Idaho Mule Deer Elk Moose

Unit 44 (Smoky - Bennett Zone)

Idaho Hunting Guide — Mule Deer, Elk, Moose

Unit 44 lies in Blaine, Camas and Elmore counties and covers about 552 square miles. Named ground inside it runs from 4,945 to 10,077 feet. Idaho Fish and Game's harvest estimates put deer success here as high as 0%. Federal land covers about 46% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.

View Draw Odds Idaho Hunting Guide

🏔️

46%

Public Land

⛰️

4,580–8,315 ft

Sampled elevation

Build your own PDF hunt guide for Unit 44

Answer a few questions about your tag, your season and your rig, and the Field Intelligence Report builds a print-ready Idaho Unit 44 guide around your hunt: three ranked spots with morning, afternoon and evening plays, a day-by-day plan, topo maps with every pin numbered, a camp and access plan, the legal and retrieval rules for this unit, shot discipline, a meat-care and pack-out plan, and a pre-trip checklist. Every coordinate sits on land recorded as public.

Mule Deer guide Elk guide Moose guide

Free accounts get one report a year with the top spot unlocked. ProHunt Pro includes unlimited reports, all three spots, the full camp plan, and GPX/KML downloads for onX and Google Earth. Prefer to see one first? Open the builder and pick any unit.

Mule Deer Hunting in Unit 44

Where to Find Mule Deer in Unit 44

What Idaho Fish and Game publishes for unit 44 is a boundary, not a mule deer map. 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 Blaine, Camas and Elmore counties. It runs to about 552 square miles.

How Idaho Fish and Game sets up mule deer hunting in unit 44

Idaho Fish and Game's unit layer marks unit 44 "No Regular Deer Tag Opportunity", so deer here are hunted on controlled hunts rather than a general tag.

The lines of the unit: Anderson Ranch Dam, Boise River and Anderson Ranch Reservoir

Idaho Fish and Game draws unit 44 in Blaine, Camas and Elmore counties on a line that runs along U.S. 20, Forest Service Road 094 and Forest Service Road 227, and past Anderson Ranch Dam, Boise River, Anderson Ranch Reservoir and Lime Creek, written out corner by corner in its unit boundary descriptions. That is a legal description, not a habitat map. Its value is practical — those are the features you will navigate by, and the ridges that separate one day's country from another's.

High ground inside the line: Soldier Mountains, Smoky Dome and Elk Ridge

Named high points inside the unit include Soldier Mountains at 10,077 feet, Smoky Dome at 10,060 feet, Elk Ridge at 8,521 feet, Cannonball Mountain at 8,324 feet and Liberal Mountain at 8,221 feet. Several carry a public-land flag in our data, which makes them the first places to try for a view. Mule deer bed on broken ground with a view and feed on the brush below it.

Holding ground: Wood Gulch, White Rag Gulch and Bear Gulch

Below them sit Wood Gulch at 6,598 feet, White Rag Gulch at 6,544 feet, Bear Gulch at 6,224 feet, Jumbo Canyon at 6,087 feet and Browns Gulch at 5,987 feet. These are the folds worth watching, and the ones other hunters walk past on the way to somewhere steeper. Work out which of them you can see from one position before you pick a camp.

Water: Moores Spring, Elk Creek Hot Spring and Hot Spring

The water inside the unit line comes to 36 mapped stream reaches, 4 lakes and 7 stock tanks. Named sources include Moores Spring, Elk Creek Hot Spring, Hot Spring and Cold Spring. Nothing in the data says which of them run in autumn, so a scouting trip earns its fuel.

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 44 runs from 4,945 feet to 10,077 feet — more than 4,000 feet between the named features alone, so the season you draw decides which part of it you hunt.

