Idaho Hunting Unit 5

Elk and deer in Unit 5 (Benewah, Kootenai counties): hunter success by year, 2026 seasons and draw odds, public land and rules, from Idaho Fish and Game records.

Open Unit 5 on the mapFree · public land, Forest roads, offline maps

Elk success17%5-year general season

Deer success40%5-year, mostly whitetail (100%)

Public land12%of the unit

Hunter success by year

ElkDeer (all deer, as IDFG reports)

General season success as Idaho Fish and Game reports it. Year-by-year numbers are in the tables below.

Elk hunting in Unit 5

In the 2025 general season, 2,166 elk hunters took 369 elk: 17% success. Over the last five seasons, success averaged 17% (total harvest over total hunters, 2021–2025). Of the bulls taken, 14% had 6 or more points.

General season, Idaho Fish and Game harvest survey. 6+ pt: share of bulls with 6 or more points
Year	Hunters	Harvest	Success	6+ pt
2025	2,166	369	17%	14%
2024	2,558	423	17%	10%
2023	2,396	480	20%	13%
2022	2,172	312	14%	8%
2021	2,332	355	15%	8%
2020	2,901	383	13%	15%
2019	2,616	497	19%	12%
2018	2,283	361	16%	4%
2017	2,416	391	16%	5%
2016	1,537	191	12%	4%
2015	1,664	85	5%	0%

Controlled hunt results, 2025

Hunt	Weapon	Hunters	Harvest	Success
Hunt 2049 area 5-1	Any weapon	167	86	51%
Hunt 2109 area 1-2	Any weapon	23	16	70%
Hunt 2150 youth only	Any weapon	22	7	32%

Results are for the whole hunt area, which can reach beyond this unit.

Deer hunting in Unit 5

In the 2025 general season, 2,814 deer hunters took 1,055 deer: 37% success. Over the last five seasons, deer success averaged 40% (all deer, 2021–2025); whitetail were 100% of the harvest, so this is mostly a whitetail unit. Idaho Fish and Game counts all deer: 99% of the 2025 harvest was whitetail.

General season, Idaho Fish and Game harvest survey. Whitetail: share of the deer harvest
Year	Hunters	Harvest	Success	Whitetail
2025	2,814	1,055	37%	99%
2024	2,897	1,186	41%	100%
2023	2,872	1,241	43%	100%
2022	2,739	1,036	38%	100%
2021	2,846	1,144	40%	100%
2020	3,343	1,302	39%	99%
2019	3,466	1,116	32%	100%
2018	3,806	1,363	36%	100%
2017	3,633	1,312	36%	99%
2016	3,548	1,418	40%	99%
2015	3,983	1,664	42%	98%

Controlled hunt results, 2025

Hunt	Weapon	Hunters	Harvest	Success
Hunt 1001 area 1-1	Any weapon	55	28	51%
Hunt 1126 area 5-1X	Muzzleloader	41	20	49%
Hunt 1148 area 1-1 outfitter tags	Any weapon	1	0	0%

Results are for the whole hunt area, which can reach beyond this unit.

2026 elk and deer seasons in Unit 5

General seasons (over the counter)

Season	Dates	Sex	Tag
Elk, archery	Aug 30 – Sep 30	antlered	Elk A Tag - Panhandle Zone
Elk, archery	Sep 6 – Sep 12	antlered	Elk B Tag - Panhandle Zone
Elk, archery	Sep 15 – Sep 21	either sex	Elk A Tag - Panhandle Zone
Elk, any weapon	Oct 10 – Oct 24	antlered	Elk B Tag - Panhandle Zone
Elk, any weapon	Oct 25 – Oct 29	antlered	Elk A Tag - Panhandle Zone
Elk, muzzleloader	Dec 2 – Dec 8	antlerless	Elk A Tag - Panhandle Zone
Elk, muzzleloader	Dec 2 – Dec 8	antlerless	Elk B Tag - Panhandle Zone
Elk, archery	Dec 10 – Dec 16	antlered	Elk A Tag - Panhandle Zone
Deer, archery	Aug 30 – Sep 30	antlered	Regular Deer Tag
Deer, archery	Aug 30 – Sep 30	antlerless	Regular Deer Tag
Deer, archery	Aug 30 – Sep 30	either sex	White-tailed Deer Tag
Deer, any weapon	Oct 10 – Oct 31	antlered	Regular Deer Tag
Deer, any weapon	Oct 10 – Dec 1	antlerless	Regular Deer Tag
Deer, any weapon	Oct 10 – Dec 1	either sex	White-tailed Deer Tag
Deer, any weapon	Nov 1 – Nov 14	antlered	Regular Deer Tag
Deer, any weapon	Nov 15 – Dec 1	antlered	Regular Deer Tag
Deer, archery	Dec 10 – Dec 24	antlered	Regular Deer Tag
Deer, archery	Dec 10 – Dec 24	antlerless	Regular Deer Tag
Deer, archery	Dec 10 – Dec 24	either sex	White-tailed Deer Tag

