Arizona Elk Mule Deer Bighorn Sheep Turkey Coues Whitetail Deer

Unit 22 (Tonto Basin)

Arizona Hunting Guide — Elk, Mule Deer, Bighorn Sheep, Turkey, Coues Whitetail Deer

Unit 22 covers the Tonto National Forest centered around Payson and the Tonto Basin, straddling Mogollon Rim country in Region VI (Mesa). The unit spans rugged terrain from desert canyons up through oak brush, PJ, and ponderosa pine from 3,500 to 7,500 feet. The combination of Rim-edge habitat, deep canyons, and backcountry timber supports a healthy elk herd with above-average bull quality.

View Draw Odds Arizona Hunting Guide

🏔️

98%

Public Land

⛰️

1,686–5,935 ft

Sampled elevation

Build your own PDF hunt guide for Unit 22

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Elk guide Mule Deer guide Bighorn Sheep guide Turkey guide Coues Whitetail Deer guide

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Access roads, campgrounds, elevation, monthly weather, stock tanks, cell coverage, and nearest-town services for Unit 22.

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Elk Hunting in Unit 22

Where the elk are in Unit 22: 22 North burns, the Rim bench and the Mazatzal foothills

22 North and the burns under the Rim

Start north of Payson. AZGFD's unit guide says 22 North holds the majority of the unit's elk, and it describes large populations throughout the northern portions. Unit 22 sits entirely below the Mogollon Rim, so the Rim is your upper edge, not your hunting ground.

The guide's best advice is the fire scars under the Rim. Burns with standing live timber hold elk. Older scars have regrown very thick, while younger ones are still shifting through forage stages. The guide says the burns hold good numbers, especially in the later hunts. We'd glass the live-timber edges first, then the open feed.

Numerous roads run under the Rim off the Control Road. The guide doesn't number them, so don't expect a road list from the agency. Pick one, find a glassing spot, and look for elk feeding on or just below the Rim.

Hardscrabble Mesa and the north end of the Mazatzal Wilderness

Hardscrabble Mesa is in the northwest corner of the unit. The northern end of the Mazatzal Wilderness is the other half of that pairing. AZGFD says both can be good depending on water availability. Check conditions before you commit a long hike to either.

22 South: Round Valley, Lion Springs, Green Valley Hills

22 South has lower elk densities than 22 North. The early hunt there still has named ground. The guide lists Round Valley northeast to the Lion Springs area, plus the Green Valley Hills. The foothills of the Mazatzals west of Rye can also produce.

For cow tags in 22 South, look south of the Payson Municipal Golf Course on National Forest land. Take Main Street east off the Beeline Hwy. There's forest access directly south of the clubhouse. Homes are close, though, and discharging a gun or bow at wildlife within a quarter mile of any occupied building is illegal. Private and other land is 32 percent of the unit, so scout the boundaries and the houses before opening day.

Roads and country to skip

About 60 percent of the unit is National Forest and 8 percent is State Trust. Paved highways AZ 87, AZ 260 and AZ 188 reach the boundary, and North Bush Highway is graded gravel. Our road data lists FR 300 (7 miles) and FR 405 (2.8 miles) as high-clearance. The guide says side roads are brushed in and very rough.

The packet's landform list tags Mazatzal Peak (7,886 ft), Four Peaks (7,633 ft) and Browns Peak (7,614 ft) as glassing points. The agency guide doesn't send hunters to them. Check your boundary map before you plan around any of them.

Skip the low desert-canyon country early. The unit runs from desert canyons up through oak brush, PJ and ponderosa, and the guide's early hunts are hot.

Unit 22 terrain and land status

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

The lay of it

1,686–5,935 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 4,198 ft ; peaks can run higher. That spread means you can hunt two seasons in one day — plan clothing for both ends.
1,580.6 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

412 tanks
352 springs
2,088 stream segments
17 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: Mazatzal Mountains (7,886 ft), Four Peaks (7,633 ft), Burnt Point (7,554 ft), Hi View Point (7,500 ft)

Holding ground: Sandy Saddle (6,412 ft), Alder Saddle (6,377 ft), Lone Pine Saddle (6,041 ft)

Every one of these was tested against the unit polygon before it went on the map. They are starting points, not agency recommendations.

Glassing the burns, sitting the water, and packing out on foot

AZGFD's one blunt message for every Unit 22 hunt, firearms or archery, is that success rises with time spent glassing. We'd take that at face value. Our success data shows 25 percent for rifle and 18 for archery. The guide calls early general, archery and muzzleloader success generally high, but that's the agency's characterization. Don't plan on a gimme.

Glassing under the Rim

During the late hunt, drive one of the roads off the Control Road, stop at a good vantage and glass the Rim edge and the slopes just below it. The guide says you'll more than likely find elk feeding on or just below the Rim. Work the burns the same way. Look where standing live timber meets regrowth, since the guide says burns with live trees hold elk.

The guide doesn't cover thermals or wind. We'd hunt the edges of the open feed with the wind in your face, and glass early and late. Midday, elk will be in timber.

Water in the early and late archery hunts

Late archery success tracks late October and early November temperatures. If rain is lacking, AZGFD says hunting tanks and springs from a tree stand will produce good success, since it's still warm enough that elk water morning or evening. The packet counts 412 tanks and 352 springs in the unit but names none. Scout on the ground or on a map for the ones near the burns and the Rim.

