Arizona Mule Deer Pronghorn

Unit 18B (Burro Creek, the Aquarius and Poachie country)

Arizona Hunting Guide — Mule Deer, Pronghorn

GMU 18B is the high chaparral and juniper country of northern Yavapai and southern Mohave Counties, from Strotjost Flat and the ORO Ranch east, across Burro Creek to the Aquarius Mountains, and south into the desert toward the Santa Maria. Mule deer are densest in the eastern portion, which also takes the heaviest pressure; the country west of Burro Creek holds fewer deer and fewer hunters; and the southern desert holds a surprising number. Pronghorn live on Goodwin and Bozarth Mesas and north of the ORO Ranch, and the unit carries a low-density but improving desert bighorn herd centred on Hells Half Acre. Access is a checkerboard that is getting harder as private land develops.

View Draw Odds Arizona Hunting Guide

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35%

Public Land

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2,416–5,846 ft

Sampled elevation

Build your own PDF hunt guide for Unit 18B

Answer a few questions about your tag, your season and your rig, and the Field Intelligence Report builds a print-ready Arizona Unit 18B 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.

Mule Deer guide Pronghorn guide

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Logistics & Planning Guide →

Access roads, campgrounds, elevation, monthly weather, stock tanks, cell coverage, and nearest-town services for Unit 18B.

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Mule Deer Hunting in Unit 18B

Where the deer are in 18B: Strotjost Flat east, the Aquarius west, the desert south

The mule deer population in 18B is decreasing slightly — water is in most of the unit's dirt tanks and some springs are running, but drought has cut herd size. The unit divides neatly into three hunts.

The eastern portion — highest density, heaviest pressure

The eastern part of 18B holds the highest deer density. The country around Strotjost Flat and south of the ORO Ranch to Burro Creek takes the heaviest hunting pressure. It's relatively flat with rolling hills and scattered junipers: easy to spot game a long way off, but with few high points from which to see a large area. That combination is why it's crowded and why it can be frustrating.

West of Burro Creek — fewer deer, fewer people

Lower deer densities and, in turn, lower hunter densities. If you'd rather climb mountains and glass long distances, the agency points you to the Aquarius Mountains off Trout Creek Road from Highway 93. That's the mountain-hunting option in 18B.

The southern desert, which surprises people

The southern desert portion holds a surprising number of deer — only slightly lower in density than the chaparral country in the west. It also suits hunters who prefer to glass. This is the overlooked third of the unit.

Water, in a drought

Water can be found in most of the unit's dirt tanks and running water in some springs. In a dry year those become the organising feature; in a wet one deer spread out. Check conditions before you commit to a tank.

The access problem

18B is checkerboard country and development is swallowing much of the private portion, which the agency notes is making access steadily harder. Hunter access is not permitted through the Bagdad Mine. Confirm your route before the season rather than at a gate.

Unit 18B terrain and land status

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

The lay of it

2,416–5,846 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 4,288 ft ; peaks can run higher.
1,210.9 sq mi inside the boundary. Big enough that picking one drainage beats driving three.

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

285 tanks
89 springs
2,302 stream segments
5 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: Mohon Peak (7,487 ft), Sunrise Peak (6,961 ft), S H Peak (6,358 ft), Aquarius Mountains (6,200 ft)

Holding ground: Orejana Canyon (5,336 ft), Moffit Canyon (5,318 ft), Hole in the Ground (5,184 ft), Cold 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 18B deer: pick your third of the unit and glass it properly

Rifle success for mule deer in 18B is about 22 percent against a slightly declining herd. The unit's three distinct pieces ask for three different approaches, so choose one.

If you hunt the east, solve the high-point problem

Strotjost Flat and the ORO Ranch country is open enough to spot deer a long way off but short of high ground to see from. So find what relief exists — a juniper-topped rise, a mesa edge, a wash bank — and be on it before light. Expect company, and use it: pressure moves deer, and a hunter sitting a travel route between two glassed-over flats does well.

If you want mountains, go west to the Aquarius

Off Trout Creek Road from Highway 93. Fewer deer and far fewer hunters, with real relief for long-distance glassing. This is the choice for someone who would rather earn a buck than share a flat.

