Idaho Mule Deer

Unit D50-1 (Deer Hunt Area 50-1)

Idaho Hunting Guide — Mule Deer

Hunt Area 50-1 is drawn from unit 50, in Blaine, Butte and Custer counties. Named ground inside it runs from 5,345 to 11,802 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.

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Mule Deer guide

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Mule Deer Hunting in Unit D50-1

Where to Find Mule Deer in Hunt Area 50-1

Idaho Fish and Game's material on hunt area 50-1 stops at the boundary — there is no agency account of where its mule deer live. So the ground below is the unit's own and the read on where to start is ours, labelled as such.

What hunt area 50-1 is

Idaho Fish and Game describes deer hunt area 50-1 as that portion of Unit 50 west of U.S. Highway 93. That makes it a piece of ground drawn for this hunt, not a unit, and the outline on this page is IDFG's own polygon for it rather than a unit outline. The units it is drawn from lie in Blaine, Butte and Custer counties. Idaho Fish and Game also uses the code 50-1 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: The Devils Bedstead, Standhope Peak and Boulder Mountains

Named high points inside the hunt area include The Devils Bedstead at 11,802 feet, Standhope Peak at 11,795 feet, Boulder Mountains at 11,678 feet, Ryan Peak at 11,678 feet and Pyramid Peak at 11,567 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: Star Hope Gulch, Mammoth Canyon and Stewart Canyon

Below them sit Star Hope Gulch at 8,353 feet, Mammoth Canyon at 8,313 feet, Stewart Canyon at 8,313 feet, Anderson Canyon at 8,289 feet and Redbird Gulch at 8,224 feet. These are the folds worth watching, and the ones other hunters walk past on the way to somewhere steeper. Two you can watch from a single knob is worth more than five you have to drive between.

Water: Big Buck Spring, Big Spring and Cold Spring

Named sources include Big Buck Spring, Big Spring, Cold Spring, Richardson Spring, Howell Spring and Wood Road 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 50-1 runs from 5,345 feet to 11,802 feet — more than 4,000 feet between the named features alone, so the season you draw decides which part of it you hunt.

Unit D50-1 terrain and land status

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

Named features inside the unit

Glass from: The Devils Bedstead (11,802 ft), Standhope Peak (11,795 ft), Boulder Mountains (11,678 ft), Pyramid Peak (11,567 ft)

Holding ground: Surprise Valley (9,180 ft), Antelope Pass (8,916 ft), Corral Creek Summit (8,735 ft), Big Buck Spring, Big 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 Hunt Area 50-1

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 50-1 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 50-1.

Hunt 1040 — antlered deer, 10 tags, Oct 10–Nov 30. Portion of Unit only, Motorized Hunting Rule Applies
Hunt 1175 — outfitter allocation deer, antlered deer only, 1 tag, Oct 10–Nov 30. Portion of Unit only, 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 50-1

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 White Knob Mountains, Shelly Mountain and Cabin Mountain

Take a position on one of White Knob Mountains (11,245 ft), Shelly Mountain (11,223 ft), Cabin Mountain (11,219 ft) and Lime Mountain (11,150 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-season hunts put bucks with doe groups and moving in daylight.

A first plan from the pins on this page

The map above marks The Devils Bedstead, Standhope Peak, Boulder Mountains and Pyramid Peak as places to see from, and Surprise Valley, Antelope Pass, Corral Creek Summit and Big Buck 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. Take the pair you can reach on one road and treat the rest as a second trip.

What a day here costs you

With 6,457 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 50-1 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)	9	503	2.0%	—
Controlled — 1st Drawing either sex (nonresident)	1	39	3.0%	—
Controlled — 2nd Drawing either sex (resident)	2	311	1.0%	—
Controlled — 2nd Drawing either sex (nonresident)	1	55	2.0%	—

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 hunt area 50-1, with residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different tag pools:

Hunt 1040 — residents 503 applicants for 9 tags, 2% drawn; nonresidents 39 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

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

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Road Conditions

Idaho Fish and Game's boundary for the hunt area follows U.S. Highway 93. That is the edge, not a promise of access inside — check a current motor-vehicle-use map before you drive in.

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Terrain Difficulty

Named features inside the hunt area run from 5,345 to 11,802 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 1040 and 1175 (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 50-1?

Hunt Area 50-1 is drawn from unit 50, in Blaine, Butte and Custer counties. Idaho Fish and Game describes deer hunt area 50-1 as that portion of Unit 50 west of U.S. Highway 93.

What is the mule deer success rate in hunt area 50-1?

Idaho Fish and Game's per-unit harvest statistics cover general seasons on game management units, and hunt area 50-1 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 50-1, 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