lows near 16°F, and that combination tends to concentrate animals on the more open sagebrush and grass flats where they're easier to spot but the walking gets colder and heavier. Both antlered and antlerless elk are legal on this tag, giving hunters more flexibility than the fall hunts, but it draws at very long odds for residents, making it the least certain of Unit 52's controlled opportunities.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 3,500–6,600 ft, typically around 4,600 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 91% gentle · 8% moderate · 1% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~562 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.
Lower elevations
- Sagebrush35%
- Other cover35%
- Grass and meadow30%
Mid elevations
- Sagebrush45%
- Grass and meadow40%
- Other cover14%
- Riparian1%
Higher elevations
- Sagebrush80%
- Grass and meadow11%
- Other cover8%
- Riparian2%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land.
Land & access
About 68% of Unit 52 is public land a hunter can generally count on — BLM, Idaho state endowment land and State Wildlife Management Area.
- BLM65%
- Idaho state endowment land3%
- State Wildlife Management Area<1%
- Unclassified ownership<1%
- Private31%
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 86°F, lows around 51°F
- September — highs around 75°F, lows around 43°F
- October — highs around 61°F, lows around 33°F, about 0.1 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 45°F, lows around 24°F, about 2.8 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 33°F, lows around 16°F, about 10.2 in of snowfall
Unit 52 elk hunting FAQ
Can a resident buy an elk tag for Unit 52 over the counter?
Yes. Unit 52 falls in the Smoky - Bennett Elk Zone, and residents can buy that zone's general elk tag over the counter with no draw or application required. The zone's B tag any-weapon season, valid in Units 44, 45 and 52, runs November 10 through November 24 and is antlerless only.
How do nonresidents get a general elk tag for Unit 52?
Nonresidents cannot simply buy a general tag over the counter; they must apply through a random draw. When applying, a nonresident selects a specific tag — either the Smoky - Bennett Elk Zone's A tag or its B tag — and that choice is locked in at the time of application, not after the draw is complete.
How hard are the controlled hunts in Unit 52 to draw?
Controlled hunt 45-1, an archery hunt for antlered bulls from August 30 to September 30, draws at long odds for residents. Controlled hunt 52's October any-weapon antlered season also draws at long odds, while the December any-weapon hunt, which allows antlered or antlerless elk, draws at very long odds for residents.
Which elk zone and tags cover Unit 52?
Unit 52 is part of the Smoky - Bennett Elk Zone, which also includes Units 43, 44, 45 and 48. General elk tags for the zone come in an A tag and a capped B tag, each with its own season and weapon rules, and a hunter chooses one when buying or applying.
How much of Unit 52 is public land a hunter can count on?
About 68 percent of the unit, roughly 562 square miles, is generally open to public hunting through BLM, Idaho state endowment land, and a State Wildlife Management Area. The remaining 31 percent is private and requires written permission. Even the public endowment parcels can be posted closed or leased, so access should be confirmed rather than assumed.
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.