Idaho › Hunting seasons › Units › Unit 73A
Southeast Region · 6 controlled hunts
Idaho Unit 73A: controlled hunts and general seasons
Unit 73A takes in 362,101 acres by the Hunt Planner, parts of Power County and Oneida County, with 6 controlled hunt numbers and 13 general season rows for 2026-27.
Photo: Tony Webster (CC BY 2.0)
Unit 73A size, region and office
The Hunt Planner measures Unit 73A at 362,101 acres, and 82% of it lies in Power County by the IDFG Game Units layer. Unit lines follow ridges, rivers and roads, so Unit 73A reaches 2 counties; the table gives each share of the unit and of the county.
| County | Part of unit | Part of county | Text names it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power County | 82% | 33% | Yes |
| Oneida County | 18% | 8% | Yes |
Regional staff in Pocatello look after Unit 73A, along with 11 other units in the Southeast Region.
Region, elk zone and boundary counties from the IDFG Hunt Planner unit page; acreage from the Hunt Planner hunt page; shares from the IDFG Game Units layer over Census county lines (GIS measures); office from the IDFG offices page; data read November 11, 2026, checked November 12, 2026.
What sets Unit 73A apart
- For elk, IDFG groups Unit 73A into the Bannock Zone (6 units in all).
- Wolf zone: Southern Idaho. Wolf hunting and trapping lines here split by public and private land.
- CWD rules in 2026 cover Units 14, 18 and part of 1, with testing also in 23, 63A, 64 and 69, not Unit 73A.
More on the zone: Bannock Zone · Wolf zones · CWD Management Zone
Elk zone from the Hunt Planner unit page and elk zone list; wolf zone from the IDFG Wolf Zones layer; CWD: CWD rules, Big Game 2026 p. 9; 2026 CWD changes; checked November 12, 2026.
Unit 73A controlled hunts
Unit 73A sits inside 6 controlled hunt areas, 3 elk, 2 deer and 1 moose. 2 hunts are limited to Unit 73A alone.
Controlled tags must be bought by August 1, and leftover tags go on sale August 25 at ten in the morning, Mountain Time. Moose, sheep and goat rows use the two-year 2025 & 2026 brochure with the 2026 year applied.
White-tailed deer moving through autumn woods
Deer, extra antlerless (1)
| Hunt | Area | Weapon | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | Units | Brochure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1146 | 66A-1X | Any Weapon | Oct 1 to Nov 30, 2026 | Antlerless | 100 | 12 units | p. 29 | White-tailed deer only, Very limited access, Motorized Hunting Rule Applies in Units 66A, 73, 75, 76, 77, and 78, See idfg.idaho.gov/hunt/access/motorized-vehicles |
Deer, muzzleloader (1)
| Hunt | Area | Weapon | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | Units | Brochure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1097 | 73A | Muzzleloader | Nov 16 to Nov 30, 2026 | Antlered | 20 | Only here | p. 25 | Antlered only |
Elk, antlered (2)
| Hunt | Area | Weapon | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | Units | Brochure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2043 | 70-1 | Any Weapon | Oct 1 to Oct 14, 2026 | Antlered | 25 | 6 units | p. 52 | Motorized Hunting Rule Applies in Unit 73, See Pages 104 – 106 |
| 2044 | 70-1 | Any Weapon | Oct 15 to Oct 24, 2026 | Antlered | 250 | 6 units | p. 52 | Motorized Hunting Rule Applies in Unit 73, See Pages 104 – 106 |
Elk, muzzleloader (1)
| Hunt | Area | Weapon | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | Units | Brochure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2145 | 70-1 | Muzzleloader | Nov 16 to Nov 30, 2026 | Antlerless or Antlered | 125 | 6 units | p. 56 | Either sex |
Moose, antlered (1)
| Hunt | Area | Weapon | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | Units | Brochure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3084 | 73A | Any Weapon | Aug 30 to Nov 23, 2026 | Antlered | 3 | Only here | p. 11 | — |
Hunt numbers, dates, bags and 2026 tags from the Idaho Big Game 2026 Seasons and Rules and the Moose, Bighorn Sheep and Mountain Goat 2025 and 2026 brochure (page links per row); units and notes from each Hunt Planner hunt page; draw periods from the brochure draw rules; checked November 12, 2026.
Over-the-counter seasons in Unit 73A
The 13 general rows for Unit 73A below are the hunts you can buy into without applying. Unit 73A has no general any-weapon deer season in the data.
