A tag vs b tag what the heck

nv-hunter

Veteran member
Feb 28, 2011
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Reno
Looking for insite into how all this works. Myself and soninlaw plus a couple friends would like to start a yearly archery hunt up north. Just trying to make heads or tails out of the system. Pm me if you prefer.

Thanks
 

ivorytip

Veteran member
Mar 24, 2012
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SE Idaho
(a) tags are typically archery tags, just depends. in some zones all you can buy is an (a) tag due to controlled rifle hunts. a unit I use to hunt a lot id I bought the (a) tag I could archery hunt any elk and if I didn't harvest one then during the rifle season I could shoot a cow elk in that same zone. if I got the (b) tag I could archery hunt for spikes and then, if no harvest, hunt for bulls with rifle. Idaho goes by zones for elk, zones may have more than one unit in them and sometimes parts of other units in them. so pay close attention to the maps. https://fishandgame.idaho.gov/ifwis/huntplanner/mapcenter/ type the area you want to lay it out on the map.
 

kidoggy

Veteran member
Apr 23, 2016
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idaho
Looking for insite into how all this works. Myself and soninlaw plus a couple friends would like to start a yearly archery hunt up north. Just trying to make heads or tails out of the system. Pm me if you prefer.

Thanks
the A TAG AND THE B TAG are just tags for different seasons or different weapons restrictions
(or both) in any given zone area. you must choose one or the other.for instance, if you choose salmon zone, and want to hunt archery, you would buy an A tag.this would also allow you to TAKE ANY ELK WITH BOW in specified area of zone. you also could hunt cows with rifle in portion of that zone with the A tag but you would NOT be allowed a bull with rifle.
in that particular zone the A tag does not let you hunt archery in entire zone. some zones will. so as IVORY POINTED OUT , make sure of boundaries.


once you choose a zone, I would be happy to answer any questions, if I can. you may also feel free to PM me if you desire.
 
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nv-hunter

Veteran member
Feb 28, 2011
1,587
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Reno
Ill start doing research on where to hunt then ill pm you kidoggy. Thanks everyone still clear as mud on the way its done there but ill figure it out. We are just looking for a good hunt with multiple opportunity. Not looking for a wilderness hunt as my knee wont let me and while son in law will pack out anything i shoot he refuses to carry me very far lol.
 

Musket Man

Veteran member
Jul 20, 2011
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colfax, wa
You really need to look at the specific regs and seasons for the zones you are interested in and see what best fits what you would like to do. Typically A tags will give more Archery opportunity and B tags will give more for rifle.
 

elkslayer

New Member
Feb 8, 2012
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0
It's pretty simple, since the salmon zone was already used as an example I'll break that one down.

Use this link to see the seasons: https://idfg.idaho.gov/sites/default/files/seasons-rules-big-game-elk_2015-2016.pdf

Lets start with the A-tag. If you buy the A-tag then you have the option to Archery hunt for any elk(cow or bull) in units 21, 21A and 36B from August 30 - September 30. You can also rifle hunt August 1 - September 30 if you are within 1-mile of private cultivated fields, this is antlerless only. Then if you haven't killed an elk already you can Archery hunt Dec 1-31 in unit 28.

If you were to buy the B-tag you could hunt every unit in the zone during Oct 15 - Nov 18 with Any-weapon which generally means rifle season.


Each zone has its own seasons. But if you buy an A-tag you can only hunt the seasons listed in the A-tag section and the same goes for the B-tag. Some zones have a mix of archery and rifle opportunities on each tag but in general the A-tag provides the most Archery seasons and the B-tag provides the most Rifle seasons.