Anyone hunt Arizona?

[Renegade Hunter]

Hey, everyone. I am going to be moving out of New York State, headed for Kingman, AZ March 31st. Wife has family out there and I'm not completely upset about leaving this state to be honest. What I am learning though, is that we have it pretty good up here in terms of how easy it is to hunt! Buy your tags over the counter, know the season dates and regulations and have at it. I have been trying to research and it seems out there, there is a lot more to it. I have tried looking up regulations on the unit I will be in, 16A (Hualapai Mountains) and I can't for the life of me figure out if I need to apply for a permit for every season, archery and rifle/muzzleloader, for mule deer. The Arizona site is not very user friendly. Anyone have experience hunting out there?

 

I am pretty excited as I have learned they have mule deer, elk and javelina in that mountain range and it's right there next to where I will be living. Also, I have lived in the desert  before and coyotes are like deer out there. Thanks in advance!

[Lawdwaz]

Might be a good time to buy a NYS Lifetime license if you don't already have one, at least you could come back and hunt here if you don't get any tags in AZ................

[philoshop]

I can't help you out at all, except to say "Best of luck to you."

[Pygmy]

It has always been my understanding that most anywhere with decent hunting in AZ is a tough draw, even for residents.

If you want to be able to hunt every year I suspect you may want to explore OTC units in nearby Colorado.

All that said, if you do manage to draw a tag, the elk hunting is top shelf, both in quality and quantity of animals.

Good luck on your relocation.

[Renegade Hunter]

Thanks guys. Lawdwaz, I was thinking about that also. Might be something to look in to because I will definitely be back to hunt. The elk definitely seem to be abundant up in that mountain range. I have watched videos of people interacting with them right in town. That will be a trip for the first week I get there! I have heard of units in Arizona that offer OTC tags for mule deer but I am not sure 16A is one of them. I don;t think it is as I found on their site where it says 450 permits were issued for 2014. Hopefully it doesn't take years to draw. In the meantime I can always just get to know the area and animal watch. I'll be sure to post some pictures from down there if I have any luck spotting them!

[Renegade Hunter]

It has always been my understanding that most anywhere with decent hunting in AZ is a tough draw, even for residents.

 

 

I read that only 10% of permits go to out of state.That's real tough.

[Pygmy]

By the way...I don't think that you can buy a tag for archery, one for ML and one for rifle for a single species in the same season. You have to pick one.

Some other western states do it that way also. Remember Toto, you're not IN Kansas anymore <<grin>>.

We easterners are spoiled after years of being able to get multipule tags every year. It doesn't work that way in many places out west. Most deer tags and elk tags are issued by draw, and sometimes you are lucky to draw ONE tag for ANY species, even in your own state. Many hunters increase thier odds of drawing a tag by applying in several states each year.

Edited March 22, 2015 by Pygmy

[wdswtr]

I have hunted in the Kingman area before.  Went Mountain Lion hunting there.  The local farmers will gladly let you on there land to hunt them.  There are whitetail there as well up in he mountains but man they are small.  Elk hunting is pretty good there as well.  And lots of coyotes.   Have you visited there yet?  If not your in for a huge surprise.  Its a place that is set back in time a bit.  Nice area nice people but its not everyday you go to a local Walmart in NY and see horses tied up out front and cowboys with pistols strapped on there sides walking around.  The area is also very prone to flash flooding.  Its very dry there and with the mountains surrounding the area all the rain washes down the mountains into the town.  I remember it being sunny and within half an hour the town had a foot plus of water in the streets.  Oh and sell your lawnmower, theres no grass to mow in Kingman just rock Lawns.  Its way different than NY.  When and if you pull up to a farmstead for hunting permission approach great caution as you will get greeted with a man holding a shotgun.  Im not kidding either.  I might suggest getting in with a guide at first to be introduced around to the farmers and such just till they get to know you and your vehicle.  I had a lot of fun hunting out there.  Kingman in its self is a pretty cool place, friendly people some good places to eat.  You will love the gun shops too.  You walk in and there are hundreds and hundreds of guns to look at.

[Renegade Hunter]

I have hunted in the Kingman area before.  Went Mountain Lion hunting there.  The local farmers will gladly let you on there land to hunt them.  There are whitetail there as well up in he mountains but man they are small.  Elk hunting is pretty good there as well.  And lots of coyotes.   Have you visited there yet?  If not your in for a huge surprise.  Its a place that is set back in time a bit.  Nice area nice people but its not everyday you go to a local Walmart in NY and see horses tied up out front and cowboys with pistols strapped on there sides walking around.  The area is also very prone to flash flooding.  Its very dry there and with the mountains surrounding the area all the rain washes down the mountains into the town.  I remember it being sunny and within half an hour the town had a foot plus of water in the streets.  Oh and sell your lawnmower, theres no grass to mow in Kingman just rock Lawns.  Its way different than NY.  When and if you pull up to a farmstead for hunting permission approach great caution as you will get greeted with a man holding a shotgun.  Im not kidding either.  I might suggest getting in with a guide at first to be introduced around to the farmers and such just till they get to know you and your vehicle.  I had a lot of fun hunting out there.  Kingman in its self is a pretty cool place, friendly people some good places to eat.  You will love the gun shops too.  You walk in and there are hundreds and hundreds of guns to look at.

