Archery January

[five_point_buck]

Hey MM'ers....

Been a while since I've posted but I figured there's no better place to ask some questions about the January archery hunt.... Yep, I'm not looking for honey holes, or any trade secrets. Maybe just a unit number or two. I've wanted to do this hunt for the last 5 or 6 years and never pulled the trigger. Some changes in my life have moved it up my list of things I gotta do.... Here are a few questions, if you have the time or can pm me that would be a great help and also appreciated.....

1. Are there real security concerns about travelers from the south?
2. I've never hunted Arizona, are the units very accessible?
3. Where can I buy license/tags? Any sporting good stores or does it have to be at a field office?
4. Is there a lot of hunting pressure?
5. What can I expect for weather? Driving conditions?

Any and all information or advice is greatly appreciated!

Thank you....





five_point_buck
C.B.C.S.

 

[AZ4life]

I've never run into problems down south, but considering things going on, i definitely wouldn't go down there hunting alone right now.

Some unites are almost completely accessible, while others are VERY tough to get back into the hills, being surrounded by private land/ranches/subdivisions. AZ game and fish website is very good at describing accessibility in each unit and how to get back in. Check it out by unit.

Walmarts all have the tags and licenses, usually just go there.

Most places I hunt I very rarely see hunters in my hunting area. If you purposefully try to get away from hunters, and do some scouting, you can usually hunt un-interupted.

Pretty much everywhere in the state is freezing in the morning in Jan. Don't let the desert fool you into thinking you will be warm. The coldest I've ever been in my life was in a tent one night in the low desert on a Jan deer hunt haha. Conditions just depend on whether or not there has been precipitation recently/currently. If so=muddy. In the lower elevations rain also means frequently washed out roads.

 

[AzIdUtelknut]

1. Yes, probably best to take a buddy along in the border units, although people hunt it solo every year with no problems.

2. Arizona is one of the best states in the West for public access but some units are having trouble with private ground cutting off access to public ground. The units I know of having access issues are: 30A, 30B, 31 and 32. Although I believe that each of these still has plenty of access.

3. Wal Mart, Sportsman's Warehouse, lots of gas stations. No you don't have to go to a field office.

4. Depends on where you hunt but generally during the week in January you should be just fine, especially if you get a couple hundred yards from the road.

5. I had 8 inches of snow on a January javelina hunt at 3000'. It was brutal cold and the snow stayed all week. When this happens access is tough but 90% of the time you will be just fine, rain can make things muddy but you should be ok as long as you know what the main travel routes through your area are.

In January I would recommend hunting mule deer in the lower units and having a pig tag just in case. Unit 28 has a lot of mule deer that are very visible, they are tough to kill but its always interesting down there. The 40's units are popular as well although I have never hunted them. Good luck and let us know how things are going as your plan develops.

I love hunting Arizona in January, if you are hunting deer you might think about grabbing a pig tag as well, they can help spice things up on a slow day.

 

[five_point_buck]

Thanks a ton for the info guys, I appreciate it! I'm getting prtty excited to extend the hunting season another month, especially in some new country. I will report back and hopefully will have some good news....

five_point_buck
C.B.C.S.

 

[nv_hunter]

Ill be down that way for the first time also....good luck!

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p248/nv_hunter/nevadaanimatedhelmetwd2.gif[/IMG]

 

[five_point_buck]

Well, It looks like the trip is actually gonna happen. I have my brother on board, and the vacation time has been approved. Its been a long time since I "went blind" to a new place. I've been covering maps, the internet and every other resource I can drum up to find where we'll go. It's quite the task. I guess the biggest dilema is trying to figure out if we go to the southern most units or stay central. I fully expect to spend most of our time wandering, hoping to find a spot wher we can find some deer. Actually getting a stalk right about now seems like a pipedream, but what the hell.... at least we'll be hunting.

Any suggestions for a place to get good maps?



five_point_buck
C.B.C.S.

 

[five_point_buck]

LAST EDITED ON Dec-27-10 AT 03:47PM (MST)[p]CAUTION: THIS MIGHT BE A STUPID QUESTION.

Am I reading write? Are there two different OTC archery tags available?

Looks like one is December 10 - Jan. 31 (10-15-17-18-19-20-21-24-25-28-29-30-30-32-33-34-35-36 etc)

The second is Jan 1 through Jan 31 (16a-17a-20a-22-23-27-37A-42-45A)

Other than different zones, am I guessing correctly that the second would limit your hunt to ONLY this january while the first would allow you to come back next december?

I have been researching like crazy and have gotten info about lots of different zones. Maybe I'm making this harder than it has to be, just want to make sure I get the right tag.

Thanks....

five_point_buck
C.B.C.S.

 

[AZ4life]

It is all the same tag. Different units allow hunting at different times, but it is just 1 over-the-counter archery tag that allows you to hunt any non-draw archery area when that unit it open season.

 

[five_point_buck]

Thats awesome... thanks for the clarification. I guess I am so used to Kali and Colorado where it is so unit and date specific it was hard to believe the tag was good for any non-draw. That just made my itinerary a helluva lot easier to work out!

The hardest part has been trying to coordinate a PD and a FD schedule.... Now that we have the time, its good to know we can bounce around and find some country we really like.

Thanks again to the guys that have helped point us in the right direction!

five_point_buck
C.B.C.S.