HuntHarder Report post Posted August 23, 2022 18 minutes ago, bowhunter-tw said: Dang, I wish. Ive not turned anything up like that yet. Definitely some different terrain Insanely diverse unit. Really easy to escape the pressure with a little bit of effort. Think far west side of unit, it's harder to access but significantly less pressure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
creed Report post Posted August 23, 2022 I sat and watched 2 big bedded desert bucks on top of a mountain lay there and watch hunters tearing the road up looking for deer. Saw a bachelor herd of 8 do the same thing. Both times rifle hunts. These guys have given some good advice here. Big bucks like the flats but if there are breakers in the area a guy can get lucky. Another often overlooked area is the transition area of a big mountain to the flats. There is usually a strip of vegetation there that is different than flats or mountain. Black lava rock mountains hold deer sometimes. There is a greenhouse effect. Moisture doesn’t evaporate as quickly and the rocks hold heat. There will often be greener browse there. I have pictures of big bucks feeding near the top of malapai mountains. Above all else, they gotta drink. No water no deer and they are where you find them Big desert mule deer can be impossible to pattern good luck 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trphyhntr Report post Posted August 23, 2022 Most of 22 I wouldn’t even call desert mule deer tbh. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bill@roofer Report post Posted August 23, 2022 Big muleys like the flats . Especially during the rut. The older bucks tend to move down lower away from the younger ones that want to fight over does. Normally you won't see them with more then one or a couple older does .This was taken in 37b in December of 2018 archery 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trphyhntr Report post Posted August 23, 2022 Yeah it’s a lot easier finding good bucks in December than October. Very few mature desert mule deer are killed with a rifle in the central az units. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bowhunter-tw Report post Posted August 23, 2022 9 minutes ago, trphyhntr said: Yeah it’s a lot easier finding good bucks in December than October. Very few mature desert mule deer are killed with a rifle in the central az units. I guess I should have phrased my question 22 mule deer general terrain and vegetation. I assumed desert areas would be the best place to find them. But 22 seems interesting where you’ll find them in the same areas as coues deer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trphyhntr Report post Posted August 23, 2022 Just now, bowhunter-tw said: I guess I should have phrased my question 22 mule deer general terrain and vegetation. I assumed desert areas would be the best place to find them. But 22 seems interesting where you’ll find them in the same areas as coues deer Yeah I think 22 is cool. Just not known for whopper carp bucks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HuntHarder Report post Posted August 23, 2022 3 minutes ago, trphyhntr said: Yeah I think 22 is cool. Just not known for whopper carp bucks. Facts.. love the unit tho. Pines to low desert MD everywhere in between. Easy country to rugged wilderness. Boats, SxS or lots of boot leather can get you deep in there. Last year I spent an insane amount of time in 22N and I saw very few MD. Mainly coues and not that many either. Elk were plentiful tho, but nothing 🏆 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bowhunter-tw Report post Posted August 23, 2022 Luckily im no trophy hunter, Id like to fill the tag on something bigger than a spike or forky. Ive still got time and am out every weekend so we’ll see what I can turn up 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bill@roofer Report post Posted August 24, 2022 I've never been a head hunter..grew up rifle hunting. My family hunted down south by Patagonia, until I was about 14 then we started hunting unit 8 in Williams. And unit 9 occasionally when we got drawn second choice. I was in my late 20s before I really started bow hunting. Over the last 40 years I've learned that archery hunting both early and late season provides a hunter a greater chance of getting a buck and one of great size. I have shot the first buck I seen most the time. Unless it's a very small dink. If I come across more then one buck in a herd I will shot the biggest if a shot is available. Luckily I have come across some very nice bucks over the years. That where my first buck I saw or the biggest in the herd. Mostly in Early August hunts and late December into January. Just be patient. In the flats if you can take a 24 foot step ladder and climb up on top and use your binoculars. Locate them and make the stock. I know of a guy in Benson who has a 24 foot sizzer lift camouflaged that he sits in on a water hole on his property. It's totally flat but full of coues and muleys. There just very hard to see until there right under your feet. Being elevated some helps dramatically. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tj_G91 Report post Posted September 1, 2022 I’d say about 90% of the mature mule deer I’ve harvested or helped harvest in a general hunt desert unit have been in the flats. With the other 10% being in smaller rolling hills type country. I usually hunt them where they are whenever I scout them… there’s times I never see them again, and times they don’t move far at all from certain areas. Mule deer in the desert are very hit and miss from what I see. And just when you think you have them figured out they could be miles away the next minute. I’d start in the flats and work my way up personally. The week leading up to your hunt will probably be the most important scouting time and hopefully no hunts before yours to stir things up before you can get out there. Best of luck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bowhunter-tw Report post Posted September 1, 2022 33 minutes ago, Tj_G91 said: I’d say about 90% of the mature mule deer I’ve harvested or helped harvest in a general hunt desert unit have been in the flats. With the other 10% being in smaller rolling hills type country. I usually hunt them where they are whenever I scout them… there’s times I never see them again, and times they don’t move far at all from certain areas. Mule deer in the desert are very hit and miss from what I see. And just when you think you have them figured out they could be miles away the next minute. I’d start in the flats and work my way up personally. The week leading up to your hunt will probably be the most important scouting time and hopefully no hunts before yours to stir things up before you can get out there. Best of luck! Thanks! Luckily there are hunts both two weeks before and a week before my hunt, so no telling where the mule deer will be. Ive glassed up some small bucks in the hill country but havent found a good area with flats in the desert to try. Ive got two more desert spots pinned on the map to check out but after that I might be shooting a small guy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yuma Outdoorsman Report post Posted September 4, 2022 My experience with desert mule deer is they are where you find them. I also find most of my bucks in the flats, a lot of times 3+ miles from the closest hill. Makes hunting them very tough but man it’s fun. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trphyhntr Report post Posted September 4, 2022 If I had 22 muley…I’d hunt it, not kill and put in for coues next year. just keeping it real 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bowhunter-tw Report post Posted September 4, 2022 6 hours ago, trphyhntr said: If I had 22 muley…I’d hunt it, not kill and put in for coues next year. just keeping it real Yah Ive hunted it a bunch for coues and found mule deer during the rut hunt. Guess we wanted to try something different. Turning out to be a real challenge Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