Deer (3)
| Tag or type | Weapon | Dates | Bag | Area | Notes | Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular tag | Archery | Aug 30 to Sep 30, 2026 | Antlered | This unit | — | |
| Regular tag | Archery | Oct 10 to Oct 24, 2026 | Antlered | This unit | — | |
| Regular tag | Muzzleloader | Oct 10 to Oct 24, 2026 | Antlered | This unit | — |
Elk (3)
| Tag or type | Weapon | Dates | Bag | Area | Notes | Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A tag | Archery | Aug 30 to Sep 30, 2026 | Antlerless or Antlered | 70, 71, 72, 73, 73A, 74 | Motorized Hunting Rule applies in Units 70, 72 and 73. | |
| A tag | Any Weapon | Oct 25 to Nov 15, 2026 | Antlerless | 70, 71, 72, 73, 73A, 74 | Motorized Hunting Rule applies in Units 70, 72 and 73. | |
| A tag | Muzzleloader | Dec 1 to Dec 31, 2026 | Antlerless | 70, 71, 72, 73, 73A, 74 | — |
Black bear (2)
| Tag or type | Weapon | Dates | Bag | Area | Notes | Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2026 | Any weapon | Aug 30 to Oct 31, 2026 | One black bear per tag; females with young protected | 11 units | Dogs prohibited: Aug 30 – Oct 31; Apr 15 – June 30 | |
| Spring 2027 | Any weapon | Apr 15 to Jun 30, 2027 | One black bear per tag; females with young protected | 11 units | Dogs prohibited: Aug 30 – Oct 31; Apr 15 – June 30 |
Mountain lion (1)
| Tag or type | Weapon | Dates | Bag | Area | Notes | Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lion tag | Any weapon | Jul 1, 2026 to Jun 30, 2027 | One mountain lion per tag; females with spotted kittens protected | 17 units | Dogs prohibited: July 1 – Aug 29; Oct 1 – Nov 30; Apr 1 – June 30 |
Gray wolf (4)
| Tag or type | Weapon | Dates | Bag | Area | Notes | Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hunting, private land | Hunting | Jul 1, 2026 to Jun 30, 2027 | Per wolf tag (see brochure for tag limits) | Statewide | — | |
| Hunting, public land | Hunting | Jul 1, 2026 to Jun 30, 2027 | Per wolf tag (see brochure for tag limits) | 38 units | — | |
| Trapping, public land | Trapping | Sep 10 to Nov 14, 2026 | Per wolf tag (see brochure for tag limits) | 32 units | — | |
| Trapping, public land | Trapping | Nov 15, 2026 to Mar 31, 2027 | Per wolf tag (see brochure for tag limits) | 32 units | — |
Bannock zone tags split into 3 A and 0 B lines for Unit 73A.
Bannock Zone general elk (3)
| Tag | Weapon | Dates | Bag | Zone tags | In Unit 73A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A tag | Archery | Aug 30 to Sep 30, 2026 | Antlerless or Antlered | — | Yes |
| A tag | Any Weapon | Oct 25 to Nov 15, 2026 | Antlerless | — | Yes |
| A tag | Muzzleloader | Dec 1 to Dec 31, 2026 | Antlerless | — | Yes |
Season rows from the Idaho Big Game 2026 Seasons and Rules (deer, elk, black bear, mountain lion, wolf) and the Upland Game, Turkey and Furbearer 2026 and 2027 brochure (turkey), with unit lists from the Hunt Planner; over-the-counter sales from the brochure; checked November 12, 2026.
Five seasons in Unit 73A
General deer, all weapons combined, 2025: 34 taken by 295 hunters in Unit 73A, a 12% success rate.
General elk hunters numbered 298 and took 46 elk (15%).
Hunt Planner 2025, other species: 3 mountain lion.
Controlled hunt rows are matched to this unit through the 2026 hunt number.
General season 2025, by weapon
| Kind and method | Taken | Hunters | Success | Days | Antlered | Antlerless |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer, Any Weapon | 9 | 61 | 15% | 240 | 9 | — |
| Deer, Archery | 7 | 82 | 9% | 496 | 7 | — |
| Deer, Muzzleloader | 18 | 152 | 12% | 696 | 18 | — |
| Deer, All Weapons Combined | 34 | 295 | 12% | 1,431 | 34 | 0 |
| Elk, Any Weapon | 23 | 150 | 15% | 644 | — | 23 |
| Elk, Archery | 14 | 125 | 11% | 1,223 | 12 | 1 |
| Elk, Muzzleloader | 9 | 23 | 39% | 121 | — | 9 |
| Elk, All Weapons Combined | 46 | 298 | 15% | 1,987 | 12 | 34 |
Results by season
| Year | Deer (all weapons) | Elk (all weapons) | Black bear | Mountain lion | Gray wolf | Spring turkey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 221 | 30 | — | 9 | — | — |
| 2022 | 285 | 28 | — | 6 | — | — |
| 2023 | 194 | 22 | — | 6 | — | — |
| 2024 | 289 | 17 | — | 7 | — | — |
| 2025 | 34 | 46 | — | 3 | — | — |
Controlled hunts in this unit (6)
| Hunt | Species | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Hunters 2025 | Success 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1146 | Deer | 1 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 53 | 26% |
| 1097 | Deer | 14 | 21 | 2 | 12 | 10 | 20 | 50% |
| 2043 | Elk | 106 | 117 | 100 | 93 | 17 | 24 | 71% |
| 2044 | Elk | 12 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 98 | 243 | 40% |
| 2145 | Elk | 7 | 5 | 19 | 11 | 17 | 111 | 15% |
| 3084 | Moose | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 100% |
White-tailed buck emerging from the tree line at the edge of a field
IDFG Hunt Planner harvest statistics 2021-2025 (2025 pages linked): general deer, general elk, black bear, mountain lion, gray wolf, turkey, controlled deer, controlled elk, controlled moose; data read November 11, 2026, checked November 12, 2026.