Unit 44 terrain and land status

Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up

The lay of it

4,580–8,315 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 5,889 ft ; peaks can run higher.
551.5 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

7 tanks
36 stream segments
4 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: Soldier Mountains (10,077 ft), Elk Ridge (8,521 ft), Cannonball Mountain (8,324 ft), Liberal Mountain (8,221 ft)

Holding ground: Boardman Pass (8,758 ft), Deer Park (7,249 ft), Wells Summit (7,076 ft), Moores Spring, Elk Creek Hot Spring

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 Mule Deer in Unit 44

Idaho Fish and Game's own harvest estimates put deer success in unit 44 at 0% across all manners of take. A number that low means most hunters here go home empty, and the ones who don't put the days in first. The plan: glass the broken edges at first light, then sit still and keep glassing the same ground.

The 2026 controlled hunts in unit 44

Idaho Fish and Game's 2026 rules list 5 controlled hunts for mule deer on unit 44 under its own number.

Hunt 1034 — antlered deer, 225 tags, Sep 15–Oct 31
Hunt 1061 — antlerless deer, 125 tags, Oct 10–Nov 10
Hunt 1076 — archery only deer, 50 tags, Aug 15–Sep 14. Antlered only
Hunt 1103 — youth only deer, 75 tags, Oct 10–Nov 10. Antlerless only
Hunt 1171 — outfitter allocation deer, antlered deer only, 1 tag, Sep 15–Oct 31

Dates and tag numbers are IDFG's as printed for that season, and IDFG changes hunt areas between years, so check the current booklet before you apply.

Applying for a unit 44 tag

Idaho Fish and Game's first application period for deer, elk and pronghorn runs May 1 to June 5, with results in early July, and a second period runs August 5 to 15 for what is left. A hunter drawn for a limited antlered-only deer hunt sits out the next year's first period for that kind of hunt; unlimited and extra hunts are exempt. Two to four hunters may apply together for the same hunt. Idaho's draw is random, with no preference or bonus points to build.

Glassing from Wood Creek Mountain, Indian Head Rock and Cline Hill

Take a position on one of Wood Creek Mountain (6,309 ft), Indian Head Rock (6,220 ft), Cline Hill (5,356 ft) and Skull Rock (5,298 ft) and be on it before light. In the dark the air runs downhill. Pick an approach that doesn't send it into the country you want to see, and plan to move once the slope warms. Give a basin forty minutes before you decide it is empty. On the rut hunts, late-season hunts put bucks with doe groups and moving in daylight.

Water against feed

There are 36 mapped stream reaches and 7 tanks inside the unit, so water is rarely the limiting factor. Where water is everywhere, feed is what concentrates animals, so hunt the feed and treat water as a convenience. A tank with no tracks is a tank with no reason to sit on it.

Timing the season: Sep, Oct, Nov

Season normals here run Sep 74/39°F, Oct 60/30°F and Nov 42/20°F. By Nov the lows are around 20°F, and the first hard storm after that moves animals off the high ground — a late tag is a bet on that storm arriving. Precipitation runs about 0.7 in. in Sep, 1 in. in Oct and 1.4 in. in Nov, and the graded gravel in this unit turns greasy wet.

Getting past the roads: US 20 and Castle Rock Road

US 20 is the paved frame, which is also where everyone else starts. FR 010 and FS 227 need clearance, and that is usually where the boot tracks thin out. There are roughly 5.1 miles of genuine four-wheel-drive road in the unit, and the country past the end of them is the part worth your legs.

Getting in and staying out: unit 44

Named routes and what they need

US 20 — 26.8 mi · Paved (all rigs)
Castle Rock Road — 7.5 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
FR 010 — 6.1 mi · High-clearance
High Prarie Road — 4.8 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
FS 227 — 4.3 mi · High-clearance
Lanman Road — 3.2 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)

Ratings come from road data, not from a drive this season. Check current conditions with the managing office before you commit a trailer.

Nearest services

Hailey — 30.2 mi · fuel
Ketchum — 32.3 mi · groceries, lodging, gear
Bellevue — 32.3 mi · fuel, groceries, lodging
Sun Valley — 33.4 mi · groceries, lodging, gear
Bliss — 34.4 mi · fuel, groceries

Developed camps

Unnamed camp site
Unnamed camp site
Unnamed camp site
Unnamed camp site
Unnamed camp site

Season weather and signal

Jan28° / 9° · 2.1" precip
Aug84° / 47° · 0.3" precip
Sep74° / 39° · 0.7" precip
Oct60° / 30° · 1" precip
Nov42° / 20° · 1.4" precip
Dec29° / 10° · 2.2" precip

Best signal is Verizon at about 21% of the unit. Plan on being out of contact and tell someone your route.

