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Arizona Bison Bighorn Sheep

Unit 12A/12B/13A

Arizona Hunting Guide — Bison, Bighorn Sheep

The 12A/12B/13A combined hunt is an Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) bison unit covering portions of the Kaibab and House Rock Valley country. Bison tags are extremely limited and awarded through AZGFD's weighted-random bonus-point draw. Applicants accumulate bonus points that add additional random entries each unsuccessful year. Review AZGFD hunt guidelines, regulations, and the draw results page for current season dates, legal weapons, unit boundaries, and historical odds before applying.

🏔️
90%
Public Land
⛰️
4,025–9,116 ft
Sampled elevation

Build your own PDF hunt guide for Unit 12A/12B/13A

Answer a few questions about your tag, your season and your rig, and the Field Intelligence Report builds a print-ready Arizona Unit 12A/12B/13A 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.

Bison Hunting in Unit 12A/12B/13A

The 12A/12B/13A combined hunt is an Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) bison unit covering portions of the Kaibab and House Rock Valley country. Bison tags are extremely limited and awarded through AZGFD's weighted-random bonus-point draw. Applicants accumulate bonus points that add additional random entries each unsuccessful year. Review AZGFD hunt guidelines, regulations, and the draw results page for current season dates, legal weapons, unit boundaries, and historical odds before applying.

Where to Find Bison Across 12A, 12B and 13A

What the agency guides give you, and what they don't

We'll be straight about this. AZGFD's unit guides for 12A, 12B and 13A don't break the unit down for bison. None of the three names a bison area, a range or a travel corridor. The agency's own species lists for the units don't even include bison. So there's no "go here first" from the paper guide, and we won't invent one.

What we do have is terrain, ownership and access. It's a 696-square-mile combined unit that runs from 4,025 feet to 9,116 feet, with a mean of 7,008. That's a lot of vertical for one hunt. About 60 percent is National Forest and 15 percent BLM. State Trust is 8 percent, and the other 17 percent is private or other. You'll be hunting mostly public ground, but check ownership before you cross any fence line.

Glassing from Telephone Hill, Cane Ridge and Dry Park Apron

The highest named glassing country sits near 8,700 to 8,850 feet: Telephone Hill (8,852), V T Hill (8,817), Cane Ridge (8,815), Two Springs Ridge (8,800), Dry Park Apron (8,742) and Tater Ridge (8,733). All are on public land in Coconino County. Start your scouting here. High ground gives you the widest view of the open ground below, and a bison is easy to spot once you have the angle.

Lower, you'll find a string of cliff-edge points that are natural glassing perches: Red Point, Dog Point, Tater Point, Lost Point, Oquer Point, Riggs Point and Moquitch Point. Burnt Corral Ridge, Burnt Corral Rim and Burnt Corral Apron cluster around 7,900 to 8,000 feet. Whether bison actually use any of these basins is something you'll have to find out. The packet doesn't say.

Water: Riggs, Willow and Indian Hollow springs

The unit holds 179 mapped tanks, 57 springs and one lake. Named springs include Riggs, Wildband, Willow, Indian Hollow, Warm Springs, Grama, Rock, Slide, Oak, White and Box Elder, plus Mourning Dove Spring and Twomile Seep. We can't tell you which are flowing in your season, or which sit in 12A, 12B or 13A. Pick a handful close to your glassing points and check them on foot. Bison are big, thirsty animals, so fresh sign around water tells you more than any map will.

Early versus late, and country to skip

The agency doesn't give seasonal movement, so we can only reason from the elevation spread. We'd expect animals to shift with snow and feed, so plan to cover both the high ridges and the lower benches. Skip anything that's private. With 17 percent in that bucket, you'll want a current ownership layer on your phone before you drop off a ridge.

Unit 12A/12B/13A terrain and land status

Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up · figures are for GMU 12A

The lay of it

  • 4,025–9,116 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 7,008 ft ; peaks can run higher. That spread means you can hunt two seasons in one day — plan clothing for both ends.
  • 696.2 sq mi inside the boundary.

