Pioneer elk zone, Idaho: tags, units and elk harvest
The Pioneer Zone covers units 36A, 49 and 50. It is a capped zone: 500 B tags for 2026, shared among residents, nonresidents and outfitters. General-season hunters took 565 elk in its units in 2025, by IDFG's unit harvest figures. In the 2026 nonresident draw, 155 of 1,116 first-choice applicants drew an A tag and 2 of 166 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 Pioneer Zone elk hunt
| Units | 36A, 49, 50 |
|---|---|
| Tags | A tag and B tag |
| 2026 cap | B: 500 (residents 494, nonresidents 2, outfitters 4) |
| Resident capped tags left | B: Sold Out (IDFG, 10/08/2026 11:50 am MDT) |
| General-season elk harvest, 2025 | 565 (all weapons, sum of IDFG's unit figures) |
| Controlled elk hunts, 2026 | 10 |
| Wildlife management areas | Carey Lake |
When are the Pioneer Zone elk seasons in 2026?
The Pioneer 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 | Any weapon: antlerless only, Unit 50 only: Aug 1 - Aug 29, on or within 1 mile of private agricultural lands outside the National Forest System Boundary | ||
| A | Archery only: any elk, Aug 30 - Sep 30 | ||
| A | Any weapon: antlerless only, Unit 36A only: Aug 1 - Oct 31, on or within 1 mile of private irrigated agricultural lands | ||
| A | Muzzleloader only: antlerless only, Nov 1 - Nov 9 | ||
| B | Nov 10 to Nov 30 | 21 | Any weapon: antlerless elk |
Seasons: IDFG, Idaho Big Game 2026 Seasons and Rules, zone table on page 44; 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 Pioneer 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 B tags sold out.
| Tag | Nonresident tags | Outfitter tags | Resident tags | Total cap | Nonresident draw: first choices who drew |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A tag | 155 | 145 | not capped | not capped | 155 of 1,116 (14%) |
| B tag | 2 | 4 | 494 | 500 | 2 of 166 (1%) |
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 Pioneer 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 | 565 | 287 | 272 | 4 |
| 2024 | 451 | 227 | 197 | 28 |
| 2023 | 377 | 148 | 213 | 17 |
| 2022 | 1,227 | 932 | 263 | 31 |
| 2021 | 968 | 676 | 236 | 55 |
| 2020 | 1,300 | 995 | 304 | 0 |
| 2019 | 1,077 | 767 | 310 | 0 |
| Unit | Elk harvested, 2025 | Hunters, 2025 | Success | Bulls with 6+ points | Elk harvested, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36A | 138 | 696 | 20% | 28% | 150 |
| 49 | 168 | 789 | 21% | 51% | 101 |
| 50 | 259 | 1,204 | 22% | 50% | 200 |
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 Pioneer Zone?
| Hunt | Area | Take and weapon | Season 2026 | Tags | First-choice applicants | 2025 success |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 36A-1 | Antlered elk, any weapon | Oct 1 to Oct 31 | 60 | 464 | 44% |
| 2011 | 36A-2 | Antlered elk, any weapon | Oct 1 to Oct 31 | 120 | 1,081 | 69% |
| 2028 | 49 | Antlered elk, any weapon | Oct 1 to Oct 14 | 20 | 305 | 62% |
| 2029 | 49 | Antlered elk, any weapon | Oct 15 to Oct 31 | 175 | 1,054 | 50% |
| 2030 | 50-1 | Antlered elk, any weapon | Oct 15 to Oct 31 | 60 | 999 | 71% |
| 2133 | 36A-3 | Antlered or antlerless elk, muzzleloader only | Nov 1 to Nov 30 | 250 | 181 | 27% |
| 2138 | 49 | Antlered or antlerless elk, muzzleloader only | Nov 1 to Nov 14 | 75 | 60 | 28% |
| 2139 | 50-1 | Antlered or antlerless elk, muzzleloader only | Oct 1 to Oct 14 | 50 | 257 | 51% |
| 2159 | 49 | Antlerless elk, any weapon | Oct 10 to Oct 31 | 50 | 75 | 22% |
| 2167 | 36AX | Antlerless elk, any weapon | Dec 1 to Dec 31 | 250 | 2,271 | 74% |
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 Pioneer elk zone capped?
Yes. For 2026 IDFG caps the zone at 500 B tags. The cap is split: B tag 494 resident, 2 nonresident and 4 outfitter tags. Resident capped tags went on sale July 8, 2026.
Which units are in the Pioneer elk zone?
Units 36A, 49 and 50. 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 Pioneer Zone?
IDFG's unit figures add up to 565 elk taken in general seasons in units 36A, 49 and 50 in 2025, against 451 in 2024. Controlled elk hunts in the zone added 486 in 2025.
How hard is it for a nonresident to draw an elk tag in the Pioneer Zone?
In IDFG's 2026 nonresident draw, 155 of 1,116 first-choice applicants drew an A tag for the zone (14%), and 2 of 166 drew a B tag (1%). 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 44.
- 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 36A Unit 49 Unit 50 Idaho elk draw results General elk units