Heat, snow and the November–December hunts

Early 22 North and 22 South hunts are warm to hot. Have a plan to get meat cooled quickly. Late hunts run daily highs in the 40s and lows in the 20s. Heavy winter snow pushes elk off the Rim into 22 North for the November and December hunts, so watch the forecast.

Getting in and getting out

You'll need four-wheel drive if the weather turns to rain or snow. An OHV helps you get off the main roads, but the side roads are brushed in and very rough. Bring a non-resident Arizona OHV decal if you're from out of state (ohv.azgfd.com).

Under the Rim, dragging an elk out or driving to it is nearly impossible. The guide says to bring a pack frame. Plan on quartering and carrying.

A realistic day

Be glassing before light on a road-reachable bench, then move only when you've seen enough to commit. For 22 South cow hunts near Payson, keep homes and the quarter-mile rule in mind as much as the elk.

Getting in and staying out: unit 22

Named routes and what they need

FR 300 — 7 mi · High-clearance
FR 405 — 2.8 mi · High-clearance
North Bush Highway — 1.9 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Harquahula Road — 1.4 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Child's Power Road — 1.2 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
AZ 88 — 1.2 mi · Paved (all rigs)

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

Payson — 16.6 mi · fuel, groceries, lodging
Star Valley — 19.1 mi · groceries
Mesa Del Caballo — 20.1 mi · fuel, groceries
Beaver Valley Estates — 23.2 mi · no services listed
Rio Verde — 24.4 mi · no services listed

Developed camps

Payson Campground & RV Resort
Fossil Creek
Bachelor Cove Dispersed
Bermuda Flat Dispersed
Cholla Bay Dispersed

Season weather and signal

Jan58° / 30° · 2.3" precip
Aug95° / 65° · 2.3" precip
Sep90° / 58° · 1.5" precip
Oct80° / 46° · 1.3" precip
Nov67° / 36° · 1.4" precip
Dec57° / 29° · 2" 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.

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%

Unit 22 elk success rates average 22-32% for rifle and 10-18% for archery. The Mogollon Rim country produces consistent results with above-average bull quality. Bulls in the 280-320 class are taken annually, with occasional larger animals from the backcountry areas away from road access.

Elk Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts (n/p)
Rifle — General Rifle Oct antlerless (combined pool)	125	451	20.8%	—
Rifle — General Rifle Oct antlerless (combined pool)	125	451	20.8%	—
Rifle — Early Rifle bull/buck only (combined pool)	50	444	8.1%	—
Early Archery — bull/buck only (combined pool)	50	444	8.1%	—
Late Archery Nov — antlerless (combined pool)	50	91	37.4%	—

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

Unit 22 elk tags require 8-15 bonus points for rifle. The unit's quality and accessibility make it a popular application choice. Archery tags are somewhat more accessible. This is a strong mid-to-upper-tier Arizona elk application that balances trophy potential with reasonable draw timelines.

Mule Deer Hunting in Unit 22

Unit 22 offers mule deer hunting across the rugged Tonto NF terrain centered around Payson and the Tonto Basin. The diverse terrain from Rim-top ponderosa down through oak brush, PJ, and desert transition creates excellent multi-zone deer habitat. Bucks use the steep Tonto Basin canyons and Rim breaks for security while feeding in the open parks and transition edges. Above-average deer quality for the region.

Where the Unit 22 mule deer are: Four Peaks, Mount Ord and the Mazatzal side

Four Peaks and the FS 143 corridor

We'd start here. AZGFD's own unit guide sends hunters to Four Peaks off Highway 87 or State Route 188 via FS Road 143. The advice is to get up on the big mountaintops and ridges and glass the southernmost faces on both sides of the road. Four Peaks tops out at 7,633 feet, so there's real vertical to work. The guide also admits there's a lot of country to look over and recommends scouting. Believe it. Plan on picking one drainage and learning it, not driving the whole road.

Mount Ord, Cottonwood Basin and Edwards Park

Mount Ord (7,115 feet) is reached off Highway 87 and FS 626 to the east. The guide says the lower basins, Cottonwood Basin by name, hold mule deer on the western-facing slopes below the thick chaparral. Skip the brush and glass the slopes under it.

Edwards Park, just south of Mt. Ord, is the one we'd circle for pressure-shy deer. The guide says it holds a fair number of mule deer and sees little pressure because the road is so rugged. From Highway 87 take the Four Peaks Road (FS 143) east to FS 422, then north. Edwards Park sits at the end of the road. Expect a slow, rough drive and few competing trucks.

Bushnell Tanks and FS Road 22

Off Highway 87 on FS Road 22, the guide says mule deer can be found on most of the hillsides around Bushnell Tanks. It points hunters to the long ridges and canyons on both sides of the road. That's easy country to cover from a parked truck and a good fallback if the farther spots get crowded.

Mazatzal Wilderness and the Verde River side

The Mazatzal Wilderness holds pockets of deer where water runs year round. The guide routes you in via the Sheep's Bridge Crossing road on the east side of the Verde River. Several trailheads along it get you into the wilderness, but it's foot or horseback only. Pockets means just that. We wouldn't plan a hunt here without a water source in mind.

Three Bar and the Payson side

The Three Bar Wildlife area runs along Highway 188 from Jake's Corner to Roosevelt Dam. The country behind Tonto Basin gives good visibility for spotting moving deer along and in the canyons. Whitetails live here too.

Up around Payson, the guide says mule deer use all the forested Tonto National Forest country. The main route is the Control Road, FS Road 64, which crosses below the Rim from Pine to Indian Gardens. The guide warns of high activity there, so expect company.