Idaho rules that decide your day

Summarised from IDFG regulations. They change — read the current regulations and your permit-tag before you hunt.

Legal shooting hours

Big game may be taken from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset.

Motorized retrieval

Idaho has no general off-road retrieval allowance on federal ground; stay on designated routes.

Tagging

Validate the tag by cutting out the month and day, and attach it to the carcass before moving it.

Leaving meat

Wasting edible meat is illegal.

Where you may not shoot

Occupied structures — No shooting from or across a public highway, and no shooting toward an occupied dwelling.

Mule Deer: where to put the shot

Broadside or quartering away, on the back edge of the front leg about a third of the way up the body.

Shots to refuse

Nothing behind or overlapping the animal you picked.
Your maximum range is the farthest you have shot a three-shot group into a paper plate from the rest you are carrying.
Pass the shot you are talking yourself into.

Plan the carry: roughly 40– 120 lb of boned-out meat, before head and hide — two large coolers. ProHunt planning estimate, not an agency figure.

Pro Members Only

Unlock mule deer tactics for Unit 44

Upgrade to Pro — $49/yr

Mule Deer Success Rates

Idaho Fish and Game's 2025 harvest estimates put deer success in unit 44 at 0% — 0 animals taken by 68 hunters. The hunter count is large enough for the percentage to mean something and small enough that a good or bad year still moves it. The figure is IDFG's result for deer in the unit, not for mule deer alone.

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.

Mule Deer Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts (n/p)
Controlled — 1st Drawing either sex (resident)	203	4,206	5.0%	—
Controlled — 1st Drawing either sex (nonresident)	22	981	2.0%	—
Controlled — 2nd Drawing either sex (resident)	2	1,256	0.0%	—
Controlled — 2nd Drawing either sex (nonresident)	0	246	0.0%	—

Data from 2025 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 Engine

Idaho Fish and Game's 2025 first drawing for mule deer in unit 44, with residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different tag pools:

Hunt 1034 — residents 4,206 applicants for 203 tags, 5% drawn; nonresidents 981 applicants for 22 tags, 2% drawn
Hunt 1061 — residents 534 applicants for 122 tags, 23% drawn; nonresidents 11 applicants for 3 tags, 27% drawn
Hunt 1076 — residents 252 applicants for 45 tags, 18% drawn; nonresidents 128 applicants for 5 tags, 4% drawn
Hunt 1103 — residents 247 applicants for 74 tags, 30% drawn; nonresidents 1 applicants for 1 tag, 100% 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 2025. Checked against Idaho Fish and Game's hunt planner draw results on 2026-06-09.

Elk Hunting in Unit 44

Unit 44 lies in Blaine, Camas and Elmore counties and covers about 552 square miles. Named ground inside it runs from 4,945 to 10,077 feet. Idaho Fish and Game's harvest estimates put elk success here as high as 24%. Federal land covers about 46% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.

Where to Find Elk in Unit 44

What Idaho Fish and Game publishes for unit 44 is a boundary, not a elk map. 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 Blaine, Camas and Elmore counties. It runs to about 552 square miles.

How Idaho Fish and Game sets up elk hunting in unit 44

Idaho Fish and Game runs its general elk seasons by elk management zone rather than unit by unit, and puts unit 44 in the Smoky - Bennett Zone, so the zone's tag rules are the ones that apply here.

The lines of the unit: Anderson Ranch Dam, Boise River and Anderson Ranch Reservoir

Idaho Fish and Game draws unit 44 in Blaine, Camas and Elmore counties on a line that runs along U.S. 20, Forest Service Road 094 and Forest Service Road 227, and past Anderson Ranch Dam, Boise River, Anderson Ranch Reservoir and Lime Creek, written out corner by corner in its unit boundary descriptions. It tells you the shape of the unit and nothing about its inhabitants. Its value is practical — those are the features you will navigate by, and the ridges that separate one day's country from another's.

