Arizona Bighorn Sheep

Unit 15CN (Black Mountains north, unit 15C)

Arizona Hunting Guide — Bighorn Sheep

15CN is the northern bighorn hunt area of GMU 15C, north of the Cottonwood Road in Mohave County, and bighorn are the premier species here — sheep can be found throughout the subunit. A large part of it lies inside the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, where hunting is allowed outside posted no-hunting zones, target shooting is prohibited, off-road travel is prohibited and driving is limited to signed backcountry roads marked with yellow arrows. The named areas are Mount Perkins, Fire Mountain, Malpais Flattop Mesa and White Rock Canyon. Four-wheel drive is recommended, there are few roads, and the agency says to be ready for a lot of hiking in rugged, remote country.

View Draw Odds Arizona Hunting Guide

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79%

Public Land

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Bighorn Sheep guide

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Bighorn Sheep Hunting in Unit 15CN

Where the rams are in 15C North: Mount Perkins, Fire Mountain and Malpais Flattop

Unit 15C splits into north and south at the Cottonwood Road — check the regulations for the exact boundary. In 15C North, bighorn are the premier species and the agency says sheep can be found throughout the subunit. A good set of binoculars and a spotting scope are what this hunt runs on.

Mount Perkins

Take Highway 93 to the Cottonwood Road and turn west. At the Golden Door Mine Road turn north and continue to the hunter access sign, then follow the hunter access road until you reach country you want to hunt.

Fire Mountain

Leave Highway 93 at either milepost 28 or milepost 31 and head west. Milepost 31 is the Eldorado power line road; milepost 28 is the Gold Bug Mine Road. Both reach the Fire Mountain Road, and four-wheel drive is strongly recommended. Fire Mountain is inside the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, so camp and drive accordingly.

Malpais Flattop Mesa

Off Highway 93 at the Willow Beach turn-off, head west; at the bottom of the hill turn south on Jumbo Wash Road, which gives you several options. Also inside the recreation area.

White Rock Canyon, with a warning

Reached off Highway 93 either on Cranes Nest Road at milepost 8 or at the White Rock Canyon parking lot at milepost 4. The agency flags two things: this area has a lot of day hikers, so be extra careful if you hunt it, and this part of the unit is very narrow — the river on one side and Highway 93 on the other. Be certain of what is behind your target. It is all inside the recreation area.

The recreation area rules

Hunting is allowed except in posted no-hunting zones. Target shooting is prohibited throughout. Off-road travel is prohibited; stay on the marked roads, which carry a yellow arrow with a black road number. Vehicle camping is permitted at designated backcountry campsites and not along the roads; hike-in camps may be anywhere in the backcountry at least 500 feet off a designated road.

Unit 15CN terrain and land status

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

Named features inside the unit

Glass from: Mount Perkins (5,448 ft), Sugarloaf Mountain (4,036 ft), Twin Mills (3,839 ft), Black Mountains (3,537 ft)

Holding ground: Granite Canyon (2,665 ft), Silver Cut Meadows (1,950 ft), Middle Water Spring, Burns Well, Lost Cabin 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 15C North: optics first, hike second, and mind the backdrop

Sheep are the premier species here and can be found throughout the subunit, which makes this a glassing hunt rather than a searching one.

Good glass is the equipment that matters

The agency says a good set of binoculars and a spotting scope are what a successful hunt needs. Mount the binoculars on a tripod and work slopes in sections; use the spotter to judge rams once you've found them. In this country a steady image beats magnification.

Expect to hike

Few roads, rugged and remote terrain, four-wheel drive recommended to reach the access points. Beyond them you walk. Budget a full day per area and carry all your water.

Glass from below, then climb the lower two-thirds

Ten or 20 power from the base of the mountain before you go up — sheep with escape room above them often stay and watch. On the mountain, keep to the lower two-thirds and stop regularly to sit, glass and listen for rock-fall.

White Rock Canyon needs extra care

Day hikers use it heavily, and the canyon is narrow with the Colorado River on one side and Highway 93 on the other. Arizona prohibits shooting on, across or into a road. Set up so the canyon wall is your backstop, never the highway or the river corridor — and if hikers are moving through, wait.

