New for 2020

State Information

Source: United States Drought Monitor

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Source: United States Drought Monitor

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The Draw System

Arizona's 2020 Mule Deer Breakdown

Arizona's 2020 Coues Deer Breakdown

Arizona's 2020 Bighorn Sheep Breakdown

Arizona's 2020 Bison Breakdown

Arizona's 2020 Deer, Bighorn Sheep and Bison Application Overview

Note: The online application deadline for Arizona deer, bighorn sheep and bison is June 9, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. ARIZONA time. You can apply online here.

View important information and an overview of Arizona’s rules/regulations, the draw system, bonus points, permit and license fees and an interactive boundary line map on our State Profile. You can also view the Arizona Species Profiles to access historical and statistical data to help you find trophy areas.

Important Dates and Information

Drought in Arizona

2020

Source: United States Drought Monitor

Cumulative precipitation since Oct. 1 is slightly above normal throughout the state and that’s the good news. The bad news is that records showed snowpack levels well below normal throughout the major basins of the state. Most areas are at 70% of median snowpack. Snow water equivalent levels in the state’s major river basins are well below normal as well. Antler growth may not be as good as it was in 2019; it would be hard to surpass, but provided Arizona gets some moisture with the monsoons that typically arrive mid-summer, then antler growth should still be good.

2019

Border Activity

We commonly get asked about how concerned hunters should be that they are hunting the border units. If you are hunting those areas, there is need for concern; however, generally speaking, as long as you are aware and cautious, issues are very rare. There are units along the border that have strong deer herds with good trophy potential and great draw odds.

The units where the likelihood of a run-in with illegal immigrants are primarily south of Interstate 10. Once they reach the interstate, it is unlikely that they will be continuing on foot to their destination. Prior to hunting areas of concern it’s a good idea to contact the Tucson U.S. Border Patrol and give them your location, party information, name, vehicle description and the days you plan to hunt. A satellite messenger is also a good tool to have with you at all times. If you encounter any suspicious activity, do not engage; report it. Hunting in pairs is recommended and always be aware of your surroundings. When camping, it’s a good idea to leave a little water and/or food outside of your camper or vehicle as this often can deter a break into your vehicle or camper.

Understanding the Draw

Arizona offers a modified bonus point draw for deer, bighorn sheep and bison where 20% of the permits will be given to maximum point holders and the other 80% will be randomly allocated. They reserve 20% of the permits for each deer hunt code for maximum point applicants. For bighorn sheep and bison, 20% of the total number of permits statewide are reserved for maximum point applicants. In the random portion of the draw, weight is given to the number of points applicants have. For example, an applicant with five bonus points will have five chances — plus one for that year's application — to draw a random permit.

If you apply for a species and are unsuccessful in the draw, you will receive a bonus point for that species. You may also apply for bonus points only. We highly encourage applicants to apply for a hunt as your first and second choice. Remember that there is a random portion of the draw; you never know when you might draw a great tag.

Resident/nonresident Quotas

Nonresidents are limited to no more than 10% of the total permits for each hunt code for antlered deer. Out of that 10%, up to 5% can be allocated to hunters in the bonus pass. [Bonus pass is the process that awards permits to maximum point holders.] After that, the remaining 5% can be allocated to nonresidents in the random pass (second pass).

Nonresidents are issued up to 10% of the total statewide bighorn sheep and bison permits. No more than 50% of the permits per hunt code can be allocated to nonresidents. One nonresident permit can be allocated when a hunt offers between two and four permits. Two nonresident permits can be allocated for hunts that offer five or more permits total. If a hunt only has one permit, a nonresident cannot apply for and draw that permit.

Hunt Choices

You can apply with a first and second choice. An applicant’s first and second choices are considered before moving onto the next applicant. This means that once your application is pulled, they will try to allocate you your first choice and, if there are no permits remaining or the quota has been met, they will consider your second choice and do the same thing. If you do not draw your second choice, they will move to the next applicant. Your third, fourth and fifth choices will only be considered if there are leftover permits after every application's first and second choices have been considered.

