Hello, this pertains to the state of Arizona. I'm looking to connect with anyone familiar with the tag system in Arizona. I'm living in SoCal and this is the closest state to me that I see the possibility of being able to hunt. My preferred game would be muleys first elk second. The tag system is really confusing to me and honestly, I'm just looking for clarification on how hard it is to even get the chance to go hunt. I'm originally from South Carolina where you can just buy over the counter tags. I'm trying to find hope in being able to still hunt with living out here in Cali, I figured I'd have to just go on guided trips but some of the members here helped me push to find more information in my surrounding states. I'll be working as a firefighter so I'll have a decent schedule, trying to weigh my odds and get some insight really. Thanks.
Well the draw is over for elk/deer. But you have the opportunity to buy OTC tags for both. The OTC tags for elk are low population areas and would be a difficult hunt to locate them. But with deer you can buy an OTC tag and hunt in most areas of the state. A lot of units you can either both Mulies or White Tail. You can pick up the tag at Walmart or any places that sells tags. Check out page 35 of the regs for the specifics for archery only non-permit tags. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/...020-21-Arizona-Hunting-Regulations-200507.pdf A cool vid of a DIY OTC hunt in AZ The deer rut in southern AZ is later in the year. December-January. The OTC tag is good for 1 calendar year. So if you hunt in December, your tag wont be good in January. So you would have to buy a January tag as well to hunt then. Good luck.