Don't skip the southern desert

Densities only slightly below the western chaparral, with good glassing. It's the part of 18B that gets driven past. Work the washes and the low hills at first and last light.

Check the roads and the weather

Goodwin Mesa comes off Burro Creek Crossing Road at milepost 132 on Highway 93, or from Trout Creek Road about 20 miles further north. Both go bad quickly in wet weather though they're generally two-wheel-drive passable. Anvil Rock Road off I-40 can be very bad in bad weather and takes significant snow.

Access etiquette on a shrinking checkerboard

No access through the Bagdad Mine. Private development is closing more of the checkerboard every year. Close gates, stay on existing roads, and where you have permission, behave so it's offered again.

Getting in and staying out: unit 18B

Named routes and what they need

US 93 — 31.2 mi · Paved (all rigs)
CR68 — 5.7 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Behm Mesa Road — 4.7 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
AZ 96 — 3.8 mi · Paved (all rigs)
Forest Service 21A Road — 3.7 mi · High-clearance
South Upper Trout Creek Road — 2.4 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

Bagdad — 16 mi · no services listed
Wikieup — 18.9 mi · no services listed
Pine Lake — 39.2 mi · no services listed
Williamson — 43.3 mi · no services listed
Seligman — 44.3 mi · fuel, groceries, lodging

Season weather and signal

Jan60° / 30° · 1.8" precip
Aug96° / 65° · 2" precip
Sep91° / 58° · 1.2" precip
Oct80° / 47° · 0.8" precip
Nov68° / 36° · 0.9" precip
Dec59° / 30° · 1.3" precip

Best signal is Verizon at about 26% 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.

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.

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Mule Deer Success Rates

Rifle22%

Unit 18B issues roughly 630 tags over three years against 1,098 applicants — one of the better-odds moderate-opportunity units. Rifle success rates typically run 20–35%, with December hunts on the higher end. Archery success is lower (10–15%) but opportunity is consistent.

Mule Deer Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts (n/p)
Rifle — General Rifle Oct bull/buck only (combined pool)	225	458	36.9%	—
Rifle — Late Rifle Nov bull/buck only (combined pool)	65	140	34.3%	—
Rifle — Late Rifle Nov bull/buck only (combined pool)	50	125	29.6%	—
Rifle — General Rifle Oct either sex (combined pool)	225	458	36.9%	—
Rifle — Late Rifle Nov either sex (combined pool)	50	125	29.6%	—

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 18B is a good-odds mule deer unit given the generous tag allocation. Arizona's weighted bonus-point system routes 20% of tags to max-point holders; 80% through a random weighted draw. Residents typically draw with 0–3 bonus points for early hunts and 3–5 for late-season hunts. Nonresidents face a 10% cap but can still draw with modest points.

Pronghorn Hunting in Unit 18B

Unit 18B covers grassland and pinyon-juniper country in the Aubrey Cliffs and Seligman area of west-central Arizona. Per AZGFD's GMU 18B Expanded Hunt Information, the unit supports a moderate pronghorn population on the open flats and mesa tops above the cliff system. The 2026 Arizona Pronghorn and Elk Regulations allocate roughly 8 pronghorn tags per 3-year average. Unit 18B pronghorn hunts deliver classic western Arizona grassland hunting with solid buck quality.

Where the pronghorn are in 18B: Goodwin Mesa, Bozarth Mesa and north of the ORO

These pronghorn are far ranging, range conditions vary across the unit, and the agency recommends scouting to locate herds. There are three main areas plus a couple of smaller ones.

The three main areas

Goodwin Mesa. Bozarth Mesa. And the country north of the San Luis Maria Baca Float / ORO Ranch, south of the power line that defines the 18A–18B boundary. There are also several herds on Behm and Contreras Mesas outside Bagdad.

Getting to Goodwin Mesa

Two ways: from the Upper and Lower Trout Creek roads at mileposts 107.5 and 110.5 off Highway 93, or from Signal Road off Highway 93 at milepost 132.

