Deer in AZ?

I Know there are deer in Arizona - I have seen the pictures. I just haven't been able to find them. I moved here 6 years ago, and have been a Boy Scout Leader. I have hiked many trails in AZ, driven back and forth to Utah a number of times and have seen less than 20 deer - one spike and one 2 point! Lots of Elk in my travels, just not much deer. A majority of my time has been spent Hiking along the Mogollon Rim and White Mountains. Which looks like I should have seen more than just a couple of deer.

I am no longer a Scoutmaster, so this was the first year I bought an OTC Archery Tag. My first time out I tried finding someplace close in 25M - but no luck (and not any sign). I then tried southern 22 - and finally found some sign, just no deer.

Lots to learn, just isn't the same as the Wasatch Mts where I used to galavant prior to moving South.

I live in Parks, which is in unit 7w, we have a fair amount of deer here, but sounds like you need to venture closer to the Grand Canyon and find some deer! Either side of the ditch holds deer!
But when you find them continue telling your friends how horrible the deer population in AZ is, we don't need anymore peeps hunting az than we already do!

What kind of Bino do you have,

"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".
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Just a pair of neck glass currently (10x42). From some of the podcasts I have been listening too, sounds like to really be successfull glassing I need to get a 15-20X pair of binos with a decent tripod. I admit - I sit down and try, but after I pan through the area and be "really patient" I am pretty sure there aren't any deer and move on.

Get an adapter and mount those 10?s on a tripod. That alone will show you 10x as many deer as you are seeing now.

I would suggest choosing elevations of 3500? plus. This will put you into whitetail range and increase the density of deer in the areas you are glassing.

Focus on country with open enough vegetation to allow effective glassing. If you are staring at solid juniper canopies you won't find much.

Whitetails tend to hang out in country with ?Yellow? Grass. Focusing in those areas may help.

As you probably already know the first and last hour of light are the most effective glassing times.

Good luck and keep at it, it will come.

I saw maybe 8-10 decent bucks in 5BS scouting for my elk hunt last year. I have hit one buck and one doe with my Tundra in the last two years in Fountain Hills but no hunting there in the McDowells as far as I know. I almost hit an 8 point muley this morning at 5am on my way to work on Shea so we do have deer here. I saw a beautiful 8 point muley south of Mayer when I was four wheeling last year. Keep looking.

LAST EDITED ON Jan-28-19 AT 02:05PM (MST)[p][youtube]youtube-nocookie.com/embed/qMX09BQT49g[/youtube]

Plenty of big muley bucks in 24B low. You just need to get out of the truck and hike in.

>I Know there are deer in
>Arizona - I have seen
>the pictures. I just
>haven't been able to find
>them. I moved here
>6 years ago, and have
>been a Boy Scout Leader.
> I have hiked many
>trails in AZ, driven back
>and forth to Utah a
>number of times and have
>seen less than 20 deer
>- one spike and one
>2 point! Lots of
>Elk in my travels, just
>not much deer. A
>majority of my time has
>been spent Hiking along the
>Mogollon Rim and White Mountains.
> Which looks like I
>should have seen more than
>just a couple of deer.
>
>
>I am no longer a Scoutmaster,
>so this was the first
>year I bought an OTC
>Archery Tag. My first
>time out I tried finding
>someplace close in 25M -
>but no luck (and not
>any sign). I then
>tried southern 22 - and
>finally found some sign, just
>no deer.
>
>Lots to learn, just isn't the
>same as the Wasatch Mts
>where I used to galavant
>prior to moving South.


Lots of deer on the edge of the mogollon rim. I'm going counter culture here in arizona, but i see the bucks and have killed the bucks to prove it.

I leave my binos at home when i hunt OTC whitetails. I only use glass for muleys. Look for textured land that connects flat grazing areas (or burn areas) to dense canyons or steep mountainsides. You will find that deer travel in these pinch points, or saddles quite often. This January, I had 12 deer under 100 yards from my tree stand in only 3 hours of hunting. When the buck came in i wanted, he didn't present a shot, until i had drawn so long that i let down. On another day, i shot and missed a 100" buck.

Identifying these pinch points and travel corridors will provide sightings of plenty of deer, probably more than you though possible.

it's not the gospel, it's just how i get it done. There's a lot of guys who like to glass, and get it done as well.

Plenty of deer in Arizona.....especially during the late archery season. Get to a high pint and glass. I took these photos through my spotting scope....I had all of them (except the NICE Coues) within 40 yards throughout my bowhunt.....just not what I was willing to arrow (I was hunting a giant 190" type buck).









BOHNTR )))---------->

Any Tripod Suggestions? I am 6'4", so few that would work standing I would think. Would like a nice one, but don't want to break the bank. Looks like Slik's are $200+, any experience with the Chinese Carbon Fiber ones available on Amazon?

I've used a Slik tripod for many years and would highly recommend. You'll need a tripod at least 69 inches high to use standing. Slik 700DX would be a good choice. At 7 lbs, probably not the best choice for backpack hunting but its really stable, even in the wind.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/131427-REG/Slik_615_315_Pro_700DX_Tripod_with.html

I use a Slik Sprint Pro for my backpack tripod as it weighs 2.8lbs with a pan head on it. You might be able to use it with a ball head and tripod adapter on your binos to get it tall enough.


"You can fly a helicopter to the top of Everest and say you've been there. The problem with that is you were an a$$hole when you started and you're still an a$$hole when you get back.
Its the climb that makes you a different person". - Yvon Chouinard

Thanks - I will check them out.

I also found a thread under optics, look like some also recommended Field Optics Tripods.

I'm using a slick tripod with a Jim White Pan Head.

BOHNTR )))---------->