Arizona Mule Deer Turkey

Unit 20A

Arizona Hunting Guide — Mule Deer, Turkey

Unit 20A is an Arizona mule deer unit managed by the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD). Permits are allocated through AZGFD's weighted-random bonus-point draw, where bonus points function as additional chances in the random selection rather than as guaranteed preference. Hunters applying for this unit should consult AZGFD's Hunt Guidelines, current regulations, and historical draw results to build a realistic point-building plan.

View Draw Odds Arizona Hunting Guide

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76%

Public Land

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3,484–7,353 ft

Sampled elevation

Build your own PDF hunt guide for Unit 20A

Answer a few questions about your tag, your season and your rig, and the Field Intelligence Report builds a print-ready Arizona Unit 20A 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 Turkey guide

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Logistics & Planning Guide →

Access roads, campgrounds, elevation, monthly weather, stock tanks, cell coverage, and nearest-town services for Unit 20A.

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Mule Deer Hunting in Unit 20A

Where to find mule deer in 20A: Crooks Canyon, the Hassayampa, Antelope tanks and the mesas

The unit runs 600 square miles and climbs from 3,484 feet to 7,353 feet, with a mean around 5,285. AZGFD's own unit guide says mule deer are distributed throughout 20A, so there's no dead country to write off. It does lay out five named areas, and we'd work them in the order below.

Crooks Canyon and Forest Road 94

This is where we'd start. Crooks Canyon sits east of Wagoner Road at the Forest Road 94 junction. FR 94 parallels the canyon east to Palace Station, and the guide says every habitat type in the unit shows up along that route. That's the advantage. Drive it, look for the habitat with the freshest sign, then put most of your days there. Crooks Canyon Rd is graded gravel (about 5.4 miles in our road data), so a 2WD rig can get you to the front end.

The Hassayampa River off Forest Road 72

The Hassayampa is southeast of Wilhoit. Take Highway 89 to FR 72, then run south to the river. The road parallels the water for several miles and comes out on Wagoner Road. AZGFD says several access points along it lead to different pockets that all hold deer. Habitat is prickly pear, pinyon and scrub oak. With a dry winter behind us, river-bottom country is where we'd expect deer to stay tied to water.

Antelope tanks east of Interstate 17

Leave I-17 at exit 259 (Bloody Basin Rd.) and go two miles west to "Old Cordes." West takes you toward Cleator and Forest Road 178. East follows Antelope Creek Rd toward Mayer, with spurs like Forest Road 9218B. The guide points out several high points along this route to glass from. Cover is prickly pear and scrub oak, open enough that optics do the work.

Cellars Basin and Big Bug Mesa

Cellars Basin is in the southwest. Take Highway 89 to Wagoner Road, go 12 miles south to FR 682, then follow FR 682B to the two-tracks that fan out across the basin. Habitat is scrub oak and juniper, and the guide says there are no private land restrictions there. That's a real plus in a unit where 32 percent is private or other.

Big Bug Mesa (7,082 feet, ponderosa pine) is up in the northeast. Reach it from Highway 69 via Walker Road and FR 670, or from Poland Junction on FR 58 through Breezy Pines. The guide calls it popular with both archery and firearm hunters. We'd treat it as a pressure area, not a secret. Two non-maintained roads cross the mesa, and the guide warns both turn to slime in a little rain. Timber work since 2023 means the gate on FR 103 gets locked at times. Foot access stays open. Call the Bradshaw Ranger District for closure dates before you go.

Unit 20A terrain and land status

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

The lay of it

3,484–7,353 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 5,285 ft ; peaks can run higher.
600.3 sq mi inside the boundary.

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

233 tanks
215 springs
475 stream segments
4 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: Mount Union (7,970 ft), South Spruce Ridge (7,673 ft), Towers Mountain (7,613 ft), Maverick Mountain (7,435 ft)

Holding ground: Jakies Pass (5,901 ft), Sawmill Gulch (5,847 ft), Schoolhouse Gulch (5,613 ft)

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 20A: glass the high points, slow-walk the pine, and mind the rules

AZGFD's guidance for this unit boils down to two modes. Glass in the open lower and middle country. Move slowly in the pine. Rifle success in our data is 22 percent, so expect to earn it.