If you draw any choice — one through five — your points will be purged. If you fail to apply for five consecutive years, your points will be purged. Bonus points will not be impacted if you obtain a leftover deer permit in the first-come process.

What Are Draw Passes?

People commonly talk about draw passes in Arizona because the draw happens in three different passes. The first pass is the bonus pass where they allocate maximum point holders’ permits up until the quotas are met. The second pass is random and the state looks at each applicant’s first and second choices and awards permits until the quotas have been met. If you are unsuccessful in the second pass for your first and second choice, then the third and final pass looks at third through fifth choices and awards hunts that were leftover in the second pass. Apply with caution on your third through fifth choices. If you are not willing to burn your points on those hunts, do not include hunts for your third, fourth and fifth choices.

More information can be found on the Arizona State Profile about the specifics of the Arizona draw system.

Current Mule Deer Herd Condition

The statewide estimated mule deer population is between 110,000 and 120,000. That number is dramatically less than populations of the 1980s and, even, the 1990s. The drought of 2014 was very tough on production and survival. Since then, numbers have increased slowly; however, herds are still not what they once were. That’s the bad news. The good news is that over the past two years, weather and precipitation have helped to stabilize populations throughout most of the state. In terms of permits allocated, there has been very little change over the past eight years. In 2019, there were 41,274 permits issued in the draw and 19,407 over-the-counter (OTC) archery licenses sold.

Arizona offers good opportunities to hunt mule deer, but the trophy potential is only really good in a few world-renowned areas. Those areas are the Arizona Strip and the Kaibab. The odds for drawing a Strip tag are very long — less than 1% for 13A and 13B from zero to 21 points. The late Kaibab hunts are well known and continually produce great bucks. Those hunts generally require at least a decade’s worth of points and often more, except for the archery hunt. The archery permit can be drawn with far fewer points. The archery hunt is far from a slam dunk, but a good option for the number of points it currently requires. Beyond those — and maybe 3A/3C, the rest of the units in the state can be considered decent opportunities, but not necessarily trophy areas.

The GOHUNT Hit List Units for Arizona Mule Deer

How to Uncover Hidden Gem Deer Units

The most attractive hidden gems are probably the archery hunts. The Kaibab (12AE/12AW/12B) was drawn with six and seven points last year. Additionally, Arizona offers one of the best OTC archery hunts in the West. The OTC archery permit will allow hunters to hunt 51 different units during the early hunt with an additional seven units open during the late season. In addition to the archery hunts, there are many rifle hunts that can be drawn with only a few points. Those are decent hunts if you are just looking to fill a permit, but typically are not trophy hunts.

Using Filtering 2.0, you can search for exactly the type of hunt you are looking for sorting success rates, percentage of public land and trophy quality to find a quality hunt that most hunters may not be keying into.

To Get Started with Filtering 2.0

B&c Entry Trends for Arizona Mule Deer

Units listed below may not have a current hunt for this species. Units in this table are considered if any part of the unit is found within any part of the county. Data provided below courtesy of Boone and Crockett Club.

The Points System

Managing Points and Expectations

Coues deer and mule deer use the same bonus points pool.

2020 maximum bonus points for deer: 23

Find your draw odds

I Have 0 to 3 Mule Deer Bonus Points. What Can I Expect?

Resident

Within this point range, applicants will need to decide what their objective is. If you are hoping to harvest a trophy caliber buck, you have a couple of options. One, apply for the best hunts: Unit 13A and 13B. The best odds for those two areas are the archery hunts, which were 3.3% and 2.2% with three points. Another hunt with good trophy potential is Unit 12, the Kaibab, which has archery odds of 29% with three points. The best rifle hunt odds for a trophy area are in 12BW from Oct. 23 to Nov. 1. That hunt had 16% odds with three points. Other rifle hunts in Unit 12 or 13 have odds of 1% to about 8%. That is one option. The other is to use the trophy potential filter and the draw odds filter within Filtering 2.0 and explore those hunts that have good potential, but better odds. For example, a filter of 170”+, three points and 50% draw odds yields nine units/hunts. A deeper dive reveals a harvest success of 40%+ in both rifle hunts in Units 9 and 20A.

