Guide

Best Idaho whitetail units, ranked by success rate

Updated October 4, 2026

From 2021 to 2025, Idaho deer hunters killed a deer at a rate of 27.4%, and the five best units in the state all sit in IDFG's Clearwater Region. IDFG reports one success rate for all deer in a unit, mule deer and whitetail together, but its own 2025 harvest count puts those five units at 98 to 100 percent whitetail. What follows is where those units are, which tag gets you into each one, and how a nonresident gets that tag now that Idaho draws them.

Dec 5–15

2026 application window for 2027 nonresident deer tags

15,500

statewide nonresident general-season deer quota, 2026

Dec 1

2026 White-tailed Deer tag any-weapon close in Units 10A and 11

What an Idaho deer rate tells you about whitetails

IDFG's general-season harvest statistics count deer, not mule deer and whitetails separately. Every hunter and every deer killed in a unit goes into one success figure, so an Idaho deer rate is all deer, the same way How to read hunting success rates explains it for the rest of the site.

In the units at the top of the list, that barely matters. The same IDFG table carries a percent-whitetail column, and for the 2025 general season it reads 99 percent in Unit 10A, 98 percent in Unit 15, and 100 percent in Units 11, 13, and 16. Read a high rate in these units as whitetail success.

Two more rules behind the numbers. A unit needs an average of 100 hunters a year to be ranked, which keeps a few lucky hunters from topping the list. And the rate is pooled, not averaged: total deer killed across 2021–2025 divided by total hunters across the same seasons, so a busy year counts for more than a quiet one.

The top units by success rate

These are Idaho's ten best deer units by pooled 2021–2025 success rate.

1. Unit 16 45.4%
2. Unit 13 43.0%
3. Unit 11 42.7%
4. Unit 10A 42.2%
5. Unit 15 40.9%
6. Unit 5 40.0%
7. Unit 1 38.4%
8. Unit 8 38.1%
9. Unit 21 37.9%
10. Unit 6 36.9%

See the full ranking: Best deer hunting units in Idaho

Unit 16 leads at 45.4%. Unit 13 follows at 43.0%, then Unit 11 at 42.7%, Unit 10A at 42.2%, and Unit 15 at 40.9%.

The rates sit close together. The crowds do not. IDFG counted 5,900 any-weapon deer hunters in Unit 10A in 2025 and 807 in Unit 16. Every unit page lists the hunter count for each season beside its rate, so open it before you decide a top-five unit is the quiet one.

Unit 1 is outside the top five at 38.4%, but it is 91 percent whitetail in IDFG's 2025 count, and the nonresident numbers below show why it is worth a look.

Units 11 and 13 take a White-tailed Deer tag

Units 11 and 13 rank in the top three, and neither appears in the 2026 Regular Deer tag general-season tables. Outside the White-tailed Deer tag, deer hunting there is by controlled hunt: IDFG's 2026 antlered controlled hunts include hunts 1002 and 1003 in Unit 11 and hunt 1006 in Unit 13.

The White-tailed Deer tag does cover both. In 2026, its any-weapon season runs October 10 to December 1 in Unit 11 and October 10 to November 3 in Unit 13, and IDFG notes very limited access in Unit 13 because of few roads and private property. That is why both units show general-season hunters in IDFG's harvest statistics, and why their harvest is 100 percent whitetail.

Regular Deer tag or White-tailed Deer tag

Idaho has two general deer tags. The Regular Deer tag is valid for mule deer or white-tailed deer in the seasons listed in its tables, unless a season is marked white-tailed deer only. The White-tailed Deer tag is valid for white-tailed deer only, in the seasons listed in its own tables.

In the top units, the White-tailed Deer tag runs longer. The 2026 any-weapon seasons:

• Unit 10A: Regular Deer October 10 to November 3. White-tailed Deer October 10 to December 1.
• Unit 15: Regular Deer October 10 to November 3. White-tailed Deer October 10 to November 20.
• Unit 16: Regular Deer October 10 to November 3. White-tailed Deer October 10 to November 20.
• Units 11 and 13: no Regular Deer general season. White-tailed Deer as above.
• Unit 1: White-tailed Deer October 10 to December 1. Regular Deer seasons there are split by species; read the table.

