AZ Mule Deer - Who's Hunting?
Mule Deer
Contributors to this thread:
Who's headed to the desert this bow season to hunt mule deer in the rut and when? I will be headed down the second week in Jan with my boy, buddy and his son. Both boys are 12 and this will be a good trip for them. Hoping for a strong rut with good action and plenty of deer. Lots of ground in AZ for finding deer. I have my spots and cant wait to be sitting high on that hill. Always so exciting when you find that first deer of the hunt.
I’m hoping to if it’s not locked down
I will be in AZ at the end of Dec for the Jan 1 opener. Plan on hunting Coues again and if not successful, hunt mule deer the last two weeks of the season. Just need to do more research on mule deer spots. PM me if you have any suggestions. Paul
Altitude, listening to the media it sounds like California, NY and others are heading the wrong direction in a hurry. Let’s hope our public lands won’t be affected. Paul- spots, pick one, water could be a good starting point depending what happens between now and then. I’ll be in the west central part of the state.
I’ve mostly hunted around the 8-14th of Jan for mule deer but the one buck I killed down there was on the 17th.
Won’t be making a trip down this year. When I do go, it’s finesse hunting for the little grey ghosts, though. Leave the “carp” deer for you Tony!
Bring on the carp, just gotta remember to shoot low!
I’ll be there as always. I believe this will be 35 years straight. Much easier now that I’m retired and a resident.
35 years Roy, wow, bet you got a few spots! Since Tavis isn’t gonna be harassing all the big Muley bucks, should be plenty of options.
I will be there around the 4th for a week. Look forward to this trip all year.
I'll be down in December for a week, then back down in January. I love chasin desert mulies. Like everyone else, worried they'll shut things down. Lots of new cases in Phoenix every day.
Anthony - was that you guiding in 2B NM in 2014?
Nvm that was Dave Montoya. Good luck in Jan! What part of the state are you going to be in?
Arizona's governor isn't a "shut it down" kind of guy (should I have just said "not a Democrat"?!). You should be fine. I don't expect any closures in Arizona.
I already took my buck for 2020, so I'll have to wait for January, maybe hunt some Coues' deer. Good luck to those that are coming in December.
Will be there in 10 helping my nephew on his cow hunt Dec 4th, then back in mid Jan to look for coues and possibly a big muley if I find any. My tag from last year goes until the 22nd so I'll have some time.
Looking for a good camp spot in 10 for elk if anyone has a suggestion where I can camp with my 22' holiday rambler? Then need to find somewhere to store it over the holidays by Flagstaff or Payson. Any suggestion appreciated.
Cheers, Pete
Finding water is the key, I have a 200 gal. tank in my back yard and need to fill it about once a week. This is at 6500 ft.
Terry
c3, "My tag from last year goes until the 22nd so I'll have some time."
I assume you meant your hunting license goes until the 22nd. Licenses are good for one year from date of purchase. Tags are by calendar year. If your license ends on January 22, you will need to buy a 2021 deer tag to go with it. A 2020 deer tag would be expired.
Thanks SF - I was thinking on that one that maybe AZ changed it up and I missed something. Standard AZ play book
We’ll see how whitetails back here play out over the next month, but I’d love to make it back down to AZ in January. It’s tough to beat winter in the desert chasing deer.
I might get out a little bit... Ed F
I’m thinking I’ll buzz down again. Switched to long bow since I was there last. Feels kinda desperate with that thing but not a lot of other good options in January to hunt deer otc! Worth a shot.
Just received my AZ OtC deer tag in the mail. Will hunt mule deer 100% of the time instead of hunting Coues for the first two weeks. (have killed 5 coues in the past years.
The 2019 stats indicate an over all success percentage for all archer deer is 13%
19,500 bow hunters killed 1676 mule deer and 872 Coues deer. for a total harvest of 2,548. NOTE, these stats came from 5,612 questioners returned.
Good luck guys! Hope all the guys chasing the grey ghosts in the desert have safe, fun hunts!
@stickflicker, I had thought last year when I bought my tag it was also a 365 day affair. Unfortunately not as you stated :(
In any case my trailer is in storage in Flagstaff after the late cow hunt, so not too far a pull to hit up some coues territory some time in Jan. Hoping earlier and longer would be better, but I do still have work to tend to, again unfortunately.
Best of luck to everyone.
Cheers, Pete
as stickflicker stated, the hunting/fishing license is good for a year from the day of purchase. I mailed in an application with money for my January deer hunt. While the deer license is good for 2021, the date on the hunting/fishing is Dec 10th. and then only good until Dec 10th 2021. The only way to get around this is to purchase the hunt and fish license when you arrive in AZ in late Dec. and the the later the better if you plan on hunting the following Dec without purchasing another H/F license for $160.
Joining Empty around the 4th for a couple weeks of desert fun. Mainly Muleys, but I won't pass on a decent Coues buck if he gives me a chance.
The weather has been terrible in Arizona, with 30 to 40 mph winds. Temps haven't reached 60 yet, and mornings are below 30. Folks are killing bucks off water right now, the cous are chasing in the lower units, but the big desert bucks aren't with the does yet. The small forks and threes are with does. Some units will open up Jan 1st that are closed for December, so that's gonna be nice. A lot of folks are hunting the southern units, not many in the middle units.
Dry summer and spring, so antler growth won't be optimal. I'll be happy with a mature buck at close range with my recurve - under 20 yds.
Seen a pic of a good muzzle buck that hit the dirt the other day. Happy holidays all I want for Christmas is a desert mule deer.
I missed one day since the opener... getting better everyday. Ed F
I am heading to AZ on the 9th of Jan for a first time Desert MD hunt. Really looking forward to it. Sounds like the MD should be in full rut that week. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I was out with my son yesterday......saw a decent 4x4 that was feeding and all alone. Does on another ridge had nothing with them yet. Definitely wasn’t happening there
I was out with my son yesterday......saw a decent 4x4 that was feeding and all alone. Does on another ridge had nothing with them yet. Definitely wasn’t happening there
Turquoise
Turquoise
My son and I are going out there beginning of January to hunt with some PBS buddies. One of them is supposed to be scouting for me, but he and his wife keep getting distracted by shiny things when they are out and about...