Idaho Mule Deer

Unit D33-1 (Deer Hunt Area 33-1)

Idaho Hunting Guide — Mule Deer

Hunt Area 33-1 is drawn from units 33, 35 and 34, in Boise and Valley counties. Named ground inside it runs from 3,003 to 10,530 feet. Idaho Fish and Game publishes no per-unit mule deer success figure we can verify for this hunt area. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.

View Draw Odds Idaho Hunting Guide

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Mule Deer guide

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Mule Deer Hunting in Unit D33-1

Where to Find Mule Deer in Hunt Area 33-1

Idaho Fish and Game draws an exact line around hunt area 33-1 and says nothing about where the mule deer stand inside it. Every place named below sits inside the hunt-area line. Which of them holds animals in your season is for you to find out.

What hunt area 33-1 is

Idaho Fish and Game describes deer hunt area 33-1 as all of Units 33 and 35, and that portion of Unit 34 south and west of the Landmark-Stanley Road. 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 Boise and Valley counties. Idaho Fish and Game also uses the code 33-1 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 deer area.

High ground inside the line: Elk Peak, Braxon Peak and Baron Peak

Named high points inside the hunt area include Elk Peak at 10,530 feet, Braxon Peak at 10,310 feet, Baron Peak at 10,214 feet, Mount Regan at 10,153 feet and Warbonnet Peak at 10,149 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: Stony Meadow, Ucon Basin and Mace Meadows

Below them sit Stony Meadow at 6,870 feet, Ucon Basin at 6,812 feet, Mace Meadows at 6,670 feet, Big Meadows at 6,628 feet and Cache Meadows at 6,586 feet. That is the low country of the hunt area — 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: Boiling Springs, Bull Creek Hot Springs and Hot Springs

Named sources include Boiling Springs, Bull Creek Hot Springs, Hot Springs, Packer Spring, Pine Flat Hot Springs and Basque 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 33-1 runs from 3,003 feet to 10,530 feet — more than 4,000 feet between the named features alone, so the season you draw decides which part of it you hunt.

Unit D33-1 terrain and land status

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

Named features inside the unit

Glass from: Elk Peak (10,530 ft), Braxon Peak (10,310 ft), Mount Regan (10,153 ft)

Holding ground: Tenlake Basin (8,489 ft), Stratton Basin (7,121 ft), Skunk Creek Summit (7,089 ft), Boiling Springs, Bull Creek Hot Springs, Hot 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 Mule Deer in Hunt Area 33-1

Idaho Fish and Game's per-unit harvest statistics describe general seasons on game management units, so there is no mule deer success figure we can tie to hunt area 33-1 alone, and we won't borrow one from a unit. The plan: glass the broken edges at first light, then sit still and keep glassing the same ground.

The 2026 controlled hunts

Idaho Fish and Game's 2026 rules list 2 controlled hunts for mule deer in hunt area 33-1.

Hunt 1087 — muzzleloader only deer, 150 tags, Nov 10–Nov 30. Antlered only
Hunt 1164 — outfitter allocation deer, antlered deer only, 1 tag, Nov 10–Nov 30. Muzzleloader 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 hunt area 33-1

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. 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 Glens Peak, North Raker and The Rakers

Take a position on one of Glens Peak (9,974 ft), North Raker (9,849 ft), The Rakers (9,849 ft) and Blacknose Mountain (9,749 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, late-season hunts put bucks with doe groups and moving in daylight.

A first plan from the pins on this page

The map above marks Elk Peak, Braxon Peak and Mount Regan as places to see from, and Tenlake Basin, Stratton Basin, Skunk Creek Summit and Boiling Springs 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 7,527 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 mule deer 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.

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.

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Mule Deer Success Rates

Idaho Fish and Game's per-unit harvest statistics describe general seasons on game management units, and hunt area 33-1 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.

Mule Deer Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts (n/p)
Controlled — 1st Drawing either sex (resident)	0	0	0.0%	—
Controlled — 1st Drawing either sex (nonresident)	0	0	0.0%	—

Data from 2024 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 2024 first drawing for mule deer in hunt area 33-1, with residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different tag pools:

Hunt 1090 — residents 352 applicants for 135 tags, 38% drawn; nonresidents 65 applicants for 15 tags, 23% 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 2024. 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

8 named water sources inside the hunt area in our water layer, including Boiling Springs, Bull Creek Hot Springs and Hot 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 3,003 to 10,530 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 hunts 1087 and 1164 (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 33-1?

Hunt Area 33-1 is drawn from units 33, 35 and 34, in Boise and Valley counties. Idaho Fish and Game describes deer hunt area 33-1 as all of Units 33 and 35, and that portion of Unit 34 south and west of the Landmark-Stanley Road.

What is the mule deer success rate in hunt area 33-1?

Idaho Fish and Game's per-unit harvest statistics cover general seasons on game management units, and hunt area 33-1 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 deer hunt area 33-1, 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