Resident hunters wanting to purchase a general season elk tag in a capped zone will need to keep two dates in mind in July.
On Friday, July 10, all resident capped elk zone tags, except for the Sawtooth Zone, go on sale at 10 a.m. (MDT) at Fish and Game offices, license vendors, with a credit card at Fish and Game's online vendor, or by calling (800) 554-8685.
On Monday, July 13, resident Sawtooth Zone A and B elk tags go on sale, with half of the tags sold at Fish and Game offices and license vendors-only starting at 10 a.m. (MDT). The remaining half of the resident Sawtooth tags will go on sale online-only at 1 p.m. (MDT).
Resident hunters are reminded that beginning this year, those who applied for a controlled elk hunt, regardless of whether they drew or not, must wait five days after tags become available to purchase a capped elk zone tag. Learn more about the waiting period here.
Capped zone tags are sold in limited numbers on a first-come, first-served basis. Demand for these tags is high, and many are expected to sell fast.
The sale applies only to these elk tags with numbers available:
- Bear River Zone – B Tag - 441
- Big Desert Zone – B Tag - 495
- Diamond Creek Zone – A Tag - 1,146
- Dworshak Zone – B Tag - 2,118
- Elk City Zone – A Tag.- 545
- Elk City Zone – B Tag - 1,131
- Lolo Zone – A Tag - 128
- Lolo Zone – B Tag - 630
- Middle Fork Zone – A Tag - 1,168
- Middle Fork Zone – B Tag - 925
- Pioneer Zone – B Tag - 2,467
- Salmon Zone – B Tag - 1,589
- Sawtooth Zone – A Tag - 875 (Tags become available July 13)
- Sawtooth Zone – B Tag - 1,522 (Tags become available July 13)
- Selway Zone – A Tag - 179
- Selway Zone – B Tag - 480
- Smoky-Bennett Zone - B Tag - 2,471
- South Hills Zone - B Tag - 490
- Weiser River Zone - B Tag - 3,560
Important note: Please read these “best practices” carefully in order to purchase a capped tag online:
- Fish and Game’s online security measures require buyers to establish a unique account with a user name and password. Before tags go on sale, hunters are encouraged to set up their online account well in advance and remember their user name and password.
- Purchase your hunting license before tags go on sale. Tags will not be available to purchase until a hunting license has been purchased. By doing this before tags go on sale, the hunter is able to go straight to the list of tags to purchase when the sale starts.
- Know when the tag is successfully purchased. Putting a tag in the online shopping cart does not reserve, award, or secure that tag. Tags are only awarded after successfully completing the payment transaction.
For current information on how many resident elk tags are available in each capped zoned, go to resident capped elk tag page on Fish and Game’s website.