oldboy Report post Posted August 31, 2007 My ten year old son and I were unsuccessfull in the first deer draw but we did pick up a couple tags in the second draw for unit 35a. I'm embarrassed to ask for advice but we live in Flagstaff and Elgin is a long way to travel to scout. My 12 year old daughter has a junior elk hunt the week before my sons hunt and I've got a 6a west archery hunt in two weeks. As you might guess my wife would not be too happy about another weekend of scouting in a place 6-7 hours away. Our family drove through this unit last March over Spring Break and the Huachucas and the Canelo hills looked great! How are they for access? I've hunted the Galiuros many times and my son and I are not afraid to back pack. Actually that would be our preferrence. I'd be glad for any advice. Thanks Old Boy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
devinv Report post Posted August 31, 2007 access is typically not a problem, check the azgfd website for this unit for the typical starting points, they do give good information actually. the north side of the huachucas is mostly private, and full of tree huggers. the east side has some access points into canyons, while other canyons are private and residential areas. the south side of the huachucas has the coronado monument and there is no hunting in this area. the west side of the huachucas out towards parker canyon holds plenty of deer, although it does get pressure. you mentioned you dont mind hiking in, which is what you are going to need to do to get away from the weekend warriors with the quads and rv campers. there are several draws and canyons from parker canyon all the way to the tip of the east side of the huachucas that hold deer. dont overlook areas that dont look promising, you'd be surprised. also, you're gunna need quality, powerful glass for this area as it offers a lot of vantage points to sit and look. if you're not looking for a trophy, there are plenty of spikes and forks that can be found. i'll be down there in november. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oldboy Report post Posted September 6, 2007 Thank you for the information. I'll start looking at maps and checking those draws coming up out of Parker Canyon. I drove through there last sping and it all looks like great country. After this morning though we'll only be looking for my sons deer. I killed a small carp before work this morning. It is my first archery kill and I'm pretty Jazzad up right now! Thanks for your response Oldboy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Huntn coues Report post Posted September 6, 2007 Post them pics!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elkhunter Report post Posted September 6, 2007 I hunted 35a a couple of times, the game and fish unit information is right on the dot, killed a couple bucks where they recommended to hunt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ac guy Report post Posted September 7, 2007 If you don't have another child to give your tag to, give it to HOAL. I can get you info if you like. Congrats on your deer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MXW13 Report post Posted September 7, 2007 I would not overlook the Mustang mountains in that unit. There are very few hunters in that small mountain range, and there are number of nice deer in there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davecinaz Report post Posted September 7, 2007 Thank you for the information. I'll start looking at maps and checking those draws coming up out of Parker Canyon. I drove through there last sping and it all looks like great country. After this morning though we'll only be looking for my sons deer. I killed a small carp before work this morning. It is my first archery kill and I'm pretty Jazzad up right now! Thanks for your response Oldboy Way to go on the carp! My son and I also got two of the leftover tags and I'm also from Flag. I was down there last weekend for a quick scouting trip - you're right, it is a long way from here! if you want to PM me, I'm happy to share what little info I was able to come up with. Otherwise, I'll share a beer/coke with you if you stop by my camp - Coleman tent trailer and a '07 silver Suburban. Dave Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davecinaz Report post Posted September 7, 2007 I would not overlook the Mustang mountains in that unit. There are very few hunters in that small mountain range, and there are number of nice deer in there. MXW13 - I was down to the unit last weekend and spent all my time in the bottom of the unit - in the Huachucas mostly. I drove by the Mustangs on the west side and decided not to stop because there looked like there was a bunch of private property to get through, and then the vegetation didn't look all that good. Looks like I blew it! I'll be able to get down to scout one more time before the season starts - do you have any suggestions you could share about the Mustangs to point me in the right direction - not your honey holes, just general guidance? Thanks for any