Getting to Bozarth, Behm and Contreras Mesas

Take Highway 97 to Bagdad, then Camp Wood Road north. Hunter access is not permitted through the Bagdad Mine. You can also come from Prescott on Williamson Valley Road to Camp Wood Road, heading west.

The northern portion, and the power line

The far north of 18B is reached from Interstate 40 at the Anvil Rock Road exit — about 15 to 20 miles south on Anvil Rock Road to the power line that marks the 18A–18B boundary. Everything south of that power line is 18B and can be hunted south to the ORO Ranch fence, which is well marked. Anvil Rock Road can be very bad in poor weather and gets a significant amount of snow.

The best country, and the problem with it

The part of 18B north of the ORO Ranch is usually very productive. The agency's caveat is blunt: development is quickly swallowing most of the private portions of the checkerboard land, and access is becoming more difficult. Scout it the year you hunt it.

Unit 18B terrain and land status

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

The lay of it

2,416–5,846 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 4,288 ft ; peaks can run higher.
1,210.9 sq mi inside the boundary. Big enough that picking one drainage beats driving three.

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

285 tanks
89 springs
2,302 stream segments
5 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: Mohon Peak (7,487 ft), Sunrise Peak (6,961 ft), S H Peak (6,358 ft), Aquarius Mountains (6,200 ft)

Holding ground: Orejana Canyon (5,336 ft), Moffit Canyon (5,318 ft), Hole in the Ground (5,184 ft), Cold Spring

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 18B pronghorn: find the herds first, because they move a long way

Rifle success for pronghorn here runs high, as it does across Arizona's drawn pronghorn hunts — but these animals are far ranging and range conditions vary, so the scouting matters more than usual.

Scout to find herds, not individuals

Far-ranging pronghorn on big mesas means the buck you find in August may be ten miles away in September. So scout to learn which mesas are holding animals and roughly how many, rather than pinning one buck. Arrive with three or four options.

Glass the mesa tops from their edges

Goodwin, Bozarth, Behm and Contreras are high desert short-grass mesas — flat on top with edges that give you a view. Get on an edge before light and work the grass with binoculars on a tripod. On a mesa, a pronghorn is visible for a very long way if you're steady.

Close with the swales

Once you've found a buck, the stalk is the standard open-country problem: pick the route before you drop out of sight, use every swale and wash, and accept a three-hour approach for a 300-yard gain. Decoys work during the rut.

Weather will decide your access

Trout Creek Road, Signal Road and Burro Creek Crossing Road all deteriorate quickly when wet. Anvil Rock Road can be very bad and takes real snow. Check the forecast and have a second access route in mind.

Respect the boundaries that matter

The power line defines the 18A–18B line; everything south of it to the well-marked ORO Ranch fence is 18B. No access through the Bagdad Mine. And on shrinking checkerboard ground, close every gate and stay on existing roads — that's what keeps the remaining access open.

Getting in and staying out: unit 18B

Named routes and what they need

US 93 — 31.2 mi · Paved (all rigs)
CR68 — 5.7 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Behm Mesa Road — 4.7 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
AZ 96 — 3.8 mi · Paved (all rigs)
Forest Service 21A Road — 3.7 mi · High-clearance
South Upper Trout Creek Road — 2.4 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

Bagdad — 16 mi · no services listed
Wikieup — 18.9 mi · no services listed
Pine Lake — 39.2 mi · no services listed
Williamson — 43.3 mi · no services listed
Seligman — 44.3 mi · fuel, groceries, lodging

Season weather and signal

Jan60° / 30° · 1.8" precip
Aug96° / 65° · 2" precip
Sep91° / 58° · 1.2" precip
Oct80° / 47° · 0.8" precip
Nov68° / 36° · 0.9" precip
Dec59° / 30° · 1.3" precip

Best signal is Verizon at about 26% 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%

Unit 18B pronghorn success rates typically run 70-85% for rifle hunters per recent AZGFD hunt report averages. Archery success is considerably lower at 15-25%. Buck quality is average to above average for Arizona with mature bucks commonly in the 70-80 inch range.

