Idaho Unit 74

mbaldo2005 · Aug 9, 2007

Since I recieved more "UNSUCCESSFUL" letters this year than I care to admit, we have decided to plan our hunt for Idaho this year. We are looking at hunting in Unit 74. I was wondering if anyone has any information on this Idaho Hunting Unit. I'm not looking for "honey holes", just some direction. I have experience in 73, but the dates are too early this year. Thank you and good luck to all this fall!!!

BrianID · Aug 10, 2007

Unit 74 is hunted hard by the locals because unit 73 has had a shorter season for years. The liberal season in 74 has allowed few bucks to survive more than 1 or 2 hunting seasons. Few bucks in 74 live long enough to grow a larger rack. Private land makes access difficult in many areas. Having Utah plates will make getting access to private land much more difficult and you will probably also get some annoyed looks from locals because many of the local fishermen and hunters feel overrun by all the guys from Utah coming to Idaho to hunt and fish.

If you hike hard and hunt in the thicker cover you and your friends may put tags on a couple young 4 points and possibly something larger. IMO passing on a 130? buck in 74 would be a mistake unless you are willing to eat your tag and hunt hard and long. I would also recomend being prepared to pack out the meat on your back because hunting a mile or more from a public access point will greatly increase your chances of finding a slightly older buck. Good luck.

mbaldo2005 · Aug 13, 2007

BrianID

Thanks for information. That is pretty much what we thought, and what we have seen in Unit 73, but very useful information nonetheless. Idaho is always our choice, if we are unsuccessful in the draws. Good luck this year. If you think of anything else, I would love to hear it.

grizzly · Aug 13, 2007

I saw a field of bucks on 73 last week. They were on the closed area near Weston. Three of them were enormous.

mbaldo2005 · Aug 14, 2007

I didn't realize there was a closed section of Unit 73. Why is it closed?

grizzly · Aug 15, 2007

It happened about 7 years ago, but the landowners felt that IDFG was raping the wildlife and not allowing the trophy potential to develop. So they said they weren't going to allow any hunters on their land, but they agreed to not hunt either. You have to respect their property rights, and the fact that they put their money where their mouth is. Get a camera and enjoy the animals from the road; they are spectacular.

I believe that's the way it went down, BrianID can probably explain it better. There are still a few signs posted around explaining it.

BrianID · Aug 16, 2007

Grizzly is talking about the "Westside Alliance". Just like Grizzly said a group of landowners thought the F&G allowed too many deer to be killed so they stopped allowing hunters on or across their land. If you are seeing a group of old bucks (5+ years) in unit 73, they are old because they have learned to stay on private land that isn't hunted or private land that has limited hunting. The 4 point rule has made 73 very popular the last couple years. The public land in 73 is hunted very hard by locals, guys from other areas of the state and nonresidents (many guys from Northern Utah). I'm guessing unit 73 will have even more hunters this year than last year. The short season and large number of hunter?s makes 73 a zoo that I would rather not be a part of.

Large antlers also bring out the worst in some hunters. Just look at what has happened in the Gunnison Basin. I'm sure there are also many trespassing issues in 73 this year. I wouldn't be surprised if the F&G set up some decoys on well posted private land. If the F&G do set up a decoy it will nail a lot of guys that let greed get the best of them. When I was a young boy (?8 years old?) I remember going on an evening hunt with my dad. We were driving through a section of road that was well posted on our way to the area we were going to hunt. I already knew my dad wouldn't shoot a buck if I spotted one but I was still looking for deer. I saw a large buck hidden in the brush about 100 yards from the road. We stopped to look at him for a minute and then headed down the road. I'm glade that my dad set a good example that day. As we were driving off we saw a several F&G and sheriff?s truck?s ready to apprehend any violators. I bet that decoy received a lot of lead before it was retired.