How to Apply for Arizona Elk and Antelope Hunts and More Information You Need in 2023

Arizona's 2023 Elk and Antelope Application Overview

Note: The online application deadline for Arizona elk and antelope is Feb. 14, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. Arizona Time. You can apply online here.

New Or Noteworthy For This Year

Insider Features

Hunt Planner

To aid in your research and planning efforts, we created a brand new tool for Insiders called Hunt Planner. This tool will help you be more efficient at planning for hunts and also keeps all your research data organized. No more notepads getting lost or headaches when trying to remember what units caught your eye during your research! Everything you need is always in one place at GOHUNT.

What can you do in Hunt Planner?

Learn more about Hunt Planner here

Point Tracker

Point Tracker allows you to enter the number of points you have for each state and species and, as you research through Filtering 2.0 and Draw Odds, your point total will automatically be highlighted. Learn more about using Point Tracker here.

Access Point Tracker here

Draw Odds

GOHUNT displays the number of applicants at each point level below the cut-off draw line for each hunt on the detailed draw odds page. This gives applicants a much greater understanding of point creep for each hunt and allows them to apply with a much better understanding of their chances. Check out a great article on point creep here and how to find the detailed draw odds page for each hunt.

Use our standalone Draw Odds tool here

How to Apply

To apply, visit www.azgfd.com/hunting/draw and login to your AZGFD portal account. If you have not created a portal you will need to take the necessary steps to do so. Once inside your portal, click on “Apply For A Draw.”

Make sure to review your bonus point totals. Check your points to ensure that you have the proper number of points. If the number doesn’t seem accurate, call AZGFD at 602-942-3000 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Do not wait to call if there is an issue. Take care of it well in advance of the application deadline.

Applicants must possess a valid Arizona hunting license to apply for a hunting tag. That license must be valid on the last day of the application period (Feb. 14, 2023) to be eligible in the draw. Check your AZGFD portal account to make sure yours is up to date.

State Information

Below you can find important information and an overview of Arizona’s rules/regulations, the draw system, bonus points, tag and license fees. An interactive boundary line map is available on our State Profile. Once at the State Profile, you can find even more information on applying in Arizona. You can also view the Arizona Elk Profile and Arizona Antelope Profile to access historical and statistical data to help you locate trophy units.

Important Dates and Information

Note: The cost of the permit will only be charged if you are successful in the draw. If you are successful, AZGFD will charge the card used when you applied. If the card is declined, they will NOT attempt to contact you. They will move past your application to the next applicant in the queue. Make sure the card you use is current and has the room to accommodate the permit(s) you applied for!

The Arizona Draw System

Arizona has a modified bonus point system where a portion of the permits are allocated to applicants with the most bonus points who apply for any given hunt and the rest are randomly allocated.

In Arizona, they refer to stages of the draw as “passes.” Bonus point permits are awarded in the first pass of the draw, which is often referred to as the bonus pass or first pass. The second pass is when random permits are awarded. Within the second pass (aka random draw), the number of bonus points you apply with are still taken into consideration. This means that your odds of drawing get better in the random draw with every bonus point you acquire. An applicant with no points still has a chance in the random draw, but your odds increase with each bonus point you gain.

Permit Splits and Allocation

Arizona allocates 20% of the elk and antelope permits in the bonus point pass and 80% in the random pass. Within the 20% (bonus pass), up to 5% can be allocated to nonresidents. Within the 80% (random pass), up to 5% of those can be allocated to nonresidents. Thus, up to 10% of the total permits can be allocated to nonresidents; however, it is not guaranteed.

Bonus Points

Bonus points are species specific. Applicants obtain a bonus point each time they apply and are unsuccessful in the draw. Applicants can apply for “point only” as their first choice if they do not want to apply for hunts, but we only advise that if an applicant cannot afford the time or the cost of the permit if they were to draw it. Remember that Arizona offers a portion of the permits in a random draw and you will automatically get a bonus point if you are unsuccessful in the draw. It makes good sense to apply for hunts and not just a bonus point. Bonus points will be purged if you successfully draw a permit with any of your choices. Bonus points will also be purged if an applicant has failed to apply in the draw for five consecutive years.

There are two other ways an applicant can gain an additional bonus point. If an applicant has applied for five consecutive years and has completed the hunter’s education course, they could go into a draw with two points already even if they drew a permit the previous year. More information below.

How Bonus Points Work in the Draw

20% of the permits for any given hunt will be awarded to the applicants who apply with the most bonus points during the first pass of the draw. As previously stated, up to 5% of those bonus pass permits can be awarded to nonresidents.