A second deer tag may not be used in Units 10, 10A, and 12, and a second white-tailed deer tag may not be used in Unit 10A. Read the unit's season lines in the current seasons book before you buy either tag. Archery, muzzleloader, and short-range seasons have their own tables.

Getting a tag as a nonresident

Beginning with the 2026 season, nonresident general-season deer tags are issued through a draw, not sold over the counter. The first application period for the 2027 season is December 5 to 15, 2026, with an $18 application fee per species, and IDFG says Regular Deer and White-tailed Deer can go on the same application.

The 2026 statewide nonresident general-season quota for deer was 15,500, but the per-unit limits are the ones that decide your hunt. In all five top units, the White-tailed Deer tag carries more nonresident tags than the Regular Deer tag, and in Units 11 and 13 it is the only general tag. Unit 1 runs the other way. The 2026 nonresident limits, with hunt codes:

• Unit 1: 671 Regular Deer (RD01), 132 White-tailed Deer (WD01).
• Unit 10A: 47 Regular Deer (RD10A), 677 White-tailed Deer (WD10A).
• Unit 11: no Regular Deer, 152 White-tailed Deer (WD11).
• Unit 13: no Regular Deer, 42 White-tailed Deer (WD13).
• Unit 15: 61 Regular Deer (RD15), 267 White-tailed Deer (WD15).
• Unit 16: 15 Regular Deer (RD16), 117 White-tailed Deer (WD16).

Those are nonresident tags; outfitter allocations are listed separately in the same supplement. The 2027 limits may differ. The Idaho nonresident guide covers the rest: the license you need before you apply, what the tag costs, the five hunt choices on an application, and the second application period.

If you are weighing whitetails on both sides of the state line, Montana mule deer vs whitetail covers how Montana's general deer license and whitetail rates work.

Scouting the shortlist

Open each unit page from the ranking. Three things there do most of the scouting:

• Public land. A shaded overlay marks BLM, Forest Service, and State land from USGS PAD-US. Check how much of a top unit you can hunt without a landowner's permission before you count on its rate.
• Satellite. Switch the basemap to imagery to see timber, farm ground, clearcuts, and roads.
• 3D. Tilt the map to see the breaks and draws between the ridges and the river bottoms.

To build a list past the top ten, open the Idaho planner for deer and set a minimum rate. The "General tag includes antlered deer" filter is built from the Regular Deer tag tables, so turning it on hides Units 11 and 13 even though a White-tailed Deer tag covers them. The full Idaho deer ranking lists every qualifying unit with its hunter count.

Sources

1. Idaho Fish and Game — Idaho Big Game 2026 Seasons & Rules (PDF) — the nonresident draw beginning with the 2026 season (p. 10), the 2026 Regular Deer tag general seasons and second-tag restriction (pp. 11–15), and the 2026 White-tailed Deer tag general seasons, including Units 11 and 13 (pp. 17–20), and the 2026 antlered deer controlled hunts in Units 11 and 13 (p. 21). Accessed October 2026.
2. Idaho Fish and Game — 2026 Nonresident General Tags and Tags Allocated to Outfitters (PDF) — the 15,500 statewide nonresident deer quota (p. 4) and the 2026 nonresident Regular Deer and White-tailed Deer tags by unit (pp. 9–13). Accessed October 2026.
3. Idaho Fish and Game — Nonresident Deer and Elk Tags — the December 5 to 15, 2026 application period for the 2027 season, the $18 application fee per species, and Regular Deer and White-tailed Deer on the same application. Accessed October 2026.
4. Idaho Fish and Game — 2025 General Season Deer Harvest — any-weapon hunter counts and the percent-whitetail column for Units 1, 10A, 11, 13, 15, and 16. Accessed October 2026.
5. Idaho Fish and Game — Clearwater Region Hunt Planner — the region's game management units, including 10A, 11, 13, 15, and 16. Accessed October 2026.
6. Idaho Fish and Game — Big Game Harvest Statistics — general-season unit hunter and harvest counts behind every Idaho deer rate, mule deer and whitetail combined. Accessed October 2026. See the Data page for the per-unit sources.

Glass Idaho deer