Unit 1/2B (Black River, units 1 and 2B)
Arizona Hunting Guide — Desert Bighorn Sheep
The 1/2B bighorn hunt area draws on the same Rocky Mountain bighorn population as the other unit 1 sheep hunts — animals living primarily along the Black River corridor from Three Forks down the East Fork to the main stem and the Fort Apache Indian Reservation boundary, on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests. Sheep do occur outside the corridor but in smaller numbers, and unit 2B itself is low, checkerboard country rather than sheep habitat. Access to the huntable ground is minimal — a large part of it has little or no vehicle access and Fish Bench is foot-only — so plan on packing out what you take. Every bighorn hunter must check out at a Department office within three days of the close.
Build your own PDF hunt guide for Unit 1/2B
Answer a few questions about your tag, your season and your rig, and the Field Intelligence Report builds a print-ready Arizona Unit 1/2B guide around your hunt: three ranked spots with morning, afternoon and evening plays, a day-by-day plan, topo maps with every pin numbered, a camp and access plan, the legal and retrieval rules for this unit, shot discipline, a meat-care and pack-out plan, and a pre-trip checklist. Every coordinate sits on land recorded as public.
Free accounts get one report a year with the top spot unlocked. ProHunt Pro includes unlimited reports, all three spots, the full camp plan, and GPX/KML downloads for onX and Google Earth. Prefer to see one first? Open the builder and pick any unit.
Desert Bighorn Sheep Hunting in Unit 1/2B
The 1/2B bighorn hunt area draws on the same Rocky Mountain bighorn population as the other unit 1 sheep hunts — animals living primarily along the Black River corridor from Three Forks down the East Fork to the main stem and the Fort Apache Indian Reservation boundary, on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests. Sheep do occur outside the corridor but in smaller numbers, and unit 2B itself is low, checkerboard country rather than sheep habitat. Access to the huntable ground is minimal — a large part of it has little or no vehicle access and Fish Bench is foot-only — so plan on packing out what you take. Every bighorn hunter must check out at a Department office within three days of the close.
Where the rams are: the Black River corridor, not the low country
Read your tag's hunt-area description carefully for this one, then concentrate your effort where the sheep actually live. Rocky Mountain bighorn distribution in unit 1 runs primarily from Three Forks, down the East Fork of the Black River, to the main stem, and on to the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. Sheep occur outside that corridor, but at a lesser degree.
The named areas in the corridor
Three Forks, at the north end on the East Fork, reached on Forest Road 249 between Big Lake and Alpine. Kettle Holes, north of the river and overlooking it, on Forest Road 25G off Forest Road 25 west of Buffalo Crossing. Fish Bench, directly south of Kettle Holes across the canyon, foot access only, with a good view into the critical sheep ground. Wildcat Crossing, where Forest Road 25 crosses the river, with parking, river trails and a trail system down to the reservation. And the Snake Creek area in the lower corridor.
Why unit 2B is not where you hunt
Unit 2B is low checkerboard country north and east of St. Johns — private, State Trust and BLM sections alternating, with elk and pronghorn rather than bighorn. Hunting is legal on the State and BLM sections but access across private ground is not guaranteed. It is not Rocky Mountain bighorn habitat.
The flats beside the river
Worth repeating because it's counterintuitive: these sheep use some of the flatter, more wooded country directly adjacent to the Black River as well as the canyon walls. Glass it.
What is closed
The Fort Apache Indian Reservation at the foot of the corridor is not open on a state permit. The transplanted sheep in the South Fork of the Little Colorado are not a huntable population and sit outside the Black River hunt area.
Access, in one sentence
There is very little to no vehicle access within a large portion of the huntable habitat. Be prepared to pack out what you harvest.
Unit 1/2B terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up · figures are for GMU 1
The lay of it
- 7,391–9,286 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 8,398 ft ; peaks can run higher.
- 843.1 sq mi inside the boundary. Big enough that picking one drainage beats driving three.
Who owns the ground
- National Forest — 60%
- State Trust — 8%
- Private / Other — 32%
Roughly 68% is public. Carry a land-status layer anyway — these are area percentages, not a map of where the boundaries fall.
Water on the ground
- 722 tanks
- 374 springs
- 299 stream segments
- 39 lakes
Counts from mapping data, so this is how many exist, not how many hold water in a dry year. Sitting water only pays where you find fresh tracks.
Named features inside the unit
Glass from: Escudilla Mountain (10,916 ft), Profanity Ridge (10,533 ft), Greens Peak (10,125 ft), Burro Mountain (9,855 ft)
Holding ground: Terry Flat (9,678 ft), Pat Sink (9,317 ft), Rudd Knoll Pit (9,300 ft), Ceadro Spring, Flowing Well
Every one of these was tested against the unit polygon before it went on the map. They are starting points, not agency recommendations.
How to hunt it: read the tag, glass the canyon, and arrange the carry in advance
Desert Bighorn Sheep Success Rates
Desert Bighorn Sheep Draw Odds
Draw odds data not available for this specific unit/species combination in our database.
Search Arizona Draw OddsDesert bighorn tags in the 01/02B combined unit are among the hardest draws in Arizona. Arizona uses a weighted-random bonus-point system — each accumulated bonus point adds additional random entries, improving odds without guaranteeing a draw. This is a once-in-a-lifetime tag for Arizona residents. Apply every year to maximize points and take advantage of the loyalty application bonus.
Unit Logistics & Expectations
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I apply for a Unit 01/02B bighorn sheep tag in Arizona?
Is the Blue Range Primitive Area open to motorized access for sheep hunting?
Plan Your Hunt with ProHunt Pro
Unlock advanced tactics, the Tag-to-Trail Planner, AI hunt strategy assistant, and personalized camp and trip execution plans.
Upgrade to Pro — $49/yrSources & Verification
Every fact on this page is tied to a primary source below. Last fact-checked 2026-04-18.
- AZGFD Desert Bighorn Sheep Management — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Transplant history, Population management, Unit boundaries · accessed 2026-04-18
- AZGFD Big Game Hunting Regulations 2026 — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Season dates, Tag quotas, Hunt area boundaries · accessed 2026-04-18
- AZGFD Draw Portal — Hunt Drawing Information — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Bonus point system, Draw application portal, Historical draw data · accessed 2026-04-18