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THE BEST ARIZONA MULE DEER UNITS
What are the best Arizona mule deer units to apply for to be able to hunt the highest scoring mule deer bucks in Arizona?
This is one of the most frequently asked questions that the Arizona Strip Guides Team gets from serious trophy mule deer hunters who are interested in applying for, or have been applying for, the best trophy mule deer hunts in Arizona. There are several mule deer units in Northern Arizona that consistently produce giant mule deer bucks and have the right genetics and proper trophy management strategies in place to ensure that they always will produce giant mule deer bucks. Of course, there are always several giant mule deer bucks taken every single year on our mule deer hunts that we guide and outfit in Central Arizona that come out of units that are not as well known for producing trophy mule deer. But for now, we will focus on the top 5 Arizona mule deer units that the Arizona Strip Guides Team feels are the “best of the best” for Boone and Crockett caliber trophy mule deer bucks on a consistent yearly basis.
Here is our list of what the Arizona Strip Guides Team currently feels are the best Arizona Mule Deer Units.
THE BEST ARIZONA MULE DEER UNITS
1st Choice – Arizona Strip Unit 13B: We are sure it is probably no surprise to anyone reading this post that Unit 13B on the Arizona Strip is our number one top pick for the absolute best trophy mule deer unit in the state of Arizona. The Arizona Strip has a very long and very distinguished history of producing giant mule deer bucks and has one of, if not the best, trophy mule deer gene pools in the world. Unit 13A also produces absolute giant Arizona Strip bucks but, here are the reasons that we chose unit 13B over unit 13A. Unit 13B seems to have slightly higher numbers of mule deer spread out over most of the unit and is not quite so tough to hunt as unit 13A can be. Unit 13B also has a lot more “quality” deer habitat than it’s Unit 13A neighbor to the east. While both of these Arizona Strip units can be very frustrating to hunt due to the overwhelming size, remoteness of the area, and the very low densities of deer, Unit 13B is generally a little more hunter friendly. There are two separate mule deer seasons that are offered annually by the Arizona Game and Fish Department in Arizona Strip Unit 13B. The first mule deer season would be the Arizona Strip Unit 13B archery mule deer hunt that starts in late august and runs until mid September. Arizona Strip Guides LLC and our team of Arizona mule deer hunting professionals feels that this Unit 13B archery hunt is one of the best archery mule deer hunts in the world today. Archery mule deer hunters who are lucky enough to draw a unit 13B archery mule deer tag will enjoy a very high quality trophy hunt for giant Arizona Strip bucks that are in the velvet. If your goal is to someday harvest a truly giant mule deer buck with your bow, this is the tag that you definitely need to consider applying for as your first choice when filling out your Arizona mule deer applications this year. The next mule deer hunt that is offered in Arizona Strip Unit 13B is the rifle mule deer hunt that starts in early November. This hunt can be a rut mule deer hunt for giant Arizona strip bucks depending upon the weather and precipitation that has fallen during the particular year that you draw your tag. Arizona Strip Guides LLC and our highly experienced team of Arizona mule deer hunting professionals believes that the Arizona Strip Unit 13B rifle mule deer hunt is the premier trophy mule deer hunt in the entire state of Arizona.
THE BEST ARIZONA MULE DEER UNITS
2nd Choice – Arizona Strip Unit 13A: Unit 13A is the Arizona Strip Guides Team’s second choice on our list of the best Arizona mule deer units. This unit is the eastern side of the legendary Arizona Strip and, along with unit 13B, consistently produces some of the highest scoring mule deer bucks harvested in the state of Arizona and worldwide. Unit 13A can be a little tougher to hunt than unit 13B but the quality of the trophy Arizona Strip bucks that are found here can be absolutely phenomenal. One of the main reasons that Arizona Strip Guides LLC ranked Unit 13B higher than Unit 13A is because of the quality of the mule deer habitat that is found in 13A, not because of the quality of the 13A mule deer bucks. Unit 13A contains quite a bit of country that is wide open antelope type country that has very few to absolutely no mule deer residing there. Arizona Strip Unit 13A unit also contains some absolutely wild canyon country that is basically desert bighorn sheep country. This wild canyon country that is found in unit 13A can be extremely difficult to hunt and access but it does contain some absolutely giant Arizona Strip bucks. Some of the highest scoring trophy mule deer bucks that have been harvested from Arizona strip unit 13A have actually been located by sheep hunters while scouting or hunting unit 13A for their desert bighorn sheep hunts. Arizona Strip unit 13A also offers mule deer hunters both an early season archery mule deer hunt and a November rifle mule deer hunt. Arizona Strip Guides LLC feels that the Unit 13A archery hunt is one of the best archery mule deer hunts in the state of Arizona and also the world. 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. If your goal is to someday harvest a truly giant mule deer buck with your bow, Unit 13A is a tag that you definitely need to consider applying for as one of your top choices when filling out your Arizona mule deer applications this year. The rifle mule deer hunt in Arizona Strip unit 13A starts a full week later than the unit 13B rifle mule deer hunt and offers hunters much better rut dates. There is nothing more exciting that a trophy mule deer hunter can experience than having a rifle tag on the Arizona Strip for giant mule deer bucks that are in the peak of the rut. The wait might be very long to draw your own Unit 13A mule deer tag but the wait will be worth it. Arizona Strip Guides LLC recommends applying for Arizona Strip Unit 13A as your second choice when applying for your Arizona Strip archery or rifle mule deer hunts this year.
