Unit E36B-1 (Elk Hunt Area 36B-1)

Idaho Hunting Guide — Elk

Hunt Area 36B-1 is drawn from unit 36B, in Custer County. Named ground inside it runs from 5,710 to 6,131 feet. Idaho Fish and Game publishes no per-unit elk 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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Elk guide

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Elk Hunting in Unit E36B-1

Where to Find Elk in Hunt Area 36B-1

Idaho Fish and Game's material on hunt area 36B-1 stops at the boundary — there is no agency account of where its elk live. The country below is verified; where to begin in it is our judgement, not the agency's.

What hunt area 36B-1 is

Idaho Fish and Game describes elk hunt area 36B-1 as that portion of Unit 36B, outside the national forest administrative boundary starting from and including the Challis Creek drainage to and including the Garden Creek drainage. 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 Custer County. Idaho Fish and Game also uses the code 36B-1 for deer and pronghorn hunts, and in its own words "hunt areas are different for each species" — those are other pieces of ground, and this page is the elk area.

Holding ground: Daugherty Gulch, Klug Gulch and Cartwright Gulch

Below them sit Daugherty Gulch at 6,131 feet, Klug Gulch at 6,018 feet, Cartwright Gulch at 5,838 feet and John Gulch at 5,710 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.

How high the named ground goes

Named ground inside hunt area 36B-1 runs from 5,710 feet to 6,131 feet. Those are the heights of the features GNIS names, which bound the range from inside rather than measure it.

Unit E36B-1 terrain and land status

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

Named features inside the unit

Holding ground: Daugherty Gulch (6,131 ft)

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 Elk in Hunt Area 36B-1

Idaho Fish and Game's per-unit harvest statistics describe general seasons on game management units, so there is no elk success figure we can tie to hunt area 36B-1 alone, and we won't borrow one from a unit. The plan: find the feed, find the timber it backs onto, then watch the seam between them at the edges of the day.

The 2026 controlled hunts

Idaho Fish and Game's 2026 rules list one controlled hunt for elk in hunt area 36B-1.

Hunt 2077 — antlerless elk, 100 tags, Nov 1–Dec 31. Portion of Unit only, Outside the National Forest Boundary, See Hunt Planner or contact the Salmon Regional Office for map of Hunt Area

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 36B-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 elk 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.

Finding a view in hunt area 36B-1

No named high ground falls inside this hunt area, which changes the method rather than ruling it out. Height comes from the vehicle or from a bank above a watercourse, and either is enough at first light. Elk on low, open country live on distance and visibility, so they see you first. Cover ground slowly and stop more often than feels sensible.

What a day here costs you

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 elk 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.

Elk: 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. That is lungs, and on a quartering-away angle it picks up the far shoulder.

Shots to refuse

No straight-on and no straight-away shots. An elk's chest is deep and the margin is small.
Nothing standing behind or overlapping the animal you picked. A pass-through kills the elk behind it too.
Your maximum range is the farthest you have put three shots in a paper plate off the sticks you are actually carrying. Not the farthest you have ever hit anything.
Scope on 3–4x. A herd fills a 12x field of view and you lose the animal you picked.

Identification:On an antlerless tag, legal means no antler of any kind through the skin. A spike looks exactly like a cow until it turns its head. If you can't see the head, don't shoot.

Plan the carry: roughly 150– 220 lb of boned-out meat, before head and hide — two to four large coolers, plus bagged ice from town. ProHunt planning estimate, not an agency figure.

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Elk Success Rates

Idaho Fish and Game's per-unit harvest statistics describe general seasons on game management units, and hunt area 36B-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.

Elk Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts (n/p)
Controlled — 1st Drawing either sex (resident)	62	62	100.0%	—
Controlled — 1st Drawing either sex (nonresident)	9	12	75.0%	—
Controlled — 2nd Drawing either sex (resident)	16	18	89.0%	—
Controlled — 2nd Drawing either sex (nonresident)	6	6	100.0%	—

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 elk in hunt area 36B-1, with residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different tag pools:

Hunt 2077 — residents 62 applicants for 62 tags, 100% drawn; nonresidents 12 applicants for 9 tags, 75% 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

No named spring or water source falls inside the hunt area in our water layer, so plan on carrying water or finding it on a scouting trip.

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Terrain Difficulty

Named features inside the hunt area run from 5,710 to 6,131 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 2077 (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 36B-1?

Hunt Area 36B-1 is drawn from unit 36B, in Custer County. Idaho Fish and Game describes elk hunt area 36B-1 as that portion of Unit 36B, outside the national forest administrative boundary starting from and including the Challis Creek drainage to and including the Garden Creek drainage.

What is the elk success rate in hunt area 36B-1?

Idaho Fish and Game's per-unit harvest statistics cover general seasons on game management units, and hunt area 36B-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 elk hunt area 36B-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