The guide says deer range from the Sonoran Desert in the south up to the ponderosa on the Mogollon Rim. About 60 percent of the unit is National Forest, 8 percent is State Trust and 32 percent is private or other. Check ownership before you chase a buck toward a boundary.

Unit 22 terrain and land status

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

The lay of it

1,686–5,935 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 4,198 ft ; peaks can run higher. That spread means you can hunt two seasons in one day — plan clothing for both ends.
1,580.6 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

412 tanks
352 springs
2,088 stream segments
17 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: Mazatzal Mountains (7,886 ft), Four Peaks (7,633 ft), Burnt Point (7,554 ft), Hi View Point (7,500 ft)

Holding ground: Sandy Saddle (6,412 ft), Alder Saddle (6,377 ft), Lone Pine Saddle (6,041 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 Unit 22 mule deer: glass early, scout hard, know your target

Work the first and last light

AZGFD's guide is blunt about timing. Glass hillsides early in the morning and again just before dusk, and find deer before they bed. It adds that mule deer don't move much after early morning. Believe that. Be on your glassing spot before shooting light, and don't burn midday hiking through bedded deer. Once you've spotted a buck, you can plan the stalk around where he'll lie up.

Scout before November

The general season opens around the first week of November, according to the guide. It calls scouting very important for finding deer and sign beforehand. Numbers have dropped since the late 1980s, and the guide ties that to years of little precipitation. Deer are thinner on the ground than they used to be. We read that as a reason to arrive with a short list of proven glassing points, not a hope.

The packet shows a 22 percent rifle success figure. That's not a gimme. Treat it as a reminder to put in the work.

Match the tactic to the place

Four Peaks, FS 143: Climb to a ridge, glass the southern faces on both sides of the road, and be patient. There's a lot of ground, so cover it in sections.
Bushnell Tanks, FS 22: Park, then glass the long ridges and canyons on both sides. Move only when you've actually picked out deer.
Mt. Ord and Cottonwood Basin: Look at the western-facing slopes below the chaparral, not into it. Deer in brush that thick are mostly invisible.
Edwards Park: The rough road is your edge on pressure. Take a vehicle that can handle it.
Payson and FS 64: Pre-scout. The guide says to find waterholes and look for fresh sign, because activity is high.

Water, access and the whitetail question

The unit has 412 tanks and 352 springs in the packet's water count. In the Mazatzals, deer collect where water runs year round, so find the water before you commit to a pack-in. Access there is on foot or horseback only. Roads like FR 300 and FR 405 are rated high-clearance, so check your rig before you commit.

Whitetails share the Three Bar area, and the guide tells hunters to be sure of identification before shooting. Take that seriously. A buck in a canyon at last light isn't always the one on your tag. Use your optics, look at the antlers and tail, and pass if you're not certain.

The guide also notes that Unit 22 has extensive archery and Junior opportunity. Check the current regulations for season structure.

Getting in and staying out: unit 22

Named routes and what they need

FR 300 — 7 mi · High-clearance
FR 405 — 2.8 mi · High-clearance
North Bush Highway — 1.9 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Harquahula Road — 1.4 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Child's Power Road — 1.2 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
AZ 88 — 1.2 mi · Paved (all rigs)

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

Payson — 16.6 mi · fuel, groceries, lodging
Star Valley — 19.1 mi · groceries
Mesa Del Caballo — 20.1 mi · fuel, groceries
Beaver Valley Estates — 23.2 mi · no services listed
Rio Verde — 24.4 mi · no services listed

Developed camps

Payson Campground & RV Resort
Fossil Creek
Bachelor Cove Dispersed
Bermuda Flat Dispersed
Cholla Bay Dispersed

Season weather and signal

Jan58° / 30° · 2.3" precip
Aug95° / 65° · 2.3" precip
Sep90° / 58° · 1.5" precip
Oct80° / 46° · 1.3" precip
Nov67° / 36° · 1.4" precip
Dec57° / 29° · 2" 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.

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%

Rifle success for mule deer in Unit 22 averages 25-35%. The diverse terrain and moderate pressure produce consistent results. Buck quality is above average for the Mogollon Rim area with bucks in the 145-175 class taken regularly.

Mule Deer Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts (n/p)
Rifle — Late Rifle Nov bull/buck only (combined pool)	375	1,006	25.1%	—
Rifle — General Rifle Oct bull/buck only (combined pool)	150	272	37.9%	—
Rifle — General Rifle Oct bull/buck only (combined pool)	150	338	31.7%	—
Rifle — General Rifle Oct either sex (combined pool)	375	1,069	24.6%	—
Rifle — Late Rifle Nov either sex (combined pool)	350	330	57.0%	—
Rifle — General Rifle Oct either sex (combined pool)	150	338	31.7%	—

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 22 mule deer tags require 4-9 bonus points for rifle. Moderately competitive. The unit offers a good balance between deer quality and draw accessibility. Archery tags are somewhat easier to draw.

Bighorn Sheep Hunting in Unit 22

Unit 22 covers the Superstition Wilderness, Mazatzal Wilderness south, and the Salt River canyon country east of Phoenix. Desert bighorn inhabit the cliff bands of the Superstitions, the rim systems above the Salt River, and the Mazatzal south-end. The unit has produced consistently good rams since reintroduction efforts decades ago. Hunting is demanding — wilderness access, extreme terrain, and multi-day backpack hunts are the norm.

