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The Arizona Strip is arguably the best mule deer hunting area.
Mule deer bucks over 200″ B&C are taken EVERY year on the Arizona Strip, but hunters usually have to wait a decade or longer to hunt mule deer on the Arizona Strip. The success rate in the draw is 1%. Don’t gamble your success on hoping to get lucky. Hire a good Outfitter if you draw this tag, it is well worth the money.
There are several units in Arizona that consistently produce giant mule deer and have the right genetics and proper trophy management strategies in place to ensure that they always will. There are always a few giant bucks taken yearly in Arizona that come out of units that are not known for trophy mule deer but for now we will focus on the 2 Arizona Strip Units 13A and 13B.
1st Choice – Arizona Hunting Unit 13B: Unit 13B on the Arizona Strip is our number one top pick for the best mule deer unit in Arizona, if not in the world. The Arizona Strip has a long history of producing giant bucks.
There are two mule deer seasons in Unit 13B. The first one would be the archery mule deer hunt starting in mid-August. If your goal is to someday harvest a truly giant mule deer buck with your bow this is the tag that you need to apply for your first choice when filling out your Arizona mule deer applications (success rate for drawing the archery tag is 20%). We feel that this Unit 13B archery hunt is hands down the best archery hunt in the world for a bowhunter to try and harvest a world class mule deer buck.
The second Unit 13B mule deer hunt the rifle hunt that starts in early-November. We feel that this Unit 13B rifle hunt is the premier mule deer hunt in Arizona. This hunt can be a rut hunt depending on the weather and precipitation that has fallen during the year.
2nd Choice – Arizona Hunting Unit 13A: This unit is the Eastern side of the Arizona Strip and, along with unit 13B, consistently produces some of the highest scoring mule deer bucks yearly. 13A can be tougher to hunt than unit 13B but the quality of the mule deer that are found here is phenomenal.
Unit 13A also offers both an early season archery hunt and a November rifle hunt. The rifle hunt in 13A starts later than the 13B rifle hunt which offers hunters better rut dates. Unit 13A should be your second choice when applying for Arizona mule deer.
The reason we chose 13B over 13A is that 13B seems to have slightly higher numbers of deer (densities in both Units are very low) and is not quite so tough to hunt. While both of these units can be extremely frustrating to hunt, due to the overwhelming size and remoteness of the area and the very low densities of deer on the Arizona Strip, 13B is generally a little more hunter friendly.