THE BEST ARIZONA MULE DEER UNITS
3rd Choice – Kaibab Unit 12A West: The west side of the world famous Kaibab Plateau is the Arizona Strip Guides Team’s 3rd ranking pick on our list of the best mule deer units in Arizona. The Kaibab Plateau has produced two gigantic Arizona mule deer bucks that incredibly net score over 300 inches Boone & Crockett. Arizona is the only state in the U.S. to have 2 giant mule deer bucks that score over 300 B&C net in the Boone and Crockett record books and both of these monster 300 inch mule deer bucks came from our very own Kaibab Plateau. Kaibab Unit 12A west offers hunters much higher numbers of mule deer than Kaibab Unit 12A east. Unit 12A west has both early season archery hunts for velvet mule deer, rifle hunts for hard antlered mule deer bucks in October, and December rifle hunts for trophy Kaibab mule deer bucks in the peak of the rut. The early season Kaibab archery mule deer hunt is a great choice for mule deer hunters that are wanting to harvest a good quality velvet Kaibab buck and do not want to wait the many years that it might take to draw a tag on the Arizona Strip. Unlike the Arizona Strip, there are very high numbers and densities of mule deer on the Kaibab and the hunting action is plentiful. The Kaibab Unit 12A west early rifle hunt in October does produce some giant Kaibab mule deer bucks every single year but it can be an extremely frustrating and tough hunt. Most of the Kaibab mule deer bucks are still in the high elevation thickly forested country during this time of year which can make these Kaibab bucks extremely difficult to locate and successfully hunt. We do not recommend that hunters apply for the early rifle season hunts in October on the Kaibab as there are much better trophy mule deer hunting options available in Arizona. Your best bet for taking a high scoring giant mule deer buck from Kaibab Unit 12A west is to apply for the late season rifle Kaibab rut hunts that take place in late November through early December. These late west side Kaibab rifle hunts are one of the most exciting mule deer hunts in the state of Arizona due to most of the Kaibab bucks being in the rut, being in the lower elevation glassing friendly open country of the Kaibab, and due to the incredible numbers of deer that you will see during this hunt. When the weather conditions are just right all of the mule deer will pour into the open low country of the west side Kaibab from the higher elevations. The trophy quality in Kaibab unit 12A west can be great as well with trophy mule bucks that break the 200″ inch mark and an incredible trophy mule deer gene pool that exists on the Kaibab Plateau. The late season rifle Kaibab hunt in Unit 12A west has the potential to produce 200 B&C class mule deer bucks and will give trophy mule deer hunters an unforgettable rut mule deer hunting experience.
