Arizona Elk Mule Deer Pronghorn Turkey Coues Whitetail Deer

Unit 1 (Springerville)

Arizona Hunting Guide — Elk, Mule Deer, Pronghorn, Turkey, Coues Whitetail Deer

Unit 1 covers the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests around Springerville and Alpine, spanning the Springerville Ranger District and portions of the Alpine and Lakeside Ranger Districts. Per AZGFD's GMU 1 Expanded Hunt Information, the unit contains the Mt. Baldy and Escudilla Mountain Wilderness Areas plus two designated Habitat Areas (St. Peter's Dome and Hulsey Bench) where motorized travel is prohibited. The 2011 Wallow Fire burned across large portions of the unit in a mosaic pattern; hunters encounter meaningful habitat change in burn-affected drainages. Elk hunts run August–December with approximately 1,575 permits issued annually (5-year average per AZGFD), making Unit 1 a limited-opportunity premier elk unit.

View Draw Odds Arizona Hunting Guide

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76%

Public Land

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7,391–9,286 ft

Sampled elevation

Build your own PDF hunt guide for Unit 1

Answer a few questions about your tag, your season and your rig, and the Field Intelligence Report builds a print-ready Arizona Unit 1 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 Mule Deer guide Pronghorn guide Turkey guide Coues Whitetail Deer 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.

Logistics & Planning Guide →

Access roads, campgrounds, elevation, monthly weather, stock tanks, cell coverage, and nearest-town services for Unit 1.

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Elk Hunting in Unit 1

Where the elk are in Unit 1, from Escudilla to the winter range

Escudilla Mountain and Loco Knoll

If we had to pick one start point, it'd be Escudilla. AZGFD's own unit guide lists it first among early-season areas, and it shows up again in the middle and late hunts. The summit tops out at 10,916 feet, but the elk work the base too. In the middle season the guide points hunters to the base of the mountain along Forest Road 275. Loco Knoll (9,037 feet) is the other name that appears in nearly every season. Early, mid, late, bull or cow. It's the one place the guide never drops.

Greens Peak, St. Peter's Dome and the high knolls

September into early October, elk are spread across the whole unit, high and low. The guide's early list is long: Black River, Kettle Holes, Centerfire Creek, Burro Mountain (9,855 feet), Greens Peak (10,125), Mineral Creek, St. Peter's Dome, Mexican Hay Lake, Milligan Valley, Juan Garcia Mountain, and Pole Knoll (9,788). That's a lot of country. Don't try to cover it. Pick two or three that sit close together.

St. Peter's Dome and Hulsey Bench are both designated Habitat Areas, so motorized travel is closed there. That keeps some pressure off. Remember too that the 2011 Wallow Fire left a mosaic across big parts of the unit, so burn-affected drainages don't look like the old maps.

The slide to winter range

Late October through mid-November, snow drives the migration. The guide names Hulsey Bench, ELC Flat, Antelope Peak, Forest Road 409, and Forest Road 25 in the south. By the late hunts, elk are generally on the lower winter range. For bulls, the guide lists the country north of Greens Peak to Hwy 60, FR 118 and 117, FR 404, Garris Knoll, and Antelope Mountain. Big Lake can produce if snow has pushed elk there. No big snow? Some elk may still be up high.

Cow hunters should look at Sipe White Mountain Wildlife Area, Cerro Montoso (both sides of Hwy 60), Cheney Lake, Mallory Springs, Pat Knoll, and Carnero Creek south of Green Spot.

Country to skip or handle carefully

About 32 percent of the unit is private or other, and eight percent is State Trust. The Antelope Mountain hunt area is mostly those two. Cross-country travel is prohibited on State Trust except to retrieve big game. The Coon Canyon and Flat Top areas sit close to Eagar and Springerville, so know the boundaries cold. Don't scout the high country in late September for a December hunt. The elk will be gone.

Unit 1 terrain and land status

Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up

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.

How to hunt Unit 1 elk by season and weapon

Start with your permit. AZGFD says some Unit 1 hunts are restricted to named hunt areas, and some include Units 2B and 2C. Hunting outside the boundary gets you a citation. Read the permit before you read a map.

Early season: bugles at Burro Mountain and Pole Knoll

Archery bull and cow hunts run concurrently from about mid-September to the first of October. The guide says bulls are bugling and will generally come to calls. We'd set up on the high knolls, glass the openings at first light and again late, then move on sign. The early firearms bull hunt starts the day after archery ends, and the guide says bulls are still in the rut. The packet's success figures run 25 percent rifle, 22 percent muzzleloader and 18 percent archery. Archery is harder, but you get the bugling window to yourself.

Expect warm days, cold nights, and possible rain early. October snowstorms have happened and freezing nights aren't unusual.

Water and feed in a dry year

In drought years, AZGFD says elk concentrate where there's water and green feed. The unit has 722 tanks, 374 springs, 299 streams and 39 lakes, so you've got options. Towser Well is the one named spring in our data. Check which sources are holding water and green feed before you commit to a drainage.

