This is Idaho's published 2026 season, the whole state at once. A pin reads its game management unit off the map and cuts this to the seasons, arms and limits that apply there.

Idaho deer seasons

2026

1 antlered deer per licence year. "No person may take more than one (1) deer, elk, pronghorn, moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, black bear, or gray wolf during a calendar year" — with two exceptions: a depredation hunt tag allows one additional deer, and an extra tag hunt allows one more. And "in no event may any person take more deer, elk, pronghorn, mountain lion, black bear, or gray wolf in a calendar year than the number of tags the person legally possesses for each species." A second deer tag may be bought from early August at the non-resident price, but not for use in Units 10, 10A, 12, 16A, 17, 19 or 20. Brochure, printed pp. 31 and 95.

General Any Weapon
Any legal weaponPrinted in 7 columns — check which covers your game management unit.
October in most of Idaho — but four different calendars across the state, and three units that open in September.
Units 1, 2, 3, 4A, 5 and 6
Oct 10–31Either sex
Nov 1–14Either sex
Nov 15 – Dec 1Either sex
One deer a calendar year, and no more deer than the tags you hold.
Units 4, 7 and 9
Oct 10–31Either sex
Nov 1–9Either sex
One deer a calendar year, and no more deer than the tags you hold.
Units 8, 8A, 10, 10A, 12, 15 and 16
Oct 10 – Nov 3Either sex
One deer a calendar year. A second deer tag may not be used in Units 10, 10A or 12.
Units 16A, 17, 19 and 20
Sep 15 – Nov 20Either sex
One deer a calendar year. A second deer tag may not be used in any of these four units.
Three-week October units
Oct 10–31Antlered only
One deer a calendar year.
Units 20A, 26 and 27
Sep 15 – Oct 31Antlered only
One deer a calendar year.
Two-week October units
Oct 10–24Antlered only
One deer a calendar year.
- "Regular Deer tag is valid for mule deer or white-tailed deer unless otherwise noted." Brochure, printed p. 11.
- The antlerless column of the table is usually not the antlered column. In most units it is youth only, private land only, white-tailed deer only, or None — the app carries the antlered dates and each variant says what the antlerless column allows.
- Units 22, 40, 41 and 42 are 2-point deer only for antlered deer.
- The Motorized Hunting Rule applies in many units — Units 29, 32, 32A, 37A, 50, 51, 52A, 56, 58, 59, 59A, 66, 66A, 69, 75, 76, 77 among them. See printed pp. 104-106.
- Short range weapons only on C.J. Strike, Chester Wetlands, Payette River and Montour Wildlife Management Areas and the Pahsimeroi Access Area, on the islands in the Snake River, and in described portions of Units 24, 60A and 67.
- Farragut State Park and Farragut Wildlife Management Area are closed.
- Idaho requires no hunter orange in any season.
General Archery Only
Archery equipment — an archery permit is requiredPrinted in 7 columns — check which covers your game management unit.
Most of Idaho hunts the whole of September with a bow; a handful of units hunt November and December instead.
Units 28 — December
Dec 1–31Either sex
One deer a calendar year.
Unit 39 — November
Nov 10–30Either sex
One deer a calendar year.
Unit 55 — mid-November to December
Nov 16 – Dec 10Either sex
One deer a calendar year.
The panhandle — a September block and a Christmas block
Aug 30 – Sep 30Either sex
Dec 10–24Either sex
One deer a calendar year.
The white-tailed December units
Aug 30 – Sep 30Antlered only
Nov 20 – Dec 19Either sex
One deer a calendar year.
September, antlerless open
Aug 30 – Sep 30Either sex
One deer a calendar year.
September, antlered only
Aug 30 – Sep 30Antlered only
One deer a calendar year.
- An archery permit is required on top of the licence and tag — $19.50 for a resident, $81.75 for a non-resident. Brochure, printed p. 14.
- Four units run their archery season in late autumn rather than September: Unit 28 in December, Unit 39 in November, Unit 55 from 16 November, and Units 60A, 62, 64, 65, 66, 67 and 69 add a white-tailed-deer-only block from 20 November to 19 December.
- In Units 40, 41 and 42 the archery season is 2-point deer only, as the Any Weapon season is.
- A portion of Unit 39 is closed. Units 10, 10A and 12 do not accept a second deer tag.
General Muzzleloader Only
Muzzleloader — a muzzleloader permit is requiredPrinted in 3 columns — check which covers your game management unit.
Three unit groups, and that is the whole of Idaho's general muzzleloader deer hunting.
Units 4, 7 and 9
Nov 10–14Either sex
Nov 15 – Dec 1Either sex
One deer a calendar year.
Unit 39 — antlerless only
Sep 8–30Antlerless only
One deer a calendar year.
Unit 73A
Oct 10–24Antlered only
One deer a calendar year.
- A muzzleloader permit is required — $19.50 for a resident, $81.75 for a non-resident. Brochure, printed p. 15.
- Only three rows exist in the whole table: Units 4, 7 and 9; Unit 39; and Unit 73A.
- In Units 4, 7 and 9 the antlered season is 10 to 14 November and the antlerless season runs 10 November to 1 December, white-tailed deer only, with a further antlered white-tailed block 15 November to 1 December.
- Unit 39 has no antlered muzzleloader season at all — only antlerless, 8 to 30 September.
General Short Range Weapon
Short range weapons — muzzleloader, shotgun with slugs, archery, or handgun as the rules definePrinted in 3 columns — check which covers your game management unit.
Three units, one of which runs for ten weeks.
Unit 38
Oct 10–31Either sex
One deer a calendar year.
Unit 53 — a portion only
Aug 30 – Nov 6Either sex
One deer a calendar year.
Unit 63
Oct 10–24Antlered only
One deer a calendar year.
- Only three rows: Unit 38 from 10 to 31 October, Unit 53 from 30 August to 6 November, and Unit 63 from 10 to 24 October. Brochure, printed p. 15.
- Unit 38's antlerless season runs longer than its antlered season — 10 October to 24 November — and access there is very limited; see the note on printed p. 15.
- Only a portion of Unit 53 is open, and the Motorized Hunting Rule applies there.
- Short range weapons are also the only lawful arms on several wildlife management areas and in described portions of Units 24, 60A and 67, whatever season is open.

