Unit 28

Navigation anchors on the Gila and Whitlock Mountains as reference points, with China Peak, Black Hills, and Table Mountain providing visual landmarks across the open terrain. The Whitlock Range and Bobcat Hills offer mid-distance glassing vantage points. Multiple named washes—Hunsacker, Talley, Markham, and Slick Rock—form travel corridors and define drainage patterns.

Roper Lake and Lost Lake provide geographic reference, while numerous tanks including Hot Springs Tank, Creighton Reservoir, and Spring Canyon Tank mark reliable water locations. The Narrows and Solomon Pass serve as key natural passages through rougher country.

Terrain spans from low desert basins around 2,600 feet to ridgetops near 7,500 feet, though most hunting occurs in the lower half of this range across open bajadas and intermittent foothills. The landscape is predominantly sparse—scattered juniper and mesquite on slopes with extensive sagebrush and desert shrub dominating the flats and valleys. Whitlock Mountains and Gila Mountains punctuate the terrain with modest relief and light timber, while the majority of the unit remains open country ideal for glassing.

Higher elevations support ponderosa and some mixed conifer, but these are isolated patches rather than continuous forest.

The unit contains substantial mileage of roads (roughly 1,640 miles total), but they're scattered and often sandy or rough in character, limiting vehicle access to determined hunters. US 191 and US 70 provide good corridor access, with secondary roads branching into basins and toward water sources. The fairness of access reflects this mix—main routes are accessible, but reaching productive terrain often requires patient driving and navigation.

Pressure exists primarily along highway corridors; the interior basins, while not wilderness, see less hunting traffic. Distance between water sources and the need for route-finding naturally disperses hunters and creates opportunities for those willing to plan thoroughly.

Unit 28 blankets the southeastern Arizona landscape between the New Mexico border and the San Carlos Indian Reservation, anchored by I-10 to the south and Highway 191 forming the western boundary. The unit encompasses roughly 1,600 miles of road across a vast area that transitions from high desert basins near Safford and Bowie northward through rougher canyon and ridge country. Major access corridors include US Highway 191 (north-south), US Highway 70, and Arizona Highway 78, with the Interstate providing southern boundary reference.

Smaller towns like Eden, Kimball, and Swift Trail Junction serve as staging points for hunters accessing different sections.

Water is scarce and scattered across this unit, making it the primary constraint on movement and hunting strategy. Named springs including Charley Thompson, Eden, Cottonwood, and Dripping Springs provide reliable water in specific drainages, supplemented by numerous tanks and reservoirs (Midway Tank, Hells Hollow Tank, Black Point Tank, and others) that hunters must identify and plan around. Eagle Creek in the northern reaches offers more consistent water.

The dominant wash systems—Hunsacker, Talley, Markham, and Slick Rock—run intermittently but concentrate wildlife where water collects seasonally. Early season requires detailed water-source research; late season concentrates animals near reliable tanks and springs.

Unit 28 supports elk in higher canyon country and mountain drainages, mule deer across the open basins and foothills, and javelina in lower brushy terrain. Desert bighorn inhabit the Gila and Whitlock Mountains, requiring the specialized approach of high-country glassing and ridge-running. Pronghorn hunt the open flats and basins where long-range glassing and stalk work are essential.

Mountain lion and black bear presence is secondary but real in canyon systems. Water-dependent species concentrate seasonally around reliable springs and tanks, making late-season hunting particularly dependent on identifying active water sources. Early-season high-elevation hunting offers isolation; late season demands deeper water research and willingness to cover ground between distant tanks.