Unit 1/2C (Unit 1 with 2C)

Arizona Hunting Guide — Elk

This hunt pairs unit 1's Apache-Sitgreaves elk country around Springerville and Alpine with unit 2C, the checkerboard country west and north of St. Johns toward Concho. Unit 1 carries the real elk hunting — archery and firearms bull and antlerless hunts running from August into December, with elk using both high and low elevations and concentrating on water and green feed in drought years. Unit 2C has better access than its neighbours 2A and 2B, with a strip of mostly State Trust land along its southern border, but it is low-density country where most of the deer and elk habitat sits on alternating private and public sections and crossing permission is not guaranteed.

View Draw Odds Arizona Hunting Guide

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7,391–9,286 ft

Sampled elevation

Build your own PDF hunt guide for Unit 1/2C

Answer a few questions about your tag, your season and your rig, and the Field Intelligence Report builds a print-ready Arizona Unit 1/2C 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.

Elk guide

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.

Elk Hunting in Unit 1/2C

Where the elk are: unit 1's named areas, and 2C's southern half

Confirm your hunt area first. Some unit 1 hunts are restricted to specific areas and some include unit 2C; the permit prints the hunt unit and the herd unit where it applies. Hunting outside that boundary has consequences, so read the district boundary section of the regulations before you scout.

Unit 1's early-season list

For the September and early-October hunts — archery antlerless and bull, the early firearms bull hunt, and the juniors-only firearms antlerless hunt — the agency names Escudilla Mountain, the Loco Knoll area, the Black River area, Kettle Holes, Centerfire Creek, Burro Mountain, the Greens Peak area, Mineral Creek, St. Peter's Dome, the Mexican Hay Lake area, Milligan Valley, Juan Garcia Mountain, the Sipe White Mountain Wildlife Area and the Pole Knoll area.

How unit 1's elk move

Distribution varies with the season and the weather, and elk use both high and low elevations. In drought years they concentrate where there is water and green feed — which is the most useful single filter for a dry autumn. During the mid-September to early-October window bulls are bugling and will generally come to calls.

Unit 2C — the accessible one

2C has better access than either 2A or 2B. There's a strip of mostly State Trust land along its southern border, with checkerboard ownership through the rest. The southern portion is the most commonly hunted area, and the agency's suggestion is that scouting other parts of the unit beforehand may let you hunt without worrying about other hunters.

Where to get into 2C

Apache County Road 4365 from Highway 60 near milepost 383, and ACR 3000 from Highway 61 near milepost 365. Obtaining permission to hunt on or cross private land is recommended — it builds the relationships that keep this country open and stops a hunt being interrupted by a landowner asking you to leave.

The development you have to watch for

More land is being subdivided along the southwest and western parts of 2C — from the Vernon turn-off on Highway 60 west to Highway 61, and back northeast along Highway 61 to the Concho Lake area. Watch for new houses, and remember you cannot shoot within a quarter mile of an occupied building.

Unit 1/2C 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), Towser Well

Every one of these was tested against the unit polygon before it went on the map. They are starting points, not agency recommendations.

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How to hunt it: work unit 1's rut, then use 2C's better access

Unit 1 rifle success for elk runs about 25 percent and archery 18. Unit 2C is low-density country where the value is accessibility rather than animal numbers.

Hunt the bugle in unit 1

From about mid-September to the first of October, bulls are rutting and will generally respond to calls. Be above a drainage before light, locate a vocal bull, and work the wind. The early firearms bull hunt starts the day after archery closes with bulls still in the rut — the same areas apply and the opportunity is good.

In a dry year, hunt water and green feed

That's the agency's own guidance for unit 1 drought years, and it beats hunting elevation. Find the tanks and springs still holding water, and the drainages still carrying green, and concentrate there.

Use 2C the way its access allows

Better roads than 2A or 2B, a State Trust strip along the southern border, and ACR 4365 and ACR 3000 as the main entries. Most hunters work the southern portion — so scout the rest beforehand and you can have quieter ground.

The subdivisions, and the quarter-mile rule

New homes are spreading through the southwest and west of 2C. Mark them on your map while scouting. You cannot discharge a firearm within a quarter mile of an occupied building, and in that country the buildings are scattered enough to surprise you.

Off-road driving is the thing that closes units

The most common landowner complaint in these units is off-road driving, it's illegal on State and BLM land with any vehicle including ATVs, and criminal charges can follow for damage to private ground. Your OHV needs a decal under 1,800 pounds on State or Federal land. Keep the wheels on existing roads and this country stays open.

Getting in and staying out: unit 1/2C

Figures are for GMU 1

Named routes and what they need

AZ 260 — 14.3 mi · Paved (all rigs)
US 60 — 12 mi · Paved (all rigs)
FR 249 — 11.6 mi · High-clearance
US 180;US 191 — 9 mi · Paved (all rigs)
FR 8249 — 6.8 mi · High-clearance
CR 3123 — 6.3 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)

Ratings come from road data, not from a drive this season. Check current conditions with the managing office before you commit a trailer.