In the random pass of the draw, the system grants an applicant one random number for each bonus point that has been accumulated going into the drawing for that species. Each bonus point random number is in addition to the current application random number entry itself. For example, someone with six bonus points would have seven random numbers generated for their application. The lowest generated number becomes the new application number. When they begin to allocate permits, they start with the applicant who has the lowest application number and allocate them a permit and move up in ascending order until all permits are allocated. Remember that nonresidents can draw up to 5% of the permits in the random pass; however, those are not guaranteed to nonresidents.

Basically, you need to know this: bonus points increase your odds of drawing a permit, but applicants who apply for the first time in this draw with no points still have a chance to draw a permit.

Pointguard

Arizona offers a safeguard for applicants who draw a permit and may want to return it in order to have their points restored. This program is called PointGuard. The fee is $10 per species and can be purchased at the same time you apply. If you purchased PointGuard for a permit you drew and decided to return it, it must be done at least one day prior to opening day. You’ll also need to complete the surrender application form. If you use PointGuard, you will have your bonus points restored plus one for that year. You will forfeit the permit and application fees. Also, be aware that PointGuard can only be used one time per species, meaning you cannot draw a permit and return it year after year (while retaining your points) until you are ready to hunt.

Pointguard plus

For applicants who apply for multiple species in Arizona and plan to continue to apply, Arizona offers PointGuard Plus. For $25, an applicant will have the opportunity to surrender a tag and have their bonus points reinstated for all eligible big game species for three consecutive draw cycles from the date of purchase. Applicants must purchase this protection at the time they apply.

Hunt Choices

Applicants can apply for up to five hunt choices on their application. Only your first and second choice are considered before moving to the next application. What that means is an applicant's third, fourth and fifth choice will only be considered if there are leftover permits. Be aware that if you draw any of your choices, your points will be purged. For that reason, we advise applicants to only include first and second choices unless they are willing to burn points on the types of hunts that make it to the leftover list.

Group Applications

Arizona will allow up to four individuals to apply on a group application for elk and antelope. The group application is treated as one application where, if selected, all members of the group would receive a permit. A group application will have their bonus points averaged and rounded to the nearest whole number (.5 and up would round up to the nearest whole number, .4 and down would round down). If there are not enough permits to meet the number of applicants on a group application, the application has no chance of being successful. Arizona will not over-allocate the permit quota to accommodate a group application.

Youth and Mentoring Opportunities

Youth can apply for and hunt big game in Arizona at 10 years old. They must have completed a hunter’s education course and purchased an Arizona hunting license. That license is only $5 for youth (10 to 17). We highly recommend that you begin to apply and build points for your youth beginning at age 10. Arizona does offer some “youth only” elk permits, but those are all antlerless hunts. For nonresidents, we recommend applying for antlered permits and building points for your kids. There are better opportunities to hunt cow elk in other states.

Arizona has a unique program that will allow a parent, grandparent or legal guardian to transfer a permit they have drawn to their youth (10 to 17). The youth must have a valid hunting license and completed hunter’s education if they are younger than 14.

Arizona's 2023 Elk Breakdown

Arizona is known for producing trophy quality bulls and offering the lucky permit holders a phenomenal experience in the elk woods. The most difficult part of the Arizona elk equation is obtaining a permit. Generally speaking, the odds of drawing the early season archery, rifle and/or muzzleloader are tough. Arizona does offer late season rifle and archery hunts that are easier to draw, but those hunts are more difficult and the quality of the bulls killed on those hunts is not on par with the early hunts.

The cost to apply in Arizona is not exactly cheap. You must buy the annual hunting license at a cost of $160 and then the application fee is $15 per species. It’s going to cost you a minimum of $175 if you only want to apply for elk. My advice would be to apply for any and all species in Arizona that you are interested in. If you are already buying the hunting license to apply for elk, you might as well also apply for deer, antelope, bighorn sheep, javelina and even bison. Remember that a portion of the permits are randomly allocated so it’s possible that you could draw a great permit on any given year. I believe that Arizona is a worthwhile state to apply and build points in.

Arizona’s elk hunting structure offers an early archery and rifle hunt as well as a late archery and late rifle hunt in most units. They also offer some muzzleloader hunts. The early hunts typically have higher harvest success and the trophy potential is better earlier on. The late hunts can be tough, especially the late archery hunts. Those hunts are spot and stalk — often in rough, remote terrain — and the biggest bulls can be hard to locate consistently that time of year. The late archery hunts often have low harvest success rates and some of the bigger bulls often have broken antlers by the time the late hunts roll around. The late rifle hunts are good options for applicants without a lot of points. Many of the late rifle hunts are available with seven or more bonus points.