Where the sheep live: a narrow strip from Stewart Mountain to Goat Mountain

Start with the agency's own description, because it's tight. AZGFD's unit guide says Unit 22 sheep range in a relatively narrow strip of habitat, roughly Goat Mountain at Apache Lake west to Stewart Mountain, just west of Saguaro Lake. These are desert bighorn. About 30 were translocated into the Goat Mountain area north of Apache Lake in 1980/81. The unit is 1,580 square miles, and the sheep use only a sliver of it. Don't spread your scouting across the whole map.

Canyon Lake's north shore, Mormon Flat Dam to Horse Mesa Dam

This is the stretch we'd put first. The guide says you can observe sheep all along the north shore of Canyon Lake between those two dams. Access is mostly by boat only. To get there, take US 60 east to Apache Junction, turn north on Idaho Road, then go east on AZ 88 to the lake. AZ 88 is paved, so any rig makes it. You can rent a boat at the lake or bring your own.

Know where the line is. The guide says translocated sheep also use the south side of Canyon Lake, and that's Unit 24B. Your tag is for 22.

Stewart Mountain and the east end of Saguaro Lake

From Mesa, take Power Road north to Bush Highway, then Bush Highway east to Stewart Mountain and Saguaro Lake. The guide says you can hike Stewart Mountain and glass sheep with binoculars or a spotting scope. From the water, run to the east end of Saguaro Lake and check the north shore from the no wake zone up to Mormon Flat Dam. North Bush Highway is graded gravel in the packet's road list, and a 2WD rig with a small trailer can handle it.

Goat Mountain and Apache Lake

Per the guide, most Apache Lake sheep are on the north shore, around Goat Mountain and west toward Horse Mesa Dam. This is where the herd started. It's also the east end of the range, so it's the end to check if the Canyon Lake sheep have gone quiet on you.

Country we'd skip

The packet lists plenty of big summits in this unit: Mazatzal Peak, Four Peaks, Mount Ord and Sheep Mountain among them. The agency's guide doesn't put sheep on any of them. The name Sheep Mountain means nothing here. Land ownership matters too. The unit is 60% National Forest, 8% State Trust and 32% private or other, so check parcel lines before you follow an animal down a shoreline.

The guide doesn't split sheep use by early and late season, so we won't pretend to. What it does tell you is that early July is the best time to see them from a boat on Canyon Lake.

Unit 22 terrain and land status

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

The lay of it

1,686–5,935 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 4,198 ft ; peaks can run higher. That spread means you can hunt two seasons in one day — plan clothing for both ends.
1,580.6 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

412 tanks
352 springs
2,088 stream segments
17 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: Mazatzal Mountains (7,886 ft), Four Peaks (7,633 ft), Burnt Point (7,554 ft), Hi View Point (7,500 ft)

Holding ground: Sandy Saddle (6,412 ft), Alder Saddle (6,377 ft), Lone Pine Saddle (6,041 ft)

Every one of these was tested against the unit polygon before it went on the map. They are starting points, not agency recommendations.

Hunting it from the water and the shoreline

This isn't a hunt where you hike into a basin and glass for three days. The agency describes a narrow band of sheep habitat tied to the lakes, and says access is mostly by boat only. Plan your hunt around that.

Scout from a boat, then hunt what you found

AZGFD says the best time to see these sheep is early July from a boat off Canyon Lake. Rams can be seen butting heads, and it's the best window for photography and pre-season scouting. If you drew the tag, put that trip on your calendar. Pick your shoreline, learn where the rams bed and feed, and note which dam end they favor. The guide's reference points are Mormon Flat Dam, Horse Mesa Dam and the no wake zone at Saguaro Lake.

Glassing routine

The guide itself says good binoculars and a spotting scope are needed, and we agree. On Stewart Mountain, glass from the hiking side. On the lakes, kill the engine and let the boat settle before you look. Wind and thermals will affect any stalk, so check them before you commit to a climb. Shore-bound sheep country is steep, and you can lose an animal behind one fold. Cover the north shore slowly, section by section.

Weapon and success expectations

The packet shows a 75% rifle success rate. It doesn't say what year that covers or give permit numbers, and it has nothing for other weapons. Treat 75% as encouraging, not a promise. The guide also says the herd is cyclic, peaked in 1994 and has had a couple of declines, but that Unit 22 "always offers the opportunity of a quality hunt."

Permits, maps and rules to sort out first

If you use Canyon, Apache or Saguaro Lake, you must buy the Tonto National Forest recreation pass for the launching and parking facilities.
Buy topographic maps for hunting. The guide recommends them, along with the Tonto National Forest map.
Call the Tonto National Forest office in Phoenix at (602) 225-5200 or the Mesa Ranger District at (480) 610-3300. FR 300 (7 miles) and FR 405 (2.8 miles) are listed as high-clearance, but the packet doesn't say where they go. Ask the district before you count on either one.
Check current regulations for season dates, tag details and any retrieval or boat rules. The packet doesn't give them.

A realistic day starts early on the water or the trail, spends most of its hours glassing a north-facing shoreline, and saves the real work for the pack-out. Know the 22/24B line before you shoot.

