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Elk General A Tag Season
Hunt Area Big Desert
Unlimited Tags
Non-resident tag quota of 12,815 total elk tags. See the Nonresident Tag Quotas for availability.
8/30/2012 - 9/30/2012
- Species
- Elk (Cervus canadensis)
- Either-sex Elk
- Either sex may be taken.
- Archery
- Archery ONLY.
- Restrictions
No special restrictions.
Surface Management
Game Units
Wilderness
- Hunt Area Big Desert
- All of Units 52A and 68. (Caution: Craters of the Moon National Park is CLOSED) Area Size: 2,273,856 acres
View a High Resolution Adobe PDF Map of Hunt Area Big Desert
General Season Harvest Statistics
Year | Take Method | Unit | Harvest | Hunters | Success% | Days | Antlered | Antlerless | %Spike | %6+Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | Archery | 52A | 31 | 143 | 22 | 867 | 31 | 16 | 51 | |
2023 | Archery | 68 | 50 | 158 | 32 | 1423 | 48 | 1 | 14 | 50 |
2022 | Archery | 52A | 28 | 118 | 24 | 906 | 22 | 5 | 5.9 | 47.4 |
2022 | Archery | 68 | 26 | 122 | 21 | 1099 | 24 | 1 | 5.4 | 58.6 |
2021 | Archery | 52A | 14 | 103 | 14 | 826 | 14 | 9.5 | 61.9 | |
2021 | Archery | 68 | 27 | 121 | 22 | 1246 | 27 | 9 | 43.6 | |
2020 | Archery | 52A | 17 | 83 | 20 | 652 | 14 | 3 | 30.5 | 21.6 |
2020 | Archery | 68 | 33 | 101 | 33 | 874 | 30 | 3 | 18.8 | 43 |
2019 | Archery | 52A | 23 | 105 | 22.2 | 751 | 23 | 12.4 | 70.2 | |
2019 | Archery | 68 | 19 | 82 | 22.8 | 630 | 17 | 2 | 25.4 | 49.3 |
2018 | Archery | 52A | 14 | 109 | 12.8 | 924 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 55.2 |
2018 | Archery | 68 | 16 | 83 | 18.6 | 701 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 44.1 |
2017 | Archery | 52A | 17 | 98 | 17.8 | 648 | 16 | 2 | 22.8 | 43 |
2017 | Archery | 68 | 17 | 79 | 21.5 | 605 | 13 | 4 | 10.3 | 66.2 |
2016 | Archery | 52A | 14 | 104 | 13.6 | 678 | 14 | 34.2 | 65.8 | |
2016 | Archery | 68 | 12 | 90 | 13.7 | 610 | 12 | 0 | 50 | |
2015 | Archery | 52A | 13 | 114 | 11 | 730 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 62.5 |
2015 | Archery | 68 | 17 | 85 | 20 | 539 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 100 |
2014 | Archery | 52A | 22 | 105 | 21 | 673 | 20 | 2 | 12.5 | 50 |
2014 | Archery | 68 | 16 | 61 | 27 | 381 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 40 |
2013 | Archery | 52A | 15 | 99 | 15.2 | 706 | 15 | 6.6 | 80.1 | |
2013 | Archery | 68 | 11 | 90 | 12.6 | 731 | 8 | 3 | 12 | 64.1 |
2012 | Archery | 52A | 11 | 81 | 13.8 | 666 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 84.9 |
2012 | Archery | 68 | 7 | 46 | 14.2 | 282 | 7 | 54.6 | 30.3 | |
2011 | Archery | 52A | 4 | 54 | 7.4 | 381 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 66.7 |
2011 | Archery | 68 | 8 | 52 | 14.6 | 388 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 84.8 |
2010 | Archery | 52A | 12 | 91 | 13.6 | 672 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 77.8 |
2010 | Archery | 68 | 7 | 74 | 9.5 | 437 | 4 | 3 | 25 | 50 |
2009 | Archery | 52A | 9 | 76 | 11.8 | 620 | 9 | 11.1 | 55.6 | |
2009 | Archery | 68 | 3 | 24 | 12.5 | 105 | 3 | 0 | 33.3 | |
2008 | Archery | 52A | 18 | 53 | 33.3 | 326 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 87.2 |
2008 | Archery | 68 | 6 | 34 | 17.6 | 196 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 75 |
2007 | Archery | 52A | 0 | 0 | ||||||
2007 | Archery | 68 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
2006 | Archery | 52A | 0 | 0 | ||||||
2006 | Archery | 68 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
2005 | Archery | 52A | ||||||||
2005 | Archery | 68 | ||||||||
2004 | Archery | 52A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2004 | Archery | 68 | 1 | 2 | 50 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2003 | Archery | 52A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2003 | Archery | 68 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2000 | Archery | 52A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
2000 | Archery | 68 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 0 |
* In 2000 hunter information not collected.
Resident Tags and Permits
- Adult Elk Tag
- Jr./Sr./DAV Elk Tag
- Handicapped Motor Vehicle Permit*
NonResident Tags and Permits
- Junior Mentored Elk Tag
- Adult Elk Tag
- Handicapped Motor Vehicle Permit*
A valid hunting license is required for all hunting and trapping activities.
* Indicates this item is optional.
Where to purchase
Learn more about IDFG Licenses, Tags & Permits
Surface Management
For government land, these data show the managing agency of the land, which may or not be the same as the owning agency.
U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 1,250,725 acres 55% |
U.S. National Park Service (NPS) 451,374 acres 19.9% |
Private 444,943 acres 19.6% |
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) 71,649 acres 3.2% |
State of Idaho 46,329 acres 2% |
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) 4,558 acres 0.2% |
Other 2,469 acres 0.1% |
State of Idaho 718 acres 0% |
State of Idaho 683 acres 0% |
U.S. National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) 408 acres 0% |
Make your own map of Hunt Area Big Desert
Land management via Inside Idaho
Access Yes! Properties
Access Yes! is Fish and Game program designed to improve hunting and fishing access to private land or through private land to public land by compensating willing landowners who provide access.
No properties are currently available in this hunt area.
View all Access Yes Participants.
Federally-designated Wilderness Areas
No motorized vehicles are allowed in these areas.
There are no wilderness areas in this hunt.