Unit 73A Deer Hunting, Idaho
Idaho hunting unit · 566 sq mi
General season — resident tags over the counter
Residents buy general deer tags over the counter — no draw, no points. Nonresident general tags are allocated by random draw. It also has 2 controlled hunts, drawn by pure random draw with no points — resident odds from good odds to long odds.
What hunting Unit 73A is like
Unit 73A is rolling country, with some steeper breaks, ranging from around 4,400 feet up to nearly 8,700 feet, though most of the unit sits closer to the 5,500-foot mark. Sagebrush dominates the cover at every elevation band, thickest through the mid elevations, with grass and meadow mixed in lower down and conifer and a little aspen showing up higher. Fifty-eight percent of the ground is gentle and another 27 percent moderate, so most of the unit is walkable, foot-huntable country rather than technical terrain, with the steeper breaks giving cover and glassing structure rather than defining the hunt.
Only about 28 percent of Unit 73A — roughly 159 square miles — is generally open to public hunting, a mix of BLM, Idaho state endowment land and National Forest. State endowment parcels are open unless posted closed or leased, so it pays to check before counting on a piece of ground. The remaining 72 percent is private and needs written permission, which makes legal access, not terrain, the real limiting factor in this unit.
Residents buy general deer tags for Unit 73A over the counter with no draw required. Nonresidents go through a random draw for a general tag, applying for either the regular deer tag or the white-tailed deer tag as a specific choice at the time of application — the tag itself is picked before the draw, not after. Beyond the general seasons, two controlled hunts add options: an antlerless white-tailed deer hunt with very limited access, and a late muzzleloader hunt for antlered deer during the rut, both filled by pure random draw with a limited number of tags.
General-season deer (2026)
The Regular Deer tag is valid for mule deer or white-tailed deer unless a season says otherwise; the White-tailed Deer tag is white-tailed deer only. Residents buy general deer tags over the counter; nonresident general tags are allocated by random draw.
| Season | Dates | Legal deer | Rut phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular deer tag · Archery | August 30 – September 30 | Antlered | Summer Range / Bachelor Pattern, Velvet Shed / Early Fall Transition |
| Regular deer tag · Archery | October 10 – October 24 | Antlered | Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase |
| Regular deer tag · Muzzleloader | October 10 – October 24 | Antlered | Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase |
Regular deer tag · Archery · August 30 – September 30
This early archery season opens while bucks are still in velvet and holding in small bachelor groups through the summer pattern, a stretch where scouting ahead of the season pays off more than anything done once it opens. Bucks need little water and lean on forbs and browse, feeding into the morning before bedding in shade for most of the day, so glassing shady pockets and north-facing slopes in Unit 73A's sagebrush and timber mix is the way to locate one. The plan is to glass at first light, mark where a buck beds, and close the stalk while he's down for the day, then glass again in the evening either to set up a stalk or simply to pattern him for a return the next morning. By late September, once velvet sheds, bucks hold the same habits but may bed earlier and stay put until dark, so a buck that seems to vanish is usually still tucked in a nearby draw or crevice; the regular deer tag is valid for antlered deer only.
Regular deer tag · Archery · October 10 – October 24
By this second archery window bucks are sliding into the Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, moving more at night and less on a predictable daytime schedule. Most, though, haven't gone far — they're still hanging close to the same ground they used through summer, so still-hunting or glassing the areas where bucks were pinned down earlier in the season remains the best bet. Access stays the deciding factor in Unit 73A, with only the open BLM, state endowment and National Forest ground reliably huntable. The regular deer tag covers this hunt for antlered deer only.
Regular deer tag · Muzzleloader · October 10 – October 24
Running the same dates and the same nocturnal-buck pattern as the concurrent archery season, this muzzleloader hunt finds bucks increasingly active after dark and harder to catch moving in daylight. They're generally still close to their summer range, so covering the accessible sagebrush and timber country methodically, rather than expecting deer to be on their feet at midday, is the more realistic approach. The regular deer tag is good for antlered deer only during this window, and the limited open ground in the unit means picking a productive area and hunting it thoroughly matters more than covering distance.
Controlled deer hunts (2026)
Controlled hunts have a limited number of tags and are drawn by pure random draw — Idaho uses no points, so years of applying do not improve the odds. First choices are drawn before second choices. A hunt marked as covering part of Unit 73A is valid only in its own hunt area.
| Season | Dates | Legal deer | Resident draw | Rut phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controlled hunt 66A-1X · Any weapon Extra antlerless tag; White-tailed deer only, Very limited access; 77 and 78 | October 1 – November 30 | Antlerless only | Good odds | Early Fall Migration / Nocturnal Buck Phase, Early Pre-Rut / Migration Corridor Staging, Primary Rut, Late Rut / Winter Consolidation |
| Controlled hunt 73A · Muzzleloader | November 16 – November 30 | Antlered only | Long odds | Primary Rut, Late Rut / Winter Consolidation |
Resident draw is a band in words from the 2026 first-choice results: good, fair, long or very long odds. It is not a published percentage, and nonresident odds differ. Youth-only hunts are shown without a band.