Middle and late seasons: let the snow work for you

Snowfall speeds the migration. Scout one to two weeks before your opener, as the guide recommends, and glass the transition country near Hulsey Bench, Antelope Peak and the base of Escudilla along FR 275. FR 249 and FR 8249 are rated high-clearance in our data, and CR 3123 is graded gravel. Road conditions change with weather, so don't count on dry roads in November.

Access rules that change the hunt

Motorized travel is closed in St. Peter's Dome and Hulsey Bench, and the Mt. Baldy and Escudilla Mountain Wildernesses are on foot too. In the Coon Canyon and Flat Top areas, plan to walk and pack your animal out. The guide says vehicle retrieval may be granted in some cases depending on where the animal falls. Don't assume it.

If you find a possibly poached animal, note the location, leave the site alone and call the Operation Game Thief Hotline at 1-800-352-0700. Check stations aren't mandatory unless stated, but AZGFD encourages bringing the animal in field dressed but whole.

Getting in and staying out: unit 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

Rifle25%

Archery18%

Muzzleloader22%

Unit 1 elk hunts produce exceptional success rates, typically 40-60% for rifle hunters depending on the season. Archery success ranges from 15-25%. The high success is driven by strong herd density, limited tag numbers, and excellent habitat. Bull quality is consistently among the best in the state, with 300+ class bulls taken each year.

Elk Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts (n/p)
Rifle — Late Rifle Dec antlerless (combined pool)	75	163	30.1%	—
Rifle — General Rifle Oct antlerless (combined pool)	10	1	100.0%	—
Rifle — Late Rifle Nov antlerless (combined pool)	15	0	0.0%	—
Rifle — General Rifle Oct antlerless (combined pool)	5	5	40.0%	—
Rifle — Late Rifle Nov antlerless (combined pool)	10	16	50.0%	—
Rifle — Late Rifle Dec antlerless (combined pool)	15	1	100.0%	—

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

Unit 1 elk tags are extremely difficult to draw. Arizona uses a bonus point system with a random component — having maximum points improves your odds but does not guarantee a tag like a preference point system. Most successful applicants hold 15-25+ bonus points. The loyalty bonus for consecutive annual applications adds a meaningful edge. Apply every year without exception if this is your target unit.

Mule Deer Hunting in Unit 1

Unit 1 mule deer hunts run August–October across the Apache-Sitgreaves NF around Springerville and Alpine. Per AZGFD's GMU 1 Expanded Hunt Information, bucks are distributed throughout the unit during the August/September archery season with huntable concentrations at higher elevations, then shift to pinyon-juniper and browse-heavy habitats (cliff rose, oak, mountain mahogany) for the October general firearms season. Unit 1 hunters may encounter voluntary CWD biological check stations during deer hunts. The Mt. Baldy Wilderness and Escudilla Mountain areas provide walk-in hunting on aspen benches and small drainages where vehicle access is restricted.

Where Unit 1 mule deer live: Baldy's drainages, the Black River creeks and Escudilla's aspen

Mt. Baldy Wilderness and Burro Mountain

AZGFD's own unit guide opens its early-archery list here. The wilderness sits west of State Hwy 273 and holds many small drainages and aspen stands where mule deer can be found. Vehicles are restricted inside it, so you'll be on foot. Burro Mountain tops out at 9,855 feet in our terrain data and gives you a glassing perch over the country around it. We'd start here, because the guide says huntable concentrations are easy to find at higher elevations in August and September.

Forest Service Road 25 and the Black River creeks

FR 25 is the major road running from Buffalo Crossing to Black River. Wildcat, Centerfire and the West Fork of Black River all cut through this stretch, and the guide calls them good stalking water for deer. Numerous two-tracks here are open to vehicles. Other two-tracks aren't, and the agency specifically asks hunters to honor the closures they run into.

Escudilla Mountain and Hulsey Bench

Escudilla sits south of Alpine and west of the New Mexico line. It carries a small wilderness area and extensive aspen stands. The Terry Flat Loop Road reaches the top, and FR 275 circles the base. Our terrain data puts the summit at 10,916 feet, the highest point we have for the unit. Hulsey Bench (8,854 feet) on the west side is a designated Habitat Area, closed to all vehicles. AZGFD calls it good walk-in ground, and we agree. Nobody's driving to it.

Late season: the northwest corner and the South Fork rim

The guide shifts rifle hunters to different country. In the northwest corner, work FR 61 and 65, Garris Knoll and Cerro Montoso, where browse and hiding cover are both good. Farther south, the South Fork of the Little Colorado River area runs from Greer east along a geological rim to Water Canyon. FS Trail 97 and FR 70A are the access routes AZGFD names.

In October, look for bucks in pinyon-juniper and in browse concentrations of cliff rose, oak and mountain mahogany. Early winter snow can push deer to lower elevations within the unit, so don't stay parked on the high ground if weather moves in. The unit's mean elevation is 8,398 feet, which puts most of it in the cold-weather zone.

