My biggest piece of advice is to just do it! These expenses brought the cost to $630 a person and our return in trip in December will be even cheaper as our hunting licenses will still be valid! ... Unit 27 Arizona for Archery Mule Deer in January. Northern Arizona Mule Deer Hunting By Dan Fritz, aka rockymtnhunter at MonsterMuleys.com Arizona - Unit 12A (East and West) The North Kaibab stirs the soul of every dedicated mule deer hunter - it is one of the most sought after hunting permits in the West. Great bucks seen a really nice one the other day when i went fishing. However, I tend to target bucks that are 160 inches or larger. I’ve been scouting the unit with On X maps and I’ve dropped … Archery mule deer hunters who are lucky enough to draw a coveted Arizona Strip unit 13A archery mule deer tag will enjoy a very high quality hunt for giant Arizona Strip bucks that are in the velvet. Photo credit: Hunter Weems. However, to choose a specific area and develop a basic hunting strategy you should consult with locals and others with experience hunting the area. Early fall hunt seasons that coincide with the elk breeding period include archery-only, in which both bull and antlerless permits are available, and early firearms bull, which is limited to muzzle loading rifles every other year. The following are suggested areas in the higher elevation portions of the unit where they can be found for the early archery season. Finally, general firearms hunters can hunt during the last part of October and/or the first part of November. Desert Mule Deer Hunts . Arizona Unit 27 Mule DeerGPS Way Points, GPX File, Google Earth links Unit description.Map Images It was an adventure with lots of soggy PB and J’s and a few cottontails and jackrabbits we harvested with our bows! Package price. Guide: 1×1 or 2×1. Good areas for the early fall hunt would include … I'll look at a map tonight and try to give you some ideas but I never hunt in that country as I have excellent hunting 5 minutes from my house in the northern part of 27. Unit 27: 4%: 90"+ Unit 24B: 3%: 100"+ * Three other units with 3% harvest success. I've never hunted Mule deer in the rut so I was curious as to tactics. Deer Hunting in Arizona Game Management Unit 29. Ease of Drawing 39 39 Success 27 27 Trophy Potential 0. Hunters are required to have a valid hunting license and a non-permit archery deer tag. Whether you drew a Unit 6A archery bull elk tag, a late season Unit 6A rifle bull elk tag, a Unit 6a coues deer tag, or would like to go on a trophy black bear or mountain lion hunt, we will provide you with the trophy Big Game hunt of a lifetime in Unit 6A. Another Throwback Thursday video. While it is the desert, sub-freezing temperatures are not uncommon. Overview: Unit 26M has an archery only deer hunt in late December and January. Deer hunts in Unit 4B are for “any antlered deer… As for food costs, I do not figure these into my travel costs because we camped and cooked most of our meals besides a few restaurant meals that did not cost more than what I would spend any normal week. Page 2 of 2 < Prev 1 2. We produced a podcast series following our trip with great detail, and you can listen to that here, but I’ll provide an abbreviated version here. The unit is quite large and some country is hard to hunt or may contain low deer numbers. Hunt the old burn for elk.....find the cows away from roads This is from my camera a week ago: Sounds like you had a great hunt!! Season(s): Archery. Both units offer an Archery hunt in the early fall and a rifle hunt during the rut. I will briefly break down the details and costs of a 10 day OTC mule deer hunt I did in Arizona with a buddy last winter and how you can make a similar hunting trip yourself this year! I grew up and live in Unit 27. OTC hunts are getting very popular. He is a published author in Quality Whitetails, Purdue University Extension, and is currently a graduate student at the Mississippi State University Deer Lab where he studies interactions between deer, oaks, and other hardwood trees. There are several management units within Arizona that produce extremely large Rocky Mountain mule deer and most of those management units offer good chances to draw a mule deer permit. When the mule deer come into rut, generally in mid December and January in the lower elevations, it's exciting to hunt them with your bow because their sense of awareness is only concentrated on their doe. We also charge $500 per additional hunter. Over the Counter Archery Mule Deer Hunts in Arizona are the most overlooked in the west with opportunity at trophy caliber bucks with an average 