New Or Noteworthy For This Year

State Information

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The Arizona Draw System

Arizona Elk Breakdown

Arizona Antelope Breakdown

Arizona's 2025 elk and antelope application overview

Note: The online application deadline for Arizona elk is Feb. 4, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. Arizona Time. You can apply online here.

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.

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. 4, 2025) to be eligible in the draw.  Check your AZGFD portal account to make sure yours is up to date.

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 drought status in Arizona

2025

2024

2023

2022

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

Permits are awarded through a hybrid draw system: bonus point draw and a subsequent random draw (see draw system details below for more information).

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 is still one of the top three states to apply for elk in the west, and every elk hunter should plan to apply. The odds of drawing great tags are tough, but as you look down through the tables included below you will see that there are many hunts that can be drawn within the 7-12 point range. There are a few hunts that can be guaranteed with fewer points but those are mostly late season archery hunts that can be challenging, but with good bulls being harvested in almost every unit of the state I think Arizona is a must apply elk state. Going into 2025 Arizona is issuing more late season rifle permits than they have in the past, with an increase of 220 tags spread out among various units. The increase in tags is likely to take a toll on the upper caliber of trophy bulls, but it will allow more people to hunt. It’s a trade off, which is good for most people, but for those that have been building points for years it may be disappointing. The best units in the state are still going to be units 9, 10, 23 and 1. That’s due to the fact that the state manages those units for a higher bull to cow ratio and generally offers far fewer permits. As you look through the hunt odds you will see that the odds for those areas reflect that. If you are truly looking for the best of the best, one of those areas should be on your application. 

Another factor that should be noted in regard to Arizona elk hunting is the amount, or lack thereof, in snow and rain that it’s received this fall and winter. Being that Arizona is a southern state, antler growth and herd health is more closely tied to winter moisture than the more northern states. It has been very warm and dry this winter and historically past years with similar amounts of moisture have yielded poor antler growth. I’d anticipate that this is unlikely to be a good growth year for Arizona bulls. This may be less critical for most applicants, but for those with a lot of bonus points or hunters really hoping to hunt trophy caliber bulls, it’s worth considering before you apply. My personal take is that if you have built up points waiting for the chance to hunt the giant bulls that Arizona is known for, you may want to wait for a better moisture year. 

Arizona offers several seasons, including early archery rut hunts, early rifle hunts, late rifle hunts, and even late archery hunts. They also offer some muzzleloader seasons in several units. No matter what weapon you want to hunt with they likely have a tag you would be interested in applying for. The best hunts are going to be the early archery and early rifle/muzzleloader seasons. Those hunts allow the lucky tag holders to pursue bugling bulls during the rut. The late hunts are definitely tougher. The late rifle hunts offer far more tags resulting in increased hunting pressure. I’ve talked with many hunters in the past few years who have all noted that the hunting pressure on the late hunts was far greater than they had anticipated and that it did negatively impact the quality of the hunt. The same goes for the late archery hunts, although perceived hunting pressure is less because hunters are not hearing the rifle shots and generally seeing as many other hunters in the field. Other potential deterrents to some hunters is that the bulls have broken antlers later in the season and many of the upper tier trophy bulls have been killed during early season hunts. Late archery hunts are challenging, much of the terrain is extremely rocky, thickly vegetated, and the best bulls have mostly pulled away from the cow/calf herds and are seeking refuge post rut in some of the most remote, rough, pockets in any given unit. The up side for late season hunts is that the odds of drawing are much better. I think late season hunts are absolutely worth researching and applying for, as long as applicants are aware that those hunts are not on par with the early season hunts in the best units. The late season hunts are crowded, the bulls are often broken, harder to find, and even harder to kill. Those are not necessarily bad things, but applicants should consider their objectives and manage their expectations accordingly.  

Overall, Arizona is still a great elk state and every year there will be world class bulls killed, but the reality is that with current management and the lack of moisture going into 2025 it’s going to be a down year in terms of the quality of bulls. I still think you should apply, but do your homework and apply accordingly. 

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 2025. 

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 my opinion. With the addition of late rifle tags in 2025 the late rifle hunts are also worth considering and could yield some hidden gems in 2025. As you look through the hunts, unit 22 had two late archery hunts (north and south) that could have been drawn with 4 points last year. Unit 8 late archery and 6B late archery had 28% and 27% odds at 5 points. Those are tough hunts with typically low harvest success but for low point holders that are die-hard bowhunters they might be worth a look. Rifle hunts have lower odds of drawing, but generally speaking the late hunts have much better random odds than to the early rifle seasons.

THE POINTS SYSTEM FOR ELK

2025 maximum bonus points for elk: 34

Arizona pronghorn populations are struggling and although the last two years of moisture has helped, it still has far fewer antelope than game and fish and hunters would like to see. Arizona has never really been known for robust populations, but what they have offered historically is the opportunity to hunt trophy caliber bucks. In saying that, while there will no doubt be a few 80”+ bucks killed this coming fall, the reality is that most hunters will be disappointed in the hunt when compared to the number of points it might require to draw. Most hunters will harvest average bucks and they will not see the number of bucks they might expect, especially when compared to some of the other more northerly states. Also, the odds of drawing an antelope permit in Arizona are horrendous to say the least. So, this begs the question, is applying for antelope in Arizona even worth it? I believe that it’s likely worth applying for the nominal $15 application fee as long as you are buying the hunting license required to apply in order to apply for other species like elk, deer, and bighorn sheep. If you were only interested in antelope, my advice would be to save the cost of applying and put that into other applications or a land owners tag in another state. For those that do decide to spend the $15 application fee, I would suggest you think about what kind of hunt you would be satisfied with before applying. The best units for trophy caliber bucks are 5B, 5A, 4B, and perhaps 6A. Almost every other unit in the state is going to offer hunters the chance at a mid 70’s buck. There is and will always be the possibility of an 80”+ buck popping up other units but probably not without intense scouting efforts. My advice would be to apply for one of the best units listed above if you are only interested in quality. If you are okay with an average buck, the other units in the state will offer that. 

Arizona offers archery, muzzleloader, and rifle antelope hunts. The archery hunts are challenging but bowhunters do get the first crack and good rut dates. The muzzleloader and rifle hunts are also early in the year, typically early Sept and should offer good rut dates. 

The take home message for Arizona antelope; for the $15 application fee it may be worth it but do not expect to draw and if you do draw a permit, have reasonable expectations. Plan to scout and hunt hard and have the opportunity to take an average buck in most units of the state. 

The points system for antelope

2025 maximum resident bonus points for antelope: 34

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 extra $15 fee it may be worth it to you to apply, but maintain reasonable expectations if you do apply.