High ground inside the line: Sydney Butte, Cold Spring Ridge and Sheep Point

Named high points inside the unit include Sydney Butte at 8,107 feet, Cold Spring Ridge at 7,553 feet, Sheep Point at 6,959 feet, Wood Creek Mountain at 6,309 feet and Indian Head Rock at 6,220 feet. Several carry a public-land flag in our data, which makes them the first places to try for a view. Elk want timber to bed in and open ground to feed on, within a short walk of each other.

Holding ground: Brush Canyon, Hawk Gulch and Beaverdam Gulch

Below them sit Brush Canyon at 5,875 feet, Hawk Gulch at 5,560 feet, Beaverdam Gulch at 5,490 feet, Sawmill Gulch at 5,456 feet and High Prairie at 5,446 feet. These are the folds worth watching, and the ones other hunters walk past on the way to somewhere steeper. Reaching the edge of one before light beats reaching its middle at noon.

Water: Moores Spring, Elk Creek Hot Spring and Hot Spring

Reading the land status

Unit 44 terrain and land status

Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up

The lay of it

4,580–8,315 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 5,889 ft ; peaks can run higher.
551.5 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

7 tanks
36 stream segments
4 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: Soldier Mountains (10,077 ft), Elk Ridge (8,521 ft), Cannonball Mountain (8,324 ft), Liberal Mountain (8,221 ft)

Holding ground: Boardman Pass (8,758 ft), Deer Park (7,249 ft), Wells Summit (7,076 ft), Moores Spring, Elk Creek Hot Spring

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 Elk in Unit 44

Idaho Fish and Game's own harvest estimates put elk success in unit 44 at 24% across all manners of take. That is an ordinary spread for this country, and it rewards whoever scouted. The plan: find the feed, find the timber it backs onto, then watch the seam between them at the edges of the day.

The 2026 controlled hunts in unit 44

Idaho Fish and Game's 2026 rules list 5 controlled hunts for elk on unit 44 under its own number.

Hunt 2021 — antlered elk, 20 tags, Oct 1–Oct 14
Hunt 2022 — antlered elk, 200 tags, Oct 15–Nov 10
Hunt 2124 — archery only elk, 25 tags, Aug 30–Sep 30. Antlered only
Hunt 2158 — youth only, antlerless elk, 50 tags, Oct 15–Oct 31
Hunt 2193 — outfitter allocation elk, 2 tags, Oct 15–Nov 10. Antlered only

Dates and tag numbers are IDFG's as printed for that season, and IDFG changes hunt areas between years, so check the current booklet before you apply.

Applying for a unit 44 tag

Idaho Fish and Game's first application period for deer, elk and pronghorn runs May 1 to June 5, with results in early July, and a second period runs August 5 to 15 for what is left. A hunter drawn for a limited antlered-only elk hunt sits out the next year's first period for that kind of hunt; unlimited and extra hunts are exempt. Two to four hunters may apply together for the same hunt. Idaho's draw is random, with no preference or bonus points to build.

Glassing from Castle Rocks, Soldier Mountains and Smoky Dome

Take a position on one of Castle Rocks (5,222 ft), Soldier Mountains (10,077 ft), Smoky Dome (10,060 ft) and Elk Ridge (8,521 ft) and be on it before light. Work the morning with the air falling away from you, then accept that by mid-morning the wind has reversed and the plan has to change with it. Give a basin forty minutes before you decide it is empty. On the rut hunts, September bugling works where you can get above a drainage and let the thermals carry sound downhill.

Water against feed

Timing the season: Sep, Oct, Nov

Getting past the roads: US 20 and Castle Rock Road

Getting in and staying out: unit 44

Named routes and what they need

US 20 — 26.8 mi · Paved (all rigs)
Castle Rock Road — 7.5 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
FR 010 — 6.1 mi · High-clearance
High Prarie Road — 4.8 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
FS 227 — 4.3 mi · High-clearance
Lanman Road — 3.2 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)

Ratings come from road data, not from a drive this season. Check current conditions with the managing office before you commit a trailer.

