Unit M43 (Moose Hunt Area 43)

Idaho Hunting Guide — Moose

Hunt Area 43 is drawn from units 43, 44 and 45, in Camas, Elmore, Blaine and Gooding counties. Named ground inside it runs from 2,474 to 10,159 feet. Idaho Fish and Game publishes no per-unit Shiras moose 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

Build your own PDF hunt guide for Unit M43

Answer a few questions about your tag, your season and your rig, and the Field Intelligence Report builds a print-ready Idaho Unit M43 guide around your hunt: three ranked spots with morning, afternoon and evening plays, a day-by-day plan, topo maps with every pin numbered, a camp and access plan, the legal and retrieval rules for this unit, shot discipline, a meat-care and pack-out plan, and a pre-trip checklist. Every coordinate sits on land recorded as public.

Moose guide

Free accounts get one report a year with the top spot unlocked. ProHunt Pro includes unlimited reports, all three spots, the full camp plan, and GPX/KML downloads for onX and Google Earth. Prefer to see one first? Open the builder and pick any unit.

Moose Hunting in Unit M43

Where to Find Shiras Moose in Hunt Area 43

Idaho Fish and Game draws an exact line around hunt area 43 and says nothing about where the Shiras moose stand inside it. The country below is verified; where to begin in it is our judgement, not the agency's.

What hunt area 43 is

Idaho Fish and Game describes moose hunt area 43 as all of Units 43, 44, and 45. 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 Camas, Elmore, Blaine and Gooding counties. Idaho Fish and Game also uses the code 43 for deer, elk and mountain goat hunts, and in its own words "hunt areas are different for each species" — those are other pieces of ground, and this page is the moose area.

High ground inside the line: Baker Peak, Smoky Mountains and Soldier Mountains

Named high points inside the hunt area include Baker Peak at 10,159 feet, Smoky Mountains at 10,158 feet, Soldier Mountains at 10,077 feet, Two Point Mountain at 10,065 feet and Smoky Dome at 10,060 feet. Several carry a public-land flag in our data, which makes them the first places to try for a view. Moose want willow, water and shade, and they rarely leave the drainage that has all three.

Holding ground: Narrow Canyon, Mill Canyon and Couch Summit

Below them sit Narrow Canyon at 6,946 feet, Mill Canyon at 6,893 feet, Couch Summit at 6,869 feet, Royal Gorge at 6,856 feet and Ditto Flat at 6,791 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: Orr Springs, McFarney Spring and Whitson Spring

Named sources include Orr Springs, McFarney Spring, Whitson Spring, Abbott Springs, Moores Spring and Goat 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 43 runs from 2,474 feet to 10,159 feet — more than 4,000 feet between the named features alone, so the season you draw decides which part of it you hunt.

Unit M43 terrain and land status

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

Named features inside the unit

Glass from: Baker Peak (10,159 ft), Soldier Mountains (10,077 ft), Two Point Mountain (10,065 ft), Big Peak (10,000 ft)

Holding ground: Boardman Pass (8,758 ft), Dollarhide Summit (8,713 ft), Deer Park (7,249 ft), Orr Springs, Whitson 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 Shiras Moose in Hunt Area 43

Idaho Fish and Game's per-unit harvest statistics describe general seasons on game management units, so there is no Shiras moose success figure we can tie to hunt area 43 alone, and we won't borrow one from a unit. The plan: walk the willow bottoms slowly at first and last light and look for fresh browse before you look for the animal.

The 2025 and 2026 controlled hunts

Idaho Fish and Game's 2025 and 2026 rules list one controlled hunt for Shiras moose in hunt area 43.

Hunt 3052 — 1 tag, Aug 30–Nov 23

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 43

Idaho Fish and Game takes moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat applications together, and anyone who applies for one of the three may not apply for another big game controlled hunt in the same year's first drawing, apart from the unlimited, extra, black bear and depredation hunts IDFG names. A hunter drawn for moose may not apply for a moose tag again for two years except for leftovers, and IDFG allows one antlered and one antlerless moose per hunter in a lifetime. Two hunters may apply together on one application. Idaho's draw is random, with no preference or bonus points to build.

