Unit 42 (Big Horn, Belmont and White Tank Mountains)

Mule deer are found throughout unit 42 but are often concentrated depending on weather. That makes this a unit you scout late rather than plan early.

Dry years: hunt the green-up

In dry years, look for deer where spotty rain has fallen and greened up the surrounding desert. The agency adds the practical catch: those green-up areas take ample pre-scouting to locate and to work out how to access, so plan ahead and factor in changing conditions. Satellite imagery from the weeks before your hunt will show you where to look.

Wet years: deer can be anywhere

In wetter years deer can be found just about anywhere in the unit. In the low, flatter country look for them in the many desert washes. In the mountains they can be in almost any canyon or on any ridge — and again, rainfall and the resulting vegetation decide where they want to be.

The White Tank Mountains, and why they're difficult

The White Tanks deer herd has declined in recent years, and most of the range is closed to rifle hunting because of the Maricopa County park system and the city of Buckeye. Archery hunting is allowed, but you must declare your intention to hunt on entering any park and pay a use fee if applicable — the White Tank Mountain Regional Park entrance is on Olive Avenue.

A couple of areas in the White Tanks outside the park are privately held and need written permission from the owner. There are very limited public-land portions open to rifle hunting, and the bulk of the deer sit in the less severe habitat inside the park. The agency's assessment is blunt: hunting the public-lands portion of the White Tanks could prove very difficult and disappointing.

Where to go instead

The Big Horn Mountains hold the majority of the unit's bighorn and good deer habitat with both natural and man-made water. The Belmont Mountains and Sugarloaf carry less water and fewer animals but far fewer people. Two BLM wilderness areas, Hummingbird Springs and Big Horn Mountains, keep vehicles out of a lot of the best ground.

Rifle success for mule deer in 42 runs about 22 percent, muzzleloader 18. The single biggest determinant of your hunt is where the rain fell.

Do the rainfall homework

Find out where the monsoon or winter rain actually landed and where the desert has greened. Then work out how to get there — that access question is the part the agency flags as needing ample pre-scouting. A green patch you can't legally reach is no use.

Glass the washes from above

In the flat country, deer use the many desert washes. There's little to climb, so use anything with relief — a bajada edge, a wash bank, a low hill — and glass down into the cover at first and last light. In the mountains, glass canyons and ridges from a facing slope.

Be realistic about the White Tanks

Declining herd, most of the range closed to rifle, deer concentrated inside a county park, limited and poor public-land rifle ground, and private parcels needing written permission. If you hold a rifle tag, spend your time in the Big Horns and Belmonts. If you hold an archery tag and want to hunt the park, declare your hunt on entry and pay the fee.

Respect the wilderness and the sheep waters

Hummingbird Springs and the Big Horn Mountains Wilderness take no vehicles, including for retrieval. The waters in the Big Horns were built by the Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society — don't camp on top of one, and keep your vehicle on existing roads.

Mind the city edge

Buckeye is growing into this unit. You cannot discharge a firearm within a quarter mile of an occupied building, and in the eastern end of 42 that line moves every year. Check your maps rather than your memory.

Heat and water

Low Sonoran desert. Carry everything you'll drink, start before light, and hunt the last two hours hard.