Guides

How the tags work

Short, sourced explainers. Each one lists the state pages behind its numbers.

Montana

How much is an elk tag in Montana? 2026 costs
What a Montana elk license really costs in 2026: the resident total, the nonresident Elk and Big Game Combination totals, discounted combinations, permits and Elk B licenses, and what the money buys in success rate.
How to read Montana FWP drawing statistics
Where FWP publishes Montana's drawing statistics, which of the three reports answers which question, how bonus and preference points show up in them, and how to read them next to a district's success rate.
Hunting Montana as a nonresident
The Big Game Combination drawing, what it costs, when to apply, and why nonresident success rates read the way they do.
Montana mule deer vs. whitetail
One license for both species, the districts with no general mule deer buck, where each deer ranks best, and how to read shared hunter counts and 4+ pt shares.
Montana's general elk license vs. permits
Where the General Elk License includes a bull, where it doesn't, the drawing-only districts, Elk B licenses, and how the bull filter reads them.

Are Idaho elk tags still over the counter?
Nonresident general elk tags are drawn now, not sold first-come. What residents still buy over the counter, the leftover tag sale, and how to pick a zone.
Best Idaho whitetail units, ranked by success rate
Idaho's top-ranked deer units by 2021–2025 success rate, how much of their harvest is whitetail, which general tag covers each one, and the 2026 nonresident tag limits.
Hunting Idaho as a nonresident
The new general-tag draw, the per-unit and per-zone limits, controlled hunts, and what this tool can and cannot show for Idaho.
Idaho elk zones and tags explained
The 28 elk zones, A and B tags, capped zones and sale dates, controlled hunts, nonresident limits, and how to pick a zone using unit success rates.
Idaho nonresident deer draw odds by unit
How Idaho's nonresident deer draw works, what the 2026 odds by unit say, and how to pair a unit's odds with its general-season deer success rate.
Idaho nonresident elk draw odds and how to pick a zone
What IDFG's 2026 nonresident elk draw odds show, how the draw reads your five hunt choices, A and B tags, the 2027-season dates and costs, and how to pick a zone using unit success rates.

How to pick an elk unit
A six-step way to choose a Montana or Idaho elk unit: license, success rate, crowding, bull size, public land and terrain, and the regulations.
How to read hunting success rates
What a success rate measures, Montana's alternating survey years, the 100-hunter floor, trophy share, residency splits, and the limits of the number.