Recreation area discipline

No target shooting anywhere, including sighting in. Stay on the yellow-arrow roads. Camp at designated backcountry sites with a vehicle, or 500 feet off a road on foot. Pack out everything you pack in.

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.

Bighorn Sheep: 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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Bighorn Sheep Success Rates

Rifle75%

Unit 15CN success typically runs 75–90% given the tremendous effort hunters invest. The tag is so rare that almost everyone who draws it commits fully — scouting trips, guides, multi-day expeditions. Ram quality is strong with mature animals scoring 155–175 B&C.

Bighorn Sheep Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts (n/p)
Rifle — General Rifle bull/buck only (combined pool)	2	120	0.8%	—
Rifle — Late Rifle Dec bull/buck only (combined pool)	2	121	0.0%	—

Data from 2023 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 15CN bighorn is one of Arizona's hardest draws. Arizona uses a weighted bonus-point system with Hunter Education bonus — 20% of tags to max-point holders, 80% to a random weighted draw. With only ~3 tags against 226 applicants over three years, odds run around 1.3% per application. Plan on 18–25+ bonus points before expecting realistic competitiveness. Arizona residents who harvest any bighorn lose eligibility for future bighorn applications.

Unit Logistics & Expectations

Planning Notes

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Trailer Access

US-89A paved to Jacob Lake. SR-67 (seasonal) to the North Rim. Most rim-access dirt roads are high-clearance. Base camp at Jacob Lake or Kaibab Lodge (seasonal).

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Water

Jacob Lake (seasonal tap). North Rim Lodge (seasonal). Inside the canyon: springs at major drainages but filter and plan carefully.

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Road Conditions

Paved to Jacob Lake. SR-67 typically closed mid-December through mid-May. Forest and BLM access roads gravel to 4WD.

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Terrain Difficulty

Extreme. 4,000–6,000 ft vertical relief on typical descents. Cliff bands, loose scree, cactus, summer heat in inner canyon. Physical peak condition required.

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Hunting Pressure

Minimal. 1 tag per year.

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Weather

Season November–December. Rim: 25–50°F days, 10–30°F nights, snow possible. Inner canyon: 55–75°F days, 35–50°F nights. Flash flood risk in side canyons.

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Cell Service

Patchy at Jacob Lake. None inside the canyon. Satellite communicator mandatory.

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Nearest Town

Jacob Lake (fuel, inn — seasonal). Fredonia (40 min — basic). Kanab, UT (1 hour — full services). Flagstaff (3 hours south).

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Permit Notes

AZGFD tag required. National Park Service backcountry permit likely required for inner-canyon routes. Coordinate with NPS and AZGFD before the hunt.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a National Park Service permit to hunt Unit 15CN?

Unit 15CN sheep hunt boundaries and NPS boundaries can overlap in complex ways. Coordinate with AZGFD Region II (Flagstaff) and Grand Canyon National Park backcountry office before your hunt — backcountry permits are likely required for inner-canyon routes.

What's the best approach — North Rim or river?

Both work. North Rim descents suit hunters with horseback support or strong backpacking fitness. River access via commercial raft shuttle simplifies heavy meat and pack-out logistics. Many successful hunters combine both.

How hard is Unit 15CN to draw?

Extremely — odds run around 1% per application. Plan on 18–25+ bonus points before expecting realistic competitiveness. Residents who harvest any bighorn lose eligibility for future bighorn applications.

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 2026-04-17.

AZGFD Desert Bighorn Management — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Grand Canyon North Rim bighorn herd, Unit 15CN boundary and access, Once-in-a-lifetime tag, NPS coordination requirements · accessed 2026-04-17
AZGFD Draw Portal — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Unit 15CN bighorn draw odds, Weighted bonus point system, Historical tag allocation · accessed 2026-04-17
Grand Canyon National Park — North Rim — National Park Service · supports: North Rim access and closures, Backcountry permit system, Trail conditions · accessed 2026-04-17