Arizona Strip Deer - Exclusive Pursuit Outfitters, LLC

Arizona Strip Mule Deer-Last Day Buck

Last day Arizona Strip Mule Deer taken with Exclusive Pursuit Outfitters.

the Last Day…

As we approached Jeff’s last day Arizona Strip Mule Deer, I couldn’t help but feel anxiety. Jeff was a very accomplished mule deer hunter. He had taken well over 30+ trophy mule deer, from Mexico to Wyoming. I had yet to see the buck as he was buried in the cliff rose, so I had no idea how big he was…

The cliff rose was tall and the rutting deer were scattered. As a guide, you have to read people and you have to quickly analyze what skills the hunter has. I knew it was going to be quick, so as the buck trotted out, I called to him and he stopped. Jeff, being as handy as they come with a rifle, made a quick decision and the buck jumped lunging forward.

As we walked toward the buck’s last location, we could see Jeff’s Arizona Strip Mule Deer Buck was down.

Jeff's Arizona Trophy Mule Deer buck on the ground. — Jeff’s Arizona Trophy Mule Deer buck on the ground.

Lee quickly got to our location and then Jeff made a statement that I will never forget:

“I have never seen guides work together like you guys. You guys never gave up.” Jeff Vaughn

As the Arizona Strip Mule Deer Hunts were winding down, hunters and other outfitters started to pull out. Unit 13A was a tough hunt, with very FEW 200″ bucks found prior to the hunt, most guides knew it was going to be hard to kill a 200″ mule deer and to top it off, a big winter storm was set to arrive on the last day.

Lee, Pat, Jeff & I were all committed to seeing Jeff’s hunt to the very end.

The majority of hunters & outfitters pulled out prior to the last few days of the Unit 13A hunt.

10 days of scouting…

I arrived in Unit 13A a full 10 days prior to the hunt start date. My goal was to pound as much country as possible and to not waste any time during my Arizona Strip Scouting efforts. I was able to find multiple different groups of does and a few decent bucks. The rut wasn’t quite turned on, but we knew the bucks would start moving soon.

Lee & I often talk about why we like the general hunts on the Arizona Strip better than the archery hunts and quite frankly, it’s because you can’t just rely on trail cameras. You have to actually have some mule deer hunting skills. You have to be willing to not see deer for days and then get up and do it all over again.

Big Young Typical I found prior to opening day of the Unit 13A opener.

Passing on a number of Arizona Strip Mule Deer…

We saw and passed on a number of Arizona Strip Bucks. We literally hunted ALL day, every day. We flat pounded the country and over that time period the EPO camp grew very close. We became a small hunting family, which had a lot of fun, worked our asses off and we got a big last day strip buck on the ground!

Arizona Rutting Strip Buck walked right to us while looking for does.

This Arizona Strip Mule Deer was broke and just not quite big enough.

30" 3 point on the Arizona Strip! — 30″ 3 point on the Arizona Strip!

This cool young buck was all over the place. We saw him almost 7 miles from where he was on this day later in the hunt.

We found this buck while looking for a tank. He has potential for an Arizona Strip Mule Deer.

Hunting-the-Arizona-Strip — After 20 days of hard scouting and hunting, we had a very happy client.

Arizona-Strip-Mule-Deer-Hunting — Looking back, we worked our ass off, had fun and never gave up.

Jeff Vaughn with his 2013 Arizona Strip Mule Deer.

Taking a moment to laugh & capture a moment in time.

Jeff & Craig with the last day Arizona Strip Mule Deer.

A last day Arizona Unit 13A Trophy Mule Deer hunt with Jeff Vaughn.

EPO was the last one's to leave the Arizona Strip in 2013. — EPO was the last one’s to leave the Arizona Strip in 2013.

If you get a chance, check-out Jeff’s Arizona Mule Deer Hunt on film: 20days

20days Arizona Mule Deer Hunting

Here is a short film of an Exclusive Pursuit Outfitters’ Arizona Mule Deer Hunt in Northern Arizona. **20days represents the amount of consecutive days Exclusive Pursuit Outfitters scouted and hunted on this Arizona Trophy Mule Deer Hunt.

Arizona’s Trophy Mule Deer Expansion-13A & 13B

Arizona’s 13A & 13B (the Arizona Strip) are extremely well known for GIANT mule deer, because units 13A & 13B are managed the most conservatively in Arizona.

13A Arizona Mule Deer — Here is a 1 1/2 old buck vs 4 1/2 year old buck in unit 13A.

In 1995, the Arizona Game and Fish Department developed their Wildlife 2000 Strategic Plan. At that time, the Arizona Game and Fish commission advised they wanted to emphasize harvest of older age class animals, reduce hunter densities, and higher hunt success for Game Management Units 12A, 12B, 13A, 13B, 36B, 45A, 45B, and 45C.

Older 13A Strip Buck — Both mature deer, but the buck on the left is older and bigger.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department has since added 3A/3C to the list of the Alternative Management Units. This was great news, but many hunters wanted to see more units managed more conservatively.

Most recently, the department is looking to add 17A to the list Alternative Managed Deer Units. Having more units managed under the alternative management plan is great news for all of us who value a quality experience.

No doubt, units 13A & 13B will continue to set the bar for Arizona’s Trophy Mule Deer Units, but the ability to have more units producing a higher age class of bucks will definitely make Arizona’s Trophy Mule Deer hunting options interesting in the future.