I am interested in the Arizona archery only deer hunt in January and am wondering if anyone has pointers on locations/units with good Mule Deer numbers and plenty of public land?
I have never been to AZ before, but am an avid mule deer hunter. Thought this would be a great opportunity to extend my hunting season and checkout Arizona.
Any insight that can be shared would be appreciated.
Cheers, Josh
I live in Alabama and I hunt all over the US. I did the AZ desert hunt this January. We hunted for 5 days and saw about 70 deer. Saw 2 bucks.... Rut was over when we arrived. It seems to me that the mid section of the state ruts in December and the southern part ruts in January. They are literally everywhere in the state where you can get away from the road. Unit 22 is where we hunted in Jan 2017. We are going back to unit 22 the week before Christmas. If I were you I’d hit unit 32 and get way the F— off the road. Sit down glass super super super slow. Look under every bush before moving. They will be on the south facing slopes in the mornings which is when they will be easiest to see. Flats hold deer but are very hard to see deer in because of the brush. Don’t worry so much about killing the first trip just enjoy being out there, that tag will be good all year so you can do like us if you ain’t successful and go back in August, September, or December. Have fun and Good luck. Now, this is my first time in IL, in the Shawnee National Forest near Dixon Springs. You know anything about that area?
Cheers, Josh