Controlled hunt 66A-1X · Any weapon · October 1 – November 30
This controlled hunt targets white-tailed deer only and is antlerless-only, running from the tail end of the Early Fall Migration phase through the Early Pre-Rut, Primary Rut and into Late Rut / Winter Consolidation by its close in late November. Access on this hunt is very limited, so locating a legal piece of ground ahead of time matters as much as finding deer once afield. November brings modest snowfall and lows near freezing, conditions that can push animals off higher ground onto more open, easier-to-glass terrain — worth watching for a hunter working the accessible sagebrush and grass country at lower elevations. It's an extra antlerless tag on top of the regular hunts, drawn as Controlled hunt 66A-1X, and resident draw odds run good.
Controlled hunt 73A · Muzzleloader · November 16 – November 30
Covering the Primary Rut and Late Rut / Winter Consolidation phases, this late muzzleloader hunt catches bucks at their most predictable, following and staying near does rather than holding to summer patterns. November snowfall and lows near 25°F can push deer out of higher country and down onto ground that's easier to glass and reach, and fresh snow is worth watching for fresh tracks left by rutting bucks. The approach is to find concentrations of does first, since bucks are likely to be nearby or moving between them, then glass hard in the early and late hours. This is Controlled hunt 73A, tags are for antlered deer only, and resident draw odds run long.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,400–8,700 ft, typically around 5,500 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 58% gentle · 27% moderate · 15% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~159 sq mi
Habitat & cover
What grows here, by elevation. Each band adds to 100% on its own — these are shares of that band, not of the unit.
Lower elevations
- Other cover38%
- Sagebrush38%
- Grass and meadow24%
Mid elevations
- Sagebrush56%
- Other cover30%
- Grass and meadow12%
- Conifer2%
Higher elevations
- Sagebrush57%
- Conifer34%
- Grass and meadow5%
- Aspen3%
- Other cover1%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land.
Land & access
About 28% of Unit 73A is public land a hunter can generally count on — BLM, Idaho state endowment land and National Forest.
- BLM21%
- Idaho state endowment land4%
- National Forest3%
- Private72%
Idaho state endowment land is generally open to hunting unless posted closed or leased — check the parcel before planning around it.
Fall weather
- August — highs around 85°F, lows around 52°F
- September — highs around 75°F, lows around 44°F
- October — highs around 59°F, lows around 34°F, about 0.1 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 44°F, lows around 25°F, about 3 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 34°F, lows around 18°F, about 9.5 in of snowfall
Unit 73A deer hunting FAQ
Can a resident buy a deer tag for Unit 73A over the counter?
Yes. Residents can purchase a general regular deer tag or white-tailed deer tag for Unit 73A over the counter with no application or draw required, subject to the season dates and legal-animal rules in effect.
How do nonresidents get a general deer tag for Unit 73A?
Nonresidents must apply through a random draw, and as part of that application they choose a specific tag — either the regular deer tag or the white-tailed deer tag — rather than drawing a generic tag and picking afterward. The tag choice is locked in at the time of application.
How hard is it to draw one of the controlled hunts in Unit 73A?
Controlled hunt 66A-1X, an antlerless white-tailed deer hunt with very limited access, carries good odds for resident first-choice applicants. Controlled hunt 73A, a late-season muzzleloader hunt for antlered deer, carries long odds for resident first-choice applicants; both are pure random draws with a limited number of tags and no points involved.
Which deer tags are valid in Unit 73A?
The regular deer tag covers either mule deer or white-tailed deer unless a specific season restricts it further, while the white-tailed deer tag is valid for white-tailed deer only. Controlled hunt 66A-1X requires white-tailed deer specifically and is antlerless only, and Controlled hunt 73A is antlered only.
Which Unit 73A seasons fall during the rut?
Controlled hunt 66A-1X and Controlled hunt 73A both run into the Primary Rut and Late Rut phases in November. The general archery and muzzleloader seasons in August, September and October all fall outside the rut, during the summer bachelor pattern and early fall nocturnal-buck phases instead.
Data sources & methodology
- Idaho Fish and Game — Idaho Big Game 2026 Seasons & Rules — general and controlled season dates, legal animals and the brochure's unit notes
- Idaho Fish and Game — Idaho Hunt Planner — unit boundaries, the national forests and wilderness areas in each unit, and controlled-hunt drawing results behind the odds bands
- Idaho Fish and Game — 2026 Nonresident General Tags and Tags Allocated to Outfitters — which general elk zone tags are capped
- USGS / MRLC — National Land Cover Database — habitat and cover classes by elevation band
- USGS PAD-US — Protected Areas Database of the United States — land ownership and access
- Daymet daily climate, 1991–2020 (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) — fall weather
- National Interagency Fire Center — wildfire perimeters — recent fires, their size and where they burned
Controlled-hunt draw difficulty is a qualitative band from resident first-choice results, not published odds. Land shares are separate, non-overlapping categories. Confirm current dates and rules in the Idaho Big Game Seasons & Rules brochure before you hunt. Unit data last updated September 29, 2026.