About 60 percent of the unit is National Forest and 8 percent is State Trust. The other 32 percent is private or other, so confirm your boundary before you chase a buck off a ridge. The 2011 Wallow Fire left a burn mosaic across big parts of Unit 1. Drainages that burned will look different from the guide's older descriptions.

Unit 1 terrain and land status

Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up

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.

How to hunt Unit 1 mule deer: walk-in archery early, glass the openings in October

Archery: get out of the truck at Baldy and Hulsey Bench

Early-season bucks are solitary or in small bands, per AZGFD. That means you're hunting individual deer in aspen pockets, high meadows and riparian strips, not scanning for herds. Both Mt. Baldy Wilderness and the Hulsey Bench Habitat Area limit or ban vehicles. That filters out much of the road traffic, so these are our picks if you want elbow room. Plan on a foot-powered hunt and a foot-powered pack-out.

Stalking the Black River creeks

Wildcat, Centerfire and the West Fork of Black River are stalking country. Glass first from the road or a rise, then move in quietly. Remember the two-tracks off FR 25 are a mix of open and closed. Honor the closures, and don't count on driving close to a deer you spot.

October rifle: glass the northwest openings

AZGFD tells rifle hunters on FR 61 and 65, Garris Knoll and Cerro Montoso to use their glasses to find deer in openings. We'd do it the standard way. Be set up before first light, pick apart the edges where browse meets cover, and glass again in the last hour of daylight. If you drive, take care in wet or snowy conditions and stay on existing roads. The agency asks for that directly.

The South Fork rim is a pack-out hunt

Vehicle access along the South Fork of the Little Colorado is somewhat limited. AZGFD says to be ready to pack your animal out by foot or horseback. Read every closure sign on FS Trail 97 and FR 70A. Don't shoot a deer you can't realistically get out.

Roads, water and a CWD stop

Our road data lists FR 249 (11.6 miles) and FR 8249 (6.8 miles) as high-clearance, and CR 3123 as graded gravel. The packet doesn't say where those roads lead, so check them against your map. The unit has 722 tanks, 374 springs, 299 streams and 39 lakes, which is a lot of water. We'd weight feed and cover over water in October. A named spring, Towser Well, shows in our data, but we've got no agency guidance on it.

A voluntary CWD check station may be set up during the general season, and AZGFD strongly encourages successful hunters to stop. If it isn't running, call the local Game and Fish office to arrange a sample. Rifle success sits at 22 percent in our data. Expect to work for it. A realistic day is long glassing sessions, a few stalks and maybe no shot.

Getting in and staying out: unit 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

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.

Mule Deer: 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.

Shots to refuse

Nothing behind or overlapping the animal you picked.
Your maximum range is the farthest you have shot a three-shot group into a paper plate from the rest you are carrying.
Pass the shot you are talking yourself into.

Plan the carry: roughly 40– 120 lb of boned-out meat, before head and hide — two large coolers. ProHunt planning estimate, not an agency figure.

Pro Members Only

Unlock mule deer tactics for Unit 1

Upgrade to Pro — $49/yr

Mule Deer Success Rates

Rifle22%

Rifle success rates for mule deer in Unit 1 typically range from 50-70%, reflecting the outstanding buck density and limited hunter numbers. Average buck quality is well above the Arizona statewide average. Archery success is lower at 15-25% but trophy potential remains exceptional.

Mule Deer Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts (n/p)
Rifle — General Rifle Oct bull/buck only (combined pool)	350	2,569	11.1%	—
Rifle — Early Rifle bull/buck only (combined pool)	160	216	50.0%	—
Early Archery — either sex (combined pool)	160	216	50.0%	—

Open in Draw Odds Engine

Unit 1 mule deer tags are among the hardest to draw in Arizona. Expect to need 15-20+ bonus points for a reasonable chance. As with all Arizona draws, the bonus point system is random-weighted — maximum points improve odds significantly but do not guarantee selection. Apply consistently and build the loyalty bonus every year.

Pronghorn Hunting in Unit 1

Unit 1 pronghorn tags are a limited-opportunity Arizona draw. The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) issues tags through a weighted random system with bonus points, and low annual quotas make this a multi-year points-building goal for most hunters.

Where the Pronghorn Are in Unit 1: High Country Knolls, the Hwy 260–60 Block and Loco Knoll

AZGFD's own unit guide says the highest pronghorn concentrations here sit in open grassland and pinyon-juniper/grassland edges. It splits the unit into three big areas, and we'd start with the one that's all public.

High Country: Big Lake to Mexican Hay Lake

This block lies entirely inside the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests. It runs from Big Lake on the south to Mexican Hay Lake on the north, with Hwy 273 on the west edge and Forest Road 285 marking the east side. Think high grassland pockets ringed by forest. No landowner to chase down, which is the draw.