Getting in and staying out: unit 22

Named routes and what they need

FR 300 — 7 mi · High-clearance
FR 405 — 2.8 mi · High-clearance
North Bush Highway — 1.9 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Harquahula Road — 1.4 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Child's Power Road — 1.2 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
AZ 88 — 1.2 mi · Paved (all rigs)

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

Payson — 16.6 mi · fuel, groceries, lodging
Star Valley — 19.1 mi · groceries
Mesa Del Caballo — 20.1 mi · fuel, groceries
Beaver Valley Estates — 23.2 mi · no services listed
Rio Verde — 24.4 mi · no services listed

Developed camps

Payson Campground & RV Resort
Fossil Creek
Bachelor Cove Dispersed
Bermuda Flat Dispersed
Cholla Bay Dispersed

Season weather and signal

Jan58° / 30° · 2.3" precip
Aug95° / 65° · 2.3" precip
Sep90° / 58° · 1.5" precip
Oct80° / 46° · 1.3" precip
Nov67° / 36° · 1.4" precip
Dec57° / 29° · 2" 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.

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 22 success rates run 85–95%, consistent with Arizona desert sheep averages. With only ~6 tags over three years, every hunter is deeply scouted and usually guided. Ram trophy quality is excellent — 155–175 B&C is typical with occasional 175+ rams.

Bighorn Sheep Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts (n/p)
Rifle — General Rifle bull/buck only (combined pool)	3	485	0.2%	—
Rifle — Late Rifle Dec bull/buck only (combined pool)	3	656	0.2%	—
Rifle — Late Rifle Nov bull/buck only (combined pool)	2	809	0.2%	—

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 22 is a once-in-a-lifetime desert bighorn draw. With ~6 tags over three years and 1,033 applicants, odds per applicant run around 0.6%. Arizona's weighted bonus-point system applies; expect to need 15–25+ bonus points for realistic competitiveness. Harvesting an Arizona bighorn ends your eligibility to apply for bighorn in the state again.

Turkey Hunting in Unit 22

Unit 22 covers the Mazatzal Mountains and Tonto National Forest country northeast of Phoenix, including portions of the Mazatzal Wilderness. Merriam's turkey populations persist in the higher ponderosa and mixed-pine benches above Payson and Tonto Basin. With roughly 33 tags over three years against 85 applicants, Unit 22 turkey is a moderate draw that rewards hunters willing to work steep, roadless country.

Where the Unit 22 Turkeys Are: Under the Rim North of Tonto Village

Set your expectations first. AZGFD's own unit guide says turkey numbers in Unit 22 are much lower than in the state's other turkey units. The population is rebuilding on translocated birds from eastern Arizona, and spring tags are limited. You drew one of a few. Don't spread yourself across 1,580 square miles hoping to bump into a bird.

Turkey Ridge and the country north of Tonto Village

This is the strongest area. The guide says most of the unit's turkeys live in the northeast corner, under the Mogollon Rim, and it singles out the ground north of Tonto Village, which it calls Turkey Ridge. We'd put your first two days here. The agency isn't hedging, so you shouldn't either.

Roberts Mesa, Ellison Creek and Pyeatt Draw

The guide lists Roberts Mesa and Ellison Creek as the next-best areas. Roberts Mesa tops out at 6,666 feet, so you're hunting pine-and-oak elevation, not the desert end of the unit. For a road to follow, the guide names Pyeatt Draw on USFS Road 198 and says to work north from it toward the Rim. That's a clear game plan: park, then walk uphill toward the escarpment.

The packet doesn't say what shape Road 198 is in. Check the current Tonto National Forest road status before you commit a trailer to it.

Chase, Bray and Weber creeks, and Hardscrabble Mesa

The guide says some birds use the Chase Creek, Bray Creek and Weber Creek drainages, plus Hardscrabble Mesa west of Pine. Read "some" as a lower-odds backup. We'd save these for when the Turkey Ridge country has gone quiet on you, or when other hunters have beaten you to it.

The guide doesn't separate early-season from late-season use for any of these places. Don't trust anyone who claims they know the pattern. Scout in person.

The country to skip

The agency's summary describes the unit as running from desert canyons at roughly 3,500 feet up through oak brush, PJ and ponderosa to about 7,500. The guide puts turkeys under the Rim, not down in the desert canyons. Leave the low end alone.

Land status matters here too. About 60 percent of the unit is National Forest and 8 percent is State Trust. The other 32 percent is private or other. The packet lists Payson, Star Valley, Mesa Del Caballo and Beaver Valley Estates as nearby towns, so expect private ground around them. Carry a land-status map and confirm your boundary before you cross a fence line.

Highways AZ 87, AZ 260 and AZ 188 all cross the unit boundary on pavement, so reaching the country is easy. The packet also lists two high-clearance forest roads, FR 300 (7 miles) and FR 405 (2.8 miles). It doesn't tie either one to a turkey area, so treat them as unscouted.

Unit 22 terrain and land status

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

The lay of it

1,686–5,935 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 4,198 ft ; peaks can run higher. That spread means you can hunt two seasons in one day — plan clothing for both ends.
1,580.6 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

412 tanks
352 springs
2,088 stream segments
17 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: Mazatzal Mountains (7,886 ft), Four Peaks (7,633 ft), Burnt Point (7,554 ft), Hi View Point (7,500 ft)

Holding ground: Sandy Saddle (6,412 ft), Alder Saddle (6,377 ft), Lone Pine Saddle (6,041 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 Unit 22 Turkeys: Cover Ground Under the Rim and Listen

With low bird numbers, your day is built around covering country and finding one bird, not working a known flock. Shotgun is the only weapon the packet reports on, at a 35 percent success rate. That's a respectable number for a unit the agency calls thin, and it says hunters who focus on the right country can score. It doesn't say a bird will fall to you. The packet doesn't give a hunter count behind that figure either, so don't read more into it.

