Not drawn, pronghorn and elk

[Bob Wright]

Well, again for an AZ resident, not drawn for either of these are a bitter pill. Really, not much opportunity here in my home state. Many did get drawn and congrats to all resident and non-resident.
Getting more rejection and time running short for the 50's generation is sad but can't do much except look for out of state opportunity wherever they may exist. Certainly doesn't seem like recruitment is the problem as we have an abundance of hunters somewhere.
Rant over...

 

[Ol' Red]

Does that happen a lot for AZ residents? How about deer? Is it all draw or is there any over the counter tags?

 

[chav0_12]

I think I'd like to blame it on the internet and social media in general. Before, you could talk to a group of people and tell them you're from AZ and like to hunt and they'd look dismayed and ask "what do you hunt down there, rattlesnakes?" Then you'd have to go on and explain to them that record book elk come out of AZ and that there's some of the best elk in the country in AZ. Now with point creep and everyone and their mom having a YouTube hunting channel or a podcast, you see more and more applicants from out of state, that's throughout the whole west. There was always those diehards that came to the west to hunt but I don't think it was in the numbers that we're seeing today. You get that and then you realize how many people are moving to the west and you start to realize even places like Colorado, Montana and Wyoming might not be able to keep up with OTC the counter hunts for residents. I'm still saving and stacking all of my bonus points for AZ for a year that I know I'll have more time and get more practice hunting elk in the rut here in Montana where I can get a tag every year. I want to spend my points on something that's big.

 

[chav0_12]

Does that happen a lot for AZ residents? How about deer? Is it all draw or is there any over the counter tags?

Yeah it happens a lot. Point creep is getting worse every year too. Rifle deer tags are all draw. You can do a lot of hunting on an OTC archery deer tag though, it's tough to do but it's not impossible. Depending on the hunt you want you could go 20+ years without drawing an elk tag, but you could also draw one every 2-3 years.

 

[Slick8]

It seems tough all over. Western states are hard to draw and otc units are incredibly crowded making success in the field as difficult as drawing a good tag.

My home state of Texas is 97% private with most of the otc public being on some of the lowest deer density in the state. We have draws for state parks and wma's which are in some cases harder to draw than a quality tag in the west. Our way of hunting is to lease private land which is more costly every day and harder to come by as well.

Fishing the Texas coast is as crowded as I've ever seen in my 52 years. Boat and sonar technology has made virtually no place out of reach meaning more pressure on the resources.

All in all, I love the opportunities I have but do yearn for the good Ole days of my youth.

Wish I could help more but all I can say is to stay after it. I know the feeling of celebrating passover on results day and I'm not even Jewish...

 

[Ol' Red]

Wow! I moved down to Wyoming back in 1995 from AK. Almost everything was over the counter, with no tag fees, except Grizzly. Here in WY the pronghorn tags are limited draw and elk are mostly limited draw, but odds are pretty good of drawing something. I guess this is as far south as I move.

 

[Bob Wright]

Does that happen a lot for AZ residents? How about deer? Is it all draw or is there any over the counter tags?

Rarely there will be a second draw for elk and pronghorn unless a meteor hit the city.
Yes, it's getting harder.
Deer hunts are easier to draw for near the Mexican border units. Those are getting a bit harder but it's better chances still. Those are typically Coues (tiny whitetail) units mostly.

 

[chav0_12]

Wow! I moved down to Wyoming back in 1995 from AK. Almost everything was over the counter, with no tag fees, except Grizzly. Here in WY the pronghorn tags are limited draw and elk are mostly limited draw, but odds are pretty good of drawing something. I guess this is as far south as I move.

Colorado has some pretty generous elk seasons and tag allocations., deer is a different story all together. I think they do a few rifle seasons every year that are OTC. It's been a while since I've lived there and I haven't stayed plugged into the hunting regulations there. It's a place a lot of people end up going after not drawing.

 

[Elkeater]

I'm an AZ resident but no dice on draw. Wasn't really planning on drawing though. And honestly have out of state hunts planned to Alaska, Colorado and Texas so I'll get to hunt plenty.

 

[Ol' Red]

I have not hunted outside of WY since I moved here. It's hard to get away from work long enough, my boss is an @$$hole.

 

[Bob Wright]

Hunting down south along the border of Mexico can be "interesting". There are thirsty, hungry immigrants or cartel people moving through. It's sad, but not a quality hunt if CPB is constantly stopping and asking questions. My friend that hunts down by Aravaipa found a bale of weed near his white tail he dropped a few years back. Then, same friend this past December found a cartel guy in his tent trailer with the door locked, a broken leg, moaning. He ordered the dude out, while covering him with numerous firearms from the hunting group. Under the beds were backup firearms (oops). This cartel guy offered him a thousand bucks to take him to Tucson. One hunter went an 1/8 mile to the hiway and grabbed a CBP agent. 5 of them showed up. They make the arrest saying they have been looking for him for 24 hours and "thanks!". This dude dragged himself into the unlocked tent trailer from a long way off, drag marks all the way from the desert wash some distance away.
I'm not too excited to go down there. Cartel is everywhere, (not just here in Az.), but concentrated near the border obviously.
No thanks.....

 

[BW64]

Left 10 points on the table when I moved to Az from Nevada. 2 years trying here. At 76 I'm done!! Selling off my 7 mag & all components!

 

[Plinker147]

Its all supply vs demand. The demand is increasing but the supply isn't. Az manages most of their elk and antelope units for quality therefore not many tags and really hard to draw. I've never drawn a rifle antelope tag in my home state of NM in 30 years of applying. But I've drawn lots of other tags so I can't complain. I Don't see this scenario changing, tags will only get harder to draw as the hunting craze continues. And yes it is the tv shows, social media that have brought attention to hunting promoting the sport. Its a double edge sword since we need new blood for hunting to continue but it has made tags extremely hard to draw throughout the west.

 

[JMW67]

I have not hunted outside of WY since I moved here. It's hard to get away from work long enough, my boss is an @$$hole.

Mine too buddy, and I am self employed