Mapped ground inside Unit 73A
These 11 land records share ground with Unit 73A; open each for access dates, vehicle rules and parking.
Closed ground in the counties Unit 73A reaches (not necessarily inside the unit): Massacre Rocks State Park and Fort Hall Reservation.
Land records and their units from IDFG, USFS, BLM, USFWS and IDL sources (see each land page); closed places from the Big Game 2026 Seasons and Rules and 18 U.S.C. 1165 for tribal land; checked November 12, 2026.
Around Unit 73A
Rooms and fuel for Unit 73A mean a drive from Pocatello, the nearest town page.
- PocatelloWithin 10 mi · Bannock County
- American FallsWithin 10 mi · Power County
- AberdeenWithin 10 mi · Bingham County
The Curlew National Grassland boundary sign among rabbitbrush near Malad
County neighbours of Unit 73A, ranked by how close their centres sit:
| Unit | Shared counties | Elk zone | Deer 2025 | Hunts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 70 | Power | Bannock | 21 | 9 |
| Unit 56 | Oneida, Power | South Hills | 417 | 5 |
| Unit 68A | Power | Big Desert | 0 | 4 |
| Unit 73 | Oneida, Power | Bannock | 70 | 9 |
| Unit 57 | Oneida | South Hills | 16 | 16 |
| Unit 68 | Power | Big Desert | 148 | 7 |
Towns and their units from places.json (Census places joined to the IDFG Game Units layer); 2025 deer from the Hunt Planner; checked November 12, 2026.
Sun and shooting hours for Unit 73A
Migratory bird hours follow a separate IDFG table in the migratory brochure, so ducks, geese and doves are not timed in this Unit 73A table.
| Date | Marker | Sunrise | Sunset | Legal window |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30, 2026 | Archery deer opener | 6:53 a.m. MT | 8:11 p.m. MT | 6:23 a.m. MT to 8:41 p.m. MT |
| Sep 15, 2026 | Chukar opener | 7:10 a.m. MT | 7:43 p.m. MT | 6:40 a.m. MT to 8:13 p.m. MT |
| Oct 10, 2026 | General deer opener | 7:37 a.m. MT | 6:59 p.m. MT | 7:07 a.m. MT to 7:29 p.m. MT |
| Oct 19, 2026 | Duck opener | 7:47 a.m. MT | 6:44 p.m. MT | 7:17 a.m. MT to 7:14 p.m. MT |
| Oct 25, 2026 | General elk opener | 7:55 a.m. MT | 6:35 p.m. MT | 7:25 a.m. MT to 7:05 p.m. MT |
| Dec 21, 2026 | Shortest day | 7:58 a.m. MT | 5:00 p.m. MT | 7:28 a.m. MT to 5:30 p.m. MT |
| Apr 15, 2027 | Spring turkey | 6:51 a.m. MT | 8:11 p.m. MT | 6:21 a.m. MT to 8:41 p.m. MT |
Hours rule from the Idaho Big Game 2026 Seasons and Rules (wolf and upland game animals: same rule, wolf, upland); time zone from 49 CFR 71.9; sunrise and sunset worked out for this location with the NOAA solar formula (Mountain Time); migratory bird hours: IDFG migratory bird table; checked November 12, 2026. Legal hours for every county.
Unit 73A FAQ
Which wolf zone is Unit 73A in?
Southern Idaho, one of 13 IDFG wolf zones.
Which CWD rule touches Unit 73A in 2026?
None written for this unit.
Are there WMAs in Unit 73A?
None in our records.
What is the nearest town on this site to Unit 73A?
Pocatello.
Which region handles Unit 73A?
IDFG Southeast Region.
How much of Unit 73A is Power ground?
82% of the unit, which works out to 33% of that county.
Does the Bannock elk tag cover Unit 73A?
Yes. Unit 73A is one of 6 units in that zone.
Which drawn hunts are valid in Unit 73A?
6 hunt numbers (3 elk, 2 deer and 1 moose); the tables list each one.
Does a white-tailed deer tag work in Unit 73A?
No white-tailed tag line names it.
Is Unit 73A a good unit?
Judge by the numbers: 34 general deer in 2025 and 46 elk.
Can I use a general bear tag in Unit 73A?
Yes, in the dates in the table.
Answers drawn from the IDFG sources cited on this page; checked November 12, 2026.
Other photos on this page: NPS Photo (Public domain); USFWS Mountain Prairie (Public domain); Tony Webster (CC BY 2.0).