Walk Pyeatt Draw toward the Rim

The guide's own advice for Pyeatt Draw is to work north toward the Rim from USFS Road 198. We'd treat that as a locating exercise. Start before first light, stop every few hundred yards on the climb and listen. A gobble at dawn tells you where to set up. Silence tells you to keep walking uphill. Don't settle in over empty ground just because it looks like turkey habitat.

Turkey Ridge and Roberts Mesa: split your days

Spend the first morning on the ridge country north of Tonto Village. If you hear nothing by mid-morning, move to Roberts Mesa or Ellison Creek rather than sitting. The guide ranks all three among the main areas. It doesn't rank them against each other, so let what you hear decide. Cover the ground quietly, and call sparingly until you've located a bird.

Know a transplant when you see one

The guide says transplanted turkeys carry an aluminum leg band. If you see one on a bird you've taken, that tells you where it came from. Read your current regulations before you hunt for anything on banded birds. The packet doesn't spell out any rule, and we won't guess at one.

Beating the crowd, and the backup plan

Tags are limited, so you likely won't be tripping over other hunters. Still, the roads and the main areas are what everyone will find in the same agency guide. Walk a mile or two off any road and you'll be alone. Keep Chase, Bray and Weber creeks and Hardscrabble Mesa as the fallback when the main areas are silent. Those draws hold fewer birds, but you may have them to yourself.

A realistic day

Plan on long walks, a lot of listening and probably a few quiet mornings. Check your boundary against a land-status map before you chase a bird toward town. A gobbler that sounds close may be on private ground, and you can't follow it there. The packet doesn't give season dates, bag limits or a weapon-specific regulation summary, so confirm those in the current AZGFD hunt regulations before you go.

Getting in and staying out: unit 22

Named routes and what they need

FR 300 — 7 mi · High-clearance
FR 405 — 2.8 mi · High-clearance
North Bush Highway — 1.9 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Harquahula Road — 1.4 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Child's Power Road — 1.2 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
AZ 88 — 1.2 mi · Paved (all rigs)

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

Payson — 16.6 mi · fuel, groceries, lodging
Star Valley — 19.1 mi · groceries
Mesa Del Caballo — 20.1 mi · fuel, groceries
Beaver Valley Estates — 23.2 mi · no services listed
Rio Verde — 24.4 mi · no services listed

Developed camps

Payson Campground & RV Resort
Fossil Creek
Bachelor Cove Dispersed
Bermuda Flat Dispersed
Cholla Bay Dispersed

Season weather and signal

Jan58° / 30° · 2.3" precip
Aug95° / 65° · 2.3" precip
Sep90° / 58° · 1.5" precip
Oct80° / 46° · 1.3" precip
Nov67° / 36° · 1.4" precip
Dec57° / 29° · 2" 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.

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 22 turkey success tends to run in the 15-25% range across spring hunts, which is typical for Merriam's hunts in the Mazatzals. The unit's steep terrain thins the hunter field and keeps mature gobblers available to persistent hunters.

Turkey Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts (n/p)
Shotgun — Spring bearded turkey (combined pool)	10	31	16.1%	—
Shotgun — Fall either sex (combined pool)	25	176	14.2%	—
Rifle — Spring either sex (combined pool)	10	175	4.6%	—

Open in Draw Odds Engine

Arizona uses a weighted bonus-point draw: your application is entered once for each bonus point (plus the loyalty and Hunter Education bonuses), not squared, and the draw is partially random. Unit 22 turkey is a moderate draw — roughly 33 tags against 85 applicants over three years. A modest bonus-point balance plus completing Arizona Hunter Education (for the Hunter Ed bonus point) noticeably improves your odds.

Coues Whitetail Deer Hunting in Unit 22

Unit 22 encompasses the Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson — Arizona's most famous Coues whitetail mountain range — drawing over 4,200 cumulative applicants. The Coronado National Forest's Mt. Wrightson Wilderness and surrounding oak woodland produce world-class Coues bucks. The unit combines remote wilderness hunting with more accessible oak-grassland terrain on the mountain flanks, making it a top-tier Arizona whitetail draw.

Where to Find Coues Whitetails in Unit 22: Mazatzal Foothills, Mount Ord and the Rim Canyons

AZGFD's own unit guide puts most of the whitetail population in the chaparral zone running from the Four Peaks area north to the Mogollon Rim, generally above 3,500 feet. Deer live in every habitat type here, but that's where you'll spend your time. The unit averages about 4,200 feet, so plenty of it sits in that band.

Eastern Mazatzal foothills, Doll Baby Ranch to Slate Creek

We'd start here. The guide calls it good whitetail country and names City Creek, Boyd Mountain, Deer Creek, Gold Creek and Slate Creek. Access comes off Highway 87 and FS Roads 406, 414, 442, 419, 415 and 201. That's a lot of road for a lot of drainages, so you can spread out and avoid the first pull-off everyone checks.

Mount Ord and the Edwards Park slopes

You can reach Mount Ord (7,115 feet) off Highway 87 and FS Road 626. Some deer sit right along the highway, but the guide says most range from halfway up to the top. The south side is also good and is reached by FS Road 22, the Bushnell Tanks Road.

