Unit 22S

Start with a hard truth from AZGFD's own Unit 22 guide. Elk in 22 South live at lower densities than in 22 North, and the north, the country above Payson, holds most of the unit's herd. You drew a tag where animals are thinner, so we'd spend the effort on the few places the guide actually names.

Round Valley northeast to Lion Springs

This is the guide's first pick for the early 22 South hunt. It sends hunters from Round Valley northeast toward the Lion Springs area. The guide gives no road numbers and no water details, so you'll have to build the route yourself. Use your own maps, then confirm what's open on the ground. The guide does warn that side roads in the unit are brushed in and very rough, so expect slow going once you leave the main drags.

Green Valley Hills

The guide lists the Green Valley Hills right alongside Round Valley and Lion Springs as an early-hunt area. Treat the three as one loop of country. Glass one in the morning and another in the evening rather than camping on a single basin.

West of Rye in the Mazatzal foothills

The foothills of the Mazatzals west of Rye get a mention for both bull and cow hunting. The Mazatzal Mountains top out at 7,886 feet at Mazatzal Peak, according to the terrain data. The guide's focus here is the foothills, not the high country. Hardscrabble Mesa and the northern end of the Mazatzal Wilderness are also called out as good depending on water availability. Hardscrabble sits in the northwest corner of Unit 22. Check the regulation map to see how much of it falls in your subunit before you plan around it.

Cow hunters: south of the Payson golf course

For cows, the guide points you to National Forest land south of the Payson Municipal Golf Course, plus the Rye foothills. To find it, go east on Main Street in Payson off the Beeline Highway. There's forest access directly south of the clubhouse. This is edge-of-town country, with houses close by. Scout the private boundaries and every home before opening day.

Burns, the Rim and the high points

The guide praises the fire scars under the Mogollon Rim, saying live-tree pockets inside the burns hold elk and that older scars can be very thick. It doesn't say which subunit those burns sit in. We wouldn't plan a whole hunt around them until you've checked the boundary. Later in the season the guide notes that heavy snow pushes elk off the Rim, but it ties that to 22 North.

The terrain data lists glassing summits and ridges in the broader area. Some of them are Browns Peak (7,614 feet), Suicide Ridge (7,566), Hi View Point (7,500), Mount Peeley (7,013), Cactus Ridge (6,766) and Diamond Point (6,371). The data doesn't say which fall inside 22S. Overlay them on the subunit line before you pick a glassing perch.