19 consecutive years of hunting Arizona OTC archery as a NR.
The past 6 years, averaging 25 days of off season scouting and 20+ days of hunting late December & January muley rut.
it's rare to observe more than one 200-point+ buck each season the past 8 years.
Drought, lack of rains or lackluster monsoon season, poor spring-early summer feed conditions will definitely impact antler growth. But past 2 years has been good. However, 2023-Jan2024, only spotted 1 buck over 200.
IMHO, The biggest impact.... AZ residents doing the ol' "if its legal, its down".
Heard this often from AZ residents, 3 mentioned it to me this past January 2024. Look at the OTC archery license numbers, 90+% of those tags are sold to AZ residents.
You can't generate a good population of big, trophy bucks if a majority the 2-3-4point, 140-150 bucks get killed each season. And looking at the required harvest reports since implemented 2 years ago, OTC archery is easily meeting set harvest buck quotas. Majority of OTC archery units are closing after the 1st early season in August. Those units not having a mid-December or January of the following year opener the past 2 years now. The seasoned archer seeking a trophy muley buck has definitely had that opportunity reduced, dramatically speaking.
Mandatory harvest reporting of OTC archery was a significant eye opener for Arizona Fish & Game Department. Just think if AZFGD extended mandatory harvest reporting across the board, including rifle, muzzie and all special permit tags. AND required harvest quotas, unit closures once achieved, on those permit tags as well.