Nearest services

Hailey — 30.2 mi · fuel
Ketchum — 32.3 mi · groceries, lodging, gear
Bellevue — 32.3 mi · fuel, groceries, lodging
Sun Valley — 33.4 mi · groceries, lodging, gear
Bliss — 34.4 mi · fuel, groceries

Developed camps

Unnamed camp site
Unnamed camp site
Unnamed camp site
Unnamed camp site
Unnamed camp site

Season weather and signal

Jan28° / 9° · 2.1" precip
Aug84° / 47° · 0.3" precip
Sep74° / 39° · 0.7" precip
Oct60° / 30° · 1" precip
Nov42° / 20° · 1.4" precip
Dec29° / 10° · 2.2" precip

Best signal is Verizon at about 21% of the unit. Plan on being out of contact and tell someone your route.

Idaho rules that decide your day

Summarised from IDFG regulations. They change — read the current regulations and your permit-tag before you hunt.

Legal shooting hours

Big game may be taken from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset.

Motorized retrieval

Idaho has no general off-road retrieval allowance on federal ground; stay on designated routes.

Tagging

Validate the tag by cutting out the month and day, and attach it to the carcass before moving it.

Leaving meat

Wasting edible meat is illegal.

Where you may not shoot

Occupied structures — No shooting from or across a public highway, and no shooting toward an occupied dwelling.

Elk: where to put the shot

Broadside or quartering away, on the back edge of the front leg about a third of the way up the body. That is lungs, and on a quartering-away angle it picks up the far shoulder.

Shots to refuse

No straight-on and no straight-away shots. An elk's chest is deep and the margin is small.
Nothing standing behind or overlapping the animal you picked. A pass-through kills the elk behind it too.
Your maximum range is the farthest you have put three shots in a paper plate off the sticks you are actually carrying. Not the farthest you have ever hit anything.
Scope on 3–4x. A herd fills a 12x field of view and you lose the animal you picked.

Identification:On an antlerless tag, legal means no antler of any kind through the skin. A spike looks exactly like a cow until it turns its head. If you can't see the head, don't shoot.

Plan the carry: roughly 150– 220 lb of boned-out meat, before head and hide — two to four large coolers, plus bagged ice from town. ProHunt planning estimate, not an agency figure.

Pro Members Only

Unlock elk tactics for Unit 44

Upgrade to Pro — $49/yr

Elk Success Rates

Rifle24%

Idaho Fish and Game's 2025 harvest estimates put elk success in unit 44 at 24% — 77 animals taken by 325 hunters. The hunter count is large enough for the percentage to mean something and small enough that a good or bad year still moves it.

Elk Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts (n/p)
Controlled — 1st Drawing either sex (resident)	18	739	2.0%	—
Controlled — 1st Drawing either sex (nonresident)	2	198	1.0%	—
Controlled — 2nd Drawing either sex (resident)	7	956	1.0%	—
Controlled — 2nd Drawing either sex (nonresident)	0	99	0.0%	—

Open in Draw Odds Engine

Idaho Fish and Game's 2025 first drawing for elk in unit 44, with residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different tag pools:

Hunt 2022 — residents 1,831 applicants for 180 tags, 10% drawn; nonresidents 278 applicants for 20 tags, 7% drawn
Hunt 2021 — residents 739 applicants for 18 tags, 2% drawn; nonresidents 198 applicants for 2 tags, 1% drawn
Hunt 2124 — residents 369 applicants for 23 tags, 6% drawn; nonresidents 165 applicants for 2 tags, 1% drawn
Hunt 2158 — residents 139 applicants for 49 tags, 35% drawn; nonresidents 3 applicants for 1 tag, 33% drawn

Moose Hunting in Unit 44

Unit 44 lies in Blaine, Camas and Elmore counties and covers about 552 square miles. Named ground inside it runs from 4,945 to 10,077 feet. Idaho Fish and Game publishes no per-unit Shiras moose success figure we can verify for this unit. Federal land covers about 46% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.

