Idaho Deer — Unit 73

Idaho Unit 73 covers 792,111 acres and lies 23 miles north-west of Preston and 44 miles south of Pocatello. 36% of it is public land, mostly national forest (16%) and BLM (16%). In 2025, 370 people hunted deer here and took 70 — 19% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 2,293 tags here for 632 first-choice applicants.

Tags (2026):2,338 Nonresident share:capped at 10% Applicants:728 Hunter success (2025):19% Public land:36% Size:792,111 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every deer license type on offer in Unit 73, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.

Chances are from the 2026 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.

Simple view Odds at every point level

1057 Antlered deer (mule or white-tailed), any weapon, Hunt Area 73 2,293 tags · 632 applicants

38% Long shot
1058 Antlered deer (mule or white-tailed), any weapon, Hunt Area 73 40 tags · 40 applicants

10% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice
1059 Antlered deer (mule or white-tailed), any weapon, Hunt Area 73 5 tags · 56 applicants

2% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice

Hunt	Your odds	As 2nd choice	Points needed	Tags / applicants	Season
1057 ↗ Antlered deer (mule or white-tailed), any weapon, Hunt Area 73	38% Long shot	—	—	2,293 / 632	Oct 10–24, 2026
1058 ↗ Antlered deer (mule or white-tailed), any weapon, Hunt Area 73	10% Long shot	0%	—	40 / 40	Oct 10–31, 2026
1059 ↗ Antlered deer (mule or white-tailed), any weapon, Hunt Area 73	2% Long shot	0%	—	5 / 56	Oct 10 – Nov 30, 2026

What these columns mean

Your odds: the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2026 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year.
The badge: plain language for that number. Likely draw 75% or better · Real chance 40%+ · Long shot 15%+ · Point builder below that, so you are applying mainly to bank a point · Undersubscribed means fewer first-choice applicants than tags, so everyone who applied drew.
As 2nd choice: Idaho lets you name more than one hunt on the application. Miss on your first choice and you go into the pot for whatever tags are left, alongside everyone else's second choices. Points never help a lower choice, so this number is the same whatever you have banked — it is usually worth naming a hunt that goes undersubscribed.
Points needed: the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2026 draw, and how that cut has moved since the earliest draw we hold.
Tags / applicants: tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them. Under five tags we print counts instead of a percentage, because one applicant either way swings it.

What it costs to apply (2026 nonresident fees)

License	Up front	Gone if you miss	If you draw
Per application	$203	$203	$554.75

Application window: opens May 1, closes Jun 5, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.

The country

Unit 73 within Idaho

Unit 73 and its neighbours

Zoomable USGS topo, aerial imagery and shaded relief, with the neighboring areas drawn on.

Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.

Who owns the ground

Private 508,374 ac · 64%
National Forest 126,714 ac · 16%
BLM 125,783 ac · 16%
Other public 16,777 ac · 2%
State land 14,386 ac · 2%

Source: BLM Idaho Surface Management Agency (land ownership / SMA)

Nearby areas

How the hunting has gone

What Idaho Department of Fish and Game publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast. Idaho's figures are counts from mandatory hunter reports and check stations rather than survey estimates, so they behave differently from the survey states.