The guide names a long list of spots: Boardshack Knoll (9,522 ft on our landform data), Pool Knoll (9,464), Wahl Knoll (9,761), S.U. Knoll, Pat Knoll, Hay Lake, Hog Wallow Lake, Rudd Knoll, Dipping Vat, Salt House Lake, Crosby Crossing, the country south and west of Basin Lake, and the Colter Creek drainage. Our data maps two Pat Knolls, at 9,651 and 9,480 ft, so check your map before you commit to a drive. Pick three or four of these that connect by road and work them in a loop rather than bouncing around.

North of Hwy 260: Antelope Mountain to Cerro Montoso

The second block is bounded by Hwy 260 on the south, Hwy 60 on the north, the Springerville-Eagar city limits on the east and the Unit 1–3B line on the west. It's a patchwork of private, State Trust and Forest Service ground. AZGFD points to Antelope Mountain (8,995 ft), the northern reach of Carnero Creek, Cheney Lake, the country south of Cerro Quemado, Forest Road 117, north of Mallory Springs, and the stretch between Garris Knoll and Cerro Montoso.

Here the guide says much of the lower-elevation pronghorn habitat is State Trust and, to a lesser degree, private. Know whose dirt you're standing on.

Loco Knoll, Reagan Reservoir and Indian Tank Hills

The third area runs from Loco Knoll (9,037 ft, just north of Escudilla Mountain) up to Hwy 60. Highway 191 forms the west edge and the New Mexico line the east. Named pronghorn spots are Reagan Reservoir, Dry Lakes and Indian Tank Hills. Ownership is mixed again.

Secondary country, and what to skip

The guide also lists open grassland west and south of Greens Peak and the strip south of Hwy 260 and north of the Little Colorado River. Both are worth a look if the main blocks are crowded.

We'd skip the dense forest and the wilderness slopes. Escudilla Mountain tops out at 10,916 ft and makes a fine landmark, but the packet puts pronghorn in grass, not up there. The exception is a drought year, when AZGFD says animals concentrate near water and may even use forest habitat.

Ownership across the unit is about 60 percent National Forest, 8 percent State Trust and 32 percent private or other. That private share is big. Get a land status map before you go.

Unit 1 terrain and land status

Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up

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.

How to Hunt Unit 1 Pronghorn: Glass the Grass, Find Water, Respect Land Status

The packet's success figures are 82 percent for rifle and 48 for archery. Take that gap seriously. In open grass a rifle reaches across the problem, while a bow hunter has to solve it with water, terrain and patience.

Glass from the knolls

The High Country is built for this. Knolls like Wahl (9,761 ft), Boardshack (9,522) and Pool (9,464) sit over the grassland pockets AZGFD names, and Greens Peak (10,125) overlooks the open ground west and south of it. We'd get up early, set up on a knoll shoulder and sweep the grass edges and the pinyon-juniper transitions before you move. Then plan a stalk from what you've seen. Walking blind across open country just pushes animals out of it.

Pick the knoll that gives you the most grass in view, not the highest one. Altitude doesn't help if you're glassing timber.

Water decides it in a dry year

AZGFD says pronghorn bunch up where water is during drought. This unit maps 722 tanks, 374 springs, 39 lakes and 299 stream segments, so there's plenty to check. Start with the named waters: Reagan Reservoir, Cheney Lake, Hay Lake, Hog Wallow Lake, Salt House Lake, Basin Lake and Colter Creek. Towser Well also shows as a spring in our data, though the packet doesn't tell us where it sits. In a dry year, we'd glass the water first and the grass second.

Bow hunters should look hard at that. A tank or lake with fresh sign is your best shot at close range.

Land status and your wheels

Two agency warnings matter most. First, AZGFD calls access and OHV use important issues here, and OHV rules change with ownership. Second, cross-country driving is a growing problem, along with the "wildcat" roads it creates. Stay on legal routes. Don't follow someone else's tracks across grass.

Paved access is easy: AZ 260, US 60, US 191 and US 180. Our road data lists FR 249 and FR 8249 as high-clearance. CR 3123 is graded gravel that a 2WD rig and small trailer can handle. Two Habitat Areas, St. Peter's Dome and Hulsey Bench, prohibit motorized travel, so plan to walk and pack anything you shoot there.

Most of the lower pronghorn ground is State Trust or private. Confirm you're on public land or have permission before you stalk, not after.

A realistic day

Pick a block, drive in before light, and glass until you've located a shootable animal or ruled the area out. If it's empty, move to the next named spot. Expect to cover ground in the High Country loop and to be choosy about ownership in the lower country. Pronghorn move between high and low elevations during the season, so don't marry one basin.

Getting in and staying out: unit 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

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.

Pronghorn: where to put the shot

Broadside, straight up the front leg, a third of the way into the body. Pronghorn are shallow-chested and the lungs sit forward.

