Quick Tips
- Visit Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
- Bulls move between first and second rifle seasons
- Arrange packing services before hunting remote sites
- Consider hiring a guide
- Black bears are common
| species | general Size | trophy potential |
|---|---|---|
| Mule Deer | 140"-160" | 160"+ |
| Elk | 300"-340" | 340"+ |
| Antelope | 65"-75" | 75"+ |
| Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep | 160"-170" | 170"+ |
On The Ground
Most of this unit is occupied by the Gila and Aldo Leopold wilderness areas. The state issues licenses for hunting elk, mule deer, and black bear. The eastern edge and the southern half are rough and rugged, while terrain is milder.
Trophy size elk draw hunters from all over the world to this area. A few bulls large enough to make the all-time B&C record book have come from both wilderness areas. The wilderness has a few big mule deer. Be in excellent shape or hunt from horseback. Mature mule deer bucks are hard to find.
Terrain
Rough and rugged mountain topography broken by rocky canyons are along the eastern edge of the unit and most of the southern half. Elsewhere are some big, flat ridges and mesas that are surrounded by steep canyons.
Roughly 942 square miles
99.5% public land
Elevations range from 5,000-10,895 feet
Vegetation
Spruce-fir forests and aspens are mostly above 9,000 feet with mostly ponderosa pines and oakbrush from 6,500-9,000 feet and pinyon-juniper woods below that. Many ridges and old burns are quite bare.
Access
State Routes 15, 159 and 35 and Forest Service Road 18 lead to trailheads into both wilderness areas. National Forest workers have marked more than 50 trailheads that lead to hundreds of miles of back country trails. Some hunters and even some guides walk from trailheads; others use horses.
Camping and Lodging
Lodging options include Gila Hot Springs Ranch and the Wilderness Lodge on State Route 15 in the middle of the unit. Elk hunters are allowed to hunt in Unit 22 as well as in 16B, so Silver Creek Inn in Mogollon is on the edge of hunting country, and so are Whitewater Motel and Double T Homestead in Glenwood. The Gila National Forest maintains the centrally located Grapevine Campground, which has as many as nineteen campsites on State Route 15. Most hunters who hike into the wilderness areas carry backpack tents and stay one or more nights away from roads.
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