canyonhunter47
WKR
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2018
I've seen a lot of AZ OTC questions lately so I thought I'd compile the general advice I give into one helpful thread. Of course, I invite everyone else to add their own wisdom and not take mine too seriously 
Q: I’d like to hunt AZ OTC, where should I go?
A: Read the proclamation, it has all the open units and dates. There are 4 archery seasons: Early in mid-August to mid-September, second half of December, first half of January, and all of January. In the early season, you will be mainly chasing bachelor herds and in the later season the deer are in pre-rut to rut (lower latitude = later rut). The unit write-ups on the AZGFD website will point you in the right direction in each unit.
Q: What unit should I go to?
A: One that is legal, see above. I can tell you that if you were hoping for units 1, 3A/3C, 12 or 13 in 2019/2020 don’t go there unless you want a violation. As a general rule, northern units are open in August/September and southern units are open December/January. Some units esp. in the middle are open both.
Q: What is the best unit to go to?
A: That is the million-dollar question. Since you’re asking, check out unit 14, I hear it is great!
Q: What is the best unit to go to if I want a big buck?
A: That is another million-dollar question. Get back with me when you find out
Q: I have PTO in January and want to archery hunt the rut just like all my favorite social media stars but they won’t tell me where to go no matter how many times I DM them. I’m not looking for honey holes but could someone share with me the GPS coordinates of a decent buck. I don’t need 200”+ but something in the 150-180” class would be really sweet.
A: …
Q: What is the best unit to go to if I don’t care how big my buck is?
A: In all honesty, all of them/none of them are. AZ’s hunt guidelines (see order 2, starting on page 8, and esp. page 11) stipulate that as harvest goes up, OTC availability goes down. They trim (e.g. all of January to half of January) and eventually take out OTC hunts and move to draw-only (e.g. unit 12 went off OTC ca. 2007 IIRC)
Q: How should I hunt them?
A: Spot and stalk is the only way I’ve gotten on deer. I would recommend picking up ‘Hunting Open Country Mule Deer’ by Dwight Schuh. I’ve heard others have success sitting water or used blinds/tree stands
Q: What gear should I bring?
A: Not really any different than anywhere else out west, although AZ tends to be warmer than most (strongly suggest you research your intended area beforehand). I will say decent glass on a tripod is the ticket. Even you are coming from out east and only have 8x42 binos, mounting them on a tripod still makes a huge difference. You don’t need alpha glass but if that’s what you are telling your wife, yes you do. My suggestion is 10x42’s (or 8’s) but many love their 12x50’s. If you have them, big binos (15+) and spotting scopes are great. The better option is a perennial debate and more of a personal preference. If don’t have either, don’t let that hold you back, you will still find deer with 8’s and 10’s.
Q: Do I need to hunt in extremely remote areas?
A: It’s a pretty cool experience but you don’t need to. I would avoid hunting an area that is heavily crisscrossed by roads but I have watched deer hunker down under the nose of truck hunters and stand back up to feed once they turn the corner. Obviously, heavy hunting will send bucks into hiding so getting away from the roads and crowds is generally a good idea. However, at even 1/2 mile in I rarely see other hunters
Q: Can I shoot a Coues’ buck?
A: If you are a glutton for punishment, you just might
Q: What are my chances of success?
A: To be honest, pretty low. Official odds are roughly 1 in 20 although some successful hunters have told me they ignore the survey to avoid steering the hunting recommendations. In any case, the adage ’90% of the bucks are taken by 10% of the hunters’ is pretty true although that may be closer to 95/5. To be fair, keep in mind some unsuccessful hunters passed on
small bucks and many residents don’t take it super seriously since the tag is cheap and OTC
Q: How can I increase my odds?
A: Scouting mainly. E-Scouting is good, boots on the ground are far better. If that isn’t feasible, hunting the same unit year after year is the next best.
Q: Is it as awesome as social media says it is?
A: If by awesome you mean easy, no. Keep in mind many of the guys are scouting a lot, having others scout for them, or getting honey holes from locals. Again keep that in mind if you come home empty-handed. There is always a reason that OTC hunts are OTC.
Q: Are you just trying to keep non-residents out of your state?
A: No! I am happy for you to contribute to my G&F
Q: How else can I use my expensive hunting license?
A: Depending on your unit and time-frame, there are lots of good fishing and small game opportunities. If you come in Dec/Jan in the desert units and you tag out (or just give up), break out the shotgun and try some quail. Having a bird gun and not a bow tends to bring out all the deer out of the woodwork anyways
Q: I’d like to hunt AZ OTC, where should I go?
