Idaho Unit 52: 2026 general elk seasons
Unit 52 is in Idaho's Smoky - Bennett elk zone and covers about 820 square miles, from about 3,600 to 5,800 feet. Towns in the unit: Gooding, Shoshone, Richfield and Magic Resort. Nearest towns outside it: Carey (on the line), Fairfield (4 mi) and Bellevue (9 mi).
General elk seasons in Unit 52
Unit 52 is in the Smoky-Bennett Zone (units 43, 44, 45, 48, 52). An Idaho general elk tag is bought for one zone and is either an A tag or a B tag. These are the any-weapon seasons that tag holders can hunt here.
| Tag | Season | Days | What may be taken | Capped tags (zone) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoky-Bennett B | Nov 10 to Nov 24 | 15 | Antlerless elk | 600 |
A capped zone sells a set number of tags, first come, first served, for residents, nonresidents and outfitters together (brochure page 49, Note 2). Elk table: brochure page 45.
Deer in Unit 52
The 2026 brochure prints no general any-weapon season of the regular deer tag for Unit 52. Look in the brochure for the white-tailed deer tag, archery, muzzleloader, short-range weapon and controlled deer hunts.
Rules that apply in Unit 52
- Motorized Hunting Rule. Unit 52 is a restricted unit from August 30 to November 14: while hunting, motor vehicles may be used only on established roads open to motorized traffic and passable by a full-sized car (brochure pages 104 to 105).
- Hunting hours. Half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset (page 95).
- Scouting technology. From August 30 to December 31 Idaho law forbids thermal imaging, night vision, drones, and transmitting trail cameras on public land for hunting or scouting big game (House Bill 939 of 2026; brochure page 96).
- Private land. Idaho requires written or other lawful permission to enter private land (pages 7 and 97).
Public land in Unit 52
Measured inside IDFG's unit boundary from the BLM's national surface management data. Idaho endowment (state) land and wildlife management areas are not counted, so the land open to the public is often a little more than this. Elevation: USGS 3DEP, the 1st to 99th percentile inside the unit. Towns: OpenStreetMap.
Nonresidents: since the 2026 season, Idaho's nonresident general deer and elk tags are issued by a random draw. The application period for 2027 tags is December 5 to 15, 2026 (IDFG).
Idaho plans are coming
FilledTag is building hunt plans for Idaho's general elk and deer seasons. They are not on sale yet. Leave your email and you get one email, the day Idaho opens. The first 50 Idaho plans are free.
Unit 43 Unit 44 Unit 45 Unit 48 All general elk units All general deer units Idaho seasons and tags
Seasons: Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Idaho Big Game 2026 Seasons and Rules (July 2026 to June 2027), with its corrections page of July 2026, which changes no deer or elk season. IDFG can change a season during the year: check idfg.idaho.gov/rules/big-game before you go.