Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Arizona elk hunting

How difficult is it for a resident of Arizona to get an elk tag? I'm just thinking ahead for when I retire of what state would be best for hunting opportunities.

Wyoming or Montana will give you the best quality hunts. Colorado still has the most elk but also lots, and lots of hunters. Idaho has the most wolves and are reducing them daily but it will be a few years away before there herds come back to the levels in the 90"s Wyoming also does not have a state income tax, It also has lots of wind, Colorado has lots of liberals to help you enrich someone else's life.

Thanks Elkmen for the information. I have been hunting elk for a little over 25 yrs now and most of the hunts have been in Colorado, a couple in Montana and one in Wyoming. I just can't see myself living in Colorado. It's a beautiful state but just can't see that as a state I would retire in. I like Wyoming but the reason I was thinking Arizona was the mild weather. Just didn't know if I would be able to hunt there or still have to travel to do most of my big game hunting due to being difficult to draw tags.

Depends on what units and hunts you apply for.
If you apply for early rifle probably could wait 12-15 yrs or more
Archery 3-5 maybe depending on unit
Late rifle/archery probably every other year.
I may be a little off but I bet I’m close.

And as far as quality, no state matches Arizona in my opinion.

Could always buy one of those White Mountain Apache Reservation tags for $15-$20K for a 400 bull.Mild winters mean 120 +degree summers.Albuquerque,NM would have all around better weather , and a little better chance of drawing a tag maybe every three years. Montana has cold winters,Wyoming has cold and windy winters, warm and windy summers. Move to western Colorado and you can get away from all the front range lunatics that are now gracing our presence.

What SS said- If you want the sunny SW weather, without the BRUTAL summer heat, and you're still wanting to hunt elk without needing to worry about gathering points, ABQ is the place to be. A added bonus is that you can apply/hunt 9 different big game species a year. Your chances of drawing a sheep tag once you establish residency will be just as good as the guy thats been applying for 45 yrs.

Downside-Abq's petty crime is horrible.

Maybe Flagstaff area?

It all depends on weapon, time of year and unit.

Anywhere from every year, to once every 20 years.

They used to be the top quality state but Utah is on top now, and Nevada is a close second only becausse it is pretty impossible to get a Nevada tag..The game commission in Arizona has really hurt the quality in my opinion by adding hunters and kill numbers...

My father in law lives in St George Utah and they really like it there. He isn't a hunter so he isn't much help with the hunting information out there. I have had friends that hunted up in the North part of Utah on private ground guided hunt. They both shot bulls in the 375" range but also spent about $15,000 each.

I did visit the Grand Junction area a couple times in the summer and liked the area. Just didn't really check it out for an option to retire at. The wife and I were just too busy riding the Harley all over that area. Spent 10 days going from GJ to Durango and all points between. The ride through Gateway was a must see.

I will have to look into New Mexico. Just don't want an area that has a lot of crime. Might just have to go to a place that is retirement friendly and travel to other states to hunt.

Depending upon what unit you apply for, but for late bull hunts that will pull a 310 to 350 bull on average will take 5 to 6 points to give you on average a 48% chance to draw a tag.

For the OP.

Couple things to keep in mind with AZ. First off, you get a loyalty point after applying for 5 years in a row, and as long as you keep applying without missing a year, that point stays with you forever. The other way to gain a point is to take a hunters education class in AZ you have a point for every species for life.

That being said, the others have given you solid information.

I started applying in AZ in 2002...drew my first rifle bull tag in 2008, drew my second rifle bull tag in 2011, third bull tag in 2012, and drew again in 2017. So 4 rifle bull tags since 2008 as a NR.

I killed six point bulls in 2008, 2011, and 2017. In 2012, I donated my tag to hunt of a lifetime.

BuzzH
Thanks for donating the tag. What unit was it? I helped on a 6A muzzleloader hunt around then. A very worthy cause.

there are over the counter tags here. i lived in flagstaff. . most years way too much cold and snow . the warmer weather in phoenix I enjoy. the citrus blossom aroma is awesome

Don't be fooled by the "over the counter" tags.

Most are like finding a needle in a haystack.

You can always try to kill one of the 50 or so elk in the Kaibab

The OTC tags are truly needles in haystack propositions without great inside info.

As for drawing a cow tag, you can probably do 50% or slightly better if you simply play odds every year. If you want to hunt bulls every year, you may always get lucky, but once every 4 or 5 years is about the norm. If you want any odds tags for fantastic bulls, then AZ is a great state. But no bull tag where they grow big is easy to get. The State added some late November archery bull tags, and most think they have a chance sitting on tanks using this strategy. I have done it, along with friends. It is a low odds hunt unless your tank is 4 miles from where any wheeled vehicle can go. Bulls here are hunted very, very hard and use their great athleticism to their advantage. They simply live out of reach. This past winter I scouted during the time period of the late Nov. hunt, though without a tag. I was in a position to watch across a long, wide canyon and see bulls come up over the slopes to water on the top of the ridge. There were two tanks there, one near a place accessible by 4WD, and one 3 miles out the ridge where wheels cannot go. The bulls actually bedded between the two tanks, and had about 1.5 miles to go to get to either. They made a beeline to the far tank while I watch from 1.5 miles away. They were only exposed to shooting during light for a short time, and certainly not in danger from my position. With a tag, I could have planned an intercept strategy, but they were still at the actual tank after shooting light.

This year, bull and cow alike may all perish from thirst. Trends here are not good for elk, as it has gotten progressively drier for decades, and was terrible last year.

The cool thing about AZ though is that you can do lots of scouting when it would be dead winter with heavy snow in other places. NM is the same way.

Here, many good bulls live between 4500 and 5000 feet, if there is any water. Scouting these can be from brutal to life-threatening in warm weather.

But yeah, I love elk hunting

Last OTC hunt I went on I killed a 7x7 with my 458 Lott. Came right into a call.

Took me 8 points to draw my last tag. I don't know if Utah is better but it is good.