Strip tags

[glass_eye]

WhooHoo !....I see 70 rifle & 30 archery tags. Glad to see the rifle tags back up 70 again, maybe this year I'll draw, and if not this year then maybe soon if they keep the tag numbers up.

 

[DnkyPunch]

Kinda surprised with the drought being so bad last year.

 

[AZMIGHTYMULIES]

And the Arizona Strip will become the next Units to go into the Crap shoot if they keep increasing the # of tags allocated . The Arizona Strip is all about the Quality of the Bucks you can have the opportunity to hunt , it shouldn't be about how many people are able to get a Tag . The Kaibab for example . The quality of Bucks on the Kaibab can be just as great as the AZ Strip . In fact , Historically, the Kaibab produced more B&C bucks than the AZ Strip . and when I say Quality, I mean 220" to 260"+ Bucks .But due to the fact that there are so many Tags available for the Kaibab , the chances of harvesting a quality B&C Trophy Buck has deminished . In order to have a chance at a 220" to 260" Buck , the Tags #'s have got to be sustained to lower #'s , especially in these very Low Density Deer populated Units . Why as Hunters do we put in to draw a AZ Strip Tag ? In hopes of harvesting a True B&C Giant Buck !!! Right ? Do you want your hopes of someday harvesting a B&C Buck to disappear ? If so then continue to support the increase of tags allocated . Me personally , I'd rather wait an extra year or 2 or 3 and have a better chance of harvesting a True B&C Giant Buck , rather than seeing the increase of Tags available .

 

[ElmerFudd]

How's the drought there this year? I guess we max point nonresidents have to try to draw every year no matter what or risk never drawing.

 

[glass_eye]

well...historically the strip issued around 70 rifle tags and there was no archery tags. When the started the archery tags they took them from the rifle hunts, 70 became 40/30. But you already knew that.

 

[AZMIGHTYMULIES]

Historically , permits processed has been all over the place . So what I've done is looked up the Historical #'s dating back to 2007 . Here they are .
2007 : 13a Rifle 55
2007 : 13b Rifle 85
2008 : 13a Rifle 45 Archery : 45
2008 : 13b Rifle 45 Archery : 30
2009 : 13a Rifle 50 Archery : 40
2009 : 13b Rifle 55 Archery : 30
2010 : 13a Rifle 55 Archery : 40
2010 : 13b Rifle 55 Archery : 30
2011 : 13a Rifle 60 Archery : 30
2011 : 13b Rifle 65 Archery : 25

What amazes me w/ these #'s , is that the most limited Tags that were issued were during the Greatest years of Hunting the AZ Strip .

 

[glass_eye]

Historically....as in "pre archery hunt permits" I think only 2007 13B in your list represents what I'm talking about.

 

[mike111]

2007 : 13b Rifle 85
2012 : 13B Rifle 70 Rifle Archery : 25

I think it's possible they have increased the rifle strip tag numbers this year, by combining the overall success rates between the rifle and archery hunts.

For example if you take 13B rifle in 2007 with 85 tags and a 80% success rate, you have 68 total harvested deer.

If you take 13B 2012 with 70 rifle tags at 80% success you get 56 harvested deer. With 25 archery tags and a 40% success rate you get 10 harvested deer. That's 56 rifle harvested deer and 10 archery harvested deer for a total success rate of 66 deer. Overall only a difference of two deer with 68 harvested deer in 2007, compared to 66 harvested deer in 2012.

Being that success rates flucuate on any given year depending on how many hunters are in the field at one time can also account for higher success rates, as well as drought and other factors. I feel all of those factors are accounted for when proposed tag numbers are issued each year.