Unit 27/28 (Blue Range, Mogollon Rim and the Gila Mountains)

Two units, two different hunts. Unit 27 holds the bulk of the opportunity; unit 28 is thin. Take them in that order.

Unit 27's biggest population — Mitchell and Grey's Peak

The largest whitetail population in unit 27 is around the Mitchell Peak and Grey's Peak area and along the southern face of the Mogollon Rim, and hunters report good numbers there. Highway 191 runs between Mitchell and Grey's Peak and climbs the Rim at Blue Vista. Some quality deer come out of Strayhorse Canyon and Raspberry Canyon, and Walnut Tank west of the highway is called excellent. All the country east and west of the highway and down toward the larger canyons off the Rim offers good hunting. It's rough and steep with very limited vehicle access.

The Big Lue Mountains

On unit 27's southern edge, in what's locally known as the Mule Creek–Martinez area. Fair to good whitetail hunting, again with limited vehicle access. Reach the north side of the Big Lues on Highway 78 and FR 212. The vegetation is pinyon-juniper with some open grassland.

Robinson Mesa and Hot Air Canyon

A whitetail herd here that's increasing in numbers. Access is FR 217 and then trail 37; the shortest way from Highway 191 is Sheep Saddle on trail 16, or west on trail 33 up East Eagle. Vegetation is pinyon-juniper, oak thickets and chaparral — very brushy, but with plenty of trails.

Unit 28's share

Most of unit 28's whitetail are taken in the northeastern part of the unit, south of Highway 78, in habitat the agency describes as very thick brush and difficult to hunt. A few deer come off Turtle Mountain, northeast of Safford between Bonita Creek and lower Eagle Creek north of the Gila River — four-wheel drive is recommended there and can be a must. The Fishhooks Wilderness in unit 28's northwest corner, along the San Carlos Reservation, also holds pockets of whitetail.

The quota, and the reporting rule

Unit 27 archery deer runs under a quota system with mandatory reporting of any archery deer harvest within 48 hours. The archery hunt may or may not be open in December or January depending on harvest numbers. Check before you travel.

Rifle success for whitetail across this hunt is about 18 percent. The defining feature is that the best country has very limited vehicle access, which is both the obstacle and the reason the deer are there.

Use Highway 191 as a trailhead, not a hunting route

The highway runs between Mitchell and Grey's Peak and climbs the Rim at Blue Vista, which puts you on top of the best whitetail country in the hunt. Park, and walk down and out into the larger canyons coming off the Rim — Strayhorse, Raspberry, and the drainages east and west of the road. You start above the deer with falling morning thermals, which is exactly the position you want.

Glass the canyons, don't walk them

Rough, steep country with brushy cover means glassing from a rim or a point into the opposite slope. Tripod, 10x or 12x, worked in sections. Give a face an hour. Coues deer in oak thicket and chaparral show as a piece of a deer, not a whole one.

Trails are the access in the brush

Robinson Mesa and Hot Air Canyon are very brushy but well served by trails — 37 off FR 217, 16 from Sheep Saddle, 33 up East Eagle. In that kind of cover a trail lets you move quietly and get above the brush to glass, which beating through it never will.

Camping is straightforward on the unit 27 side: several developed campgrounds, undeveloped camping allowed, and most numbered forest roads open except where the Forest Service has posted them closed.

If you hunt the unit 28 side

Expect a thin hunt — 10 to 12 whitetail come out of unit 28 in a year. Get detailed maps, scout in the preseason to learn the country and find where bucks are moving, and take four-wheel drive for Turtle Mountain. The Fishhooks Wilderness is foot and horse only.

Check the archery quota before you go

If you're carrying an archery tag in unit 27, confirm the hunt is still open — the quota can close December and January — and report any harvest within 48 hours.