Glassing the canyons and washes

In the juniper, pinyon, scrub oak and desert country, the agency tells you to find a high point overlooking canyons and washes. Use good optics, and glass early in the morning and late in the afternoon. The Antelope Creek Rd corridor east of Old Cordes is built for this, since the guide notes several high points along it. The same goes for the bench country along FR 94 above Crooks Canyon. Pick a point, glass until the light flattens, then move to the next drainage. Don't push through the middle of the day.

Slow-hunting Big Bug Mesa

Up in the ponderosa, the guide wants you moving slowly and locating trails that show sign of use. We'd follow trails to the edges of the timber work, since roadwork there may be pushing hunters and deer around. Archery hunters have the edge in close pine. Rifle hunters should look for openings to set up on. Park outside the FR 103 gate if it's locked and walk. Fewer hunters will.

Rules that can sink your hunt

Posted private parcels sit inside the forest boundary. Get permission before hunting them.
The 1/4-mile rule around houses now includes archery equipment.
OTC archery deer hunters must report a harvest within 48 hours, online or at 623-236-7961. The unit closes to archery deer hunting once its harvest limit is met. Check the AZGFD archery deer page before you go.
Drought is the agency's biggest worry for this herd. Expect deer to concentrate where habitat holds up, so use the 233 mapped tanks and 215 springs in our data as places to scout, not as promises.

A realistic day

Weather can change abruptly overnight, and most roads aren't regularly maintained. Carry a Forest Service map and tell someone where you're camped. Plan to be on your glassing point before first light. Sit through the morning, then use midday to drive or hike to the next vantage. Be back on glass for the late afternoon. Pack out all your trash. A bag left at camp counts as littering.

Getting in and staying out: unit 20A

Named routes and what they need

AZ 69 — 17.7 mi · Paved (all rigs)
West Wagoner Road — 11.2 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
CR 10 — 8.1 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
FR 362 — 8.1 mi · High-clearance
Crown King Road — 7.9 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Crooks Canyon Rd — 5.4 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

Wilhoit — 8.9 mi · groceries
Prescott — 10.1 mi · fuel, groceries, lodging, gear
Mayer — 11.4 mi · no services listed
Dewey-Humboldt — 13.3 mi · fuel, groceries
Prescott Valley — 15 mi · fuel, groceries, lodging, gear

Developed camps

White Spar Campground · reservable
Dispersed Site 5 · Free
Dispersed Site 3 · Free
YMACA Camp Sky-Y · reservable
Dispersed Site 7 · Free

Season weather and signal

Jan54° / 27° · 1.5" precip
Aug89° / 62° · 2.5" precip
Sep84° / 55° · 1.5" precip
Oct74° / 43° · 1" precip
Nov63° / 33° · 0.9" precip
Dec54° / 27° · 1.4" precip

Best signal is Verizon at about 21% 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%

AZGFD publishes harvest and success-rate data by hunt code. Expect variation across weapon types and season timings. Use multi-year averages when setting expectations for Unit 20A mule deer.

Mule Deer Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts (n/p)
Rifle — General Rifle Oct bull/buck only (combined pool)	250	534	36.0%	—
Rifle — General Rifle Oct bull/buck only (combined pool)	250	678	29.4%	—
Rifle — General Rifle Oct either sex (combined pool)	250	678	29.4%	—

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

Arizona's weighted-random bonus-point system rewards persistence without guaranteeing a tag. Apply every year and use AZGFD's published draw results to model realistic point ranges for your Unit 20A mule deer hunt code.

Turkey Hunting in Unit 20A

Unit 20A covers the Bradshaw Mountains south of Prescott in central Arizona, including portions of the Prescott National Forest. Merriam's turkeys use the ponderosa and pinyon-juniper belts across the Bradshaws, with the best densities in the Crown King and Horsethief Basin areas. With about 20 tags over three years against 84 applicants, Unit 20A turkey is a moderately competitive draw close to the Phoenix metro.

Where the Birds Are in 20A: Bradshaw Country South of Prescott

AZGFD's unit guide puts Unit 20A's turkeys in the higher elevations of the Bradshaw Mountains south of Prescott. The unit covers about 600 square miles, with a mean elevation of 5,285 feet, so most of the ground sits below turkey habitat. The birds are up high. About 60 percent of the unit is National Forest and 8 percent is State Trust, but 32 percent is private or other. Plan around that last number.

