Unit M48 (Moose Hunt Area 48)

Idaho Hunting Guide — Moose

Hunt Area 48 is drawn from units 48, 49 and 52, in Blaine, Camas, Gooding and Lincoln counties. Named ground inside it runs from 3,946 to 11,964 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.

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Moose guide

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Moose Hunting in Unit M48

Where to Find Shiras Moose in Hunt Area 48

Idaho Fish and Game's material on hunt area 48 stops at the boundary — there is no agency account of where its Shiras moose 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 48 is

Idaho Fish and Game describes moose hunt area 48 as all of Units 48, 49, and 52. 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 Blaine, Camas, Gooding and Lincoln counties. Idaho Fish and Game also uses the code 48 for deer and 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 moose area.

High ground inside the line: Pioneer Mountains, Hyndman Peak and Duncan Ridge

Named high points inside the hunt area include Pioneer Mountains at 11,964 feet, Hyndman Peak at 11,915 feet, Duncan Ridge at 11,736 feet, Old Hyndman Peak at 11,683 feet and Kent Peak at 11,644 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: Slide Rock Canyon, Packer Gulch and Poison Flat

Below them sit Slide Rock Canyon at 8,425 feet, Packer Gulch at 7,921 feet, Poison Flat at 7,863 feet, Steep Gulch at 7,746 feet and Miner Canyon at 7,740 feet. These are the folds worth watching, and the ones other hunters walk past on the way to somewhere steeper. Work out which of them you can see from one position before you pick a camp.

Water: Spud Patch Spring, Picabo Town Spring and Strode Spring

Named sources include Spud Patch Spring, Picabo Town Spring, Strode Spring, Sagebrush Spring, Pasco Spring and Chokecherry 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 48 runs from 3,946 feet to 11,964 feet — more than 4,000 feet between the named features alone, so the season you draw decides which part of it you hunt.

Unit M48 terrain and land status

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

Named features inside the unit

Glass from: Pioneer Mountains (11,964 ft), Kent Peak (11,644 ft), Easley Peak (11,107 ft), Silver Peak (11,092 ft)

Holding ground: Johnstone Pass (9,971 ft), Big Basin (9,792 ft), Boulder Basin (9,328 ft), Spud Patch Spring, Picabo Town 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 48

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 48 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 48.

Hunt 3053 — 4 tags, 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 48

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 Galena Peak, Boulder Peak and Handwerk Peak

Take a position on one of Galena Peak (11,079 ft), Boulder Peak (10,948 ft), Handwerk Peak (10,799 ft) and Grays Peak (10,525 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. Give a basin forty minutes before you decide it is empty. 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 Pioneer Mountains, Kent Peak, Easley Peak and Silver Peak as places to see from, and Johnstone Pass, Big Basin, Boulder Basin and Spud Patch 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. Walk between two of them rather than driving between four, and you will learn more in a day.

What a day here costs you

With 8,018 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.

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Moose Success Rates

Idaho Fish and Game's per-unit harvest statistics describe general seasons on game management units, and hunt area 48 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)	4	108	4.0%	—
Controlled — 1st Drawing either sex (nonresident)	0	8	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 48, with residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different tag pools:

Hunt 3053 — residents 108 applicants for 4 tags, 4% drawn; nonresidents 8 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

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Water

37 named water sources inside the hunt area in our water layer, including Spud Patch Spring, Picabo Town Spring and Strode 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 3,946 to 11,964 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 3053 (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.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Idaho hunt area 48?

Hunt Area 48 is drawn from units 48, 49 and 52, in Blaine, Camas, Gooding and Lincoln counties. Idaho Fish and Game describes moose hunt area 48 as all of Units 48, 49, and 52.

What is the Shiras moose success rate in hunt area 48?

Idaho Fish and Game's per-unit harvest statistics cover general seasons on game management units, and hunt area 48 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.

Moose, Bighorn Sheep & Mountain Goat 2025 & 2026 Seasons & Rules — Idaho Department of Fish and Game · supports: Controlled hunt area description for moose hunt area 48, 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