Finally, there are several hunts that have 100% odds if you just want a chance to hunt mule deer. There are many areas in western and southeastern Arizona that are easy to draw.

Nonresident

Nonresidents should take a similar approach to the residents if they are within this point range. Swing for the fences or do some research into the middle ground (decent odds, decent trophy potential) or find an opportunity type of hunt. There are many hunts for both muzzleloader and rifle hunters that can be drawn with zero to three points, including 6B muzzleloader as well as 15 early and late muzzleloader. Unit 16A, 18A, 29, 41, 43/44 and 45 are all worth some research.

Note: for hunters who aspire to hunt the Arizona Strip, consider that one archery tag is typically allocated to a nonresident in 13A and two are allocated in 13B. The odds for those archery hunts are less than 1% from zero to 21 points. The rifle odds are worse. If you want to try to draw the Strip and are just starting, realize you may never actually draw those hunts.

Find your resident mule deer draw odds with 0 points here

Find your nonresident mule deer draw odds with 0 points here

What Can I Do with 4 to 10 Mule Deer Bonus Points?

Residents

With three to four points, there are 32 rifle hunts that were available in last year's draw. Once you jump up to the five plus range, there are fewer options and hunters with three to four points should do some research to see if waiting is worth it.

The better archery options are 3A/3C, which was drawn with seven points, and Unit 12 with six points. Muzzleloader hunters might consider 12AE, which was drawn with nine points and 39/40A/40B/41/42, which was drawn with eight. There are also rifle Kaibab hunts, including 12AW, 12AE and 12B, which were drawn with nine points. The rifle hunt in 3A/3C was drawn with 10 points. On the lower end of the scale, Unit 9 and 35A/35B were drawn with five points. Unit 1 and 2A/2B/2C are worth a look with six points. With four or five points, the rifle hunts in 20A, 20B, 20C, 21, 22, 23, 24A and 27 are good options.

Nonresidents

For a bowhunter, the Unit 12 archery hunt is by far the best option. That permit was drawn with seven points last year. The best muzzleloader option is for the 39/40A/40B/41/42, which was drawn with 10 points.

In the six to 10 point range, there are not good options, so prior to getting into that range, applicants should decide if they are in it for a very long haul or if they want to go hunting. Unit 6A was drawn with seven points last year. Unit 27 rifle is a good hunt with five points. With four points, consider Unit 9, 7E, 7W, 19A and 23.

Find your resident mule deer draw odds with 10 points here

Find your nonresident mule deer draw odds with 10 points here

What Can I Expect with 11 or More Mule Deer Bonus Points?

Residents

Unit 13A archery was drawn with 13 points. Unit 13B archery was drawn with 17 points. Unit 12B muzzleloader is a good option at the 11 to 12 point range. The Kaibab late rifle hunts are good options: 12AE, 12AW, 12B with 16 points. The Arizona Strip rifle permits required 18 and 20 points to guarantee those.

Nonresidents

The archery hunt in 13A had odds of less than 1% from zero to 21 points. Unit 13B archery had 14% with maximum points last year. The best archery hunt available with 11 points was 3A/3C, which had 51% odds. The muzzleloader hunt in 12AE had 50% odds with 18 points. Another option at 11 points is the muzzleloader hunt in 39/40A/40B/41/42. Another option with 12 to 14 points is the December rifle hunt in Unit 27.

Rifle hunters might consider 3A/3C with 15 to 16 points. The 12AE October hunt required 16 points. The late rifle hunts on 12AE, 12AW and 12B all required maximum points. The Arizona Strip rifle hunts in 13A had 18% odds with maximum points and 13B had 4.4% odds with maximum points.