First, check your tag. Starting with the 2025 spring shotgun season the unit was split into 20A West and 20A East, and the boundary is in the turkey regulations. The split was meant to push hunters onto newly established populations in the west end.

20A East: Big Bug Mesa, Spruce Mountain, Mount Union

These are the areas AZGFD calls most popular on the east side, along with the Bannie Mine area. Spruce Mountain and Mount Union are reached from Senator Highway out of Prescott. Big Bug Mesa (about 7,082 feet) and Bannie Mine are reached from Walker Rd in Prescott, or from Poland Rd off Highway 69 near Dewey.

The 2022 Crooks Fire moved some birds out of the Mount Union area toward Turkey Creek. We'd scout that drift before assuming old Mount Union spots still hold birds. The guide doesn't say how far they moved, so go look.

20A West: Mt. Tritle to Porter Mountain

The popular west-side areas are Mt. Tritle, Wolf Creek Rd, Beans Peaks, Mt. Francis (about 7,103 feet), Williams Peak (about 7,049), Porter Mountain (about 7,044) and West Spruce Mountain (about 7,140). Reach the far-west ground from Thumb Butte Rd or Copper Basin Rd out of Prescott. The eastern part of 20A West is reached from Senator Hwy.

This is where the translocated and newer populations are, so it's the logical place if you want birds that haven't been hunted hard for years.

Towers Mountain and the Crown King side

Towers Mountain near Crown King holds turkeys, but the guide calls access "somewhat limited." You'll hike away from the few main roads. Crown King Road is graded gravel, fine for 2WD, but it won't put you on the birds. FR 362 is rated high-clearance if you want to push farther.

Country to treat carefully

The Copper Basin Road area near Prescott holds a decent number of turkeys, and AZGFD warns they're often close to homes or inside residential areas. Houses are scattered through most of the popular areas in both units. Skip anything that puts you near an occupied structure. The agency's guide doesn't break out early-season versus late-season locations, so we won't pretend to.

Unit 20A terrain and land status

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

The lay of it

3,484–7,353 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 5,285 ft ; peaks can run higher.
600.3 sq mi inside the boundary.

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

233 tanks
215 springs
475 stream segments
4 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: Mount Union (7,970 ft), South Spruce Ridge (7,673 ft), Towers Mountain (7,613 ft), Maverick Mountain (7,435 ft)

Holding ground: Jakies Pass (5,901 ft), Sawmill Gulch (5,847 ft), Schoolhouse Gulch (5,613 ft)

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 20A's Spring Shotgun Season

Spring shotgun is the only turkey season the unit guide describes. The fall over-the-counter archery hunt was removed so translocated hens get more chances to reproduce. The packet lists a 35 percent shotgun success rate. That's decent, but it comes from scouted birds, not wandering.

Scout tanks and roads before you hunt

AZGFD's advice is simple: look for tracks in the road or at water tanks, and listen for gobbles early in the morning. The unit has 233 tanks and 215 springs on record, but the guide doesn't name which ones hold birds. Walk the roads off Senator Hwy, Walker Rd and Poland Rd at first light. Fresh tracks tell you where to set up, and a gobble tells you which ridge.

Work the quarter-mile line

Near Copper Basin Rd the birds can be right by houses. AZGFD suggests hunting the forest boundary at least a quarter mile from structures and calling birds to you. Don't guess the distance. The guide recommends a mapping app such as onX Hunt to confirm you're clear of occupied structures. Build that check into your plan before you leave the truck.

Shoot the right bird

AZGFD is blunt here. Make sure the bird has a visible beard. A colorful head isn't enough, and neither is a gobble. Check that no other turkeys are behind or beside your target. The guide says killing multiple birds with one shot is more common than you'd think. With hens being protected for population growth, that's a real problem. Wait for the clean shot.

A realistic day

Be listening before light on a high point, such as the Spruce Mountain or Big Bug Mesa country on the east side, or the Porter Mountain and Williams Peak country in the west. Pin down a gobble, close the distance and set up. Call from a spot you've already checked against the quarter-mile rule. If it's Towers Mountain, expect to hike, and expect fewer hunters. If you hunt near Mount Union, check Turkey Creek too, since the fire pushed birds there. Along the Prescott edge, you'll often share country with homes and other hunters, so be patient and stay legal.

