Arizona Archery Rut Hunt Unit 22

[Jlrineer]

Hello everyone! The HuntTalk podcast struck me again. I was listening to last years AZ archery hunt again and it got me curious as to how cheap of a hunt could I make something like this happen for? Turns out flights from Philly to Phoenix were too cheap to pass up so I roped one of my regular out west hunting partners in on the plan and were headed out Jan 1st to Phoenix. After looking at OnX and go hunt I really like Unit 22 for a chance at a coues or a mule deer. I've never hunted Arizona so I am just curious if anyone has any lessons learned from their experiences. I've never hunted Mule deer in the rut so I was curious as to tactics. Can you hunt them similar to whitetails back east (rattle, call, scents). Thanks in advance for any advice without this forum, the podcast, and show I never would've dreamt of the trips I've made and the ones I am already planning for the future.

 

[.270]

The main tactic that I have seen used in OTC archery hunts is spot and stalk. I have heard of guys using rattles for coues but its not very common. Muleys in jan will be with their does and that will be a lot of eyes looking at you if you try calling them in, in my opinion. I have always just glassed them up and put a stock on them. I haven't hunted deer in 22, just elk and with it being so close to phx it can have high hunting pressure. But with OTC tags there is a lot of units open and you can just move around. Also think about bringing a shotgun, quail and duck season is open during Jan and I always enjoyed hitting the ponds in the middle of the day.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Unit 22 great for mule deer.Get up high and glass.Good luck.

 

[Hambone79]

Interested in how the hunt went for you I am considering this hunt

 

[JColony]

Good coues in 22 also. Get above 4500' or so and you'll get into them. Lots of good ground to look at! Shoot me a dm.

 

[Bigjay73]

Unit 22 is my favorite unit, deer can be found pretty much anywhere in the unit. During the rut you can wait for the bucks to bed with his does and put on a stalk, or try to intercept them along their path if they're constantly moving. Forget scents, calls and rattles, that shit don't work on desert deer.
And dont dm jcolony, you dont want to waste your time on those itty bitty toy deer

 

[Jlrineer]

Interested in how the hunt went for you I am considering this hunt

It was probably my favorite hunt so far. We spent 2 days in coues country looking for mule deer. I am going to echo what Bigjay said. Those tiny toy deer did nothing for me. They're small, quick, and skiddish. We had no interest in them. On the 3rd day we ran in to a local who stopped to talk to us. We told him we hadn't seen any mule deer yet and were wondering if we were in the right area. He gave us some pretty good info, mainly because he didn't want us hunting around where he was, it turned out to be money. We ran into quite a few Muleys after that. On the 4th day I put a stalk on a 5x5 when he bedded down with 3 does. We watched him for around 3 hours before that. The closest I got to him was 60 yards and I felt confident enough in my shooting to take a shot. What I underestimated was how quick and skiddish those muleys are. He ducked the arrow and blew out. Haven't had my heart pounding like that in a long time. I'll definitely be going back again.

Side note: We flew from Philly to Phoenix on airline miles, got a rental truck for 400 bucks and an Airbnb for 300 bucks. The tag was 300 over the counter at walmart after we got there (we both had licenses for buying points) total hunt cost was under 1000 for 5 full days of hunting. I'll be going back again next year for sure.

 

[Bigjay73]

Outstanding, glad you're hunt was a good one. I really miss chasing those desert mulies, definitely a unique experience.

 

[Hambone79]

It was probably my favorite hunt so far. We spent 2 days in coues country looking for mule deer. I am going to echo what Bigjay said. Those tiny toy deer did nothing for me. They're small, quick, and skiddish. We had no interest in them. On the 3rd day we ran in to a local who stopped to talk to us. We told him we hadn't seen any mule deer yet and were wondering if we were in the right area. He gave us some pretty good info, mainly because he didn't want us hunting around where he was, it turned out to be money. We ran into quite a few Muleys after that. On the 4th day I put a stalk on a 5x5 when he bedded down with 3 does. We watched him for around 3 hours before that. The closest I got to him was 60 yards and I felt confident enough in my shooting to take a shot. What I underestimated was how quick and skiddish those muleys are. He ducked the arrow and blew out. Haven't had my heart pounding like that in a long time. I'll definitely be going back again.

Side note: We flew from Philly to Phoenix on airline miles, got a rental truck for 400 bucks and an Airbnb for 300 bucks. The tag was 300 over the counter at walmart after we got there (we both had licenses for buying points) total hunt cost was under 1000 for 5 full days of hunting. I'll be going back again next year for sure.

I am going next January myself and tossing around this unit as well as unit 27 I'm not really looking for a couse deer

 

[Hambone79]

Unit 22 is my favorite unit, deer can be found pretty much anywhere in the unit. During the rut you can wait for the bucks to bed with his does and put on a stalk, or try to intercept them along their path if they're constantly moving. Forget scents, calls and rattles, that shit don't work on desert deer.
And dont dm jcolony, you dont want to waste your time on those itty bitty toy deer

I did dm him he seems like a good guy but definitely more geared towards those little guys