A: Read the proclamation, it has all the open units and dates. There are 4 archery seasons: Early in mid-August to mid-September, second half of December, first half of January, and all of January. In the early season, you will be mainly chasing bachelor herds and in the later season the deer are in pre-rut to rut (lower latitude = later rut). The unit write-ups on the AZGFD website will point you in the right direction in each unit.
Q: What unit should I go to?
A: One that is legal, see above. I can tell you that if you were hoping for units 1, 3A/3C, 12 or 13 in 2019/2020 don’t go there unless you want a violation. As a general rule, northern units are open in August/September and southern units are open December/January. Some units esp. in the middle are open both.
Q: What is the best unit to go to?
A: That is the million-dollar question. Since you’re asking, check out unit 14, I hear it is great!
Q: What is the best unit to go to if I want a big buck?
A: That is another million-dollar question. Get back with me when you find out
Q: I have PTO in January and want to archery hunt the rut just like all my favorite social media stars but they won’t tell me where to go no matter how many times I DM them. I’m not looking for honey holes but could someone share with me the GPS coordinates of a decent buck. I don’t need 200”+ but something in the 150-180” class would be really sweet.
A: …
Q: What is the best unit to go to if I don’t care how big my buck is?
A: In all honesty, all of them/none of them are. AZ’s hunt guidelines (see order 2, starting on page 8, and esp. page 11) stipulate that as harvest goes up, OTC availability goes down. They trim (e.g. all of January to half of January) and eventually take out OTC hunts and move to draw-only (e.g. unit 12 went off OTC ca. 2007 IIRC)
Q: How should I hunt them?
A: Spot and stalk is the only way I’ve gotten on deer. I would recommend picking up ‘Hunting Open Country Mule Deer’ by Dwight Schuh. I’ve heard others have success sitting water or used blinds/tree stands
Q: What gear should I bring?
A: Not really any different than anywhere else out west, although AZ tends to be warmer than most (strongly suggest you research your intended area beforehand). I will say decent glass on a tripod is the ticket. Even you are coming from out east and only have 8x42 binos, mounting them on a tripod still makes a huge difference. You don’t need alpha glass but if that’s what you are telling your wife, yes you do. My suggestion is 10x42’s (or 8’s) but many love their 12x50’s. If you have them, big binos (15+) and spotting scopes are great. The better option is a perennial debate and more of a personal preference. If don’t have either, don’t let that hold you back, you will still find deer with 8’s and 10’s.
Q: Do I need to hunt in extremely remote areas?
A: It’s a pretty cool experience but you don’t need to. I would avoid hunting an area that is heavily crisscrossed by roads but I have watched deer hunker down under the nose of truck hunters and stand back up to feed once they turn the corner. Obviously, heavy hunting will send bucks into hiding so getting away from the roads and crowds is generally a good idea. However, at even 1/2 mile in I rarely see other hunters
Q: Can I shoot a Coues’ buck?
A: If you are a glutton for punishment, you just might
Q: What are my chances of success?
A: To be honest, pretty low. Official odds are roughly 1 in 20 although some successful hunters have told me they ignore the survey to avoid steering the hunting recommendations. In any case, the adage ’90% of the bucks are taken by 10% of the hunters’ is pretty true although that may be closer to 95/5. To be fair, keep in mind some unsuccessful hunters passed on
small bucks and many residents don’t take it super seriously since the tag is cheap and OTC
Q: How can I increase my odds?
A: Scouting mainly. E-Scouting is good, boots on the ground are far better. If that isn’t feasible, hunting the same unit year after year is the next best.
Q: Is it as awesome as social media says it is?
A: If by awesome you mean easy, no. Keep in mind many of the guys are scouting a lot, having others scout for them, or getting honey holes from locals. Again keep that in mind if you come home empty-handed. There is always a reason that OTC hunts are OTC.
Q: Are you just trying to keep non-residents out of your state?
A: No! I am happy for you to contribute to my G&F
Q: How else can I use my expensive hunting license?
A: Depending on your unit and time-frame, there are lots of good fishing and small game opportunities. If you come in Dec/Jan in the desert units and you tag out (or just give up), break out the shotgun and try some quail. Having a bird gun and not a bow tends to bring out all the deer out of the woodwork anyways
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and still handed out some solid advice good job.
