Idaho Mule Deer

Unit D60A-1X (Deer Hunt Area 60A-1X)

Idaho Hunting Guide — Mule Deer

Hunt Area 60A-1X is drawn from units 60A, 62, 64, 65, 66, 67 and 69, in Clark, Fremont, Jefferson, Madison and Teton counties. Named ground inside it runs from 4,585 to 10,013 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 D60A-1X

Where to Find Mule Deer in Hunt Area 60A-1X

Idaho Fish and Game draws an exact line around hunt area 60A-1X 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 60A-1X is

Idaho Fish and Game describes deer hunt area 60A-1X as all of Units 60A, 62, 64, 65, 66, 67 and 69. Chronic Wasting Disease Testing Required in Units 64 and 69, See Page 96,. 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, Madison and Teton counties. Idaho Fish and Game also uses the code 60A-1X 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: Mount Baird, Elkhorn Peak and Sheep Creek Peak

Named high points inside the hunt area include Mount Baird at 10,013 feet, Elkhorn Peak at 9,927 feet, Sheep Creek Peak at 9,926 feet, Baldy Mountain at 9,816 feet and Palisades Peak at 9,757 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: Blacktail Pass, Government Trail Pass and Thousand Springs Valley

Below them sit Blacktail Pass at 7,882 feet, Government Trail Pass at 7,881 feet, Thousand Springs Valley at 7,678 feet, Golden Gate at 7,648 feet and Black Grove at 7,364 feet. Those are the basins, parks and bottoms this hunt area has, and they are what you glass into from above. Two you can watch from a single knob is worth more than five you have to drive between.

Water: Paradise Spring, Boquet Springs and Crandall Spring

Named sources include Paradise Spring, Boquet Springs, Crandall Spring, Packsaddle Spring, Mud Springs and Graham 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 60A-1X runs from 4,585 feet to 10,013 feet — more than 4,000 feet between the named features alone, so the season you draw decides which part of it you hunt.

Unit D60A-1X terrain and land status

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

Named features inside the unit

Glass from: Mount Baird (10,013 ft), Sheep Creek Peak (9,926 ft), Baldy Mountain (9,816 ft), Palisades Peak (9,757 ft)

Holding ground: Paradise Basin (8,508 ft), Elk Flat (8,256 ft), Packsaddle Basin (8,136 ft), Paradise Spring, Crandall 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 60A-1X

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 60A-1X 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 one controlled hunt for mule deer in hunt area 60A-1X.

Hunt 1144 — extra antlerless deer, 300 tags, Aug 30–Sep 30 and Oct 10–Oct 31 and Nov 20–Dec 19

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 60A-1X

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 Big Elk Mountain, Atkinson Peak and Needle Peak

Take a position on one of Big Elk Mountain (9,456 ft), Atkinson Peak (9,355 ft), Needle Peak (9,214 ft) and Piney Peak (9,014 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. A tripod is worth more here than another hour of walking. 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 Mount Baird, Sheep Creek Peak, Baldy Mountain and Palisades Peak as places to see from, and Paradise Basin, Elk Flat, Packsaddle Basin and Paradise 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 5,428 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 60A-1X 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)	300	605	50.0%	—
Controlled — 1st Drawing either sex (nonresident)	0	2	0.0%	—
Controlled — 2nd Drawing either sex (resident)	20	137	15.0%	—
Controlled — 2nd Drawing either sex (nonresident)	0	0	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 mule deer in hunt area 60A-1X, with residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different tag pools:

Hunt 1144 — residents 605 applicants for 300 tags, 50% drawn; nonresidents 2 applicants for 0 tags, 0% 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

45 named water sources inside the hunt area in our water layer, including Paradise Spring, Boquet Springs and Crandall 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 4,585 to 10,013 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 1144 (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 60A-1X?

Hunt Area 60A-1X is drawn from units 60A, 62, 64, 65, 66, 67 and 69, in Clark, Fremont, Jefferson, Madison and Teton counties. Idaho Fish and Game describes deer hunt area 60A-1X as all of Units 60A, 62, 64, 65, 66, 67 and 69. Chronic Wasting Disease Testing Required in Units 64 and 69, See Page 96,.

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

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