160 – 180 class bucks, with annual bucks exceeding 180+ and our biggest archery buck to date being 223 inches!. We drove about 3,300 miles at 27 MPG in my crossover SUV costing us a total of $260 for fuel, split two ways for a cost of $130 a person. Across the units deer populations are low but the age class and genetics of the strip provide the bucks opportunity to reach full maturity. Jun 19, 2019 #2 teej89 Well-known member. Remember to check the area north of US Highway 78. Arizona - Unit 33 Coues Deer 2020 Update! Location: UNIT 12A, AZ. We charge $1500 per unit, $2500 for 2 units that adjoin, and $3,000 for 3 adjoining units. Call local biologists that work for AZGFD and ask them about unit recommendations and tell them exactly what you are looking for in a hunt whether that’s Coues deer, mule deer, mountains, or low desert. State: Arizona. So, we bought licenses and hunted the first week of January, but these licenses are still good to return this year without any additional costs besides fuel! I know the local warden is pushing for it., ever since they shut down unit 1 all the people go over to 27. Any suggestions for a successful elk hunt? Please refer to the current year’s Arizona Game & Fish Department Hunting Regulations for more information regarding open areas. When planning a trip like this reading articles is a great way to generate ideas and develop an outline for your trip. The Best Mule Deer Hunting in the World is Arguably the Arizona Strip and the Kaibab Arizona mule deer tags on the Arizona Strip and Kaibab can be extremely hard to come by. We saw about 14 that first day, including a solid 70” Coues buck. Overview: Unit 10 is not a white-tailed deer hotspot. We offer many opportunities to pursue Mule deer across the entire state of Arizona. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon/wp-content/uploads/archive/2020-Pronghorn-and-Elk-booklet_191217_web.pdf, Unit 27 Arizona for Archery Mule Deer in January, Arizona Unit Suggestions for January OTC Archery, Federal Leads the Charge in Creating a New, Ground-Breaking Muzzleloader Rifle System, Crispi Wild Rock GTX Insulated Boot Review, Tripods: Outdoorsmans Standard vs. SLIK 624. The Arizona license year begins on Jan. 1. and some units have late season hunting seasons open until Jan 31st. 7 Day Arch. Hunter: DUANE (CORKY) RICHARDSON. Get away from the roads and be prepared to glass, glass and glass some more. As a side note, we were hunting about 35 miles from the Mexico border. Southern and central Arizona is home to the majority of Coues Whitetailed Deer in the united States. Finally, hunting the first week of January allowed us to miss very few class days while maximizing our hunting time and a return trip in late December will also coincide with some given Christmas vacation days. Overview: Unit 27 currently offers elk seasons throughout the fall. Mule Deer. Photo credit: Hunter Weems. So reading the Black Mountain description in the regs I see it is all in the lower elevation country in Unit 27 so in August its going to be HOT. Forums > Species and Groups > Archers Lodge > Unit 27 Discussion in 'Archers Lodge' started by Carlton1, Jun 10, 2017. N/A Public Access 65 65 Ease of Terrain 0. Coues success on the unit 33 general hunt . The next night we got a hotel because we had not set up camp yet in our new area and it snowed a few more inches that night. Arizona Mule Deer Guides & Outfitters. Thanks for that info. I hunted deer in 27 the first week of Sept. last year, I could not locate any good bucks but I had no trouble hearing seeing and finding Elk I wasn't looking for! Joined Oct 7, 2015 Messages 1,680 Location West of the Rockies. I suggest joining Facebook groups like Desert Mule Deer Hunting, these guys were very helpful giving me pointers and even suggesting units to target. It looks like that hunt is a Limited Opportunity General Hunt. These units also have over the counter archery hunts available in August/September and December/January. On the 31st, we drove to a public hunting area South of Tucson and slept in the car at Tucson International Airport because we were forecasted to receive snow that night. Oct 30, 2020. sgibson. Another plus to this hunt is that in south Arizona the mule deer and Coues deer rut in late December and early January. Great habitat, about 200 hunters. Easy to get away from people though if you really try. Its reputation for huge, trophy quality bucks is both well-earned and almost mythical. Deers_of_joy said: ↑ I'll be up in 27 in August again. Unless you plan on boning it out and keeping it in ice chests. Mule Deer. Great unit. White-tailed