Idaho Mule Deer

Unit D60-1 (Deer Hunt Area 60-1)

Idaho Hunting Guide — Mule Deer

Hunt Area 60-1 is drawn from units 60, 61, 62A and 60A, in Clark, Fremont, Jefferson and Madison counties. Named ground inside it runs from 4,896 to 10,254 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 D60-1

Where to Find Mule Deer in Hunt Area 60-1

What Idaho Fish and Game publishes for hunt area 60-1 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.

What hunt area 60-1 is

Idaho Fish and Game describes deer hunt area 60-1 as all of Units 60, 61, 62A and that portion of Unit 60A beyond one mile north and west of the North (Henrys) Fork of the Snake River. 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 Clark, Fremont, Jefferson and Madison counties. Idaho Fish and Game also uses the code 60-1 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: Targhee Peak, Black Mountain and Bald Peak

Named high points inside the hunt area include Targhee Peak at 10,254 feet, Black Mountain at 10,188 feet, Bald Peak at 10,164 feet, Sawtell Peak at 9,883 feet and Taylor Mountain at 9,853 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: Burnt Canyon, Carrot Canyon and Snoo-weh Pass

Below them sit Burnt Canyon at 7,375 feet, Carrot Canyon at 7,267 feet, Snoo-weh Pass at 7,266 feet, Big Grassy at 7,122 feet and Porcupine Pass at 7,067 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: Howard Spring, Keg Spring and Lyle Spring

Named sources include Howard Spring, Keg Spring, Lyle Spring, Warm River Spring, Cold Spring and Bear Wallow 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 60-1 runs from 4,896 feet to 10,254 feet — more than 4,000 feet between the named features alone, so the season you draw decides which part of it you hunt.

Unit D60-1 terrain and land status

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

Named features inside the unit

Glass from: Targhee Peak (10,254 ft), Black Mountain (10,188 ft), Bald Peak (10,164 ft), Sawtell Peak (9,883 ft)

Holding ground: Rock Creek Basin (8,732 ft), Mule Meadows (8,708 ft), Lone Pine Pass (7,943 ft), Howard Spring, Keg 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 60-1

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 60-1 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 4 controlled hunts for mule deer in hunt area 60-1.

Hunt 1049 — antlered deer, 40 tags, Oct 10–Nov 30
Hunt 1063 — antlerless deer, 300 tags, Oct 25–Nov 15
Hunt 1109 — youth only deer, 250 tags, Oct 10–Oct 24. Either sex
Hunt 1184 — outfitter allocation deer, antlered deer only, 1 tag, Oct 10–Nov 30

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 60-1

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 Mount Two Top, Lookout Point and Signal Peak

Take a position on one of Mount Two Top (8,702 ft), Lookout Point (8,684 ft), Signal Peak (8,525 ft) and Castle Peak (8,115 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. 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 Targhee Peak, Black Mountain, Bald Peak and Sawtell Peak as places to see from, and Rock Creek Basin, Mule Meadows, Lone Pine Pass and Howard 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 5,358 feet between the lowest and highest ground, the walk back up out of a kill site is the part to plan first. Decide the night before where you will be at first light, and go there in the dark.

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 60-1 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)	40	3,072	1.0%	—
Controlled — 1st Drawing either sex (nonresident)	0	163	0.0%	—
Controlled — 2nd Drawing either sex (resident)	0	668	0.0%	—
Controlled — 2nd Drawing either sex (nonresident)	1	47	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 60-1, with residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different tag pools:

Hunt 1049 — residents 3,072 applicants for 40 tags, 1% drawn; nonresidents 163 applicants for 0 tags, 0% drawn
Hunt 1109 — residents 210 applicants for 210 tags, 100% drawn; nonresidents 4 applicants for 4 tags, 100% drawn
Hunt 1063 — residents 166 applicants for 166 tags, 100% drawn; nonresidents 2 applicants for 2 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

11 named water sources inside the hunt area in our water layer, including Howard Spring, Keg Spring and Lyle 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 4,896 to 10,254 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 1049, 1063, 1109 and 1184 (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 60-1?

Hunt Area 60-1 is drawn from units 60, 61, 62A and 60A, in Clark, Fremont, Jefferson and Madison counties. Idaho Fish and Game describes deer hunt area 60-1 as all of Units 60, 61, 62A and that portion of Unit 60A beyond one mile north and west of the North (Henrys) Fork of the Snake River.

What is the mule deer success rate in hunt area 60-1?

Idaho Fish and Game's per-unit harvest statistics cover general seasons on game management units, and hunt area 60-1 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 60-1, 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