Controlled hunts

Hunt	Dates	Weapon	Sex	Tags	Drew
Elk 2109 area 1-2	Aug 30 – Dec 1	Any weapon	either sex	25	1% (25 tags, 1,760 1st choice, 2026)
Elk 2150 area 5 youth only	Aug 30 – Sep 30	Archery	antlerless	25	74% (25 tags, 34 1st choice, youth applicants, 2026)
Elk 2049 area 5-1	Oct 10 – Dec 31	Any weapon	antlerless	200	33% (200 tags, 599 1st choice, 2026)
Elk 2150 area 5 youth only	Oct 10 – Dec 1	Any weapon	antlerless	25	74% (25 tags, 34 1st choice, youth applicants, 2026)
Deer 1001 area 1-1	Aug 30 – Dec 1	Any weapon	antlered	60	4% (60 tags, 1,422 1st choice, 2026)
Deer 1126 area 5-1X	Aug 30 – Sep 30	Archery	antlerless	50	19% (50 tags, 266 1st choice, 2026)
Deer 1148 area 1-1 outfitter tags	Aug 30 – Dec 1	Any weapon	antlered	1	outfitter-allocated, not in the public draw
Deer 1126 area 5-1X	Oct 10 – Dec 1	Any weapon	antlerless	50	19% (50 tags, 266 1st choice, 2026)
Deer 1126 area 5-1X	Dec 10 – Dec 24	Archery	antlerless	50	19% (50 tags, 266 1st choice, 2026)
Deer 1126 area 5-1X	Dec 25 – Dec 31	Muzzleloader	antlerless	50	19% (50 tags, 266 1st choice, 2026)

Drew: share of first-choice applicants who drew a tag in the latest draw (for youth-only hunts, youth applicants). Outfitter tags go to licensed outfitters and are not drawn. A controlled hunt area can reach beyond this unit.

From the Idaho Fish and Game Hunt Planner, checked Oct 16, 2026. Seasons and rules change: confirm in the current regulations before you hunt.

Land in Unit 5

12% public land. Ownership: Private 76%, Tribal 12%, Other 6.2%, State 4.8%, USFS 0.5%.

Idaho Fish and Game Hunt Planner. The map shows public land boundaries and Forest roads you can drive.

Next to Unit 5

Five-year general-season success in the units that border Unit 5.

Unit	Elk	Deer
Unit 5 (this unit)	17%	40%*
Unit 2	7%	34%*
Unit 3	10%	29%*
Unit 6	15%	37%*
Unit 8	24%	38%*
Unit 8A	18%	36%*

Deer: mule deer success; * mostly whitetail, so all deer. – means no recent general season or too few seasons or hunters for a 5-year figure.

Sources

Harvest, hunters and success: Idaho Fish and Game harvest statistics (survey estimates, checked Oct 16, 2026).
Seasons and draw odds: Idaho Fish and Game Hunt Planner (checked Oct 16, 2026).
Land and unit details: Idaho Fish and Game page for Unit 5.

Five-year success is the total harvest divided by the total hunters over the last five seasons (at least 100 hunters); for deer, the whitetail share is taken out, except in mostly-whitetail units, where it is all deer. Everything else is shown as published. Data checked Oct 16, 2026.