Find your resident mule deer draw odds with 15 points here

Find your nonresident mule deer draw odds with 15 points here

Leftover and OTC Deer Tags

The majority of the state has OTC archery hunts so there is a chance that the unit you are looking to hunt is available to hunt every year as long as you are willing to pick up your bow and head out. Season dates are either in August or closer to the new year as the rut activity picks up.

Any leftover permits after the main draw will become available on a first-come first serve basis. The list will be available on the AZGFD website under “Big Game Draw.” We will also publish those in an article. Applications for the leftover permits will be accepted by mail at 8:00 a.m on July 20.

Find your Arizona MULE DEER OTC opportunities here

Find your Arizona COUES DEER OTC opportunities here

Coues deer hunting is only offered in a couple of states — Arizona and New Mexico — and the best hunting is in Arizona. The populations are robust and the draw odds are good. Any hunter can find an opportunity to hunt no matter how many points they have. Plus the trophy quality is generally really good.

Arizona offers muzzleloader and rifle draw permits. The rifle hunts are generally separated out into different seasons running from late October to mid November and, then, a late hunt in December. Coues deer are commonly referred to as the “grey ghost.” Finding and killing one can be challenging, but as the dates get later into December they begin to move in preparation for the rut. For the most part, the late hunts are harder to draw because the bucks are more visible and harvest success rates commonly reflect that. Earlier hunts are easier to draw, but hunting conditions can be hot and bucks can be hard to locate.

If you love the challenge of hours of glassing, long-range shooting and a lot of hiking, Coues deer are really fun to hunt.

Current Coues Deer Herd Condition

Coues deer call some of the harshest ecosystems in the state home and they are faring really well with populations stable to growing. Typically, the further south you get, the bigger the populations. The vegetation density is opposite: the northern units are much thicker and more brushy while the southern units are more open country.

How to Uncover Hidden Gem Units

Hunting south of Interstate 10, there are many different units that have multiple seasons both in October and November that have been undersubscribed for many years. Most of these units have above average deer densities and have incredible glassing potential versus units further north in the dense ponderosa forest. The main reason is that many hunters are avoiding these areas because of interactions with illegal immigrants and drug traffic that is happening in these remote areas of the state. The hunting in these units can be very good and picking up a permit is not that hard. Use caution when hunting these areas.

Leftover tags are acquired by a first come, first served basis. First, by mail, beginning on July 20 and then, at any AZGFD office. Proceed with caution, but enjoy the hunt.

Using Filtering and Draw Odds, you will be able to study additional information like trophy potential and success rates to narrow down where you would like to hunt. If you want to hunt Coues deer every year, you can. In the table below, we offer hunts that were drawn with no points and have harvest success rates greater than 30%. In addition, there are many hunts that can be drawn that have slightly lower harvest success rates.

B&c Entry Trends for Arizona Coues Deer

Units listed below may not have a current hunt for this species. Units in this table are included if any part of the unit is found within the county. Data provided below courtesy of Boone and Crockett Club.

The Point System

Coues deer and mule deer use the same bonus points pool.

2020 maximum bonus points for deer: 23

(Points are not species-specific. Deer points are deer points whether you apply them to mule deer or Coues deer.)

Find your draw odds

Managing Points and Expectations

I Have 0 Coues Deer Bonus Points. What Can I Expect?

Applicants with no points can hunt as indicated in the table above. By researching the unit profiles, you can further fine-tune your search. Another option that you may consider is to apply for the best trophy potential or hard-to-draw units in the state and, if you are unsuccessful in the draw, apply for a leftover first-come permit after the draw. That will allow applicants to build points and still go hunting. Many of the hunts listed in the table below have leftover permits each year. Remember: if you draw any of your choices — one through five — you will not obtain a point.

Find your resident Coues deer draw odds with 0 points here

Find your nonresident Coues deer draw odds with 0 points here

What Can I Do with 5 to 10 Coues Deer Bonus Points?

Residents

With five points, applicants have 68 hunts they could draw — the best of which were likely the muzzleloader hunt in 35A/35B and rifle hunts in 4A/4B, 5A/5BN/5BS, 30A (Dec) and 34B (Dec). Jumping up to six points, there are even more good hunts, including the December hunts in Unit 31, 32, 34A, 35A, 35B, 36A, 36B and 36C.