Who owns the ground

  • National Forest — 60%
  • BLM — 15%
  • State Trust — 8%
  • Private / Other — 17%

Roughly 83% is public. Carry a land-status layer anyway — these are area percentages, not a map of where the boundaries fall.

Water on the ground

  • 179 tanks
  • 57 springs
  • 1,621 stream segments
  • 1 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: Telephone Hill (8,852 ft), V T Hill (8,817 ft), Cane Ridge (8,815 ft), Two Springs Ridge (8,800 ft)

Holding ground: Marble Sinkhole (8,923 ft), Crystal Spring Apron (8,868 ft), De Motte Park (8,745 ft), Riggs Spring, Wildband Spring

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 Bison in 12A, 12B and 13A

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Bison Success Rates

Rifle90%

AZGFD bison hunts historically post very high success rates due to concentrated herds and limited permits. Consult AZGFD hunt reports for the most recent numbers.

Bison Draw Odds

SeasonTagsApplicantsDraw %Pts (n/p)
Rifle — Early Rifle bull/buck only (combined pool) 208161.1% —
Rifle — Early Rifle antlerless (combined pool) 101572.5% —
Rifle — General Rifle Oct antlerless (combined pool) 5666.1% —
Rifle — Late Rifle Nov antlerless (combined pool) 52002.5% —
Rifle — Early Rifle antlerless (combined pool) 102353.4% —
Rifle — General Rifle Oct antlerless (combined pool) 5512.0% —
Rifle — Late Rifle Nov antlerless (combined pool) 5934.3% —
Muzzleloader — Early Muzzleloader antlerless (combined pool) 101555.8% —
Early Archery — antlerless (combined pool) 72042.9% —

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

Bison tags are among the most difficult to draw in Arizona. The weighted-random bonus-point system rewards accumulated points with additional random entries but never guarantees a tag. Check AZGFD's draw results for unit-specific odds.

Unit Logistics & Expectations

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I apply for a Units 12A/12B/13A bison tag?
Apply through the AZGFD online draw portal during the posted bison application window. Tags are awarded through Arizona's weighted-random bonus-point draw.
How does Arizona's bonus-point system work for bison?
Each unsuccessful year you apply, you earn a bonus point. Bonus points create additional random entries in the draw, improving your odds over time.
Is a raft required for this bighorn hunt?
Not required, but raft access to Marble Canyon walls dramatically expands the viable stalk options. Many successful tag-holders coordinate with commercial river outfitters for dedicated hunt-support trips.
Can I apply for this complex without a guide?
Yes. Arizona does not require non-resident guide services for bighorn. That said, the terrain and logistics cause most tag-holders to hire a sheep guide familiar with the Paria and Marble Canyon country.

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Sources & Verification

Every fact on this page is tied to a primary source below. Last fact-checked 2026-04-17.

  1. AZGFD Hunt Guidelines — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Hunt guidelines, Bison permit allocation, Unit management objectives · accessed 2026-04-17
  2. AZGFD Hunt Regulations — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Season dates, Legal weapons, Bag limits · accessed 2026-04-17
  3. AZGFD Draw Results & Bonus Points — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Draw results, Bonus point totals, Bison draw odds · accessed 2026-04-17
  4. GMU 13A — Unit Landing Page — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Unit boundary into the Marble Canyon corridor, Sheep terrain · accessed 2026-04-17
  5. 2025-26 Arizona Hunting Regulations — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Combined sheep hunt structure, Unit grouping 12A/12B/13A, Season dates · accessed 2026-04-17
  6. BLM Arizona Strip District — Paria Canyon / Vermilion Cliffs — Bureau of Land Management · supports: Vermilion Cliffs National Monument access, Paria Canyon regulations, Travel management · accessed 2026-04-17