Getting in and staying out: unit 20A

Named routes and what they need

AZ 69 — 17.7 mi · Paved (all rigs)
West Wagoner Road — 11.2 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
CR 10 — 8.1 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
FR 362 — 8.1 mi · High-clearance
Crown King Road — 7.9 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Crooks Canyon Rd — 5.4 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

Wilhoit — 8.9 mi · groceries
Prescott — 10.1 mi · fuel, groceries, lodging, gear
Mayer — 11.4 mi · no services listed
Dewey-Humboldt — 13.3 mi · fuel, groceries
Prescott Valley — 15 mi · fuel, groceries, lodging, gear

Developed camps

White Spar Campground · reservable
Dispersed Site 5 · Free
Dispersed Site 3 · Free
YMACA Camp Sky-Y · reservable
Dispersed Site 7 · Free

Season weather and signal

Jan54° / 27° · 1.5" precip
Aug89° / 62° · 2.5" precip
Sep84° / 55° · 1.5" precip
Oct74° / 43° · 1" precip
Nov63° / 33° · 0.9" precip
Dec54° / 27° · 1.4" precip

Best signal is Verizon at about 21% 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

Shotgun35%

Unit 20A Merriam's success runs 20-30% in typical spring seasons. Dry years push success higher as birds concentrate around water, while wet springs spread them across more habitat.

Turkey Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts (n/p)
Shotgun — Spring bearded turkey (combined pool)	10	21	4.8%	—
Rifle — Spring either sex (combined pool)	5	90	4.4%	—

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

Arizona's weighted bonus-point system enters your name once per bonus point (plus loyalty and Hunter Education bonuses), not squared, with a partial random draw. Unit 20A is moderately competitive — roughly 20 tags over three years against 84 applicants. A small bonus-point balance plus the Hunter Education bonus meaningfully improves odds in this close-to-Phoenix unit.

Unit Logistics & Expectations

Planning Notes

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Road Conditions

Mix of paved highways, maintained gravel, and unmaintained backcountry roads. High-clearance recommended; 4WD useful after rain or snow.

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Hunting Pressure

Tag-limited, so pressure is defined by permit counts. Opening rifle weekends see the most activity.

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Weather

Temperature swings are large day-to-night. Late seasons can bring snow and freezing mornings.

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Cell Service

Coverage is patchy to nonexistent in the backcountry. Plan on a satellite communicator.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I apply for an Arizona Unit 20A mule deer tag?

Apply through AZGFD's online draw portal during the published application window. Arizona uses a weighted-random bonus-point system, so applying every year — even in years you don't expect to draw — keeps your point total growing.

How does draw difficulty vary for Unit 20A hunt codes?

Draw difficulty varies across archery, rifle, and muzzleloader hunt codes within the unit. Review AZGFD's historical draw results for each specific hunt code before finalizing your application.

Can I hunt Unit 20A turkey on a weekend from Phoenix?

Yes — Prescott is about 100 miles from Phoenix and the Bradshaws are a 2-hour drive. Many drawn hunters make it a weekend trip, though pressure does spike Saturday mornings.

What turkey subspecies is in Unit 20A?

Merriam's turkey. They were reintroduced to the Bradshaws decades ago and are now well established across the ponderosa belt.

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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 Hunt Guidelines — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Hunt structure, Permit allocation framework · accessed 2026-04-17
AZGFD Hunt Regulations — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Season dates, Unit boundaries, Legal methods · accessed 2026-04-17
AZGFD Draw Results & Bonus Points — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Bonus-point draw mechanics, Historical draw results · accessed 2026-04-17
2025-2026 Arizona Hunting Regulations — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Unit 20A turkey hunt codes, Season dates, Tag caps · accessed 2026-04-17
AZGFD Draw Portal — Hunt Drawing Information — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Unit 20A turkey draw odds, Weighted bonus-point system, Hunter education bonus · accessed 2026-04-17
GMU 20A — Unit Landing Page — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Bradshaw Mountains habitat, Prescott NF access, Merriam's distribution · accessed 2026-04-17