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Deer Hunting in Arizona Game Management Unit 22

The Mazatzal Wilderness area holds pockets of mule deer where water is found year round and this area can be accessed by the Sheep’s Bridge Crossing road along the east side of the Verde River.

Game Management Unit 22

Scores

Scores
User Scores
Ease of Drawing
29
 
29
Success
25
 
25
Trophy Potential
0
N/A
Public Access
96
 
96
Ease of Terrain
78
 
78
Room to Breathe
50
 
50
Opportunity
25
 
25
Convenience
59
 
59
Ease of Effort
60
 
60
64
HuntScore

Access Notes

Bureau of Land Management
US Forest Service
Local Gov't
State Gov't
Indian Reservation
State Wildlife/Wilderness Areas
National Park Service
Army Corps
Other Federal Land
Other

Land Ownership
Legend

Beginning at the junction of the Salt and Verde Rivers; north along the Verde River to Childs; easterly on the Childs-Strawberry Rd. to Fossil Creek; north on the creek to Fossil Springs; southeasterly on FS trail 18 (Fossil Spring Trail) to the top of the rim; northeasterly on the rim to Nash Point on the Tonto-Coconino National Forest boundary along the Mogollon Rim; easterly along this boundary to Tonto Creek; southerly along the east fork of Tonto Creek to the spring box, north of the Tonto Creek Hatchery, and continuing southerly along Tonto Creek to the Salt River; westerly along the Salt River to the Verde River; except those portions that are sovereign tribal lands of the Tonto Apache Tribe and the Fort McDowell Mohave-Apache Community.

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County

Yavapai, Maricopa, Gila

Size

1,581 Square Miles (1,011,945 Acres)

Land Ownership

4% Private, 96% Public, 96% USFS, 30% Wilderness

Latitude/Longitude

34.0207, -111.4412

Wildfires

Check for current or recent wildfires in this area.

Amenities

There are 0 hospitals, 9 hotels, 23 campgrounds, and 2 grocery stores within a 20 mile radius.

Deer Notes

Mule deer numbers in Unit 22 continue to decline over the last ten years just like most of the state during this time of very little precipitation. Mule deer can be found from the southern portion ... Create a free account to read the rest of this deer hunting note!

HuntScore Tip

Be aware that it is not legal to locate animals, and then use a vehicle to make a pursuit; this is considered hunting from a motor vehicle.

State Agency Website

Visit Arizona Game and Fish Department

Other Species in Unit

Black Bear, Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep, Elk, Javelina, Mountain Lion, Turkey,

Businesses Serving Deer Hunters In Game Management Unit 22

Advertise Your Business!

Category: Guide/Outfitter

: 555-555-5555

: [email protected]

: www.yourbusiness.com

About

Are you an outfitter, hunting guide, game processor or local hotel? Do you have landowner tags, lease land, or have an lodge? Advertise on HuntScore and reach hunters interested in this hunting unit! Send us an email at [email protected] to learn more. Read about advertising on huntscore here

Photos and Terrain Notes


Add a Photo

Terrain varies from relatively flat desert grasslands to high, forested mountains. The elevation in this area ranges from 1,500' at Saguaro Lake to 7,894' at Mazatzal Peak. Sonoran desert vegetati... Create a free account to read the rest of this terrain note!

Unit Elevation Profile

HuntScore generates thousands of synthetic hikes in the unit to create an elevation profile. This profile is what you can expect to experience within a 2 mile hike from a road or trail in this unit.

Elevation in this unit ranges from 1332' to 7253' with a median elevation of 2416'. If you are preparing to hunt this unit you should train for hiking up and down slopes of 6.8%.