Shots to refuse

Range it, then range it again. Open country makes 400 yards look like 250.
Wait for the buck to stop. Nobody kills a running pronghorn cleanly on purpose.
Mind the backdrop. A miss carries a long way across a flat.

Plan the carry: roughly 30– 45 lb of boned-out meat, before head and hide — one large cooler with ice already in it. ProHunt planning estimate, not an agency figure.

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Pronghorn Success Rates

Rifle82%

Archery48%

Recent draw and success trends are in the Draw Odds chart on this page.

Pronghorn Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts (n/p)
Rifle — Early Rifle bull/buck only (combined pool)	32	6,370	0.5%	—
Early Archery — bull/buck only (combined pool)	30	597	3.5%	—

Open in Draw Odds Engine

Tag numbers are small. AZGFD uses a weighted random draw with bonus points — review the Draw Odds chart on this page for recent applicant and tag counts.

Turkey Hunting in Unit 1

Unit 1 is Arizona's White Mountains — the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests between Springerville and Alpine. Elevations run 7,000–11,000+ feet with ponderosa, mixed conifer, and aspen forests lacing high-country meadows. Merriam's turkeys are abundant in the mid-elevation ponderosa belt and along the creek drainages. Unit 1 is one of Arizona's premier turkey destinations with generous tag allocation (~849 tags over three years) and classic call-and-stalk hunting.

Where to find Merriam's turkeys in Unit 1: Escudilla, the knoll country and the Black River side

AZGFD's GMU 1 guide says turkeys occur throughout the unit, in both the forested and pinyon-juniper types. That's honest, and it's not much help on its own. The same guide does name a list of spots, and we'd build the scouting around it.

Escudilla Mountain and the Black River area

Escudilla leads the agency's list for both spring and fall, and it's the biggest piece of ground on it. The summit tops out at 10,916 ft, well above the rest of the unit. The Black River area is named right beside it. The guide doesn't say which roads reach either place, so pull the Apache-Sitgreaves travel map before you leave Springerville. Escudilla Mountain Wilderness is inside the unit, so plan on walking once you hit the boundary.

The knoll country: Pole, Wahl, Pat, Sizer and Greens Peak

Most of the agency's named areas are knolls, and the elevations help you sort them. Greens Peak is 10,125 ft. Burro Mountain is 9,855. Pole Knoll is 9,788, Wahl Knoll 9,761 and Pat Knoll 9,651. Sizer Knoll is 9,415, and OD Ridge is 9,303. Milligan Valley sits below that group, with Milligan Knoll at 8,789 ft.

The guide doesn't say which of these holds birds early and which holds them late. Here's our read. Spring snow lingers at elevation and can make some areas hard or impossible to reach, so we'd start on the lower knolls and ridges and move up as the snow goes. The guide lists the same areas for fall, so we wouldn't write off any of the high country then.

Creeks, Kettle Holes and St. Peter's Dome

Wildcat Creek, Boggy Creek, Centerfire Creek, Kettle Holes and the Mexican Hay Lake area round out the agency's list. So do Juan Garcia Mountain, the Garris Knoll area and the Pat Knoll area. St. Peter's Dome (9,629 ft) is on the list too, but it's also one of two designated Habitat Areas where motorized travel is prohibited. Hulsey Bench (8,854 ft) is the other. Plan on foot access for both.

Country to skip, and where the lines are

The unit is 60 percent National Forest, 8 percent State Trust and 32 percent private or other. That's a lot of private ground, so check boundaries before you follow a bird across a fence. The 2011 Wallow Fire burned a mosaic across large parts of the unit, and the habitat in burned drainages has changed a lot. We'd scout those before committing, since the agency guide doesn't say how birds use them. Water isn't the limiting factor. The packet counts 722 tanks, 374 springs, 299 streams and 39 lakes unit-wide. Towser Well is the one named spring. Use water to narrow a search, not to pick one.

Unit 1 terrain and land status

Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up

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.

How to hunt Merriam's turkeys in Unit 1: calling in spring, walking logging roads in fall

Spring and fall are different hunts here. The agency says so plainly.

Calling spring gobblers off the knolls

AZGFD says calling is by far the most effective method in spring. Stalking works only sometimes. The season usually opens in late April and runs through late May, and the permitted hunt is stratified into two hunts, one after the other. Only bearded birds are legal. Most are males, though bearded hens do show up. Shotguns shooting shot are the only firearm allowed.

We'd work the named knolls and ridges: Pole, Wahl, Pat, Sizer and OD Ridge. Gobblers will come to calls during the breeding period, so cover ground, call, and move on if nothing answers. Weather can swing from cold and snowy to sunny and warm, and strong winds can blow. Pack for both. Winter snow can still block the higher elevations, so have a lower-country fallback.

Beating the crowd

The Juniors-only hunt opens a week before the permitted spring hunt. The archery-only, non-permit hunt starts two weeks after the permitted opener. If you drew the permit, you'll share the woods with those hunters at the edges of your season. The habitat areas at St. Peter's Dome and Hulsey Bench have no motorized travel. We'd expect fewer hunters where the walk is longer, though the guide doesn't back that up.