Where to Find Shiras Moose in Unit 44

What Idaho Fish and Game publishes for unit 44 is a boundary, not a Shiras moose map. 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 Blaine, Camas and Elmore counties. It runs to about 552 square miles.

How Idaho Fish and Game sets up Shiras moose hunting in unit 44

Idaho Fish and Game hunts Shiras moose here only by controlled hunt, and draws the hunt area that reach into unit 44: 43. Each is its own piece of ground with its own tags, so the tag you draw decides which part of the unit you hunt.

The lines of the unit: Anderson Ranch Dam, Boise River and Anderson Ranch Reservoir

High ground inside the line: Cline Hill, Skull Rock and Castle Rocks

Named high points inside the unit include Cline Hill at 5,356 feet, Skull Rock at 5,298 feet, Castle Rocks at 5,222 feet, Soldier Mountains at 10,077 feet and Smoky Dome at 10,060 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: Moores Flat, McDonald Gulch and Edwards Gulch

Below them sit Moores Flat at 5,377 feet, McDonald Gulch at 5,360 feet, Edwards Gulch at 5,352 feet, McKay Gulch at 5,336 feet and McCan Gulch at 5,232 feet. Those are the basins, parks and bottoms this unit has, and they are what you glass into from above. Two you can watch from a single knob is worth more than five you have to drive between.

Water: Moores Spring, Elk Creek Hot Spring and Hot Spring

Reading the land status

Unit 44 terrain and land status

Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up

The lay of it

4,580–8,315 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 5,889 ft ; peaks can run higher.
551.5 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

7 tanks
36 stream segments
4 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: Soldier Mountains (10,077 ft), Elk Ridge (8,521 ft), Cannonball Mountain (8,324 ft), Liberal Mountain (8,221 ft)

Holding ground: Boardman Pass (8,758 ft), Deer Park (7,249 ft), Wells Summit (7,076 ft), Moores Spring, Elk Creek Hot Spring

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 44

Idaho Fish and Game publishes no Shiras moose success figure for unit 44 that we can tie to this unit alone, so we won't quote one. The plan: walk the willow bottoms slowly at first and last light and look for fresh browse before you look for the animal.

Applying for a unit 44 tag

Idaho Fish and Game takes moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat applications together, and anyone who applies for one of the three may not apply for another big game controlled hunt in the same year's first drawing, apart from the unlimited, extra, black bear and depredation hunts IDFG names. A hunter drawn for moose may not apply for a moose tag again for two years except for leftovers, and IDFG allows one antlered and one antlerless moose per hunter in a lifetime. Two hunters may apply together on one application. Idaho's draw is random, with no preference or bonus points to build.

Glassing from Cannonball Mountain, Liberal Mountain and Sydney Butte

Take a position on one of Cannonball Mountain (8,324 ft), Liberal Mountain (8,221 ft), Sydney Butte (8,107 ft) and Cold Spring Ridge (7,553 ft) and be on it before light. In the dark the air runs downhill. Pick an approach that doesn't send it into the country you want to see, and plan to move once the slope warms. Glass the edges first, then the shaded timber, then the edges again as the light goes. On the rut hunts, late September bulls answer a cow call near water.

Water against feed

There are 36 mapped stream reaches and 7 tanks inside the unit, so water is rarely the limiting factor. Where water is everywhere, feed is what concentrates animals, so hunt the feed and treat water as a convenience. Sitting water works where you can see fresh tracks going in, and nowhere else.

Timing the season: Sep, Oct, Nov

Getting past the roads: US 20 and Castle Rock Road

A first plan from the pins on this page

The map above marks Soldier Mountains, Elk Ridge, Cannonball Mountain and Liberal Mountain as places to see from, and Boardman Pass, Deer Park, Wells Summit and Moores Spring as ground to watch. Each pin is a named feature verified to fall inside the unit line, not a spot anyone has hunted. Take the pair you can reach on one road and treat the rest as a second trip.