 

Thanks for the feedback. Yes, I was stationed in 29 palms which is about 3 hours from Kingman. So I am used to the dry climate and rapid flooding when the rain does come. I visited Kingman just once while I was out there to meet up with the wife's family. I'm definitely excited about the gun shops and gun laws alone! I read that they passed a law in 2010 that makes it legal for anyone to conceal carry if they can legally purchase a firearm... Not sure if that still stands. I believe the whitetail are cous whitetail?? and how did you hunt the mountain lions? With a predator call? I do have one and am bringing it with me. I hope to have better success with coyotes than I have had here. Already sold the lawn mower lol, will pick up a rake when I get out there to make the "lawn" look nice. I just hope I'm not waiting around for years to be able to hunt the mule deer. I could wait for the elk but do want to do that at some point.

[Nomad]

Just rattle snakes......

Not sure why it turns my pic sideways , perhaps because it's a sidewinder ?

Edited March 22, 2015 by Larry302

[dmandoes]

if your not a bow hunter you better become one. you can get otc bow tags for deer and turkey for most of the state. take the hunter ed class and get a permanent bonus pt. if you ever decide to leave az make sure you buy a lifetime license. with a lifetime license you will not be subject to the up to 10% nonresident cap.

[Renegade Hunter]

I love to hunt with the bow! Lots of stalking involved out there. It will be a lot different than just climbing in a tree and sitting I'm sure. I will just have to ask around and see what zones do sell the OTC tags. I know "The Strip" is pretty famous out there for monster mule deer.

 

I like the snake mount. My dog got bit right between the eyes while out in California. Swelled her face up beyond recognition. I shot the thing with my .22 mag and brought it to the vet with me where they classified it as a sidewinder. Funny story, they wanted me to give them $3,200 that night to save her. (anti venom alone was $800 plus the stay a few days, etc) I looked up a bunch of home remedies, mainly people from Texas. Ended up paying $300     at the vet for antibiotics, an IV and pain meds. Got a box of Emergen-C from the local grocery store and mixed it in with wet food three times a day and in with her water. Apparently Vitamin C really does the job because she was completely normal in less than 48 hours. EDIT: and the vet told me before I left that she would most likely die if I didn't let them treat her.

Edited March 22, 2015 by Renegade Hunter

[bkln]

AZ is a coyote heaven, they are smaller than here but still fun. I think you can hunt them year round over there, get yourself a nice AR and have fun... :-)

[Dinsdale]

Good luck with the move.

[Renegade Hunter]

Thanks, guys! I am looking forward to it and beyond excited. I think a nice long range rifle is definitely in order

[chrisw2015]

It has always been my understanding that most anywhere with decent hunting in AZ is a tough draw, even for residents.

If you want to be able to hunt every year I suspect you may want to explore OTC units in nearby Colorado.

All that said, if you do manage to draw a tag, the elk hunting is top shelf, both in quality and quantity of animals.

Good luck on your relocation.

 

your correct about the hunting its by drawng by unit and it can be tough. i hunted there several years ago  had to purchase the lic every year to collect pref points.

[BizCT]

I hunted arizona for mt lion, also shot 2 gray foxes, and missed a Coues deer. Good units for lope and elk could took a decade or more to draw. But you can get decent mule deer and or Coues deer tags pretty easily. I think I drew my Coues tag in 32 or 33. The seasons are only like 6 days.

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[Doc]

Wow! Reading through this thread, I have to say that maybe NYS, and our DEC, and our hunting opportunities may be pretty darn good. At least compared to Arizona. I suspect that is likely the way it is in some of the other states. That old saying about the grass being greener on the other side of the fence kind of comes to mind.

[d-bone20917]

I'm not familiar with Arizona, but I know its one of the top trophy elk states.  You may want to post some of the questions you have on a few of the western hunting forums like hunttalk.com and rokslide.com.  There are lots of guys that hunt Arizona and could give you some first hand information.  I'm moving to Idaho in 3 weeks and have been doing a lot of research.  The regs are confusing compared to NY where you just buy a tag and hunt, but I think that is because they are actually managing their game animals.  Once you get your residency I'd start applying for some of those hard to draw hunts like bighorn sheep ASAP.  You'll also be able to drive to a lot of states that offer OTC elk and deer every year, but I'm pretty sure you can hunt deer OTC in Arizona.   

 

http://azgfdportal.az.gov/hunting/species/biggame/

[Trial153]

Leave and don't look back. NY sucks.

[BizCT]

Monstermuley.com is awesome for info on AZ and other surrounding states

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[Renegade Hunter]

Thanks, Guys I appreciate the info and support. I head out tomorrow! It will be the fourth time driving across the country. I will be sure to hop on here and post some pictures if I get the opportunity to see some cool stuff. I hear the fishing in the Colorado river is pretty good too! only about a 40 minute drive for me.