Fall: find the flock, then stalk

The guide says the fall method is to locate birds and stalk them, and it points to walking the numerous logging roads. Any turkey is legal in fall. The archery-only hunt runs from the end of August to the middle of September. The permitted limited-weapon shotgun hunt starts at the beginning of October. A Juniors-only limited-weapon hunt runs alongside it.

Turkeys are usually spread across the unit in fall. Pick a named area like Escudilla, Wildcat Creek or Burro Mountain, then walk the roads quietly and look and listen for birds. The unit lists FR 249 (11.6 miles) and FR 8249 (6.8 miles) as high-clearance roads. CR 3123 is graded gravel. The packet doesn't say where these roads lead, so check them against your map.

Weather and a realistic day

Early archery in fall brings warm to cool days and cold nights, with rain still possible in early September. By October, expect cooler temperatures. The guide warns that October snowstorms have happened and freezing nights aren't uncommon. A realistic spring day is an early start high on a knoll, a few calling setups, and a lot of walking on foot-access ground. A realistic fall day is slow road-walking until you find birds, then a careful stalk.

Getting in and staying out: unit 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

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.

Turkey: where to put the shot

Head and neck with shot, at 40 yards or less. On an archery bird, the wing butt broadside or the base of the neck.

Shots to refuse

Know the limit of your pattern. Pattern the gun on paper at 40 yards with the load you are carrying.
Never shoot at movement or sound in cover. Spring woods are full of other hunters stalking the same gobble.
In spring, legal is a bearded bird. Look for the beard, not the gobble.

Plan the carry: roughly 5– 9 lb of boned-out meat, before head and hide — a small cooler is enough. ProHunt planning estimate, not an agency figure.

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Turkey Success Rates

Unit 1 spring Merriam's success typically runs 40–55%, among the highest in Arizona. With ~849 tags over three years against 966 applicants, nearly every applicant draws — this is a volume opportunity unit. Fall hunts (when offered) post 20–35% success depending on bird movement.

Turkey Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts (n/p)
Shotgun — Spring bearded turkey (combined pool)	500	427	28.6%	—
Shotgun — Fall either sex (combined pool)	450	1,382	32.1%	—
Rifle — Fall either sex (combined pool)	500	1,689	29.1%	—
Rifle — Spring either sex (combined pool)	500	413	34.4%	—

Data from 2024 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

Unit 1 turkey is one of the best-odds turkey draws in Arizona. With ~849 tags and 966 applicants over three years, residents typically draw with 0 bonus points (first-time applicants). The hunter-education bonus helps marginal cases. Nonresidents face a 10% cap and may need 1 bonus point.

Coues Whitetail Deer Hunting in Unit 1

Unit 1 Coues whitetail inhabit the lower-elevation oak woodland and chaparral transition zones on the margins of the Apache-Sitgreaves NF around Springerville and Alpine. While Unit 1 is known primarily for its world-class elk, the rugged canyon breaks descending from the White Mountains support a population of Coues deer that see minimal hunting pressure relative to southern Arizona's famous Coues units. Hunters targeting Unit 1 Coues are rewarded with lightly hunted terrain and bucks that can push 95–108 inches in the brushy canyon drainages.

Where to Find Coues Whitetail in Unit 1: Hulsey Bench, St. Peter's Dome and the Burn Edges

Straight talk first. AZGFD's GMU 1 guide (dated May 19, 2025) doesn't break out Coues whitetail. No species block, no named drainages for deer, no harvest numbers. So we're working from terrain, ownership and access facts, and you should treat what follows as a scouting plan, not a tip sheet.

Hulsey Bench and St. Peter's Dome

These are the two designated Habitat Areas, and motorized travel is prohibited in both. Hulsey Bench sits at 8,854 feet and Saint Peters Dome tops out at 9,629. Closed-to-motors country is where we'd put our first scouting days. Pressure drops the moment hunters have to walk, and the bench is a natural glassing platform with the dome behind it. The guide doesn't say how many deer live here. We're picking it because the access rules push other hunters elsewhere.

The lower country: 7,391 to 8,400 feet

Unit 1 runs from 7,391 to 9,286 feet by the unit stats, with a mean of 8,398. The landform list shows summits well above that, like Escudilla at 10,916 and Profanity Ridge at 10,533, so treat those as map features on or around the unit rather than places we'd hunt. We'd work the lower half of the elevation range and the edges below the knolls: Conklin Ridge (8,808), Wishbone Mountain (8,823), Milligan Knoll (8,789), Gobbler Peak (8,904) and Loco Knoll (9,037). Each gives you a point to glass from without climbing a whole mountain.

Burn mosaic from the 2011 Wallow Fire

AZGFD says the Wallow Fire burned large parts of the unit in a mosaic, and hunters will see real habitat change in burn-affected drainages. Mosaic means edges, where open

Unit 1 terrain and land status

Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up

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.