Legal Arms

Idaho Big Game 2026 Seasons & Rules weapon specifications, as the digest prints them.

Archery

Brochure, printed pp. 98-100

Archery equipment, with an archery permit

Muzzleloader

Brochure, printed pp. 98-100

Muzzleloader, with a muzzleloader permit, meeting the brochure's muzzleloader-only equipment rules

Any weapon

Brochure, printed pp. 13, 15 and 98-100

Any legal weapon for big game

Any weapon but a short range weapon on C.J. Strike, Chester Wetlands, Payette River and Montour Wildlife Management Areas, the Pahsimeroi Access Area, the Snake River islands, and described portions of Units 24, 60A and 67

Hunting Hours and Orange

What the state defines as legal light, and what has to be worn in it.

Legal Shooting Hours

Brochure, printed p. 95

"Big game animals may be hunted only from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset." One line, no seasonal or unit variation.

Fluorescent Orange

Brochure, printed p. 95, which sets out the general wildlife laws and requires no orange

Idaho has no hunter orange law. The 2026 Seasons & Rules brochure carries no orange requirement anywhere, and the general wildlife laws on printed p. 95 do not mention one. Wearing it is still sensible in a general any-weapon season.

Sundays

Brochure, which prints no Sunday exception

Idaho sets no Sunday restriction on big game hunting.

Standing Rules

The parts of the digest that are true every day of the season.

Bag and possession limits

Brochure, printed p. 95

No person may take more than one deer, elk, pronghorn, moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, black bear or gray wolf during a calendar year.
Depredation hunts allow one additional deer to a holder of a depredation hunt tag for that hunt; extra tag hunts allow one more.
In no event may a person take more deer in a calendar year than the number of tags they legally possess.
Antlered means a deer with an antler or antlers at least three inches in length; antlerless means one without antlers or with antlers under three inches.