THE BEST ARIZONA MULE DEER UNITS
4th Choice – Arizona Strip Unit 12B: The Arizona Strip Guides’ fourth choice pick for the best Arizona mule deer units is Arizona Strip unit 12B. Unit 12B can be a very tough mule deer unit to hunt but it does produce some giant mule deer bucks on an annual basis and has the trophy genetics to continue to put out monster Arizona mule deer bucks for many years to come. The unit 12B archery mule deer hunt is combined with Kaibab units 12A west and 12A east. There are not a lot of resident mule deer to be found in unit 12B during this early archery hunt but with some very intense scouting you just might find the velvet mule deer buck of your dreams on this hunt. The Unit 12B rifle mule deer hunts are split into two different sections: Unit 12B and Unit 12B west. Unit 12B west includes the Buckskin mountain range that lies just to the north of the Kaibab Plateau. Unit 12B west does not include the Paria Plateau nor does it include any areas east of BLM road 1065. Only rifle mule deer hunters that have drawn a Unit 12B tag (not a Unit 12B west tag) can hunt the Paria Plateau as well as the rest of Unit 12B. The early season October rifle mule deer hunts in unit 12B do occasionally produce some super mule deer bucks but they can be extremely hard to come by. We do not recommend that hunters apply for any of the early season rifle mule deer hunts in Unit 12B as there are much better trophy mule deer hunting options available in Arizona. Most of the mule deer herd that is found in unit 12B is mainly comprised of deer that will migrate here during the late fall and winter months. Populations of year round resident mule deer in unit 12B are extremely low but the trophy quality of these resident bucks can be extremely high. If you do not mind hunting for many days on end without seeing a single deer but knowing that the next canyon or draw might produce a Boone & Crockett mule deer, than the early season rifle mule deer hunt in unit 12B just might be for you. The late rifle mule deer hunts in Unit 12B can be one of the best mule deer hunts in the state Arizona and it recently produced a trophy mule deer buck that scored in excess of 270 Boone & Crockett points. When the weather conditions are right, Unit 12B receives a tremendous amount of rutting and migrating mule deer herds from the neighboring Paunsaugunt in Utah and from the Kaibab Plateau in Arizona. Mule deer hunters who are lucky enough to draw one of the late season Unit 12B rifle mule deer tags will experience a world class mule deer hunt for trophy class bucks that are in the peak of the rut. Being surrounded by the Arizona Strip, the Kaibab Plateau, and the Paunsaugunt, ensures that Arizona Unit 12B will always have giant mule deer bucks to hunt for the lucky hunters who draw tags here.
THE BEST ARIZONA MULE DEER UNITS
5th Choice – Kaibab Unit 12A East: Unit 12A east, or the east side of the Kaibab, is the Arizona Strip Guides Team’s 5th ranking pick on our list of the best Arizona mule deer units. The numbers and densities of mule deer in Kaibab unit 12A east are much lower than the west side of the Kaibab but, there are some giant mule deer bucks that are currently roaming the hills in unit 12A east as we speak. The Kaibab has produced two Arizona mule deer bucks that incredibly net score over 300 inches Boone & Crockett. Arizona is the only state in the U.S. to have 2 mule deer that score over 300 B&C net in the Boone and Crockett record books and both of these giant mule deer bucks came from our very own Kaibab Plateau. The early season Kaibab archery hunt in unit 12A east can be a good choice for mule deer hunters that are wanting to harvest a good quality velvet mule deer buck and do not want to wait the many years it might take to draw an archery tag on the Arizona Strip. Unlike the Arizona Strip, there are very good numbers and densities of mule deer on the Kaibab and the hunting action is plentiful. The Kaibab Unit 12A east early rifle hunt in October does produce some giant Kaibab mule deer bucks every single year but it can be an extremely tough and frustrating hunt. Most of the Unit 12A east Kaibab mule deer bucks are still in the high elevation thickly forested country during this time of the year. This very thickly covered and very rough terrain that makes up a lot of the high elevation country in Unit 12A east can make these Kaibab 12A east bucks extremely difficult to locate and successfully hunt. We do not recommend that hunters apply for any of the early season hunts in Unit 12A East as there are much better trophy mule deer hunting options available in the state of Arizona. Just like the west side of the Kaibab, we feel that the late season rifle rut hunt in Unit 12A east is hands down your best hunt for trying to harvest the best mule deer buck possible out of this unit. When the weather conditions are just right, the mule deer will migrate into the open low country of unit 12A east from the higher elevations of the Kaibab Plateau. The trophy quality in unit 12A east is great with mule deer bucks that break the 200″ inch mark and an incredible trophy mule deer gene pool that exists on the Kaibab Plateau. The late Kaibab hunt in 12A east occasionally produces 200 B&C class bucks and can occasionally give trophy mule deer hunters an unforgettable rut mule deer hunting experience on a good year. Don’t overlook that late rifle mule deer hunt in Kaibab Unit 12A east when thinking about applying for the best Arizona mule deer units.
ARIZONA STRIP MULE DEER OUTFITTERS – KAIBAB MULE DEER OUTFITTERS
CONTACT US
Please contact the Arizona Strip Guides team at anytime to discuss any of these Arizona mule deer units in extensive detail. We are very experienced in every single one of the above listed Arizona mule deer units and work very hard all year round to be one of your top choices in premium quality professional Arizona mule deer outfitters and Arizona mule deer guides. The Arizona Strip Guides Team would love to put our many years of experience to work for you in The Best Arizona Mule Deer Units this year.
Email us: ARIZONASTRIPGUIDES@GMAIL.COM
Call us: 928-239-4161
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