Nearest services

Eagar — 7.7 mi · fuel, groceries, lodging
Springerville — 9.3 mi · fuel, groceries, lodging
Alpine — 16.9 mi · lodging
Hondah — 30.9 mi · no services listed
Pinetop Country Club — 31.2 mi · no services listed

Developed camps

Benny Creek Campground · reservable
Brookchar Campground — 13 sites · Fee · reservable
Cutthroat Campground — 18 sites · Fee · reservable
Gabaldon Horse Camp
Grayling Campground — 23 sites · Fee · reservable

Season weather and signal

Jan44° / 14° · 1.2" precip
Aug75° / 46° · 4.3" precip
Sep71° / 41° · 2.2" precip
Oct63° / 30° · 1.2" precip
Nov53° / 21° · 1" precip
Dec44° / 14° · 0.9" precip

Best signal is Verizon at about 15% of the unit. Plan on being out of contact and tell someone your route.

Arizona rules that decide your day

Summarised from AZGFD regulations. They change — read the current regulations and your permit-tag before you hunt.

Legal shooting hours

Big game may be taken only during daylight hours — from sunrise to sunset. Check the sunrise and sunset times for your unit, not for Phoenix.

Motorized retrieval

Arizona permits motorized big-game retrieval only where the unit's travel-management decision allows it, and in several units only for elk. Where it is allowed it means one vehicle, one trip, within one mile of a road shown open on the Motor Vehicle Use Map — never inside a quiet area, a wilderness or a closed area. Pull the MVUM for your ranger district and confirm before you shoot somewhere you cannot carry an animal out of.

Tagging

Sign your tag before you go afield and attach it to the animal immediately after the kill. Hunters aged 10–13 must carry their Hunter Education card with the licence and tag.

Leaving meat

Leaving edible meat in the field is illegal. Edible meat means the four quarters and the loins at a minimum.

Where you may not shoot

Occupied structures — No shooting within a quarter mile of an occupied farmhouse, cabin, lodge or building without the owner's permission. That rules out shooting toward most lakeside cabin tracts.
Campsites and developed areas — Forest Service rules prohibit discharging a firearm within 150 yards of a residence, building, campsite, developed recreation site or occupied area.
Roads and water — No shooting from a vehicle, and no shooting on, across or into a road. No shooting across a body of water adjacent to a Forest road.

Elk: where to put the shot

Broadside or quartering away, on the back edge of the front leg about a third of the way up the body. That is lungs, and on a quartering-away angle it picks up the far shoulder.

Shots to refuse

No straight-on and no straight-away shots. An elk's chest is deep and the margin is small.
Nothing standing behind or overlapping the animal you picked. A pass-through kills the elk behind it too.
Your maximum range is the farthest you have put three shots in a paper plate off the sticks you are actually carrying. Not the farthest you have ever hit anything.
Scope on 3–4x. A herd fills a 12x field of view and you lose the animal you picked.

Identification:On an antlerless tag, legal means no antler of any kind through the skin. A spike looks exactly like a cow until it turns its head. If you can't see the head, don't shoot.

Plan the carry: roughly 150– 220 lb of boned-out meat, before head and hide — two to four large coolers, plus bagged ice from town. ProHunt planning estimate, not an agency figure.

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Elk Success Rates

The 01/02C combined elk hunt produces 45–65% rifle success. The geographic flexibility of the combined unit — spanning two distinct ecological zones — gives hunters multiple options when animals concentrate or pressure builds in one area.

Elk Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts (n/p)
Rifle — General Rifle Oct antlerless (combined pool)	150	1,358	9.9%	—
Rifle — General Rifle Oct antlerless (combined pool)	150	1,358	9.9%	—

Data from 2025 draw results. Each row is one residency pool — read the label before the number. This agency publishes no point thresholds, so the Pts column stays blank and these are pool odds, not what a point total draws.

Open in Draw Odds Engine

Nearly 3,900 cumulative applicants. Expect 14–22 bonus points before drawing the 01/02C combined elk tag.

Unit Logistics & Expectations

Planning Notes

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Water

Good in Unit 1 (White Mountains precipitation). Moderate in Unit 2C.

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Road Conditions

Hwy 191 and 260 provide paved main access. Forest roads require high clearance and 4WD.

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Terrain Difficulty

Moderate (Unit 1 high country) to moderate-difficult (Unit 2C broken country). Overall manageable without horses.

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Weather

September to November. Early snow possible in high Unit 1 country from late October.

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Cell Service

Limited — coverage near Springerville only. Satellite communicator recommended.

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Nearest Town

Springerville/Eagar (full services). McNary (limited). Show Low 45 min west.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I hunt on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation with the 01/02C tag?

No. The AZGFD tag is only valid on state/federal land. The Fort Apache Indian Reservation requires a separate tribal hunting permit from the White Mountain Apache Tribe. The 01/02C tag covers the adjacent national forest land bordering the reservation boundary.

Free Hunt Planning Tools

🎰 Arizona Draw Odds Unit-level tag success rates 📅 Application Timeline Deadlines for all 9 states 🦌 Rut Forecast Peak rut timing by species 💰 Hunt Cost Calculator Budget your entire hunt

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Sources & Verification

Every fact on this page is tied to a primary source below. Last fact-checked 2026-04-18.

AZGFD Big Game Draw — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Applicant counts, Draw odds · accessed 2026-04-18