There is good news going into 2023. Arizona is having a very good winter in terms of the amount of moisture it’s receiving and the antler growth is highly dependent on the availability of quality feed. We are hearing that antler growth in Arizona should be one of the best years in the past decade. Not every unit is going to consistently produce 350”+ caliber bulls. There are 10 or so units where the opportunity for that type of bull exists. Almost every unit can offer 310” to 320” bulls for hunters who are willing to scout and hunt hard. As stated, antler growth is based on drought/moisture conditions and, although Arizoan is still dry, we do anticipate that 2023 is going to be a banner year for big bulls in the Grand Canyon State.

2021 Drought Status

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2022 Drought Status

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2023 Drought Status

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Use the detailed Draw Odds view to look at draw trends and see where you can expect to draw in the maximum points pool and random draw.

Access our standalone Draw Odds here

As you can see, the best hunts require a lot of points. Given the fact that a portion of Arizona’s permits are offered to applicants with the most bonus points, point creep is an issue just like it is in several states in the West. Generally speaking, many hunts are jumping approximately one point per year. This means that if applicants are looking at the odds at their current point level, they may not draw going into 2023. You should consider hunts that show 100% odds at one point less than you currently have. You should also look at the detailed draw odds pages for the hunts you are considering to further evaluate your odds of drawing this year. Below we will break down some of the best hunt options for applicants at a variety of point levels.

The Points System for Elk

2023 maximum resident bonus points for elk: 302023 maximum nonresident bonus points for elk: 33

Find your draw odds

Arizona's 2023 Antelope Breakdown

Arizona is still a good state for producing trophy class antelope, but it’s nowhere near as good as it was 20 years ago. Populations have seen declines mainly due tough environmental conditions and predation. While there will always be a few world class bucks taken in Arizona every fall, for the most part, hunters are harvesting average bucks on tags that have tougher draw odds than bighorn sheep. At this point, I would only advise applicants to apply for antelope in Arizona if they are already buying the $160 hunting license to apply for other species. For the $15 application fee, you have a chance in the draw. Although, if you review the odds, you will see that it’s a very slim chance and applying for antelope is similar to buying a lottery ticket. Someone is going to draw, but it’s not likely to be you or me, unfortunately.

AZGFD has cut the number of permits throughout the state in recent years and the cuts are needed. While the cuts may be good for the long term, they are not going to help move through the number of applicants backlogged in the system.

Below we outline the GOHUNT hit list for the best Arizona antelope hunts. If you do decide to take a swing for the fence approach, my personal recommendation with the current conditions of Arizona antelope herds would be to apply for the best areas and hope you draw a random permit. Personally, I believe that Arizona’s antelope hunts are generally the most overrated hunts in the West, especially outside of the hitlist units.

How to Uncover Hidden Gem Antelope Units

Typically, within this section of an application article, we have some tips and tricks to find opportunities that may not be on the radar for most applicants. Unfortunately, this is not the case for Arizona antelope. There were 57 hunts available for nonresidents in 2022 and, out of those, there were six that offered a bonus point permit. For nonresidents, the Unit 10 archery antelope permit took the least number of bonus points to guarantee and it required 23 points plus.

The best random odds were for the Unit 6B archery, Unit 8 muzzleloader or the 30A rifle hunt. Most hunts had random odds from one to 30 points in the 1% to 3% range. The best advice we can offer is to review the odds and the table below listing units with the most permits offered and pick one that looks enticing to you and hope for some luck. Someone is going to draw.

The Points System for Antelope

2023 maximum resident bonus points for antelope: 332023 maximum nonresident bonus points for antelope: 33

Find your draw odds

Managing Points and Expectations

Do not expect to draw an antelope permit in Arizona this year or, potentially, in your life. It’s unfortunate, but that is the current state of antelope hunting there. So why apply for Arizona antelope? The only reasons that someone should apply for antelope in Arizona is if they are already buying the hunting license to apply for the other species or they have been building points for a couple decades. Beyond that, it’s very hard to make a case for applying. For the few lucky applicants who draw a permit, Arizona has historically offered good trophy potential and opportunities to harvest. For the extra $15 fee it may be worth it to you to apply, but maintain reasonable expectations if you do apply.