Beginning
at the junction of the Stone Cabin-King Valley
road and Kofa National Wildlife Refuge boundary;
east on the Stone Cabin-King Valley road
to O-O Junction; north from O-O Junction
on the Kofa Mine road to the Evening Star
Mine; north on a line over Polaris Mountain
to Midwell; north on the Midwell-Alamo Spring-Kofa
Cabin road to the El Paso Natural Gas Pipeline
Road; north on a line from the junction to
the north boundary of the Kofa National Wildlife
Refuge; west and south on the boundary line
to Stone Cabin-King Valley Road.
Overview:
Unit 45, or the Kofa National Wildlife
Refuge, has a long reputation for quality
mule deer hunting. During the late
1980s and early 90s the refuge gained
a reputation for large bucks, however,
during the recent drought the refuge
has experienced a steady decline in
both fawn production and hunter success.
Currently the deer population has decreased
from about 1,500 deer in the mid to
late 1980s to less than 500 deer. Low
hunter success over the last couple
of years bears out this population
decrease. Deer densities range from
about 1 deer per square mile in the
better flat country to about .7 deer
per square mile in the more mountainous
areas. Despite the decreasing population
large mule deer bucks can still be
found on the refuge, although not in
the numbers experienced in the recent
past.
Persons hunting the refuge have a verity of habitats in which to
hunt deer. Much of the deer habitat on the refuge consists of flat
to rolling low desert. Deer hunting in this type of country, even
on the best years, can be difficult. Most people hunting the flats
try to find high points from which to glass the flats. Hunter densities
are much lower in the flat country than the mountainous areas of
the refuge.
Historically, the high rolling country found in the interior of the
Kofa Mountains had the highest deer densities on the refuge. In the
early 1990s this area averaged about 7 deer per square mile, but,
has decreased to .7 deer per square mile during the drought. Hunter
concentrations tend to be much higher in these areas than the more
flat terrain. One of the side benefits of hunting the high country
is the opportunity to observe some of the many bighorn that inhabit
the refuge.
Kofa Mountains: Take the El Paso Natural Gas Line Road eight miles
south of Quartzsite on Highway 95 east into the refuge. From this
road several roads will give you access to the interior of the Kofa
Mountains. Additionally the Burro Canyon Road at milepost 96.2 will
also provide good access. The Palm Canyon and the King Valley Road,
also off Highway 95 will get you to good hunting areas. The Hovatter
Road off of Interstate 10 west of Tonopah and the Engesser Road taken
from the Whitewing Ranch area north of Dateland will get you to some
of good areas on the east side of the refuge.
King Valley: This vast valley separates the Kofa Mountains to the
north from the Castle Dome Mountains on the south end of the refuge.
Large desert riparian areas here provide great mule deer habitat.
The best way to hunt this area is to find hills and glass the flats
from these high points. Some very large and very smart deer inhabit
this area. Take the King Valley road east of Stone Cabin on Highway
95. This road will provide you with the best access to this area.
Castle Dome Mountains: This is a very rough mountain range found
in the southwest Corner of the refuge. Unlike the interior of the
Kofa Mountains very few deer area found the mountainous areas, however,
the canyon bottoms and washes leading into the mountains around the
edge of the Castle Domes provide great opportunities for large bucks.
Take the King Valley road east of Stone Cabin for access to the north
side of the Castle Domes. Several unmarked roads south of Stone Cabin
will give you access to southwest side of the mountains. The Castle
Dome road off of Highway 95 will give you the only access to the
southwest end of the Castle Domes.
Notes: Most of the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge is wilderness areas
and special regulations apply. Vehicle use is limited to existing
designated roads and must remain within 100 feet of these roads.
All firearms, including handguns, rifles and shotguns, within a vehicle
must be unloaded and either cased or broken down. For complete refuge
regulations contact:
Refuge Manager
Kofa NWR
P. O. Box 6290
356 W. First Street
Yuma, Az. 85366-6290
Phone: (928) 783-7861
Fax (928) 783-8611