With seven points, hunters might consider the December hunt in 24A, 24B, 29 and 33. Applicants with eight points should consider the December hunt in Unit 6A and 6B/8. Finally, with nine and 10 points, the best options are the December hunts in Unit 21, 22, 27/28. Every hunt should be available to residents with 10 points going into this draw.

Nonresidents

With five points, nonresident applicants have 52 hunts they could have drawn. Intriguing options include rifle hunts in 6A (November), 8 (October), 23 (November), 30B (December) and 31 (November). With six points, the December rifle hunts in 30A and 34B were great options. The December hunts in Unit 32, 34A, 36A, 36B and 36C were good hunts for applicants with seven points.

With eight points, applicants should consider the December hunt in Unit 35A. Moving to nine and 10 points, applicants should research the December hunts in 6A and 6B/8. The best hunts in the state require more points. The December hunts in Unit 21 required 11 points, 27/28 and 29 required 14, Unit 22 required 17 points and 23 required 16 points

Find your resident Coues deer draw odds with 8 points here

Find your nonresident Coues deer draw odds with 8 points here

Arizona offers hunting for both Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep and desert bighorn sheep. Applicants can only submit one application for bighorn sheep each year, but they can mix and match their first and second choice. For example, you could apply for a desert bighorn hunt as a first choice and a Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep as a second choice. Arizona will take into account both your first and second choices before moving onto the next application. Bonus points are not species specific, meaning you have bighorn sheep points and those are applied to the hunts you apply for — regardless of species.

In 2020, there will be 122 total permits available. Because of the nonresident quota, what this means is that up to 12 nonresident permits could be drawn this year in Arizona. For nonresidents, there must be at least two permits for one to possibly be allocated to a nonresident.

However, recall that Arizona offers 20% of the permits to maximum point holders in the draw — the bulk of which are resident applicants. With that being the case, the bonus pass permits are primarily given to residents for the top-tier trophy units that are historically known to produce giant rams. Due to this fact, if you have less than maximum points (31), then it’s important to consider applying for a less than premier unit as these units often have a permit available in the random pass.

The table below shows the number of desert bighorn sheep permits available for 2020 and it also indicates if there are nonresident permits available. In the fourth column, we indicate whether or not each hunt is the “Best, Good, or Worst” option for applicants with less than maximum points. Those suggestions are based on odds of drawing a permit in the random pool. The worst options are the best trophy hunts and will most likely be drawn by maximum point holders. Good hunts have good trophy potential and a permit that may slip through to a random applicant. The best options are the better bets for low point applicants. Still, the odds are less than 1%.

The GOHUNT Hit List Units for Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep

As previously noted, the best odds of drawing a permit are in areas where the trophy potential is not quite as good. The top-tier units in the state will produce 170” to 180” class rams most years. Those units are also the ones that will require maximum points or all the luck you can muster. Below we will offer the hit list for Arizona desert and Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep.

B&c Entry Trends for Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep

Units listed below may not have a current hunt for this species. Units in this table are included if any part of the unit is found within the county. Data provided below courtesy of Boone and Crockett Club.

B&c Entry Trends for Arizona Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Units

Units listed below may not have a current hunt for this species. Units in this table are included if any part of the unit is found within the county. Data provided below courtesy of Boone and Crockett Club.

Managing Bighorn Sheep Points and Expectations

The Bighorn Sheep Point System

Arizona desert bighorn sheep and Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep use the same bonus points pool.

2020 maximum bonus points for Arizona bighorn sheep: 31

Find your draw odds

I Have Less than Maximum (31) Bonus Points. What Can I Expect?

For residents and nonresidents alike, the odds of drawing a bighorn sheep permit are very low. In fact, the odds for residents with less than maximum points was less than 5% from zero points all the way up to 29 points. It’s even longer odds for Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep with odds being less than 1% for all hunts except Unit 27 Upper Blue River, which offered odds of a whopping 1.1% with one point less than maximum.