Deer. Pope & Young minimum scores Typical: 145” Nontypical: 170” Elevation range: <1,000 to 12,000’ Habitat type: Desert, high desert, chaparral, pine and mixed conifer forest, alpine. The Arizona Strip is over a million acres that makes up units 13a and 13b. Border security had a very strong presence in the area and we never encountered anyone in the backcountry besides occasional hunters at a distance. This sometimes results in additional shrinkage and a final score that is lower than its original 60-day score due in no fault to the trophy owner. While the Coues deer were fun to see and hunt, they were very difficult to stalk as the narrow box canyons they travel allow them to be visible one second and disappear the next, only to appear again hundreds of yards down the canyon. I drew a tag after 18 years of applying and want to make the … A western archery Mule deer hunt during the peak of the rut is a bow hunters dream. BISON. The outlook for the mule deer hunt in unit 28 is good. 328 325 168. It’s a chance to hike cactus-covered mountains, see new wildlife species, and “rough it” with a base camp style desert experience. The general license cost $160 and the deer tag was $300, which is valid for either a mule deer or Coues deer buck. Lots of elk, turkey, and coyotes were seen, but no deer. Overview: Mule Deer distribution in Unit 1 generally follows a distinct seasonal pattern. He also put a successful stalk on a respectable 3pt mule deer buck that was chasing does in the valley near our camp one morning. Knowledge of land status relating to ownership is as important as hunting skills in this unit, since so much of mule deer habitat is on private land in the unit. My friend Dallas met me down in unit 23 earlier this year to go find his first Arizona archery mule deer buck. Archery (OTC) Mule Deer hunts . The Arizona license year begins on Jan. 1 st and some units have late season hunting seasons open until Jan 31st. Over the Counter Archery Mule Deer Hunts in Arizona are the most overlooked in the west with opportunity at trophy caliber bucks with an average 160 – 180 class bucks, with annual bucks exceeding 180+ and our biggest archery buck to date being 223 inches!. These hunts include the Arizona strip (Units 13A or 13B) or Kaibab (Units 12A East, 12A West and 12B) for mule deer. From General season rifle hunts to Premium late season Rut hunts. I've never hunted Mule deer in the rut so I was curious as to tactics. Arizona Bighorn Sheep Seasons. Overall, we felt safe where we were and I will return and hunt the same area without a large concern to my personal safety. Unit 22 is open for archery hunting late August to mid September and then December through the end of January. Unfortunately, his arrow nicked a branch and sailed under the bucks belly. For youth deer hunters, the youth-only hunts in unit 27 and unit 28 29 30A 30B 31 32 are great. Mule deer . Can you hunt them similar to whitetails back east (rattle, call, scents). Scores. Overview: Unit 28 offers limited whitetail deer hunting. New USFS Travel Management Rule: The Kaibab National Forest has implemented new travel management rules resulting in changes to motor vehicle access on national forest lands. This unit has both general firearms and early fall nonpermitted archery deer hunting opportunities. Location: Arizona, United States – North America. We also have guided hunts for southern Arizona mule deer in units 27, 28, 31, and 32. Game Management Unit 8. Species within this unit: Antelope, Black Bear, Elk, Merriam's Turkey, Mountain Lion, Deer, Javelina . If you want to message me i can share some insight with you i live in 27 and have hunted it all my life. We wrapped up our hunt without any filled tags but did harvest several cottontails, a jackrabbit, and made memories that will last a lifetime. Mule Deer Hunt / Arizona, United States. Ease of Drawing 68 68 Success 55 55 Trophy Potential 0. Just got back from unit 27, 10 miles south of Alpine. The limited opportunity hunts are usually opened by AZGFD to try to remove elk from lower country or areas that they dont want them setting up residence, I'm not sure what this hunt is aimed at. more like double fisted !! Mule Deer: Trophy Rocky Mountain (forest) mule deer bucks range in size between 150 inches and 250 inches and average about 170 inches. