Idaho Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep

Unit S21 (Bighorn Sheep Hunt Area 21)

Idaho Hunting Guide — Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep

Hunt Area 21 is drawn from unit 21, in Lemhi County. Named ground inside it runs from 3,158 to 9,145 feet. Idaho Fish and Game publishes no per-unit Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep 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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Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep guide

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Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Hunting in Unit S21

Where to Find Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep in Hunt Area 21

What Idaho Fish and Game publishes for hunt area 21 is a boundary, not a Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep map. The country below is verified; where to begin in it is our judgement, not the agency's.

What hunt area 21 is

Idaho Fish and Game draws Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep hunt area 21 in Lemhi County on a line that runs along Lower Salmon River, Horse Creek and Reynolds Creek, written out corner by corner in its controlled hunt area descriptions. 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 Lemhi County. Idaho Fish and Game also uses the code 21 for deer hunts, and in its own words "hunt areas are different for each species" — those are other pieces of ground, and this page is the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep area.

High ground inside the line: Allan Mountain, Rocky Mountain and Blue Nose

Named high points inside the hunt area include Allan Mountain at 9,145 feet, Rocky Mountain at 8,684 feet, Blue Nose at 8,665 feet, Horse Creek Butte at 8,336 feet and Long Tom Ridge at 8,327 feet. Several carry a public-land flag in our data, which makes them the first places to try for a view. Sheep need rock to escape into and will not stand far from it.

Holding ground: Boulder Basin, Willow Meadow and Beartrap Gulch

Below them sit Boulder Basin at 5,214 feet, Willow Meadow at 5,141 feet, Beartrap Gulch at 4,996 feet, Glacier Gulch at 4,966 feet and Spruce Gulch at 4,945 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: Bear Camp Spring, Horse Creek Hot Springs and Muleshoe Springs

Named sources include Bear Camp Spring, Horse Creek Hot Springs, Muleshoe Springs, Coyote Spring, Valieaux Spring and Marlin 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 21 runs from 3,158 feet to 9,145 feet — more than 4,000 feet between the named features alone, so the season you draw decides which part of it you hunt.

Unit S21 terrain and land status

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

Named features inside the unit

Glass from: Allan Mountain (9,145 ft), Rocky Mountain (8,684 ft), Horse Creek Butte (8,336 ft), Long Tom Mountain (8,252 ft)

Holding ground: Ax Park (7,325 ft), Horse Creek Pass (7,254 ft), Woods Creek Pass (7,171 ft), Bear Camp Spring, Horse Creek Hot Springs

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 Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep in Hunt Area 21

Idaho Fish and Game's per-unit harvest statistics describe general seasons on game management units, so there is no Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep success figure we can tie to hunt area 21 alone, and we won't borrow one from a unit. The plan: pick a glassing position across from the escape terrain and stay on it for hours, not minutes.

The 2025 and 2026 controlled hunts

Idaho Fish and Game's 2025 and 2026 rules list one controlled hunt for Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in hunt area 21.

Hunt 5006 — 3 tags, Aug 30–Oct 13

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 21

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 either bighorn may not apply for a bighorn tag for two years, and IDFG allows one Rocky Mountain and one California bighorn 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 Butcherknife Ridge, Beartrap Ridge and Henderson Ridge

Take a position on one of Butcherknife Ridge (8,020 ft), Beartrap Ridge (7,995 ft), Henderson Ridge (7,952 ft) and Sheepeater Point (7,845 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. Work the glass in strips and go back over ground you already covered — animals appear in country you looked at ten minutes ago. On the rut hunts, late hunts put rams with ewe groups on the same rock.

A first plan from the pins on this page

The map above marks Allan Mountain, Rocky Mountain, Horse Creek Butte and Long Tom Mountain as places to see from, and Ax Park, Horse Creek Pass, Woods Creek Pass and Bear Camp 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 5,987 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 Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep 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.

Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep: 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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Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Success Rates

Idaho Fish and Game's per-unit harvest statistics describe general seasons on game management units, and hunt area 21 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.

Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Draw Odds

Draw odds data not available for this specific unit/species combination in our database.

Search Idaho Draw Odds

Idaho Fish and Game's 2026 first drawing for Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in hunt area 21, with residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different tag pools:

Hunt 5006 — residents 57 applicants for 3 tags, 5% drawn; nonresidents 132 applicants for 0 tags, 0% drawn
Hunt 5023 — residents 55 applicants for 2 tags, 4% drawn; nonresidents 58 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

15 named water sources inside the hunt area in our water layer, including Bear Camp Spring, Horse Creek Hot Springs and Muleshoe Springs. 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 3,158 to 9,145 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 5006 (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.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Idaho hunt area 21?

Hunt Area 21 is drawn from unit 21, in Lemhi County. Idaho Fish and Game draws Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep hunt area 21 on a line that runs along Lower Salmon River, Horse Creek and Reynolds Creek, written out corner by corner in its controlled hunt area descriptions.

What is the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep success rate in hunt area 21?

Idaho Fish and Game's per-unit harvest statistics cover general seasons on game management units, and hunt area 21 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 Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep hunt area 21, 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