Getting in and staying out: unit 44

Named routes and what they need

US 20 — 26.8 mi · Paved (all rigs)
Castle Rock Road — 7.5 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
FR 010 — 6.1 mi · High-clearance
High Prarie Road — 4.8 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
FS 227 — 4.3 mi · High-clearance
Lanman Road — 3.2 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)

Ratings come from road data, not from a drive this season. Check current conditions with the managing office before you commit a trailer.

Nearest services

Hailey — 30.2 mi · fuel
Ketchum — 32.3 mi · groceries, lodging, gear
Bellevue — 32.3 mi · fuel, groceries, lodging
Sun Valley — 33.4 mi · groceries, lodging, gear
Bliss — 34.4 mi · fuel, groceries

Developed camps

Unnamed camp site
Unnamed camp site
Unnamed camp site
Unnamed camp site
Unnamed camp site

Season weather and signal

Jan28° / 9° · 2.1" precip
Aug84° / 47° · 0.3" precip
Sep74° / 39° · 0.7" precip
Oct60° / 30° · 1" precip
Nov42° / 20° · 1.4" precip
Dec29° / 10° · 2.2" precip

Best signal is Verizon at about 21% of the unit. Plan on being out of contact and tell someone your route.

Idaho rules that decide your day

Summarised from IDFG regulations. They change — read the current regulations and your permit-tag before you hunt.

Legal shooting hours

Big game may be taken from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset.

Motorized retrieval

Idaho has no general off-road retrieval allowance on federal ground; stay on designated routes.

Tagging

Validate the tag by cutting out the month and day, and attach it to the carcass before moving it.

Leaving meat

Wasting edible meat is illegal.

Where you may not shoot

Occupied structures — No shooting from or across a public highway, and no shooting toward an occupied dwelling.

Moose: where to put the shot

Broadside, behind the shoulder and a third up. Moose look slow to react — the first shot has to count.

Shots to refuse

Where it falls decides your next two days. Avoid shots that drop a moose in water or a bog.
A .30-06 class cartridge minimum, with a bullet built for heavy bone.

Plan the carry: roughly 350– 500 lb of boned-out meat, before head and hide — four or more large coolers, or a processor. ProHunt planning estimate, not an agency figure.

Pro Members Only

Unlock tactics for Idaho 44 moose

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Moose Success Rates

Idaho Fish and Game's 2025 general-hunt harvest statistics carry no Shiras moose success figure for unit 44 with a hunter count behind it, so we leave the number out rather than print one we cannot read back to this unit. Idaho Fish and Game's hunt planner is the place to check before you apply.

Moose Draw Odds

Draw odds data not available for this specific unit/species combination in our database.

Search Idaho Draw Odds

Idaho Fish and Game's 2022 first drawing for Shiras moose in unit 44, with residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different tag pools:

Hunt 3053 — residents 62 applicants for 2 tags, 3% drawn; nonresidents 6 applicants for 1 tag, 17% 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 2022. Checked against Idaho Fish and Game's hunt planner draw results on 2026-06-09.

Unit Logistics & Expectations

Planning Notes

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Camp Sites

8 developed campgrounds in or beside the unit, including Trinity View Resort, Hunter Creek Transfer Camp and Fairfield Ranger District.

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Road Conditions

US 20, Castle Rock Road and FR 010 are the named routes in the unit. Roughly 32 mi paved, 28 mi gravel and 5 mi four-wheel-drive.

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Terrain Difficulty

Named features from 4,945 to 10,077 ft. More than 4,000 feet between the named features alone, so plan the pack-out before the shot.

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Hunting Pressure

Our land-status read for this unit is approximate, so treat any pressure estimate from it with suspicion and check a current ownership layer.

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Weather

Season normals: Sep 74/39°F, 0.7 in.; Oct 60/30°F, 1 in.; Nov 42/20°F, 1.4 in..

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Cell Service

Verizon 21%, AT&T 14%, T-Mobile 7% of the unit area — modelled coverage, not measured. Assume no signal off the paved road.

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Nearest Town

Hailey (30 mi), Ketchum (32 mi), Bellevue (32 mi)

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Idaho unit 44?