For nonresidents even with maximum points, your best desert bighorn hunt odds were at 37% for hunts in Unit 45B and 39. All nonresident permits for Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep will be randomly allocated — likely with odds .2% and less. Use the GOHUNT INSIDER draw odds and the tables above to apply for the units that are the best choices for a nonresident with less than maximum points.

Find your resident Rocky bighorn sheep draw odds with 0 points here

Find your nonresident Rocky bighorn sheep draw odds with 0 points here

Find your resident Desert bighorn sheep draw odds with 0 points here

Find your nonresident Desert bighorn sheep draw odds with 0 points here

I Have 31 Bighorn Sheep Bonus Points. What Can I Expect?

If you want the best possibility to draw, avoid applying for the top-tier units. If you want a chance at the best trophy units in the state, those are Unit 22, Unit 24B, Unit 31, Unit 32 and Unit 44B North. If you are interested in Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, the best units are Unit 1/27 (resident only), Unit 6A, Unit 22 and Unit 27/28 in 2020.

Find your resident Rocky bighorn sheep draw odds with 25 points here

Find your nonresident Rocky bighorn sheep draw odds with 25 points here

Find your resident Desert bighorn sheep draw odds with 25 points here

Find your nonresident Desert bighorn sheep draw odds with 25 points here

Arizona offers two application periods for bison: one is open now and then another application period in the fall. Applicants can actually apply for and obtain two bonus points a year. As such, the current maximum bonus point total for bison is 50. This spring application period is a good opportunity to pick up a bonus point and apply for the bull hunts available in the fall application period.

The spring application period offers hunts in Unit 5A/5B (Raymond Ranch Herd) and Unit 12A/13A (Kaibab). The only bull bison hunt that is offered is in Unit 5A/5B; the rest are valid for a cow bison only. There is also one designated yearling bison permit as well. The bison hunts on the Raymond Ranch will require that you are escorted by an AZGFD employee and the bison will be selected for you. It may not be the one you hoped for so apply for this hunt with caution. If you are looking for a chance to harvest a trophy bull, you might consider applying in the fall for the hunts that are conducted in the spring and summer and apply for points only for this application period.

The Kaibab hunts available now are spread out from August through December and have options for rifle, archery and muzzleloader. Hunts in Unit 12A, 12B, and 13A (excluding Rock House Wildlife Area) tend to have very sporadic harvest success. Typically, these hunts are conducted by ambush hunting over a water source or mineral lick and can be very hit or miss. Harvest success is often in the 30% to 40% range, but can be lower or higher.

B&c Entry Trends for Arizona Bison Units

Units listed below may not have a current hunt for this species. Units in this table are included if any part of the unit is found within the county. Data provided below courtesy of Boone and Crockett Club.

The Point System

2020 maximum bonus points for bison: 51

Managing Points and Expectations

The trophy bison hunts that happen in Unit Group 12A, 12B and 13A are not available to apply for this spring application period. The only hunt that you may have an opportunity to harvest an above average bull would be the last hunt in Unit 5A and 5B, which happens in mid-December. This hunt is for a bull, but it is a bull that is designated for the hunter to harvest by the hunt management team over the Raymond herd. If this is not the type of hunt you are looking for and you are not interested in hunting a cow or yearling bison, then you should simply apply for a point only application at this deadline and then apply for the trophy hunts this fall. Watch for the application strategy article this fall for more information about the spring and summer hunts.

There are a lot of applicants and, with the chance to build two points per year, most of the successful applicants have over 25 points. However, there is a chance to draw every time you apply and if you would be happy with a cow or a yearling bull, the number of applicants trying for these bison are much less than the number of applicants applying in the fall for the chance to hunt a mature bull. If you decide to apply for one of these hunts, hiring a guide is a very good idea if you want to harvest a bison. Otherwise, it can be a very tough hunt.

Find your resident bison draw odds here

Find your nonresident bison draw odds here