Donjuan- Adding to some of the above posts and to answer your question… some Zones have historically sold out very quickly since the early 2000s. Others have not sold out since the die off stemming from the winter of 96/97, until the last couple years. Elk numbers in N Central ID were huge, then a major winter kill, then fast forward a few years and the wolf came into the equation. Numbers have just simply never even came close to early 90s numbers since.
But, the tags “selling out” is a bit of a shell game in the N Central Zones. Guys buy them, but apply for controlled hunts. If they draw a controlled hunt, they turn back in their general zone tags. Other guys just end up turning them back in for other reasons. Then 1 of the guys above mentioned the unsold Outfitter tags. So… in August there will be available tags again. Some Zones will have a handful, others quite a few more. I don’t remember exactly what the numbers were last year. But in 2020 I remember ID was raving about selling out all their tags for the first time in decades, I finally got online to look in August, and of course there were a bunch for sale again. But remember, they were still available for a reason.
So bottom line, keep watching closely. Especially after the controlled hunt draw.