The slopes off Edwards Park have burned repeatedly over the past 10 to 15 years. Reach them off Highway 87 and FS Road 22, or off Highway 188 and FS Roads 524, 409 or 421. FS Road 143 to FS Road 422 takes you onto Edwards Park itself. Much of the southeast, including Mount Ord, Four Peaks and Bushnell Tanks, is still recovering from the Bush Fire. Hunt the unburned pockets and the fresh green-up.

Fossil Creek and Hardscrabble canyons

These two sit west of Strawberry, off FS Roads 708, 591 or 194. Both are deep and steep. The guide says good bucks live in them, but expect to earn every one, because packing a deer out of that country is real work.

Polles Mesa, if you'll pack in

Polles Mesa is in the Mazatzal Wilderness, north of the LF Ranch. The LF Ranch is roughly four miles west of the trailhead at Doll Baby Ranch, which is west of Payson on FS Road 406. The south and east sides are the good whitetail ground. This is the guide's remote option, and remoteness is the only real access problem it describes.

Low country worth a look

The guide says the foothills around Ballantine Trailhead, south of Sunflower on Highway 87, hold a decent population down in the upper Sonoran desert. Surprising, but it's AZGFD's word. We'd treat it as a fallback.

About 60 percent of the unit is national forest and 8 percent is state trust. The remaining 32 percent is private or other. The guide says private-land problems are minor compared with southern Arizona whitetail units, but check your map before you cross anything.

Unit 22 terrain and land status

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

The lay of it

1,686–5,935 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 4,198 ft ; peaks can run higher. That spread means you can hunt two seasons in one day — plan clothing for both ends.
1,580.6 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

412 tanks
352 springs
2,088 stream segments
17 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: Mazatzal Mountains (7,886 ft), Four Peaks (7,633 ft), Burnt Point (7,554 ft), Hi View Point (7,500 ft)

Holding ground: Sandy Saddle (6,412 ft), Alder Saddle (6,377 ft), Lone Pine Saddle (6,041 ft)

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 Unit 22 Whitetails: Glass the Chaparral, Match the Season

Only antlered deer are legal in Unit 22. Look before you shoot. Your tag is for a Coues whitetail buck, and the guide's own advice is to scout once or twice before the hunt. Buy a Tonto National Forest map at a minimum, and topo maps if you can.

Early hunts: pattern the bucks

About 90 percent of the permits are in the two early hunts, in October and November. The bucks aren't rutting, but AZGFD says not to discard these hunts, since they can be very productive. Bucks are easier to pattern out of the rut. Find a vantage point over a slope, such as the Mount Ord flanks or one of the Mazatzal foothill drainages, and watch the same ground for a few days.

Glass mornings and evenings, but don't quit at midday. The guide says bucks are seen all day, and if you're not out looking you won't see them. We'd build a day around a morning sit, a midday move to a new glassing point, and an evening back on your best slope.

December: the rut hunt

If you drew the late hunt, you drew the better one. The guide calls it a high-quality hunt in the rut, which runs mid-December to mid-February and peaks early in January. Bucks are actively seeking does, so they move more and don't hold to a pattern. Spend less time waiting on one spot and more time covering ground with glass. Look for does, since the bucks will be nearby.

Working the Bush Fire scar

In the southeast, around Mount Ord, Four Peaks and Bushnell Tanks, the burn is still recovering. The guide's advice is simple: look for unburned pockets and for new green-up. Open burned slopes give you long glassing, but they only matter if there's feed in them. Check where the green is before settling in.

Archery: August/September and January

The generous archery seasons run in August and September and again in January. The January window overlaps the rut. Since the January bucks are chasing does, that may be your best shot at one in bow range. The packet gives no weapon-specific data beyond that, so check the regulations for dates and legal methods.

Before you go

Fire has led to access restrictions in the past. Call the Tonto National Forest ranger district before you head out.
Remote country like the Mazatzal Wilderness takes time to reach. Plan your pack-out ahead.
Don't expect a quick hunt. The packet shows an 18 percent rifle success figure, with no year attached, so treat it as a rough benchmark.
A couple of roads in the packet, FR 300 and FR 405, are rated high-clearance. Check road conditions before you drive them.

Getting in and staying out: unit 22

Named routes and what they need

FR 300 — 7 mi · High-clearance
FR 405 — 2.8 mi · High-clearance
North Bush Highway — 1.9 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Harquahula Road — 1.4 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
Child's Power Road — 1.2 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
AZ 88 — 1.2 mi · Paved (all rigs)

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

Payson — 16.6 mi · fuel, groceries, lodging
Star Valley — 19.1 mi · groceries
Mesa Del Caballo — 20.1 mi · fuel, groceries
Beaver Valley Estates — 23.2 mi · no services listed
Rio Verde — 24.4 mi · no services listed

Developed camps

Payson Campground & RV Resort
Fossil Creek
Bachelor Cove Dispersed
Bermuda Flat Dispersed
Cholla Bay Dispersed

Season weather and signal

Jan58° / 30° · 2.3" precip
Aug95° / 65° · 2.3" precip
Sep90° / 58° · 1.5" precip
Oct80° / 46° · 1.3" precip
Nov67° / 36° · 1.4" precip
Dec57° / 29° · 2" 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.

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.

Pro Members Only

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Coues Whitetail Deer Success Rates

Success rate data not yet available for this species in this unit.

Unit 22 rifle Coues success runs 45–65%. The combination of high deer density in the accessible oak woodland and mature bucks in the wilderness provides consistent opportunity across hunter skill levels. Trophy quality in the Santa Ritas is exceptional — bucks scoring 100+ B&C are regularly taken.