How to Hunt Unit 1 Coues Whitetail: Glass the Edges, Beat the Elk Crowd

The agency guide gives us no Coues-specific tactics or warnings for Unit 1, so here's how we'd build the hunt from what the packet does show.

Glass from the knolls, not the roads

The landform list is full of low knolls and ridges between roughly 8,800 and 9,500 feet: Pat Knoll, Pool Knoll, Sizer Knoll, Whiting Knoll, Conklin Ridge. Park, walk up before light, and sit. Coues deer are small and they hold tight to cover, so a spotting scope matters more than binoculars alone. Glass the burn edges first, then the shaded sides of drainages. Work slowly. Then move.

Thermals and wind

Morning air slides downhill and afternoon air climbs. Set up so the wind carries your scent across the slope you're watching, or away from it, never up into it. On a bench like Hulsey, that means approaching from below in the evening and from above in the morning. This is general mountain craft, not anything AZGFD wrote for this unit.

Beating the crowd

Unit 1 is a premier elk unit. AZGFD reports about 1,575 elk permits a year (5-year average), and elk hunts run August through December. Expect orange on the roads and trucks at the trailheads. The paved highways and graded CR 3123 will be busiest. FR 249 and FR 8249 need high clearance, which thins the traffic a little. The real separation comes from the Habitat Areas at St. Peter's Dome and Hulsey Bench, where you can't drive. Park at the edge and walk in.

Retrieval and rules

The motorized ban in those two Habitat Areas matters if you shoot a deer. Plan to pack it out on foot. Wilderness areas are also off limits to wheels. We can't quote you the agency's wrong-species or sign-in rules, because the packet doesn't include them. Read the current regulations before the hunt, and confirm your season dates and weapon rules there too.

A realistic day

Be on a knoll before first light and glass until the thermals turn.
Midday, move on foot along a burn edge or check a spring, tank or Towser Well for sign.
Back on the glass two hours before dark.
Don't expect quick results. Without harvest numbers, we'd plan on several days of scouting-style hunting before the pattern shows.

Getting in and staying out: unit 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

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.

Coues Whitetail Deer: 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.

Shots to refuse

Nothing behind or overlapping the animal you picked.
Your maximum range is the farthest you have shot a three-shot group into a paper plate from the rest you are carrying.
Pass the shot you are talking yourself into.

Plan the carry: roughly 40– 120 lb of boned-out meat, before head and hide — two large coolers. ProHunt planning estimate, not an agency figure.

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Coues Whitetail Deer Success Rates

Unit 1 Coues hunting is less documented than the unit's elk statistics, but hunters who target the lower oak drainages report success on bucks in the 95–108-inch range. The low hunting pressure in this unit's Coues-specific habitat means deer are less call-shy and more willing to respond to standard rut tactics.

Coues Whitetail Deer Draw Odds

Draw odds data not available for this specific unit/species combination in our database.

Search Arizona Draw Odds

Unit 1 Coues whitetail tags are significantly more accessible than Unit 1 elk tags. Hunters with 3–6 bonus points often draw in moderate competition years. The January season generates less application pressure than the more famous Coues units in southern Arizona, making Unit 1 a smart choice for hunters who want a quality Coues hunt without accumulating extreme bonus points.

Unit Logistics & Expectations

Planning Notes

🚐

RV Sites

Several developed campgrounds along Highway 191 and 260. Benny Creek and Winn Campgrounds near Greer are RV-friendly with limited hookups.

⛺

Camp Sites

Dispersed camping allowed throughout Apache-Sitgreaves NF. Numerous forest roads south of Springerville and around Alpine provide access to flat camping areas.

🛻

Trailer Access

Highway 191 and 260 are paved and handle all rig sizes. Forest roads vary — many require high clearance but are passable for short trailers.

💧

Water

Better natural water than most Arizona units thanks to White Mountains precipitation. Springerville and Alpine for water fill. Some campgrounds have water seasonally.

🛣️

Road Conditions

Highways 191 and 260 are well-maintained year-round. Forest roads range from graded gravel to rough two-track. 4WD recommended for most access roads, especially after rain or snow.

🥾

Terrain Difficulty

Moderate. Rolling mountain terrain with meadow parks and mixed conifer ridges. Not technically difficult but the unit is vast — be prepared to cover ground at 7,000-9,000 feet elevation.

👥

Hunting Pressure

Low. Very limited tag allocation keeps hunter density minimal across the unit.

🌦️

Weather

September temps range 25-65°F with afternoon thunderstorms possible during monsoon tail-end. October rifle season brings freezing overnight temps and potential early snow. The White Mountains receive more precipitation than most Arizona units.

📱

Cell Service

Limited service in Springerville and Alpine. No coverage in most of the backcountry forest. Satellite communicator recommended.

