Is Drone Deer Recovery Legal in Idaho? (2026 Rules)
Not clearly. Idaho’s 2026 seasonal drone ban exempts retrieving wounded game, but another rule bans using a drone to spot game and tell anyone on the ground where it is. What the rules say.
2026-11-03
Not clearly. Idaho’s new 2026 rule bans drones for hunting or scouting big game from August 30 through December 31, but it exempts retrieving wounded game. At the same time, another Idaho rule bans using a drone to spot or locate game and tell anyone on the ground where it is. Here’s exactly what the rules say.
What Idaho’s rules say
From the 2026 Idaho Big Game Seasons and Rules (pages 95–96), it’s unlawful to:
1. Use certain technology from August 30 through December 31. This includes “Drone aircraft or other unmanned aircraft systems” for hunting or scouting big game or game birds, along with thermal imaging and night vision. The booklet lists exceptions:
“Except these technologies can be used for: Hunting wolves, mountain lions, or predatory wildlife; Retrieving wounded game animals or game birds; Monitoring traps”
2. Use a drone to spot game and tell someone where it is. It’s unlawful:
“To use aircraft, including any unmanned aircraft system (drone), in any manner to spot or locate game animals, game birds, or furbearing animals and communicate the location or approximate location by any signal whatsoever, whether radio, visual, or otherwise to any person then on the ground…”
3. Hunt the same day. It’s unlawful to use any aircraft, including unmanned aircraft, to locate big game for the purpose of hunting those animals on the same calendar day they were located from the air.
4. Push game with a drone. It’s unlawful to hunt from a drone, or to use one to “molest, stir up, rally, or drive in any manner any game animal or game bird.”
Why it’s “not clearly”
The seasonal technology rule specifically allows drones for retrieving wounded game. But the separate rule against using a drone to spot game and communicate its location to anyone on the ground doesn’t have that exception, and a typical recovery involves exactly that. Until Idaho Fish and Game says how these rules work together for recovery, check with them first.
Which animals does this cover?
Idaho’s rules cover big game animals and game birds. In Idaho, that includes deer, elk, moose, pronghorn (antelope), black bear, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, and wild turkey.
Permission to go get your game
Idaho hunters must make a reasonable effort to retrieve any big game they wound or kill. Idaho’s trespass law requires written permission or other lawful permission to enter private land to retrieve game.
Finding a pilot
Drone Deer Tracker is adding pilots in the West. Check the map for the closest pilot to your hunt. Are you a thermal drone pilot in Idaho? Apply to be listed.
Other states: see drone deer recovery laws by state.
Verify before you fly
Drone rules change, and how they apply can depend on your situation. Before any drone recovery, contact Idaho Fish and Game to confirm it’s allowed.
Last checked November 2026 against the 2026 Idaho Big Game Seasons and Rules (pages 95–97). Rules can change, so check with Idaho Fish and Game before you hunt. This article is general information, not legal advice.