Distribution of Slopes From Hikes
Common Slope

This is typical incline or decline experienced while hiking from a road or trail in the unit

Elevation Range
Max Elevation: 7253'
Median Elevation: 2416'
Min Elevation: 1332'

Common Elevation Profiles

Deer Over The Counter Hunts (2020)

Below are OTC hunts available for Game Management Unit 22.
Residency Species Deer Sex Manner Season Type Dates Notes
RSNRS
M
A
G
OTC
1/1 - 1/31, 8/21 - 9/20, 12/11 - 12/31

Deer Drawing Stats (2021)

Total Quota
1,275
Licenses Drawn
1,275
Licenses Surplus
0
Resident Quota
1,275
Nonresident Quota
127
Landowner Quota
0
Youth Quota
0
29.4%
Overall Unit
1st Choice Draw Odds
Choose a hunt below to take a deeper dive into hunt scores, drawing trends, and harvest data. Arizona hunt codes change annually but don't fret! HuntScore makes AZ draw codes easy to read. Read our article on HuntScore AZ draw codes here
Stats Apply For Sex Manner Season Type Quota Drawn Surplus Resident Draw Odds NonResident Draw Odds Min Res. Points Min NonRes. Points Notes
1036
M
ALL
G
LL
375 375 0
28.7%
17.4%
3
1083
M
ALL
G
LL
350 350 0
44.5%
37.5%
3 3
1084
M
ALL
G
LL
350 350 0
67.4%
30%
3 3
1085
M
ALL
G
LL
50 50 0
7%
1%
8 15
1160
M
ALL
Y
Y
150 150 0
36.9%
35.3%
3 5
HuntScore Tip: A Bonus Point is an accumulated credit (or point) that authorizes the Department to issue a Big Game Drawing applicant additional computer-generated random numbers during a draw. The bonus point system grants an applicant one random number entry for each bonus point that has been accumulated into the drawing for that species.

Deer Harvest Stats (2020)

Total Hunters
1,359
Total Harvest
384
Harvest Male
384
Harvest Female
0
28.3%
Average Success
Manner Season Type Sex Deer Species Hunters Harvest Male Female Youth Success Rate Days Hunter
ALL
G
LL
M
CD
350 114
114
0
0
33% 4
ALL
G
LL
M
CD
312 99
99
0
0
32% 4
ALL
G
LL
M
CD
44 17
17
0
0
39% 7
ALL
G
LL
M
MD
512 89
89
0
0
17% 4
ALL
G
Y
E
N/A 141 65
65
0
0
46% 3
HuntScore Tip: Ever hunt a unit with a 100% success rate and not see any animals? If you're nodding your head to any of these scenarios then you're one of the people who knows that statistics are a good guide, but they aren't a guarantee.

Harvests Trends

Overall harvests trends are broken down by hunt_code, manner, season, sex, type, and species of deer (if applicable) to the extent state wildlife managers provide such data.

Total Harvest

Success Rate

Avg. Days Hunted

Weather Insights

Weather can vary by elevation. See how weather varies by elevation within a unit by selecting an elevation range. Elevation ranges are based on weather stations in or near the unit. Not all weather elements are available within the unit.

Average Temps

Use temperature ranges to plan and prepare for your hunt. Large swings indicate a good layering system should be used. Be sure to make note of the extreme temperatures as these often pose the greatest risk to hunters. If you plan on hunting in higher elevation, as a rule of thumb, expect the tempture to decrease roughly 5° for every 1000' in elevation gain.

WITH A FREE ACCOUNT GET:

  • Precip totals by month
  • Snow depth by month
  • Min/Max precip and snow depth
  • Average # of days between precip or snow event
  • Wind speed and wind direction by month
  • Sunshine and cloud cover stats by month
  • Probability of other weather events (thunder, hail, etc...) by by month

Precipitation

The probability of precipitation is the likelihood of experience rain, snow, hail, etc... on a given day within the month. A good trick is to invert the probability to estimate how many days will pass, on average, between precipitation events. Hover or click a month to see how many days will pass between precipitation events.

Use the average and maximum precipitation events to set expetations for what rain gear to bring. Also remember that water availability can influence wildlife patterns, so be sure to check out the current weather patterns leading up to your hunt.

Snow

Each month of the year brings it's own challenges for weather. Select a month to see what you can expect and how to prepare for extreme events.

Likely Wind Directions

Wind Speed

Sunshine




Cloud Cover




Other Weather Events

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