Unit 44 lies in Blaine, Camas and Elmore counties. Idaho Fish and Game draws unit 44 on a line that runs along U.S. 20, Forest Service Road 094 and Forest Service Road 227, and past Anderson Ranch Dam, Boise River, Anderson Ranch Reservoir and Lime Creek, written out corner by corner in its unit boundary descriptions. It covers about 552 square miles.

What is the mule deer success rate in unit 44?

Idaho Fish and Game's 2025 harvest estimates put deer success in unit 44 at 0% across all manners of take. Those are the agency's own figures for this unit, not a statewide average.

Where do you stay and resupply for a unit 44 hunt?

The nearest services our logistics pipeline finds for unit 44 are at Hailey, about 30 miles from the unit's centre, with Ketchum at about 32 miles. There are also 8 developed campgrounds in or beside the unit.

What is the elk success rate in unit 44?

Idaho Fish and Game's 2025 harvest estimates put elk success in unit 44 at 24% across all manners of take. Those are the agency's own figures for this unit, not a statewide average.

What is the Shiras moose success rate in unit 44?

Idaho Fish and Game publishes no Shiras moose success figure we can tie to unit 44 on its own — the 2025 harvest tables either omit the unit or report it in a grouping we could not read back to it reliably. Rather than quote a statewide average as though it were measured here, we say so. Check Idaho Fish and Game's current harvest estimates before you apply.

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Sources & 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
IDFG Hunt Planner — 2025 general hunt harvest statistics — Idaho Department of Fish and Game · supports: Harvest, hunters and percent success for deer in unit 44 · 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 Smoky - Bennett Zone elk tag limits — Idaho Department of Fish and Game · supports: Season structure for the unit · 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

Unit 44 (Smoky - Bennett Zone)

Build your own PDF hunt guide for Unit 44

Mule Deer Hunting in Unit 44

Where to Find Mule Deer in Unit 44

How Idaho Fish and Game sets up mule deer hunting in unit 44

The lines of the unit: Anderson Ranch Dam, Boise River and Anderson Ranch Reservoir

High ground inside the line: Soldier Mountains, Smoky Dome and Elk Ridge

Holding ground: Wood Gulch, White Rag Gulch and Bear Gulch

Water: Moores Spring, Elk Creek Hot Spring and Hot Spring

Reading the land status

Unit 44 terrain and land status

The lay of it

Who owns the ground

Water on the ground

Named features inside the unit

How to Hunt Mule Deer in Unit 44

Mule Deer Success Rates

Mule Deer Draw Odds

Elk Hunting in Unit 44

Where to Find Elk in Unit 44

How Idaho Fish and Game sets up elk hunting in unit 44

The lines of the unit: Anderson Ranch Dam, Boise River and Anderson Ranch Reservoir

High ground inside the line: Sydney Butte, Cold Spring Ridge and Sheep Point

Holding ground: Brush Canyon, Hawk Gulch and Beaverdam Gulch

Water: Moores Spring, Elk Creek Hot Spring and Hot Spring

Reading the land status

Unit 44 terrain and land status

The lay of it

Who owns the ground

Water on the ground

Named features inside the unit

How to Hunt Elk in Unit 44

Elk Success Rates

Elk Draw Odds

Moose Hunting in Unit 44

Where to Find Shiras Moose in Unit 44

How Idaho Fish and Game sets up Shiras moose hunting in unit 44

The lines of the unit: Anderson Ranch Dam, Boise River and Anderson Ranch Reservoir

High ground inside the line: Cline Hill, Skull Rock and Castle Rocks

Holding ground: Moores Flat, McDonald Gulch and Edwards Gulch

Water: Moores Spring, Elk Creek Hot Spring and Hot Spring

Reading the land status

Unit 44 terrain and land status

The lay of it

Who owns the ground

Water on the ground

Named features inside the unit

How to Hunt Shiras Moose in Unit 44

Moose Success Rates

Moose Draw Odds

Unit Logistics & Expectations

Explore Related Units

Unit 39 — Boise River Mule Deer

Unit 44 — South Boise Elk

Unit 36 — Sawtooth Mule Deer

Frequently Asked Questions

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Sources & Verification