Glassing from Marshall Peak, Iron Mountain and Newman Peak

Take a position on one of Marshall Peak (9,729 ft), Iron Mountain (9,642 ft), Newman Peak (9,576 ft) and Gunsight Peak (9,458 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. Glass the edges first, then the shaded timber, then the edges again as the light goes. On the rut hunts, late September bulls answer a cow call near water.

A first plan from the pins on this page

The map above marks Baker Peak, Soldier Mountains, Two Point Mountain and Big Peak as places to see from, and Boardman Pass, Dollarhide Summit, Deer Park and Orr 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. 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 7,685 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 Shiras moose 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.

Moose: where to put the shot

Broadside, behind the shoulder and a third up. Moose look slow to react — the first shot has to count.

Shots to refuse

Where it falls decides your next two days. Avoid shots that drop a moose in water or a bog.
A .30-06 class cartridge minimum, with a bullet built for heavy bone.

Plan the carry: roughly 350– 500 lb of boned-out meat, before head and hide — four or more large coolers, or a processor. ProHunt planning estimate, not an agency figure.

Pro Members Only

Unlock moose tactics for Unit 43

Upgrade to Pro — $49/yr

Moose Success Rates

Idaho Fish and Game's per-unit harvest statistics describe general seasons on game management units, and hunt area 43 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.

Moose Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts (n/p)
Controlled — 1st Drawing either sex (resident)	1	30	3.0%	—
Controlled — 1st Drawing either sex (nonresident)	0	1	0.0%	—

Data from 2026 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 2026 first drawing for Shiras moose in hunt area 43, with residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different tag pools:

Hunt 3052 — residents 30 applicants for 1 tag, 3% drawn; nonresidents 1 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 2026. Checked against Idaho Fish and Game's hunt planner draw results on 2026-06-09.

Unit Logistics & Expectations

Planning Notes

💧

Water

35 named water sources inside the hunt area in our water layer, including Orr Springs, McFarney Spring and Whitson Spring. Which of them run in autumn is something only a scouting trip will tell you.

🥾

Terrain Difficulty

Named features inside the hunt area run from 2,474 to 10,159 ft. More than 4,000 feet between them alone, so plan the pack-out before the shot.

📋

Permit Notes

Idaho Fish and Game controlled hunt 3052 (2025 and 2026 rules). Moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat applications run April 1 to 30. Idaho's draw is random, with no preference or bonus points.

Pro Members Only

Unlock logistics for Unit 43

Upgrade to Pro — $49/yr

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Idaho hunt area 43?

Hunt Area 43 is drawn from units 43, 44 and 45, in Camas, Elmore, Blaine and Gooding counties. Idaho Fish and Game describes moose hunt area 43 as all of Units 43, 44, and 45.

What is the Shiras moose success rate in hunt area 43?

Idaho Fish and Game's per-unit harvest statistics cover general seasons on game management units, and hunt area 43 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.

Free Hunt Planning Tools

🎰 Idaho Draw Odds Unit-level tag success rates 📅 Application Timeline Deadlines for all 9 states 🦌 Rut Forecast Peak rut timing by species 💰 Hunt Cost Calculator Budget your entire hunt

Plan Your Hunt with ProHunt Pro

Unlock advanced tactics, the Tag-to-Trail Planner, AI hunt strategy assistant, and personalized camp and trip execution plans.

Upgrade to Pro — $49/yr

Sources & Verification

Every fact on this page is tied to a primary source below. Last fact-checked 2026-10-24.

Moose, Bighorn Sheep & Mountain Goat 2025 & 2026 Seasons & Rules — Idaho Department of Fish and Game · supports: Controlled hunt area description for moose hunt area 43, 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