Unit 43A/43B/44A/44B (Lower Colorado River, Kofa and Harquahala country)

Four units, four very different hunts, and AZGFD's guides treat them separately. Read them that way. The common thread is that desert mule deer here use the vegetated drainages running out of the mountains toward the river for cover and movement, and the washes are where most hunters concentrate.

43A — the river between Ehrenberg and Cibola

Most of 43A's deer sit near the Colorado River. There's a large herd on the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge and the Cibola Valley Conservation Wildlife Area, and those deer travel between the refuge and the desert east of it, up to the base of the Trigo Mountains, using the washes that lead to the river. At Ehrenberg a separate group works the farm fields along the river and moves between crops and desert. The guide points you to two glassing areas: the north and south Trigo Peaks, and the west side of the Dome Rock Mountains south of Interstate 10. Hike a hill and glass the flat country running to the river.

43B — the washes under the Kofas, and who owns them

The producing ground is the block bordered by Highway 95 on the west, the Kofa refuge on the east and the Yuma Proving Ground restricted area to the south, crossed by big washes running west out of the Kofa Mountains. Further north, the pocket between Cibola Lake Road and the Trigo Wilderness has become a hot spot — glass into the washes from the high ridges between them. The Red Cloud Mine Road country on the Imperial refuge holds Yuma Wash, Black Rock Wash, Red Cloud Wash and Clip Wash. Much of 43B is Yuma Proving Ground and most of that is restricted or closed; some parts need an Army permit, and you need one to cross their land as well as to hunt it.

44A — Harcuvar first, Harquahala second

The higher densities sit with the Harcuvar Mountains, and the best numbers run from the east end of that range to about five miles west of Smith Peak, which stands at 5,233 feet. The Harquahalas hold deer at low density; Harquahala Mountain itself tops the hunt area at 5,676 feet. Agency catchments ring both ranges and some have historically watered 60 to 100 deer a day in summer. Named access points from the guide: Sunset Canyon at milepost 72 and Dushey Canyon at milepost 78 off State Route 60, the White Marble Mine area near milepost 67, and Brown's Canyon and Blue Tank Canyon off Eagle Eye Road. The Smith Peak road climbs the southeast side of the Harcuvars. The Black Mountains in the northeast corner reach 4,242 feet and support a fair herd, reached from Highway 93 and the Aso Pass road.

44B — Plomosa washes and the sand

Deer use the drainages out of the Plomosa Range, and OHV trails encircle the range crossing most of them. At the northwest corner there's a complex of sand dunes most hunters drive past that can hold deer. The rolling hills between Brenda and the New Water Mountain Wilderness carry cover too, with numbers riding on summer rain.