Idaho Pronghorn

Unit A52A-1 (Pronghorn Hunt Area 52A-1)

Idaho Hunting Guide — Pronghorn

Hunt Area 52A-1 is drawn from units 52A and 53, in Blaine, Butte, Lincoln, Minidoka and Cassia counties. Named ground inside it runs from 2,735 to 5,894 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 A52A-1

Where to Find Pronghorn in Hunt Area 52A-1

Idaho Fish and Game draws an exact line around hunt area 52A-1 and says nothing about where the pronghorn stand inside it. The country below is verified; where to begin in it is our judgement, not the agency's.

What hunt area 52A-1 is

Idaho Fish and Game describes pronghorn hunt area 52A-1 as all of Units 52A and 53. (See Craters of the Moon closure, page 97.). 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 Blaine, Butte, Lincoln, Minidoka and Cassia counties. Idaho Fish and Game also uses the code 52A-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: North Laidlaw Butte, Wildhorse Butte and Fingers Butte

Named high points inside the hunt area include North Laidlaw Butte at 5,894 feet, Wildhorse Butte at 5,711 feet, Fingers Butte at 5,616 feet, Saddle Butte at 5,568 feet and Cruthers Butte at 5,514 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: Bear Park, Paddelford Flat and Snake River Plains

Below them sit Bear Park at 4,980 feet, Paddelford Flat at 4,889 feet, Snake River Plains at 4,494 feet, Larkspur Park at 4,471 feet and North Center Lake at 4,216 feet. Those are the basins, parks and bottoms this hunt area has, and they are what you glass into from above. Work out which of them you can see from one position before you pick a camp.

Water: Shirley G Spring, Niagara Springs and Crystal Springs

Named sources include Shirley G Spring, Niagara Springs, Crystal Springs, Banbury Springs, Thousand Springs and Sand Springs. 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 52A-1 runs from 2,735 feet to 5,894 feet. Those are the heights of the features GNIS names, which bound the range from inside rather than measure it.

Unit A52A-1 terrain and land status

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

Named features inside the unit

Glass from: Wildhorse Butte (5,711 ft), Fingers Butte (5,616 ft), Saddle Butte (5,568 ft), Cruthers Butte (5,514 ft)

Holding ground: Hollow Top (5,380 ft), Litte Park (5,012 ft), Snake River Plains (4,494 ft), Shirley G Spring, Niagara Springs

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 52A-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 52A-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 52A-1.

Hunt 4017 — either sex pronghorn, 50 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 52A-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 Purple Butte, Turnbull Butte and Rattlesnake Butte

Take a position on one of Purple Butte (5,313 ft), Turnbull Butte (5,230 ft), Rattlesnake Butte (5,207 ft) and Ant Butte (5,169 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, 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 Wildhorse Butte, Fingers Butte, Saddle Butte and Cruthers Butte as places to see from, and Hollow Top, Litte Park, Snake River Plains and Shirley G 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. Join two of them into a morning: be on the first before light, move to the second once the thermals turn.

What a day here costs you

With 3,159 feet between the lowest and highest ground, the walk back up out of a kill site is the part to plan first. Leave the truck earlier than you want to and you will hunt the best half-hour of the day.

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 52A-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)	45	1,370	3.0%	—
Controlled — 1st Drawing either sex (nonresident)	5	100	5.0%	—
Controlled — 2nd Drawing either sex (resident)	1	274	0.0%	—
Controlled — 2nd Drawing either sex (nonresident)	0	18	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 52A-1, with residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different tag pools:

Hunt 4017 — residents 1,370 applicants for 45 tags, 3% drawn; nonresidents 100 applicants for 5 tags, 5% drawn
Hunt 4037 — residents 216 applicants for 216 tags, 100% drawn; nonresidents 9 applicants for 9 tags, 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.

Unit Logistics & Expectations

Planning Notes

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Water

58 named water sources inside the hunt area in our water layer, including Shirley G Spring, Niagara Springs and Crystal Springs. 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 2,735 to 5,894 ft. Named heights only — the ground between and below them can run lower.

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Permit Notes

Idaho Fish and Game controlled hunt 4017 (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 52A-1?

Hunt Area 52A-1 is drawn from units 52A and 53, in Blaine, Butte, Lincoln, Minidoka and Cassia counties. Idaho Fish and Game describes pronghorn hunt area 52A-1 as all of Units 52A and 53. (See Craters of the Moon closure, page 97.).

What is the pronghorn success rate in hunt area 52A-1?

Idaho Fish and Game's per-unit harvest statistics cover general seasons on game management units, and hunt area 52A-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 52A-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