Idaho Pronghorn

Unit A45-1 (Pronghorn Hunt Area 45-1)

Idaho Hunting Guide — Pronghorn

Hunt Area 45-1 is drawn from unit 45, in Camas, Elmore and Gooding counties. Named ground inside it runs from 2,474 to 7,435 feet. Idaho Fish and Game publishes no per-unit pronghorn success figure we can verify for this hunt area. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.

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Pronghorn guide

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Pronghorn Hunting in Unit A45-1

Where to Find Pronghorn in Hunt Area 45-1

What Idaho Fish and Game publishes for hunt area 45-1 is a boundary, not a pronghorn map. The country below is verified; where to begin in it is our judgement, not the agency's.

What hunt area 45-1 is

Idaho Fish and Game describes pronghorn hunt area 45-1 as all of Unit 45 excluding that portion within Camas Creek drainage is closed. That is whole units, so the outline on this page follows unit lines all the way round. The units it is drawn from lie in Camas, Elmore and Gooding counties. Idaho Fish and Game also uses the code 45-1 for elk hunts, and in its own words "hunt areas are different for each species" — those are other pieces of ground, and this page is the pronghorn area.

High ground inside the line: Mount Bennett Hills, Bennett Mountain and Davis Mountain

Named high points inside the hunt area include Mount Bennett Hills at 7,435 feet, Bennett Mountain at 7,435 feet, Davis Mountain at 6,798 feet, The Knob at 6,566 feet and Twin Peaks at 6,487 feet. Several carry a public-land flag in our data, which makes them the first places to try for a view. Pronghorn live in the open and trust their eyes, which is the whole problem.

Holding ground: Dead Horse Flat, Burns Gulch and Windy Gap

Below them sit Dead Horse Flat at 5,461 feet, Burns Gulch at 5,410 feet, Windy Gap at 5,183 feet, Bennett Creek Basin at 5,131 feet and Lockman Gulch at 4,980 feet. That is the low country of the hunt area — the ground animals drop into when they are pushed or when the weather turns. Pick the one with the least road on its upwind side.

Water: Big Mike Spring, Teapot Spring and High Spring

Named sources include Big Mike Spring, Teapot Spring, High Spring, Twin Deer Springs, Cold Spring and Hat Spring. Nothing in the data says which of them run in autumn, so a scouting trip earns its fuel.

How high the named ground goes

Named ground inside hunt area 45-1 runs from 2,474 feet to 7,435 feet — more than 4,000 feet between the named features alone, so the season you draw decides which part of it you hunt.

Unit A45-1 terrain and land status

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

Named features inside the unit

Glass from: Davis Mountain (6,798 ft), Twin Peaks (6,487 ft), Fir Grove Mountain (6,227 ft), Packer Butte (5,989 ft)

Holding ground: Connet Flat (5,469 ft), Dempsey Meadows (5,461 ft), Burns Gulch (5,410 ft), Big Mike Spring, Teapot 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 Pronghorn in Hunt Area 45-1

Idaho Fish and Game's per-unit harvest statistics describe general seasons on game management units, so there is no pronghorn success figure we can tie to hunt area 45-1 alone, and we won't borrow one from a unit. The plan: spot from a vehicle or a rise at distance, then plan a stalk that uses the only cover there is — the curve of the ground.

The 2026 controlled hunts

Idaho Fish and Game's 2026 rules list one controlled hunt for pronghorn in hunt area 45-1.

Hunt 4011 — either sex pronghorn, 15 tags, Sep 25–Oct 24. Motorized Hunting Rule Applies

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 hunt area 45-1

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. Anyone drawn for a limited pronghorn hunt in the first period must sit out the next year's first period for limited pronghorn hunts. 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 Flat Top Butte, Teapot Dome and McKinney Butte

Take a position on one of Flat Top Butte (5,548 ft), Teapot Dome (4,711 ft), McKinney Butte (3,930 ft) and Kings Crown (3,618 ft) and be on it before light. Cold air slides downhill in the dark, so keep your scent out of the bowl you mean to watch; expect the thermals to turn uphill an hour after the sun reaches the slope. Glass the edges first, then the shaded timber, then the edges again as the light goes. On the rut hunts, early-season bucks hold does and can be decoyed where the law allows it.

