Application Strategy 2024: Arizona elk and antelope

ARIZONA'S 2024 ELK & ANTELOPE APPLICATION OVERVIEW

Note: The online application deadline for Arizona elk is Feb. 6, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. Arizona Time. You can apply online here.

New Or Noteworthy For This Year

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!

How to apply

To apply, visit the Arizona draw page here 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 prior to researching hunts to apply for. 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. 6, 2024) to be eligible in the draw. Check your AZGFD portal account to make sure yours is up to date.

The current drought status in Arizona

2024

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2023

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2022

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The Arizona Draw System

Arizona’s draw system works on a modified bonus point system. In the draw, a portion of the permits are allocated to the applicants with the most bonus points who apply for any given hunt and the rest are randomly allocated with bonus points giving you better odds of drawing.

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 to do 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. Learn more below. 

Stages of the draw

In Arizona, they refer to stages of the draw as “passes.” Bonus point permits (permits guaranteed to applicants who apply with the most points) 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.

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. 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 on 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 only antlerless elk 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 2024 Elk Breakdown

Arizona is a must apply elk state for us even though the cost to apply is high when comparing it to most of its neighbors. While it may take over a decade of applying to draw the better early season and late rifle hunts, for those lucky permit holders, it offers the opportunity at a really good hunt. The fact that a good portion of the permits are randomly drawn is another reason why you should strongly consider applying in the Grand Canyon state. As long as you apply, you have a chance to draw what is arguably one of the best elk permits anywhere. 

Because Arizona is near the southern extent of elk range and habitat, antler growth is more closely tied to quality feed generated from annual precipitation than northerly states. 2023 was an exceptional water year, resulting in very good elk hunting this past fall with a number of great bulls taken throughout the state. By most accounts, 2023 lived up to the hype. Moving into 2024, the moisture outlook pales in comparison. Arizona has received minimal winter snowpack in the higher elevations and almost the entire state is currently within an abnormally dry to severely dry state. There is still the possibility that winter arrives late and Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico receive good moisture throughout January to April. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting average annual temperatures and slightly above average precipitation through the northern part of the state in early 2024. Those late winter, heavy, wet snow storms and spring rain would benefit greatly and, in reality, would be the preference in southern states. Time will tell. Even with below average moisture, 2023 was good enough that elk entering this winter were in relatively good body condition. Currently, I don’t believe that it’s going to be as good or better than last year, but it should be average to perhaps above average for antler growth. If you have the bonus points to draw an Arizona elk tag, I believe 2024 would be a good year to utilize those and go hunting. 

The best bulls historically are taken from the units that AZGFD manages for higher bull to cow ratios; however, almost every unit offers hunters the opportunity at a good bull. The best units are 1, 9, 10, 23 as these units are managed for approximately 50:100 bull to cow ratios. They offer fewer permits overall and the terrain and vegetation within those areas often allows bulls to acquire older age classes. The rest of the units in the state are still managed for good bull:cow ratios (25-35:100) and although the number of quality bulls is not as high as the top tier units, they are still very good and will offer a great hunt for the number of points to draw. Several of these units in 2023 produced better bulls than they had in the previous five years and I anticipate that trend to continue this year. 

Generally speaking, Arizona breaks their hunt structure into early archery, late archery, early rifle and late rifle with some units also offering a muzzleloader hunt, which may be early season or late depending on the unit/year. The early hunts are understandably the best when bulls are vocal and rutting. Late rifle and muzzleloader hunts are still good hunts, but bulls are much more difficult to find post rut. In addition, far more permits are given for the late season hunts, meaning that hunting pressure is a lot higher. The trade-off is that late season hunts offer much better draw odds. When you are researching and, later, when you decide to apply, it’s important to consider your objectives, abilities and expectations. If you really want to hunt bugling bulls and maximize your potential of killing a trophy caliber bull, the early hunts are the better choice. Just realize that the odds of drawing are a lot tougher. Late season rifle and archery hunts are often very challenging. The late archery hunts are tough due to the terrain being rough, thickly vegetated and having to compete with many other hunters. The late rifle hunts occur after the late archery hunts when bulls will have been pressured and the older bulls regularly move into remote, rough and thick terrain. Overall, Arizona offers fantastic elk hunting opportunities to those who draw a permit. For most applicants, regardless of what hunt you apply for, it will require eight years or more to draw, but it’s worth it in our opinion. Below I will break down the hit list for 2024 and other good options as mid and low bonus point ranges.

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

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 and a few jumped more than one bonus point. This means that if applicants are looking at the odds at their current point level, they may not draw going into 2024. 

You should consider hunts that show 100% odds at one to three points 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.

HOW TO UNCOVER HIDDEN GEM ELK HUNTS 

The best hidden gems for Arizona elk are the late archery hunts. Understand that the late archery hunts can be extremely difficult spot and stalk hunts in remote terrain that is heavily vegetated; however, every year, there are great bulls taken. For the number of points required, they are good hunts in our opinion. There were 17 units that offered late archery hunts. Out of those units, 4B, 22N and 22S had 10% to 30% odds with just one nonresident bonus point. 22N late archery had 100% odds with four points while 22S had 100% odds with three points. Units 9, 10, 5BN, 22S, 5A, 1/2B/2C and 7W all had late archery harvest success rates of 20% plus.

THE POINTS SYSTEM FOR ELK

2024 maximum bonus points for elk: 34

Arizona's 2024 Antelope Breakdown

Historically, Arizona has been near the top of the list for die-hard trophy antelope applicants and although it will still produce a handful of giant bucks each year, it is not what it once was. The number of 80”+ bucks is far fewer and much harder to come by. Couple that with draw odds that are worse in most cases than trophy elk and deer units and it’s hard to get too excited about antelope hunting in Arizona. Overall, populations have struggled with drought and permit numbers have fallen accordingly. There is some hope on the horizon given the moisture Arizona received last year. Antelope are prolific and herds can respond, but it will take several years of quality feed and lower tag numbers to see a solid rebound. With all the bad news, some good news is that the state will randomly allocate a major chunk of their permits so if you are buying a hunting license to apply for other species, we advise applicants to apply for the minimal application fee. 

The top of the trophy list for a DIY hunter are going to be Units 5B, 5A, 4B and, perhaps, 6A. A few of the units to the south can also produce Boone and Crockett bucks, but the amount of public land in those areas can be severely limited. The archery hunts have slightly better odds, but be aware that the harvest success for most archery hunts are quite low. Given the harvest percentages of the archery hunts, we would only advise die-hard bowhunters to consider those hunts. As stated, if you have been applying for antelope in Arizona for a couple of decades, it’s worth continuing and hoping, otherwise applicants should decide if the $15 application fee is worth it for what is truly a lottery ticket chance to draw. In our opinion, for the number of points that it generally requires to draw, Arizona antelope is the most overrated hunting opportunity in the West.