Mandatory hunter reports

Brochure, printed pp. 9 and 95

Every deer, elk and pronghorn tag holder must complete a Mandatory Hunter Report for each tag bought.
Successful hunters report within 10 days of harvest; hunters who did not harvest, or did not hunt, report within 10 days after the close of their season.
Report at GoOutdoorsIdaho.com, in the Go Outdoors Idaho app, or by calling 1-877-268-9365 between 7 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. Mountain time.
IDFG says its compliance rate averages 68 per cent, and that it spends tens of thousands of dollars a year chasing the rest.

Waste of game

Brochure, printed p. 95

A hunter must remove and care for the edible meat of a deer: the hind quarters as far down as the hock, the front quarters as far down as the knee, and the meat along the backbone — the two loins and two tenderloins. It does not include head or neck meat, meat covering or between the ribs, internal organs, or meat on the bones after close trimming.

It is unlawful to

Brochure, printed p. 95

Party hunt, or help fill another person's tag.
Use electronic calls to attract big game — they are permitted only for mountain lion, black bear and gray wolf where a season table says so.
Shoot from or across the travelled portion, shoulders or embankments of any government-maintained road.
Hunt big game from or by the use of any motorised vehicle, including a drone, except under a handicapped person's Motor Vehicle Hunting Permit with the vehicle stopped and off public roadways.
Enter posted, cultivated or irrigated private property without permission, even to retrieve game.

Tagging and Reporting

The clock that starts the moment the deer is down.

Brochure, printed p. 9

Every deer must be reported within 10 days of harvest, or 10 days after your season closes.

Complete a Mandatory Hunter Report for every deer tag you buy, whether or not you hunted
Report at GoOutdoorsIdaho.com, in the Go Outdoors Idaho app, or by calling 1-877-268-9365
You will be asked whether you hunted, what weapons you used, how many days, which units, and whether you harvested
If you harvested: the date, the sex, the number of antler points, and the weapon
A hunter may authorise a proxy to report for them if that person has enough information to answer accurately

Chronic Wasting Disease

Background, and the rules that apply if you carry a carcass out of a management area.

Brochure, printed pp. 11-14 and 96

Idaho requires CWD testing of deer taken in several units and applies carcass transport rules in part of Unit 1.

Chronic wasting disease testing is required for deer taken in Units 23, 64 and 69.
In a portion of Unit 1, CWD transport rules apply and testing is required.
The details are on printed p. 96 and are not carried here.

Where This App Is Coarser Than the Digest

Said plainly, because an absence is easy to read as a permission.

Idaho's general deer season is four separate tables — Any Weapon, Archery Only, Muzzleloader Only and Short Range Weapon — each with its own unit lists and dates. A unit may appear in one, several or none of them. Twelve units have no general season at all and are controlled hunt country; they carry a critical flag.
The antlerless column is usually not the antlered column. In most units the antlerless season is youth only, private land only, white-tailed deer only or absent. The app carries the antlered dates as the season and states the antlerless rule in each variant, but your unit's row in the brochure is the authority.
Units 22, 40, 41 and 42 are 2-point deer only. Units 1 to 9 restrict most of their season to white-tailed deer.
The Motorized Hunting Rule applies in about twenty units and is three pages long. None of it is drawn on the map here.
Short range weapons are the only lawful arms on several wildlife management areas, on the Snake River islands, and in described portions of Units 24, 60A and 67 — whatever season the calendar shows.
CWD testing is required for deer taken in Units 23, 64 and 69, and transport rules apply in part of Unit 1.
Idaho requires no hunter orange. If the app shows no orange rule for Idaho, that is not an omission.
Idaho's peak breeding date is an estimate. IDFG publishes none; the rut meter uses 18 November.
Idaho straddles two time zones — the panhandle north of the Salmon River is Pacific and the rest of the state is Mountain — and this app carries one zone per state. Legal light is computed from the sun at your pin, so the length of the day is right everywhere; the clock times shown are Mountain. In the panhandle, read them an hour earlier.
Idaho publishes no open statewide parcel service, so there are no property lines on the map here.

Useful Numbers

The agency, when the app cannot answer it.

Idaho Fish and Game: 208-334-3700
Mandatory hunter report: 1-877-268-9365
Licences and tags: GoOutdoorsIdaho.com
Seasons and rules: idfg.idaho.gov/rules/big-game

Transcribed from the published 2026 Idaho digest. Where this app and the digest disagree, the digest is the law. Read the Idaho Department of Fish and Game digest.