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Some of the roughest country in the state. As with any other hunting trip the research you do on the front end will make the difference between success and failure. This outfitter offers exciting, high quality, trophy Arizona archery mule deer hunts on private land. Can you hunt them similar to whitetails back east (rattle, call, scents). Dorobuta. - by Arizona DIY Hunts. The further you can shoot with a bow accurately, the higher your chances for success will be. The next day we immediately started seeing deer, both mule deer and Coues deer. N/A Public Access 46 46 Ease of Terrain 0. We choose Arizona over the counter archery deer hunting because it afforded us the ability to hunt mule deer without a big game lottery. Scores. Lodging cost was minimal because we tent camped most nights besides a couple nights spent in the car while traveling and the one snow night we got a hotel for $80. 1×1 Cost: $10,000 US Per Person, plus $760 for 2 licenses and tags – $1,000 deposit. Season: October, November or December. These are almost all resident deer. What a thrill to have finally been drawn for a 2001 Arizona Archery Bull Elk permit! The Arizona license year begins on Jan. 1st and some units have late season hunting seasons open until Jan 31st. Book Your Mule Deer … (above) While we never harvested a deer we had a great experience hunting the desert for the first time. Southern Arizona mule deer bucks do not typically have much record book potential, but they can offer a unique and exciting desert hunting experience. #114 – How To Build A Custom Ghillie Suit With John Zimmerman, #113 – How To Quarter And Pack Deer Out Of The Field, #112 – Answering Questions: Food Plots, Woods TP, Fighting The Chafe, And Our Archaic Hunting Methods. Nevertheless, since these majestic creatures share their inhabitants with coyotes and mountain lions, they are not easy to take down. 2020 Season Information. I have seen white tail deer up there while turkey hunting and a few does. With antler’s that can reach up to 200 inches and weigh a staggering 300 pounds, the mule deer is one animal that is worth hunting. We commonly saw backpacks, trash, and other evidence of illegal activity in the mountains we hunted and around our camp. These Arizona archery hunts have produced multiple bucks over 200 inches in the past several years. Unit 27 also offers a juniors-only hunt during the Columbus Day weekend. Mule deer in Unit 10 do not appear to be migratory. Southern Arizona mule deer bucks do not typically have much record book potential, but they can offer a unique and exciting desert hunting experience. One in December and one in January. These hunts are before any of the adult rifle hunts and hunting pressure is light. My buddy Kyle had a Coues buck work past him at 20 yards one evening but was unable to shoot because he had not knocked an arrow before sitting down to glass that evening. Our archery Arizona trophy mule deer trips are currently running at 100% harvest rate with a 100% shot opportunity on multiple bucks. Scouting Packages . Elk – OTC nonpermit-tag season dates. Arizona Mule Deer Hunting Outfitter. We saw about 14 that first day, including a solid 70” Coues buck. Because of the open terrain, expect archery shots to average 40 yards. Unit 27 also offers a juniors-only hunt during the Columbus Day weekend. Finally, hunting the first week of January allowed us to miss very few class days while maximizing our hunting time and a return trip in late December will also coincide with some given Christmas vacation days. Arizona Deer Seasons. Arizona Hunting Today - Your Arizona Hunting Resource. Starting in mid December and running through the whole month of January, our archery deer seasons take place. Like I said i will be HOT and I dont think theres a meat processor in the Clifton/Morenci area so the closest would be north to Springerville at Rustys Meats. Archery hunters can pursue deer with a non-permit tag during the August-September hunt or again in January. Will PM you later. You are using an out of date browser. Weapon: Archery. below the rim- 4 bar mesa is where its at for sure. Areas for hunting mule deer in Unit 1 vary, depending on the time period in which the hunt occurs. This area does not hold a lot of elk so Im assuming that AZGFD wants to remove whats there. that is a understatement !!! Copyright 2020 - Hunt The Land | Website design by Moriah Boggess, As with any other hunting trip the research you do on the front end will make the difference between success and failure. We choose Arizona over the counter archery deer hunting because it afforded us the ability to hunt mule deer without a big game lottery. West of State Hwy 273, the Mt there while turkey hunting and rifle!, they are not uncommon hunts around the bases of several mountains and early nonpermitted... 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