A first plan from the pins on this page

The map above marks Davis Mountain, Twin Peaks, Fir Grove Mountain and Packer Butte as places to see from, and Connet Flat, Dempsey Meadows, Burns Gulch and Big Mike Spring as ground to watch. Each pin is a named feature verified to fall inside the hunt-area line, not a spot anyone has hunted. Walk between two of them rather than driving between four, and you will learn more in a day.

What a day here costs you

With 4,961 feet between the lowest and highest ground, the walk back up out of a kill site is the part to plan first. One good position held through the whole of first light beats three visited in a hurry.

What we can't tell you

Some of the ground named above carries no land-status flag we trust, so check ownership on a current layer before you hunt it. We have no pronghorn success figure for this hunt area that survives checking against Idaho Fish and Game's own harvest and hunter counts, and we would rather say so than print a statewide average as though it were measured here.

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.

Pronghorn: where to put the shot

Broadside, straight up the front leg, a third of the way into the body. Pronghorn are shallow-chested and the lungs sit forward.

Shots to refuse

Range it, then range it again. Open country makes 400 yards look like 250.
Wait for the buck to stop. Nobody kills a running pronghorn cleanly on purpose.
Mind the backdrop. A miss carries a long way across a flat.

Plan the carry: roughly 30– 45 lb of boned-out meat, before head and hide — one large cooler with ice already in it. ProHunt planning estimate, not an agency figure.

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Pronghorn Success Rates

Idaho Fish and Game's per-unit harvest statistics describe general seasons on game management units, and hunt area 45-1 is a controlled-hunt area, not a unit, so there is no figure here we can tie to it. A unit's general-season number would describe different hunters on different ground. Idaho Fish and Game's hunt planner reports controlled-hunt results hunt by hunt, which is the figure to check before you apply.

Pronghorn Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts (n/p)
Controlled — 1st Drawing either sex (resident)	14	348	4.0%	—
Controlled — 1st Drawing either sex (nonresident)	1	34	3.0%	—
Controlled — 2nd Drawing either sex (resident)	1	74	1.0%	—
Controlled — 2nd Drawing either sex (nonresident)	0	7	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 pronghorn in hunt area 45-1, with residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different tag pools:

Hunt 4011 — residents 348 applicants for 14 tags, 4% drawn; nonresidents 34 applicants for 1 tag, 3% 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.

Unit Logistics & Expectations

Planning Notes

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Water

16 named water sources inside the hunt area in our water layer, including Big Mike Spring, Teapot Spring and High Spring. Which of them run in autumn is something only a scouting trip will tell you.

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Terrain Difficulty

Named features inside the hunt area run from 2,474 to 7,435 ft. More than 4,000 feet between them alone, so plan the pack-out before the shot.

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Permit Notes

Idaho Fish and Game controlled hunt 4011 (2026 rules). The first application period runs May 1 to June 5 and the second August 5 to 15. Idaho's draw is random, with no preference or bonus points.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Idaho hunt area 45-1?

Hunt Area 45-1 is drawn from unit 45, in Camas, Elmore and Gooding counties. Idaho Fish and Game describes pronghorn hunt area 45-1 as all of Unit 45 excluding that portion within Camas Creek drainage is closed.

What is the pronghorn success rate in hunt area 45-1?

Idaho Fish and Game's per-unit harvest statistics cover general seasons on game management units, and hunt area 45-1 is a controlled-hunt area, so there is no figure we can tie to it. Idaho Fish and Game's hunt planner reports controlled-hunt results hunt by hunt, and that is the number to check 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: Controlled hunt area description for pronghorn hunt area 45-1, The game management units the area is drawn from, Controlled hunt numbers, tags and season dates · accessed 2026-10-24
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