WIlderness Areas near Tucson

[KYBoy]

Howdy,

This is my first season hunting as a resident in Arizona. I am looking for inputs on places where I can put down some boot leather for a solitary bow hunting experience. I live in Tucson, but am willing to travel some. Right now I am looking at the Galiuro Wilderness. I am aware of some access issues there, but I will try it if it means I can see fewer hunters. I would rather hunt an area of lower deer density if it means fewer humans. I am willing to walk 10+ miles a day. I would shoot a coues or muley. I really have no preference as I am not picky when I'm using a bow. Thanks y'all!

 

[AZAV8ER]

That area will get you fewer hunters and there are deer in the Guliuros. Make plans for water if you are not coming back to a base camp every night. 

 

 

 

[muledeerarea33?]

Walk from redington to mnt lemon of visa versa. Lots of rough country and tons of different animals to see.

[broadhead]

Lots of good hunting around Tucson. Mount Lemmon/Reddington like already mentioned as well as the surrounding units are all good especially if you are willing to hike and don't mind driving a little bit to a few of the other units. Don't overlook 34A, 34B and 35A if you don't mind working around Fort Huachuca. Just be mindful of the border issues the further south you go. A guy I used to work with would take deer out of 29 every year but wouldn't camp away from his truck and carried an AR with him everywhere because of smuggling. Another thing is the pressure is drastically less than the rifle seasons so getting away from hunters is a lot easier.

Either way there are plenty of deer down here. You'll find them if you scout and glass well. As the water holes start to dry up from the monsoons they'll be bunching up into a few key areas and once you find them you'll find the deer. I learned that and immediately began to find them again a lot quicker. Getting into bow range on a mature deer, however...

[KYBoy]

I appreciate the replies so far fellas. Any advice on how to access the wilderness areas coming from Tucson? I have heard it can be hard to get to. I am going to scout it, so I'll come up with an access plan then, but any advice helps. Cheers!

[broadhead]

16 hours ago, KYBoy said:

I appreciate the replies so far fellas. Any advice on how to access the wilderness areas coming from Tucson? I have heard it can be hard to get to. I am going to scout it, so I'll come up with an access plan then, but any advice helps. Cheers!

That will depend entirely on which unit you decide on. If you're coming in from Tucson and want to get into some wilderness area there's the Pusch Ridge Wilderness northeast of town in the Coronado National Forest which is all part of the Mount Lemmon area (Unit 33 which I talked about above). It's essentially all public land and there are more than enough Coues deer in there with plenty of bucks. You can access it easily by going up Catalina Highway from the south or up and around town around Oracle which a lot of people do. PM me if you're interested in Mount Lemmon and I'll do my best to fill you in on what I've seen. It's probably the easiest unit to access if you won't have the chance to scout ahead of time and are coming in from Tucson.

[high rise hunter]

I have no experience in the Galiuro but if you're in Tucson I would be tempted to stick closer to home. Unit 33 has tons of space to get into and you likely won't run into any other hunters. Also plenty of coues to chase in there as well. Wish I knew more! Best of luck!

[bigorange]

10 hours ago, high rise hunter said:

I have no experience in the Galiuro but if you're in Tucson I would be tempted to stick closer to home. Unit 33 has tons of space to get into and you likely won't run into any other hunters. Also plenty of coues to chase in there as well. Wish I knew more! Best of luck!

Yeah if you’re willing to hike more than a mile or two, there’s plenty of areas in 33 and other units close to Tucson where you won’t see any other hunters. 

[KYBoy]

Thank you all for chiming in. I actually drove an hour from my house last night into 33 and was surprised how easy it was to get into deer in somewhat remote territory. I guess I just always avoid anything near cities, but if it means more scouting and hunting time, I may stick with 33. 

[broadhead]

On 10/9/2018 at 5:07 PM, KYBoy said:

Thank you all for chiming in. I actually drove an hour from my house last night into 33 and was surprised how easy it was to get into deer in somewhat remote territory. I guess I just always avoid anything near cities, but if it means more scouting and hunting time, I may stick with 33. 

Mount Lemmon seems like kind of an anomaly like that. It's so close to town but within an hour it can feel like you're nowhere near town. And as you already notices there's no shortage of deer. Good luck and have fun.

[CouesFanatic]

I would look in other units besides 33 personally. 33 is the most abused unit by the G&F. Tag numbers in that unit are beyond ridiculous.