Arizona January OTC Help

[ZMT]

Hi all,

I'm an East Coast hunter looking for my first trip out West. I'll be graduating in December and figured a January hunt would be perfect before I had to go and join the real world. I've spent the past month watching videos and reading posts on here trying to learn as much as I can. I've also spent lots of hours on OnX looking at different units that I hope will still be open when I head out there.

If possible, is there anyone who knows winter desert mule deer hunting who would be willing to verify some of the coordinates I wanted to try out? I can share through OnX or Google Maps. I'd love for someone to look at them on a map with me and tell me if I'm headed in the right direction in terms of geography and topography.

I know spots can be a contentious point, so I'm trying to go about this the right way (doing my own research, coming up with my own spots). I also know nothing beats personal experience and I have no illusions about the odds of me actually being successful on my first hunt, but I would like to be in a spot where I can at least observe wildlife. Thank you for your time.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Keep an eye on this and adjust your plans as necessary:

Archery Deer Tracking – AZGFD Harvest Tracking

The G&F web page for each unit actually has pretty good starting points on where animals can be found.

Depending on where you ultimately hunt be prepared for any kind of weather despite what weather forecasts say.

 

[ZMT]

Keep an eye on this and adjust your plans as necessary:

Archery Deer Tracking – AZGFD Harvest Tracking

The G&F web page for each unit actually has pretty good starting points on where animals can be found.

Depending on where you ultimately hunt be prepared for any kind of weather despite what weather forecasts say.

Thank you! Definitely will keep an eye on it and have scouted a few different units that have low numbers harvested as of now. I read up on the G&F's guide to the units, but wasn't sure how the rut impacted where the deer may be.

 

[Ryansven]

Keep an eye on this and adjust your plans as necessary:

Archery Deer Tracking – AZGFD Harvest Tracking

The G&F web page for each unit actually has pretty good starting points on where animals can be found.

Depending on where you ultimately hunt be prepared for any kind of weather despite what weather forecasts say.

Do you know if AZ Fish and Game has info in when areas closed last year?

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Do you know if AZ Fish and Game has info in when areas closed last year?

Reach out to AZ G&F to see if they can provide you with that info.

 

[dacd4134]

Sorry to revive this old thread, but I'm pretty sure if you didn't secure one of the 2024 Non-resident OTC tags when they went on sale (and sold out) in early November, then you aren't going to be able to hunt AZ in January.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong...

 

[ZMT]

Sorry to revive this old thread, but I'm pretty sure if you didn't secure one of the 2024 Non-resident OTC tags when they went on sale (and sold out) in early November, then you aren't going to be able to hunt AZ in January.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong...

That is the case. Luckily I got mine so I'm all set

 

[dacd4134]

Awesome, congrats and good luck! I messed around and missed my opportunity this year.

 

[lhbackcountry]

Good luck, hope to hear about triumphs and failures on your trip!

 

[MTN BUM]

Am I understanding this correctly- the AZ OTC deer tags are calendar year, not "season" years?

For example, tag bought in November 2023 is good for Jan 2024-December 2024, and if you want to hunt Jan 2025 you have to buy a tag in November of 2024? What a mess.

 

[S.Clancy]

Am I understanding this correctly- the AZ OTC deer tags are calendar year, not "season" years?

For example, tag bought in November 2023 is good for Jan 2024-December 2024, and if you want to hunt Jan 2025 you have to buy a tag in November of 2024? What a mess.

Correct

 

[eshunt]

Am I understanding this correctly- the AZ OTC deer tags are calendar year, not "season" years?

For example, tag bought in November 2023 is good for Jan 2024-December 2024, and if you want to hunt Jan 2025 you have to buy a tag in November of 2024? What a mess.

And, if you kill a buck in January, you cannot then obtain a draw tag in June and kill a buck in Fall of the same year. So you have to plan ahead if you are close to drawing a unit you want.

 

[MTN BUM]

And, if you kill a buck in January, you cannot then obtain a draw tag in June and kill a buck in Fall of the same year. So you have to plan ahead if you are close to drawing a unit you want.

Hadnt thought of that. Thanks for saying it