Coues Whitetail Deer Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts (n/p)
Rifle — General Rifle Oct bull/buck only (combined pool)	350	494	46.4%	—
Rifle — Late Rifle Nov bull/buck only (combined pool)	350	330	57.0%	—
Rifle — Late Rifle Dec bull/buck only (combined pool)	50	622	6.6%	—

Open in Draw Odds Engine

Over 4,200 cumulative applicants. Expect 7–13 bonus points for rifle tags. The Santa Ritas' world-class reputation drives consistent demand.

Unit Logistics & Expectations

Planning Notes

🚐

RV Sites

Several campgrounds and RV parks in the Payson area. Houston Mesa Campground nearby. Additional sites along Highway 87 and 260.

⛺

Camp Sites

Extensive dispersed camping on Tonto NF land. Forest roads north of Payson and into the Tonto Basin provide access to numerous sites.

🛻

Trailer Access

Highways 87 and 260 are paved and handle all sizes. Forest roads vary — many are suitable for short trailers in dry conditions.

💧

Water

Payson for water fill. Carry extra for field camps. Some developed campgrounds have water seasonally.

🛣️

Road Conditions

Good paved access via Highways 87 and 260. Forest roads range from maintained gravel to rough two-track. 4WD recommended for Tonto Basin backcountry.

🥾

Terrain Difficulty

Moderate to strenuous. Rim-top terrain is manageable. Tonto Basin canyons and Rim breaks are steep and demanding. This is rugged country.

👥

Hunting Pressure

Moderate. Proximity to the Phoenix metro (90 min) brings weekend pressure. Extensive backcountry terrain disperses hunters who push past the roads.

🌦️

Weather

Fall temps 25-60°F depending on elevation. Freezing nights at higher elevations in October-November. Warmer in the Tonto Basin. Be prepared for variable conditions.

📱

Cell Service

Good in Payson. Spotty to none in the Tonto Basin backcountry and along the Rim.

🏘️

Nearest Town

Payson (full services — hotels, restaurants, gear shops, hospital). Tonto Basin (very limited services — fuel and small store).

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Mogollon Rim and how does it affect elk hunting?

The Mogollon Rim is a dramatic escarpment running across central Arizona, creating a sharp elevation change of 1,000-2,000 feet. Elk use this terrain feature for security — they feed on the rim top and retreat into the breaks when pressured. Understanding this pattern is key to hunting Unit 22 effectively.

Is Unit 22 a trophy elk unit?

Unit 22 produces above-average bulls with 280-320 class animals taken regularly. It is not in the same tier as Unit 1 or the top White Mountains units, but it offers excellent quality for the draw investment required.

What is the best elevation for mule deer in Unit 22?

The 6,000-7,000 foot oak brush transition zone typically holds the highest deer concentrations. This elevation band provides the browse species and cover that mule deer prefer along the Mogollon Rim.

How physical is deer hunting in Unit 22?

The rim-top ponderosa country is moderate terrain. The Rim breaks are steep and demanding. Plan your hunt strategy based on your fitness level — productive deer hunting is available at both difficulty levels.

Is Unit 22 easier to access than 23/24A?

Slightly. The Superstitions are close to Phoenix with several good trailheads, but the wilderness interior is still as demanding as 23/24A. Allow the same time and gear budget.

Can I boat into Salt River canyon rams?

Yes — Canyon Lake and Apache Lake provide boat access to the lower canyon walls. This can dramatically reduce approach time on some rams. Check current SR 88 conditions for Apache Lake access.

How's the weather for a Unit 22 sheep hunt?

November and December are generally pleasant — 60–75°F days and cool nights. Dry is the norm, though rim snow can dust the higher elevations.

What species of turkey lives in Arizona Unit 22?

Unit 22 holds Merriam's turkeys in the higher ponderosa and mixed-pine elevations. They are the only subspecies native to this part of the Mazatzals.

How hard is the Arizona Unit 22 turkey draw?

It is a moderate draw — roughly 33 tags against 85 applicants over three years. A few bonus points plus the Hunter Education bonus meaningfully improves your odds.

Is Madera Canyon in Unit 22 the best access point for Coues hunting?

Madera Canyon on the west slope is the most popular access, providing excellent glassing terrain and trail access into the wilderness. Box Canyon on the east slope is less crowded and equally productive. Both provide legitimate entry points — the canyon you choose depends on wind direction and where you spot deer on scouting trips.

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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 22 — Expanded Hunt Information (March 2024) — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Unit boundaries and land ownership categories, Species present in the unit, Seasonal distribution and hunt areas, Habitat and access notes · accessed 2026-04-16
GMU 22 — 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
2025-26 Arizona Hunting Regulations — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Season structure, Bag limits, Legal equipment · 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
AZGFD Desert Bighorn Sheep Management — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Unit 22 bighorn herd, Superstition Wilderness habitat, Salt River canyon rims, Once-in-a-lifetime tag · accessed 2026-04-17
Tonto National Forest — Superstition and Mazatzal Wildernesses — USDA Forest Service · supports: Wilderness regulations, Salt River canyon access, Road network · accessed 2026-04-17
2025-2026 Arizona Hunting Regulations — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Spring/fall turkey season structure, Unit 22 hunt codes, Legal weapons and tag limits · accessed 2026-04-17
AZGFD Big Game Draw — Arizona Game and Fish Department · supports: Applicant counts, Draw odds · accessed 2026-04-18