Elk City elk zone, Idaho: tags, units and elk harvest
The Elk City Zone covers units 14, 15 and 16. It is a capped zone: 628 A tags and 1,432 B tags for 2026, shared among residents, nonresidents and outfitters. General-season hunters took 405 elk in its units in 2025, by IDFG's unit harvest figures. In the 2026 nonresident draw, 77 of 119 first-choice applicants drew an A tag and 261 of 704 a B tag.
Data updated October 2026. Seasons: IDFG's 2026 big game brochure. Tags: IDFG's 2026 nonresident supplement and capped-zone sale page. Harvest: IDFG harvest statistics, 2019 to 2025.
Check your Elk City Zone elk hunt
| Units | 14, 15, 16 |
|---|---|
| Tags | A tag and B tag |
| 2026 cap | A: 628 (residents 545, nonresidents 77, outfitters 6) B: 1,432 (residents 1,131, nonresidents 261, outfitters 40) |
| Resident capped tags left | A: Sold Out, B: Sold Out (IDFG, 10/08/2026 11:50 am MDT) |
| General-season elk harvest, 2025 | 405 (all weapons, sum of IDFG's unit figures) |
| Controlled elk hunts, 2026 | 1 |
| Wildlife management areas | Red River |
When are the Elk City Zone elk seasons in 2026?
The Elk City Zone sells an A tag and a B tag. The brochure puts it simply: in general, A tags give more archery and muzzleloader seasons, and B tags more rifle seasons.
| Tag | Dates | Days | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Archery only: antlered only, Units 15 and 16 only, Aug 30 - Sep 30 | ||
| A | Muzzleloader only: antlerless only, Units 14 and 16 only, Nov 21 - Dec 5 | ||
| B | Oct 10 to Oct 24 | 15 | Any weapon: antlered elk |
Seasons: IDFG, Idaho Big Game 2026 Seasons and Rules, zone table on page 39; the archery, muzzleloader and private-land seasons are printed with their dates in IDFG's words. Check IDFG's rules page for changes.
How many Elk City Zone tags are there?
Tags in a capped zone are sold first come, first served for residents and drawn for nonresidents, out of one cap per tag. On 10/08/2026 11:50 am MDT, IDFG's sale page showed resident A tags sold out and resident B tags sold out.
| Tag | Nonresident tags | Outfitter tags | Resident tags | Total cap | Nonresident draw: first choices who drew |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A tag | 77 | 6 | 545 | 628 | 77 of 119 (65%) |
| B tag | 261 | 40 | 1,131 | 1,432 | 261 of 704 (37%) |
Tag numbers: IDFG, 2026 Nonresident General Tags and Tags Allocated to Outfitters, pages 22 and 23 (in a capped zone the cap is shared among the three groups). Nonresident draw: IDFG, 2026 nonresident general season deer and elk tag draw, table 1, first choice; the nonresident tag numbers in that report leave out outfitter tags.
How many elk are taken in the Elk City Zone?
IDFG publishes general-season elk harvest by unit, not by zone. These are the zone's units added together, all weapons and each weapon's general seasons; controlled hunts are counted separately below.
| Year | Elk harvested, all general seasons | Any weapon | Archery | Muzzleloader |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 405 | 293 | 54 | 58 |
| 2024 | 463 | 348 | 33 | 82 |
| 2023 | 351 | 302 | 25 | 25 |
| 2022 | 324 | 250 | 41 | 33 |
| 2021 | 360 | 297 | 40 | 23 |
| 2020 | 342 | 235 | 50 | 56 |
| 2019 | 342 | 259 | 46 | 37 |
| Unit | Elk harvested, 2025 | Hunters, 2025 | Success | Bulls with 6+ points | Elk harvested, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 223 | 867 | 26% | 23% | 294 |
| 15 | 132 | 752 | 18% | 28% | 84 |
| 16 | 50 | 321 | 16% | 16% | 85 |
Source: IDFG harvest statistics, general elk seasons, 2019 to 2025, from mandatory hunter reports. Hunter numbers are per unit; a hunter who hunted two units is counted in both, so they are not added up.
Which controlled elk hunts are in the Elk City Zone?
| Hunt | Area | Take and weapon | Season 2026 | Tags | First-choice applicants | 2025 success |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2055 | 16-1 | Antlerless elk, any weapon | Dec 10 to Dec 31 | 40 | 76 | 41% |
Elk controlled hunts whose whole area lies in the zone's units. Source: IDFG 2026 elk drawing odds and 2025 controlled hunt harvest statistics.
Questions hunters ask
Is the Elk City elk zone capped?
Yes. For 2026 IDFG caps the zone at 628 A tags and 1,432 B tags. The cap is split: A tag 545 resident, 77 nonresident and 6 outfitter tags; B tag 1,131 resident, 261 nonresident and 40 outfitter tags. Resident capped tags went on sale July 8, 2026.
Which units are in the Elk City elk zone?
Units 14, 15 and 16. An Idaho general elk tag is bought for one zone and is good in every unit of it, on that tag's seasons.
How many elk are harvested in the Elk City Zone?
IDFG's unit figures add up to 405 elk taken in general seasons in units 14, 15 and 16 in 2025, against 463 in 2024. Controlled elk hunts in the zone added 14 in 2025.
How hard is it for a nonresident to draw an elk tag in the Elk City Zone?
In IDFG's 2026 nonresident draw, 77 of 119 first-choice applicants drew an A tag for the zone (65%), and 261 of 704 drew a B tag (37%). The next draw's first application period is December 5 to 15, 2026.
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Where these numbers come from
- Seasons and zone units: IDFG, Idaho Big Game 2026 Seasons and Rules, page 39.
- Tag caps: IDFG, 2026 Nonresident General Tags and Tags Allocated to Outfitters; capped tags left: IDFG, Resident Capped Elk Zones.
- Nonresident draw: IDFG, 2026 nonresident draw data. Harvest: IDFG harvest statistics.
FilledTag is not part of Idaho Fish and Game.
All Idaho elk zones Unit 14 Unit 15 Unit 16 Idaho elk draw results General elk units