AZ in a Nutshell

Flatlander

Active Member
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156
I posted this a few years ago as a response to someone else’s thread asking for guidance on AZ’s hunting opportunities. Thought I would share it here as well. It was written for a new resident, but much of it applies to both R/NR.

Arizona has a nice balance of opportunity and trophy hunts. If you are set on hunting bulls then some of the November rifle tags can be drawn every 3-4 years. In AZ because our winters are so mild those November hunts are pretty challenging, more like post rut October hunts in other states.

If you are interested in hunting cows then many of the November hunts can be drawn with regularity, maybe 2-3 years. If good weather is your thing then the October cow hunts are pretty good for that and often there is still a bit of bugling. Those early cow hunts have similar draw rates to the Nov. bull tags.

September archery hunts in AZ are amazing, really the gold standard of hunting rutting elk. Those hunts take a while to guarantee a draw but there is a reason people are willing to wait.

The draw system is a little different than most other western states. For each hunt 80% of the permits are issued to applicants via a random draw. The other 20% are issued to those applicants for that hunt with the most points. So the good news is that every year you have a chance to draw any hunt you apply for.

Here is a good link to how the draw works, it's important to understand this to maximize your opportunities here.

https://www.azgfd.com/hunting/draw/process/

In terms of areas most of the elk are distributed through a band of high country that follows the mogollon rim across the center of the state. There are a few different pockets of really well known herds I.e. units 1/3/27 on the east side of the state, unit 23 in the center, and 8/9/10 in the NW. However most of the units have good numbers of elk and AZ trophy quality tends to be a notch above what you see in other states. Here is a link to the AZGFD website which does a nice job of explaining the units and densities.

https://www.azgfd.com/Hunting/Units/

I think you will find AZ to be a very hunter friendly state where you can carve out opportunity to have the experiences you want. You can wait for years and hunt the best elk rut in the highest trophy potential units in the west or you can hunt cows every single year. For deer if you archery hunt you can hunt 9 weeks every year including the rut on an OTC tag while applying for the strip or Kaibab or you can hunt the deserts with a rifle every October. Bear is OTC, lion is OTC, archery turkey is OTC, spring shotgun turkey can be drawn every 2-3 years.

Antelope is a tough draw, you might as well consider it once in a lifetime.

Buffalo, Rocky Mt and Desert sheep are once in a lifetime.

Javelina is a draw but most units can be drawn every year and the archery hunts overlap the archery deer hunt and rut so it makes for some neat mixed bag opportunity and days with lots of stalks.

For updates on things occurring in Arizona checkout my blog:

 
Best State in the country ,no secret. Even the Weather. 67 on Xmas this year. Look whats going on up north .Keep it!.......................BULL!
 
Best State in the country ,no secret. Even the Weather. 67 on Xmas this year. Look whats going on up north .Keep it!.......................BULL!
And 120 during the summer in the valley, pick your poison. Having spent 28 years there I don’t miss anything but thanksgiving to Easter. And the air quality sucks so does the traffic.
 
I'll Take It any day over Cold Chit It freezes your brain and You can't think Right!...............................................BULL!
 
Lion seasons, bear seasons, coyote contests, otc deer seasons, draw odds, added special tags. cameras, wolves whatever. And the state turned blue.
 

Arizona Hunting Guides & Outfitters

SilverGrand Outfitters

Offering mule deer, elk, antelope, bighorn sheep, javelina, and turkey hunts in Nevada and Arizona.

Arizona Elk Outfitters

Offering the serious hunter a chance to hunt trophy animals in the great Southwest.

A3 Trophy Hunts

An Arizona Outfitter specializing in the harvest of World Class big game of all species.

Arizona Strip Guides

Highly experienced and highly dedicated team of hardworking professional Arizona Strip mule deer guides.

Urge 2 Hunt

THE premier hunts in Arizona for trophy elk, mule deer, couse deer and javelina.

Shadow Valley Outfitters

AZ Strip and Kaibab mule deer, big bulls during the rut, spot-n-stalk pronghorn and coues deer hunts.

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