Idaho, 2027 shed season

Idaho Shed Antler Season 2027

Idaho residents gather sheds without a permit, while nonresidents need an Idaho hunting license for big game first.

“ATTENTION NONRESIDENTS: Beginning July 1, 2024, a nonresident must have a valid Idaho hunting license (excluding Small Game and Nongame Hunting Licenses) before searching for, collecting, possessing, or transporting antlers or horns shed from deer, elk, moose, or pronghorn originating in Idaho.” Idaho Department of Fish and Game

Permit or course

Rule type

from Idaho Department of Fish and Game

6

Rules quoted

each linked to the agency page

Yes

Course or permit

Idaho hunting license for big game (nonresidents only)

September 21, 2026

Rules read

from the agency page

The rule

Shed antler rules in Idaho

Permit or course

Idaho keeps no standing shed season. The Fish and Game Commission closes parts of the state only in severe winters, as it did in the Southeast and Upper Snake Regions from January 1 to April 14, 2024, and those emergency closures cover public land winter range rather than private land.

Statewide

A nonresident must hold a valid Idaho hunting license, not a small game or nongame license, before searching for, collecting, possessing or transporting shed antlers from deer, elk, moose or pronghorn; nonresidents under 12 accompanied by a licensed nonresident or a resident are exempt.

ATTENTION NONRESIDENTS: Beginning July 1, 2024, a nonresident must have a valid Idaho hunting license (excluding Small Game and Nongame Hunting Licenses) before searching for, collecting, possessing, or transporting antlers or horns shed from deer, elk, moose, or pronghorn originating in Idaho.

Idaho Department of Fish and Game, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source

Statewide

There are no standing shed seasons; the Commission decides case by case whether to close parts of the state in severe winters, and IDFG asks gatherers to check its website for seasonal closures.

But unlike other hunting seasons, there aren ' t typically set open and close dates or daily bag limits unless the Fish and Game Commission chooses to close a portion of the state due to severe winters.

Idaho Department of Fish and Game, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source

Southeast and Upper Snake Regions (2024 only)

January 1, 2024 to April 14, 2024

In 2024 the Commission temporarily closed shed hunting in the Southeast and Upper Snake Regions from January 1 through April 14; for 2025 no closure was proposed.

With significant public support, the Commission temporarily closed shed hunting in Idaho's Southeast and Upper Snake Regions from Jan. 1 through April 14 in 2024.

Idaho Department of Fish and Game, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source

Courses, sale and state land

More Idaho shed rules

Required: Idaho hunting license for big game (nonresidents only)

Idaho hunting license for big game (nonresidents only).

According to Idaho code 36-508, "A nonresident collecting, possessing, or transporting antlers or horns shed from deer, elk, moose, or pronghorn in this state shall be required to first procure a license entitling the nonresident to hunt big game."

Idaho Department of Fish and Game, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source

Buying and selling sheds

Gatherers may possess only naturally shed antlers, antlers from animals that died of natural causes, or road kill covered by the self issued salvage permit; bighorn sheep horns found from natural deaths may not be sold or transferred without an IDFG permit and must be pinned at a regional office within 30 days.

Shed antler hunters can only lawfully possess antlers that are shed naturally from big game, from animals that have died of natural causes or from a road kill as long as the person completes the self-issued Salvage Permit available at https://idfg.idaho.gov/species/roadkill .

Idaho Department of Fish and Game, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source

State wildlife land

Emergency shed gathering closures under Idaho Statute 36-507 apply to public land big game winter range and do not apply to private land.

The statute does not apply to private land.

Idaho Department of Fish and Game, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source

When antlers drop

When deer shed antlers in Idaho

IDFG says mule deer drop antlers around December and January and bull elk in March into April.

For mule deer, that means around December and January, and for bull elk, March and into April.

Idaho Department of Fish and Game, read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source

A large elk antler lying in green grass with snow covered mountains in the distance — An elk shed on the National Elk Refuge, Wyoming, with the Tetons behind. Elk winter range in the West is where most dated shed closures fall, because the closures exist for the animals wintering there. “Shed Antler on the National Elk Refuge (53662858076)”, USFWS Mountain Prairie, Public domain

Idaho shed antler questions

Is it legal to pick up shed antlers in Idaho?

Idaho residents gather sheds without a permit, while nonresidents need an Idaho hunting license for big game first. Idaho Department of Fish and Game puts it this way: "ATTENTION NONRESIDENTS: Beginning July 1, 2024, a nonresident must have a valid Idaho hunting license (excluding Small Game and Nongame Hunting Licenses) before searching for, collecting, possessing, or transporting antlers or horns shed from deer, elk, moose, or pronghorn originating in Idaho."

When is shed hunting season in Idaho?

Do I need a permit or course to collect sheds in Idaho?

Can you sell shed antlers in Idaho?

Gatherers may possess only naturally shed antlers, antlers from animals that died of natural causes, or road kill covered by the self issued salvage permit; bighorn sheep horns found from natural deaths may not be sold or transferred without an IDFG permit and must be pinned at a regional office within 30 days. Idaho Department of Fish and Game: "Shed antler hunters can only lawfully possess antlers that are shed naturally from big game, from animals that have died of natural causes or from a road kill as long as the person completes the self-issued Salvage Permit available at https://idfg.idaho.gov/species/roadkill ."

Can I collect sheds on state wildlife land in Idaho?

When do deer shed antlers in Idaho?

Who sets the shed antler rules in Idaho?

Shed antler rules in other states

Idaho deer seasonArchery and firearms dates for Idaho, read from Idaho Department of Fish and Game.Idaho deer rutWhen bucks breed in the fall, months before those antlers drop.Idaho elk rutWhen bulls bugle in September and October, on the same animals that shed in spring.Shed antler rules by stateEvery state's shed rule, the dated western closures and when each species drops.

A bull moose with broad palmate antlers walking across a snowy flat — A bull moose near Soda Butte, Yellowstone. Colorado Parks and Wildlife dates the moose drop from November through January, the earliest of the antlered animals it names. Photo: Jacob W. Frank, NPS. “Bull moose near Soda Butte (b95e1acc-f297-4abd-8b01-bd4f25a9a6a5)”, Jacob W. Frank, Public domain

Compiled September 21, 2026. Every rule above is republished from Idaho Big Game 2026 Seasons & Rules, IDFG and the other Idaho Department of Fish and Game pages linked beside each quote, read on September 21, 2026. Rules change between winters, so the agency page is the one to check before a trip. Every state is in the national shed antler guide.