Unit 3 (Panhandle Zone)
Idaho Hunting Guide — Moose, Elk
Unit 3 lies in Benewah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties and covers about 552 square miles. Named ground inside it runs from 2,128 to 5,663 feet. Idaho Fish and Game's harvest estimates put Shiras moose success here as high as 94%. Federal land covers about 53% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
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Moose Hunting in Unit 3
Unit 3 lies in Benewah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties and covers about 552 square miles. Named ground inside it runs from 2,128 to 5,663 feet. Idaho Fish and Game's harvest estimates put Shiras moose success here as high as 94%. Federal land covers about 53% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
Where to Find Shiras Moose in Unit 3
Idaho Fish and Game draws an exact line around unit 3 and says nothing about where the Shiras moose stand inside it. So the ground below is the unit's own and the read on where to start is ours, labelled as such. The unit lies in Benewah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties. It runs to about 552 square miles.
How Idaho Fish and Game sets up Shiras moose hunting in unit 3
Idaho Fish and Game hunts Shiras moose here only by controlled hunt, and describes its moose hunt area 3 as all of Unit 3. Hunt Area 4.
The lines of the unit: Mission Point, St. Joe River and Alene River
Idaho Fish and Game draws unit 3 in Benewah, Kootenai and Shoshone counties on a line that runs along State Highway 3, Interstate 90, Forest Highway 9 and Forest Service Road 209, and past Mission Point, St. Joe River, Alene River and Little North Fork, written out corner by corner in its unit boundary descriptions. It tells you the shape of the unit and nothing about its inhabitants. What it does give you is the way in: the rivers and highways you cross, and the divides that decide which drainage you end up in.
High ground inside the line: South Chilco Mountain, Chilco Mountain and Skitwish Peak
Named high points inside the unit include South Chilco Mountain at 5,663 feet, Chilco Mountain at 5,632 feet, Skitwish Peak at 5,346 feet, Skitwish Ridge at 5,346 feet and Monument Mountain at 5,097 feet. Several carry a public-land flag in our data, which makes them the first places to try for a view. Moose want willow, water and shade, and they rarely leave the drainage that has all three.
Holding ground: Fernan Saddle, Skookum Saddle and Burnt Cabin Summit
Below them sit Fernan Saddle at 4,052 feet, Skookum Saddle at 4,020 feet, Burnt Cabin Summit at 4,013 feet, Curran Saddle at 4,003 feet and John Saddle at 3,761 feet. That is the low country of the unit — the ground animals drop into when they are pushed or when the weather turns. Reaching the edge of one before light beats reaching its middle at noon.
Water in this unit
The water inside the unit line comes to 249 mapped stream reaches, 48 lakes, 281 stock tanks and 3 springs. On ground with that many tanks, knowing which two or three hold water in your season is the most useful thing a scouting trip can tell you.
Reading the land status
Our ownership read for this unit is approximate — it comes out as National Forest 60%, Private / Other 32% and State Trust 8%, so treat it as a starting point and check a current land-status layer before you plan a route. Named ground inside unit 3 runs from 2,128 feet to 5,663 feet. Those are the heights of the features GNIS names, which bound the range from inside rather than measure it.
Unit 3 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
The lay of it
- 2,128–4,832 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 2,948 ft ; peaks can run higher.
- 552.1 sq mi inside the boundary.
Who owns the ground
- National Forest — 60%
- State Trust — 8%
- Private / Other — 32%
Roughly 68% is public. Carry a land-status layer anyway — these are area percentages, not a map of where the boundaries fall.
Water on the ground
- 281 tanks
- 3 springs
- 249 stream segments
- 48 lakes
Counts from mapping data, so this is how many exist, not how many hold water in a dry year. Sitting water only pays where you find fresh tracks.
Named features inside the unit
Glass from: South Chilco Mountain (5,663 ft), Chilco Mountain (5,632 ft), Skitwish Peak (5,346 ft), Monument Mountain (5,097 ft)
Holding ground: Wolf Lodge Saddle (4,690 ft), Mason Saddle (4,389 ft), Hudlow Saddle (4,086 ft)
Every one of these was tested against the unit polygon before it went on the map. They are starting points, not agency recommendations.
How to Hunt Shiras Moose in Unit 3
Moose Success Rates
Idaho Fish and Game's 2025 harvest estimates put Shiras moose success in unit 3 at 94% — 15 animals taken by 16 hunters. On a sample that small the percentage moves several points with one animal, so read the hunter count beside it.
These are the agency's own printed figures for this unit, not a modelled estimate and not a state average. They describe one season, so check Idaho Fish and Game's current harvest estimates before you read a trend into them.
Moose Draw Odds
| Season | Tags | Applicants | Draw % | Pts (n/p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controlled — 1st Drawing either sex (resident) | 9 | 105 | 9.0% | — |
| Controlled — 1st Drawing either sex (nonresident) | 1 | 13 | 8.0% | — |
Data from 2026 draw results. Each row is one residency pool — read the label before the number. This agency publishes no point thresholds, so the Pts column stays blank and these are pool odds, not what a point total draws.
Open in Draw Odds EngineIdaho Fish and Game's 2026 first drawing for Shiras moose in unit 3, with residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different tag pools:
- Hunt 3013 — residents 105 applicants for 9 tags, 9% drawn; nonresidents 13 applicants for 1 tag, 8% drawn
- Hunt 3014 — residents 30 applicants for 3 tags, 10% drawn; nonresidents 3 applicants for 0 tags, 0% drawn
- Hunt 3015 — residents 17 applicants for 2 tags, 12% drawn; nonresidents 15 applicants for 1 tag, 7% drawn
Idaho draws at random with no point system, so these are what that year happened to look like, not a requirement to build toward. Idaho Fish and Game reuses hunt numbers for different areas between years, so the figures are matched on the area each hunt had in 2026. Checked against Idaho Fish and Game's hunt planner draw results on 2026-06-09.
Unit Logistics & Expectations
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Idaho unit 3?
What is the Shiras moose success rate in unit 3?
Where do you stay and resupply for a unit 3 hunt?
What is the elk success rate in unit 3?
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Upgrade to Pro — $49/yrSources & Verification
Every fact on this page is tied to a primary source below. Last fact-checked 2026-10-24.
- Idaho Big Game 2026 Seasons & Rules — Idaho Department of Fish and Game · supports: Game management unit boundary description, Counties the unit lies in, Controlled hunt numbers, tags and season dates · accessed 2026-10-24
- Moose, Bighorn Sheep & Mountain Goat 2025 & 2026 Seasons & Rules — Idaho Department of Fish and Game · supports: Controlled hunt application periods and eligibility rules · accessed 2026-10-24
- IDFG Hunt Planner — 2025 general hunt harvest statistics — Idaho Department of Fish and Game · supports: Harvest, hunters and percent success for Shiras moose in unit 3 · accessed 2026-10-19
- IDFG Hunt Planner — controlled hunt drawing odds — Idaho Department of Fish and Game · supports: Applicants, tags and percent drawn by hunt, year and residency · accessed 2026-06-09
- IDFG GameManagementUnits and ControlledHunts_All feature services — game management units and every species' controlled-hunt areas — Idaho Department of Fish and Game · supports: Mapped extent of the unit or hunt area, Which named ground falls inside its line · accessed 2026-10-24
- IDFG Panhandle Zone elk tag limits — Idaho Department of Fish and Game · supports: Season structure for the unit · accessed 2026-10-24