Arizona OTC

[jlw0142]

This December/January will be my 3rd season hunting muleys in the AZ desert. We have put in lots of work, but just have struggled to find mature bucks. Our first year, we just couldn’t find what we thought were good areas and we honestly just had no clue what to look for and drove/hiked miles upon miles only to find small clusters of does and tiny bucks. Last season, we found a solid area and made stalks on a handful of small bucks, and both of us even got within 30 yards of bucks, with my buddy busting his stalk on a solid 3x3 by leaving his phone ringer on, lol. Still, we aren’t finding very mature bucks and are having trouble deciphering what habitat makes “good” desert mule deer habitat. I know the deer density is low out there and it’s tough to find big ones, but I just would love to get some better insight into what I should be looking for. Sometimes I see guys saying to look in the foothills with good feed, other times I see guys saying to look in the cactus flats. Please PM if you’re willing to offer any helpful information. Thanks in advance.


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[Ckat]

WAY too much talking for me, but this video will probably help. He basically out-patienced everyone else on this buck. I think he has some other videos on bowhunting AZ tactics.

 

[jlw0142]

WAY too much talking for me, but this video will probably help. He basically out-patienced everyone else on this buck. I think he has some other videos on bowhunting AZ tactics.

Thanks, man!


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[Ultracarry]

The desert is just different …. Stalking the little ones is going to make you not see big ones . Might take a week of watching the same deer to have a big one cruse by checking does.. then if they aren’t ready to breed they disappear very fast - the desert deer are used to not standing up all day long and will bed til it’s about dark . Unless they find a hot doe . I’ll spend 10+ hours a day glassing … for 5-7 days then take a week off and repeat . Out of about 21 days of hunting last season I saw 1 monster and two big bucks . Then there’s all the people that will try to run the deer down on ATVs, run washes, off trail driving etc … it’s a zoo

 

[jlw0142]

The desert is just different …. Stalking the little ones is going to make you not see big ones . Might take a week of watching the same deer to have a big one cruse by checking does.. then if they aren’t ready to breed they disappear very fast - the desert deer are used to not standing up all day long and will bed til it’s about dark . Unless they find a hot doe . I’ll spend 10+ hours a day glassing … for 5-7 days then take a week off and repeat . Out of about 21 days of hunting last season I saw 1 monster and two big bucks . Then there’s all the people that will try to run the deer down on ATVs, run washes, off trail driving etc … it’s a zoo

That’s good info. And yeah, it’s totally a zoo. Me and my buddy each saw one buck that we would call a shooter by our low standards, and he got a couple opportunities to stalk his. I saw mine 30 minutes before dark chasing a doe and never saw him again. It’s just hard for me to wrap my mind around these deer being able to conceal themselves so well that we could glass over him all day, let alone all week, and not see him. Plus, it seems like they can just get out of dodge and be out of the area overnight. What I’m trying to say is that I have yet to find many discernible patterns. We have glassed good-looking country all day to find 2 deer, and we have driven through bad-looking country for a few minutes and seen 5. I don’t get it. I’m more than willing to put time behind the glass, but I’m having commitment issues due to low confidence in my glassing choices.


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[Elkoholic87]

WAY too much talking for me, but this video will probably help. He basically out-patienced everyone else on this buck. I think he has some other videos on bowhunting AZ tactics.

Dude’s a tool.


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[willfrye027]

I think what you’re describing is a common experience in the low desert, which is why less guys will hunt it and even less are successful compared to the northern part of the state, The guys who are good at it spend a ton of time and are willing to risk not finding a shooter because they like the terrain and also they believe the top end buck may be bigger that the mountain units.

That being said if you’re looking for a 130-150 type deer you might be better off in a more deer rich environment in the mountain or high desert units.

 

[Mattman215]

No deer in az I would try Nevada.

 

[jlw0142]

No deer in az I would try Nevada.

Thanks, very insightful.


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[DarthVader]

id study some interactive weather maps and see where the rain has been falling and when. id also try and find some of those maps of the wildlife water tanks and hunt within a few miles of those. the deer will be where the feed is and the feed is where the water fell at the right times of the year going into the season. hike into those areas and find fresh sign and good feed. get high and glass it. and yeah, big bucks are sparse in the low desert.

 

[Traindriver]

Any success I've had in Arizona was glassing and moving. Not knowing what unit you're in, You don't have to climb the tallest hill. Just get to an easy glassing point and sit there for an hour or two. If there's nothing, then move around the hill. We watched so many hunters go to one glassing point and sit there all day to just look over deer that aren't moving. For example I'd rather take an hour to get to a spot that i can glass really well in an hour then move, rather than take two hours to get somewhere I can sit all day. Best of Luck and Enjoy yourself

 

[jlw0142]

Any success I've had in Arizona was glassing and moving. Not knowing what unit you're in, You don't have to climb the tallest hill. Just get to an easy glassing point and sit there for an hour or two. If there's nothing, then move around the hill. We watched so many hunters go to one glassing point and sit there all day to just look over deer that aren't moving. For example I'd rather take an hour to get to a spot that i can glass really well in an hour then move, rather than take two hours to get somewhere I can sit all day. Best of Luck and Enjoy yourself

This is unique and interesting advice, but that’s very helpful. I appreciate it!


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[BigE]

We've bumped into several big bucks in the lower desert areas that we didn't see while glassing. In the hotter areas they don't move much and stay under the vegetation. Takes a lot of patience behind the glass, and they tend to move more near first and last light. Like everything in the desert, find the water.