🏘️

Nearest Town

Springerville/Eagar (basic to moderate services — fuel, groceries, lodging). Alpine (very limited). Show Low (45 min west) for fuller services.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many bonus points do I need for an Arizona Unit 1 elk tag?

Most successful applicants hold 15-25+ bonus points, but Arizona uses a random draw with bonus point weighting — not a strict preference point system. Having maximum points improves odds but never guarantees a tag. Apply every year to build the loyalty bonus.

What is the bull-to-cow ratio in Arizona Unit 1?

Unit 1 maintains a bull-to-cow ratio of approximately 30:100, with an estimated 22% of bulls classified as mature. This is among the best ratios in the West, driven by conservative tag allocation and quality habitat.

When is the best time to hunt elk in Arizona Unit 1?

September archery season during the peak rut (September 15-25) offers the most exciting hunting with vocal, aggressive bulls. Rifle season in October-November provides higher success rates but less rutting activity.

Is Unit 1 really that good for mule deer?

Yes. The White Mountains region around Springerville has produced exceptional mule deer for decades. The combination of limited harvest, diverse browse species at multiple elevations, and productive mountain habitat grows heavy antlered bucks consistently.

How many bonus points for a Unit 1 mule deer tag in Arizona?

Most successful applicants hold 15-20+ bonus points. Arizona's random-weighted system means there is no guaranteed draw threshold, but maximum points substantially improve your odds. Apply every year without fail.

What caliber should I bring for Unit 1 mule deer?

A flat-shooting rifle in .270 Win, .280 AI, 6.5 PRC, or .300 Win Mag is ideal. Shots can range from 100 to 400+ yards across open meadows. Bring a solid rest and practice at distance before arriving.

How hard are Unit 1 pronghorn tags to draw?

AZGFD uses a weighted random draw with bonus points and tag numbers are small. Expect multi-year applications for most hunters.

When do I apply?

Check the AZGFD Hunt Guidelines each year for application deadlines and hunt codes.

Can I draw a Unit 1 turkey tag as a first-time applicant?

Often yes. With nearly a 1:1 tag-to-applicant ratio over three years, Unit 1 turkey tags are among the most accessible in Arizona — great for first-time applicants.

When is the Arizona Unit 1 turkey season?

Spring Merriam's season typically runs late April into mid-May. Fall turkey hunts (when offered) are October. Exact dates vary annually — check AZGFD regulations.

What gear is important for a Unit 1 turkey hunt?

Bring cold-weather layers — high-elevation mornings in April can hit the teens. A good locator call, a box/slate call pair, decoy spread, and a camouflage blind setup make the difference.

Are there Coues whitetail in Arizona Unit 1?

Yes. Coues whitetail occupy Unit 1's lower-elevation oak and juniper canyon drainages on the margins of the Apache-Sitgreaves NF. These deer see very little hunting pressure compared to famous southern Arizona Coues units, and tags are far more accessible than Unit 1's coveted elk permits.

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Sources & Verification

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

GMU 1 — Expanded Hunt Information (May 2025) — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Apache-Sitgreaves NF: Springerville + Alpine + Lakeside RDs, Wilderness: Mt. Baldy + Escudilla Mountain, Habitat Areas: St. Peter's Dome + Hulsey Bench (motorized prohibited), 2011 Wallow Fire mosaic burn, Elk season August–December; ~1,575 avg permits past 5 yrs, Elk migration from summer to winter range fall/winter, Unit 1 hunts sometimes include Unit 2B/2C hunt areas · accessed 2026-04-16
GMU 1 — Unit Landing Page — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Canonical unit info page · accessed 2026-04-16
2026 Arizona Pronghorn and Elk Regulations — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Season structure, Tag quotas, Hunt area boundaries · accessed 2026-04-16
AZGFD Draw Portal — Hunt Drawing Information — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Bonus point system, Draw application portal, Historical draw data · accessed 2026-04-16
Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests — Recreation & Road Info — USDA Forest Service · supports: Forest road conditions, Motor Vehicle Use Maps, Ranger district contacts · accessed 2026-04-16
2025-26 Arizona Hunting Regulations — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Mule deer season structure, Bag limits, Legal equipment · accessed 2026-04-16
AZGFD Hunt Guidelines — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Season structure and hunt guidelines for Arizona big game, Unit boundary descriptions and hunt codes · accessed 2026-04-17
AZGFD Hunt Regulations — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Legal weapons, bag limits, and tag requirements, License, tag, and draw application rules · accessed 2026-04-17
AZGFD Draw Results & Bonus Points — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Weighted random draw with bonus points, Loyalty and hunter education bonus points · accessed 2026-04-17
AZGFD Turkey Hunting — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Unit 1 Merriam's population, White Mountains habitat, Spring and fall turkey seasons, Tag allocation and draw rules · accessed 2026-04-17
Arizona Deer Hunting Overview — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Coues whitetail distribution statewide, Season dates, Tag allocation · accessed 2026-04-18