Unit 36A-1X

Red Lake provides a reliable water reference and potential elk concentration point. Bradshaw Spring and Rosebrior Spring are named sources in what is generally limited water country—important navigation markers and stock locations. The major creek drainages—Birch Creek, Bayhorse Creek, and Warm Spring Creek—serve as natural travel corridors through the basins.

Devil Canyon and Grand View Canyon offer deeper terrain breaks worth exploring. Grouse Peak and Table Mountain function as visual anchors for orientation across the rolling country. These features help break up the unit into huntable sections.

The unit spans from just under 4,800 feet to over 10,600 feet, with most country sitting in the mid-elevation band where sagebrush and scattered conifer mix. Lower basins and flats—like Bradbury Flat and Antelope Flat—support open sagebrush habitat ideal for early season elk, while higher ridges and slopes transition into sparse forest. The scattered timber coverage means you'll find islands of conifers rather than dense forests, creating edges and openings that concentrate wildlife.

Grouse Peak, Table Mountain, and Red Hill rise as landmarks above the rolling terrain, offering vantage points for glassing the expansive sage flats.

Good road connectivity—nearly 340 miles of roads throughout the unit—means reasonable vehicle access for establishing camps and reaching most terrain. The connected network creates multiple entry points and reduces the challenge of accessing remote country. However, the rolling terrain and sparse forest mean roads often don't reach the best hunting areas, requiring significant foot travel once you leave the vehicle.

Popular seasons will see moderate pressure along accessible drainages and lower elevations. The unit's moderate size and good access mean finding solitude requires moving away from obvious parking areas and water sources. Midweek hunting or higher elevation exploration generally offers quieter country.

Unit 36A-1X encompasses a portion of central Custer County in Idaho's backcountry region. The unit's boundaries capture a diverse mix of basins, ridges, and drainages typical of the high-elevation transition country in this region. Several named basins—Germer, Crane, and Bradshaw—form the geographic backbone, while creek drainages like Birch Creek and Bayhorse Creek provide natural corridors through the terrain.

The rolling topography creates a patchwork of terrain types rather than unified high country or flat valley bottoms, making this a mixed-use landscape where terrain character shifts frequently.

Water availability is limited and scattered, making spring locations and creek drainages critical to hunting strategy. Warm Spring Creek, Gooseberry Creek, and Lime Creek provide perennial flow in their drainages, though reliability diminishes in drier years. The named springs—Bradshaw, Rosebrior, Philips, Bishop, Gooseberry, and Jenson Cabin—serve as waypoints, but distances between reliable water can be significant.

Hunters should plan water sources carefully, particularly for early season when elk may range far from permanent sources. Red Lake offers another water focal point. Understanding seasonal creek flow is essential for planning daily movements.

This unit is elk country across its full elevation span. Early season hunters should focus on sagebrush basins and lower ridges where bulls concentrate before heat drives them higher—Germer Basin and Bradbury Flat offer open glassing country. As season progresses, elk migrate into higher timbered terrain on peaks and ridges.

Late season hunting often concentrates on south-facing slopes and creek bottoms where remaining elk seek shelter and forage. The rolling terrain rewards aggressive glassing from high points, then careful stalking through scattered timber to close distance. Water sources become magnets as the season advances.

The moderate terrain complexity means successful hunting combines glassing strategy with boot-leather travel to reach less-pressured country beyond obvious access routes.