help. Dave Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azbownunter22 Report post Posted September 8, 2007 Dave, Shoot me a e-mail and I will give you a heads up. azbowhunter@myway.com Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davecinaz Report post Posted September 8, 2007 Dave, Shoot me a e-mail and I will give you a heads up. azbowhunter@myway.com Thanks - sent you an email. Dave Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davecinaz Report post Posted September 8, 2007 Dave, Shoot me a e-mail and I will give you a heads up. azbowhunter@myway.com Dang - email came back so I PMd you. Dave Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MXW13 Report post Posted September 10, 2007 I would not overlook the Mustang mountains in that unit. There are very few hunters in that small mountain range, and there are number of nice deer in there. MXW13 - I was down to the unit last weekend and spent all my time in the bottom of the unit - in the Huachucas mostly. I drove by the Mustangs on the west side and decided not to stop because there looked like there was a bunch of private property to get through, and then the vegetation didn't look all that good. Looks like I blew it! I'll be able to get down to scout one more time before the season starts - do you have any suggestions you could share about the Mustangs to point me in the right direction - not your honey holes, just general guidance? Thanks for any help. Dave Dave, Thera are basically two ways I found to get into the mustangs. One is on the west side of the mountans, you turn south on Upper Elgin road off Hwy 82. The mountains will be on your left, look for any entrance headed into the area that is not private. Thera should be a gate about two - three miles south of 82. There is a nice sized stock pond on this side of the mountains, and some nice glassing spots. On the east side of the mountain there is a gated entrance just esat of the mountains with a road that runs parallel to the range. There is a sign that says no illegals or coyotes allowed. There are several places along this road you can glass from. I hope this helps. Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davecinaz Report post Posted September 11, 2007 I would not overlook the Mustang mountains in that unit. There are very few hunters in that small mountain range, and there are number of nice deer in there. MXW13 - I was down to the unit last weekend and spent all my time in the bottom of the unit - in the Huachucas mostly. I drove by the Mustangs on the west side and decided not to stop because there looked like there was a bunch of private property to get through, and then the vegetation didn't look all that good. Looks like I blew it! I'll be able to get down to scout one more time before the season starts - do you have any suggestions you could share about the Mustangs to point me in the right direction - not your honey holes, just general guidance? Thanks for any help. Dave Dave, Thera are basically two ways I found to get into the mustangs. One is on the west side of the mountans, you turn south on Upper Elgin road off Hwy 82. The mountains will be on your left, look for any entrance headed into the area that is not private. Thera should be a gate about two - three miles south of 82. There is a nice sized stock pond on this side of the mountains, and some nice glassing spots. On the east side of the mountain there is a gated entrance just esat of the mountains with a road that runs parallel to the range. There is a sign that says no illegals or coyotes allowed. There are several places along this road you can glass from. I hope this helps. Mike Mike, I'm going down again next weekend so I'll be sure to check out these spots. Thanks a bunch for your help. Dave Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
curmudgen Report post Posted October 3, 2007 I've hunted 35a the last two years. The first year I got onto one nice buck in the area west of the Coronado Monument, but blew the shot. I must be getting old. There are a lot of deer in that area, although it's hard for me to hunt as most of it is pretty thick with lots of small parallel ridges that are hard to glass or is real steep stuff on the side of the Huachucas. Last year I hunted just south of the West Gate of the Fort and got a nice 4x5 that scores 98. I shot it the second day just before sundown and there were no other vehicles or hunters within several miles as far as I could determine, so that is apparently no one's honey hole. I found a wetback trail going along the mountain and followed it about 1 1/2 miles before climbing up a ridge where I'd seen this deer 6 weeks before. He was still there, but but he's not now as his horns are on my wall and I've eaten the rest. There are lots of deer in the strech going south from the West Gate for 3 or 4 miles and several trails running along there. I wouldn't recommend backpacking into there unless you feel comfortable being run over with illegals every night. J. Wms. Sorry, that shlld be Coronado Memorial. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
