Unit 73 Idaho

[Billy]

I need some help

Has anyone ever hunted this unit?

I have a buddy that has alot of private up there
and it hasn't been hunted in a long time its mostly farm land and
winter wheat with a few rolling sage hills

is most of this unit private or will i be able to find some high public ground

 

[Blanding_Boy]

It used to be one of the best units in the state but I don't know if its worth the cost of an out of state tag anymore. There are unlimited tags (but through the draw), I don't know if I would count on it being any better than a tag on the Cache on public lands.

If you have access to private ground you will likely see bucks how big depends on where and what is adjacent to it. Just because it 'hasn't been hunted in a long time' doesn't mean its any good. If it were several thousand acres he controlled maybe but an agg field is usually surrounded by other agg fields and that means other hunters and from what i have seen with trespass in ID that really doesn't mean much either.

Todd Black

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[grizzly]

I gotta disagree with you Todd. I live in Logan and watch that area every year as I fish in Weston regularly. That area has a ton of private and it is all posted. I watched five really big bucks last year all summer and talked to the landowner about getting permission. A lot of the landowners have a blanket "no hunting" rule because they are protesting IDFG management, so tons of the land never gets hunted. If you have access to a big piece of private land, there are some really big bucks there.

The biggest one I watched all summer hung out in alfala fields all evening, then bedded on public land, but you had to hike miles to get to the public land, even though it was only a few hundreds yards from the road, you just couldn't get to it easily. I hiked in there three times waiting for the buck to feed back up to public land, but he never came (I found out later he was seen with an arrow in his back a week before archery season started). There is a ton of poaching in that area, like all of SE Idaho.

I have two good connections for private land access, but neither allow any hunting at all, so I am SOL. If you have some good access...take it.

Look at Unit 73 success rates. In 2009, Unit 73 had 50% success rates and 55% were 4pt or larger. That is pretty good for guaranteed tags.

I can show you 10 deer in Unit 73 for every one I can show you on the Cache. It isn't even close.

Grizzly

 

[grizzly]

To answer your question Billy. All the low stuff is private, and it is maddening how many deer hang out down there. There is plenty of public high country. But sometimes you have to work to get there.

Grizzly

 

[bowhunt]

What Grizz said is spot on. I would take a tag, and pay Idaho prices for out of state, for a chance to hunt private land in 73.

 

[pugs]

Great genetics, but Idaho does not manage this unit to let the bucks grow to meet their full potential. There are alot of young bucks killed. Prepare yourself to see lots of other hunters. I hunt this unit every year and will continue to do so only because it is close to home, and I have time to scout it. If you do not know the area this unit will be a big disappointment. One of the only things this unit has going for it is restricted ATV access. It is possible if you do your homework and live out of your pack and tent, to get into some of the public areas where there are not shoulder to shoulder hunters, but prepare yourself to see hunters no matter where you go. There are no secrets on this unit. There are better units that are almost as easy to get a tag for, you just might have to travel a little further.

 

[tagsoup]

I had two buddies hunt this unit last year. They killed a 22" 4x4 and a 23" 3x3. They hunted public land only. Said they saw some nice bucks down low on the private, but nothing big on the public. The camp next to them had 3 dead 4x4's that were 26, 28, and 29" wide all killed on public land. Those 3 guys told them that it was a bad year and that they weren't seeing any good bucks. The 28" buck my buddy said was a 175+ buck and the other two were both in the low 160's.

 

[DeerMadness]

I know a place there that you can see 10-15 bucks a day. And there are some good ones too.

 

[PleaseDear]

LAST EDITED ON Apr-27-11 AT 03:27AM (MST)[p]Those farm lands with the rolling sagebrush have some of the biggest deer in Idaho with in them.

My family runs 19 sections up there and some of the bucks that come outta there year-in/year-out are unfreaking real.

The bird hunting is second to none and I 'aint' talking cage kicker birds---truely wild birds.

Malad Valley side of 73.

You got access like you are saying---get the deer tag!

Robb

 

[liecabucks]

Listin to Pugs on this one....he has killed a couple gnarly spike by 2 non-typicals out of there


Sit tall in the saddle, hold your head up high, keep your eyes fixed to where the trail meets the sky...

 

[pugs]

I know Liecabucks the nontypicals I have are not near as nice as the curly blonde with the bell around her neck mount you have layed claim to

 

[BPKHunter]

I hunted here last year and I guaranty the results for 2010 are not the same as 2009. A lot of locals didn't catch that it was an unlimited "draw" that year so there were much fewer hunters. They killed everything that moved and while I saw bucks, there was nothing over 165. Most of the bucks feed in private but bed in public and they all got killed. I think the average age class will be a little younger and buck to doe ratio will be lower. Like someone else said, there is no outhiking everyone as there is no part that is too far to be well known, especially to locals.

BTW, look at Oneida County in the record books, this unit is close to some of the best genetics in the state, but it hasn't produced, not even back in the hay day.

 

[wrt]

I live and do taxidermy here in 73, I used to hunt it always but the presher has gotten bad. This year I am only going to archery hunt it. I have mounted alot more mature bucks out of other units than 73 alot of three points here because of the four point only for so long. Good deer if you can get accses to land if you get the tag scout scout scout! You could get a great buck like anywhere just my two