unit 5 is nice country. I know that area your neighbor mentioned. It was opened up to public access a few years ago-it was strictly patrolled posted for a long time before that. It has been getting hammered recently since word got out that they were allowing public access. I didnt go in last year because looked pretty crowded but there is or was some really nice deer in there. Had some freinds pull real good bucks out of there. It would be a good place to start and it is very easy hunting(terrain) compared to rest of north Idaho. (If you hunt the east side) Huntnw is right they changed the deer rifle season to include october and it has taken a real toll on the qaulity of bucks. They need to change bck to november only season for rifle. You can still find a nice buck in all the units just a little harder.
My dad and I had permission to hunt that land before it was opened to the public. Let me tell you we saw some nice animals there. I wounded a buck that would have easily been in the 170's but could never find him. We found pieces of bone and little blood over a 70 yard distance. It still haunts me to this day because I just hate wounding animals. I had a cheap Tasco scope that the sights were knocked off. Needless to say I went out that off season and bought a $700 leupold scope. Ran into a big 6x6 bull during archery season but could not get close enough. There were alot of animals there but as stated it is WAY over hunted now. Cars and blazer orange everwhere!!! But a good area for quick hunting access.