Pronghorn Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts (n/p)
Rifle — Early Rifle bull/buck only (combined pool)	3	224	0.4%	—
Early Archery — bull/buck only (combined pool)	1	19	5.3%	—
Muzzleloader — Early Muzzleloader bull/buck only (combined pool)	1	29	3.4%	—

Open in Draw Odds Engine

Unit 18B pronghorn is a mid-tier Arizona draw. Rifle hunts typically pull with 6-12 bonus points depending on hunt dates. The 20% set-aside for 0-point applicants gives new hunters a real long-shot each year. Apply annually to build bonus points and the loyalty bonus.

Unit Logistics & Expectations

Planning Notes

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Trailer Access

US-60, SR-74, and I-17 are paved and handle any rig. Castle Hot Springs Road and secondary BLM roads are high-clearance only.

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Water

Fill in Wickenburg, Morristown, or Black Canyon City. Hassayampa River carries water seasonally. Stock tanks highly variable.

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Road Conditions

Highways paved. BLM roads range from graded to rough 4WD. Many washes impassable after monsoon storms.

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Terrain Difficulty

Moderate. Rolling bajadas with modest elevation gain. Cactus and catclaw thickets are the main obstacles.

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Hunting Pressure

Moderate. Phoenix-area weekend hunters are common; weekday pressure much lower.

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Weather

October 80–95°F days (hot), 55–65°F nights. November 65–80°F days. December is prime — 60–75°F days and 35–45°F nights.

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Cell Service

Verizon/AT&T along US-60 and I-17. Patchy in the Hieroglyphic backcountry.

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Nearest Town

Wickenburg (full services). Morristown, Black Canyon City (fuel, basic). Phoenix 60 minutes southeast.

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Permit Notes

AZGFD tag required. State Trust Land recreation permit needed for portions of the unit.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Unit 18B a good unit for a first Arizona mule deer draw?

Yes. Generous tag allocation and moderate draw odds make 18B an excellent entry-level AZ mule deer unit. Terrain is manageable and access is straightforward.

What caliber is ideal for Unit 18B?

A flat-shooting .270 Win, 6.5 Creedmoor, or .280 AI handles the 100–400 yard shots typical of glassing-based desert hunting.

Can I hunt 18B from Phoenix as a day trip?

Yes, the southern unit boundary is ~60 minutes from north Phoenix. For the best hunting, camp near Castle Hot Springs Road to maximize first-light access.

How hard is Unit 18B pronghorn to draw?

Unit 18B is a mid-tier pronghorn draw — typically 6-12 bonus points for rifle hunts. The 20% set-aside for 0-point applicants gives new hunters realistic long-shot odds in the annual random pass.

Does Unit 18B require a state trust permit?

Yes in many areas. Significant portions of the mesa country are Arizona state trust land requiring a current recreation permit. Verify boundaries and carry your permit at all times.

What is the best time of year for Unit 18B pronghorn?

Early rifle hunts capture the classic Arizona pronghorn season. Water ambush is most productive during warm periods; late-season hunts in cooler weather favor spot-and-stalk tactics.

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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 Game Management Units — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Unit 18B boundaries, BLM Hassayampa and Lake Pleasant areas, Sonoran Desert habitat, Mule deer and Coues deer present · accessed 2026-04-17
AZGFD Draw Portal — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Unit 18B historical odds, Tag allocation, Bonus point system · accessed 2026-04-17
BLM Hassayampa Field Office — Bureau of Land Management · supports: Hieroglyphic Mountains, Hassayampa River corridor, Travel management · accessed 2026-04-17
GMU 18B — Unit Landing Page — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Canonical unit info page, Aubrey Cliffs/Seligman boundary, Pronghorn habitat · accessed 2026-04-17
2026 Arizona Pronghorn and Elk Regulations — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Pronghorn season structure, Tag quotas for Unit 18B, Hunt boundaries · accessed 2026-04-17
BLM Kingman Field Office — Bureau of Land Management · supports: Seligman area land ownership, Access road network, State trust vs. BLM boundaries · accessed 2026-04-17