Online Draw (*Note: Online application service for 2012 fall draw anticipated to be available by early to mid-May)
2012 Fall Draw and Hunt Information
2012-13 Arizona Hunting and Trapping Regulations are available online; hunters can begin applying for fall hunts with paper applications; online application service will be available in early to mid-May
 The 2012-13 Arizona Hunting and Trapping Regulations are now available online, and hunters can begin applying for a hunt permit-tag issued through the drawing process for deer, fall turkey, fall javelina, bighorn sheep, fall buffalo, and pheasant. The drawing process for elk and pronghorn antelope occurred earlier this year.
Paper applications can be submitted now either by U.S. mail to Arizona Game and Fish Department, Attn: Drawing Section, P.O. Box 74020, Phoenix, AZ 85087-1052, or hand-delivered to any Game and Fish office. The online application service for this draw is expected to be available by early to mid-May.
The deadline to apply is Tuesday, June 12, 2012 by 7 p.m. (MST). For those mailing a paper application, keep in mind that applications must be received by the department by the deadline. Postmarks do not count.
Those submitting a paper application are encouraged to apply early to take advantage of the “correction period.” If your application has an error and is received before 5 p.m. on May 25, 2012, you will receive up to three phone calls from Game and Fish in a 24-hour period to help correct the application. After that date, mistakes can cause your application to be rejected.
The printed 2012-13 Arizona Hunting and Trapping Regulations booklets are anticipated to be available at department offices and at license dealers statewide around mid-May.
2012 Elk/Pronghorn Hunt Information
View draw results; Leftover permits available
 The drawing results for Arizona’s 2012 elk and pronghorn antelope big game hunts are available by visiting the online draw website and scrolling down to the “View results and bonus points” link.
Applicants can also find out if they were drawn by calling (602) 942-3000 and selecting option two.
There were more than 133,000 applicants for this year’s elk/pronghorn antelope draw.
Hunt permit-tags for successful applicants, and refunds for unsuccessful or rejected applicants/applications (less application fees), are anticipated to be mailed out by April 20.
For those individuals who missed the draw deadline or were unsuccessful in getting a permit-tag, there are still some leftover tags remaining, available on a first-come, first-served basis.
There are two methods to obtain a leftover tag. Applications will be accepted by mail only beginning at 8 a.m. (MST) on April 23. Starting on April 30 at 8 a.m. (MST), hunters can also purchase a leftover tag in person with an application at any of the seven Arizona Game and Fish Department offices. View the list of leftover tags.
Leftover tags in Hopi hunt open areas are available to everyone (tribal members and non-tribal members) through the first-come, first-served process.
For those who qualify, there are military hunts for antelope and elk for Camp Navajo; for more information, contact www.campnavajo.com or call (602) 540-3873.
2012 Spring Hunt Information: Spring Turkey, Javelina, Buffalo and Bear
The deadline to apply for spring hunts issued through the drawing process WAS Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2011 by 7 p.m. (MST). Seasons for 2013 hunts will be set during the August Arizona Game and Fish Commission meeting. The regulations are typically online by late August which opens the application process.
View the 2012 Spring Hunt Draw Information booklet.
Draw Cycles and Hunt Permit Application Deadline Days
The Arizona Game and Fish Department conducts three separate application and draw cycles for big game hunt permit-tags. Beginning in 2007, the Department for the first time held a separate draw for antelope and elk. This change was made to let hunters know earlier if they have been drawn for these two popular big game animals. The three draw cycles are:
| Species |
Draw Deadline |
| Pronghorn antelope, elk |
Second Tuesday in February (pending Commission approval) |
| Deer, fall turkey, fall javelina, bighorn sheep fall buffalo, pheasant |
Second Tuesday in June (pending Commission approval) |
| Spring javelina, spring bear, spring turkey, spring buffalo |
Second Tuesday in October (pending Commission approval) |
View
Draw Results, Accumulated Bonus Points
Use the link below to
review past draw results and to view the
number of bonus points you've accumulated
for deer, antelope, elk, turkey, javelina,
bighorn sheep, buffalo and bear. To view
results, you'll need to provide your department
identification number (for most people,
this is their Social Security Number) and
your date of birth.
Learn
More About Big Game Draw Process and Bonus
Points
Use
the links below to learn about the big game
draw and bonus point processes.
Hunt Guidelines and Hunt Recommendations Process
The Arizona Game and Fish Department follows a multi-tiered process for setting hunting season structures, hunting season dates, hunt permit allocations, and other controlling elements for regulating hunting of game animals. Learn more about this process and how you can participate.
Learn
About the Hunter Questionnaire Survey
The
Arizona Game and Fish Department currently
uses a business-reply postcard questionnaire
to survey hunters about harvest, methods,
and effort. This technique has been used
by the Department for over 45 years. The
process was reviewed in 2008 see the report
below for details.
Online Draw and License Information
The department in October 2011 reimplemented the online application service to apply for big game hunt permit-tags. The date of availability of applying via the online service will be announced during each draw cycle. For the current draw cycle for 2012 pronghorn antelope and elk hunts, we anticipate the online application service will be available in early to mid January 2012. Applicants can also submit paper applications by mail or dropped off at a department office. Application forms can be found at all license dealers, at department offices, or by downloading a copy from the link found on the right-hand column of this web page.
Licenses can now
be purchased online here and from more than 300 license
dealers statewide.
Hunt Arizona 2011 Edition
Survey, Harvest and Hunt Data for Big and Small Game
 Improve your odds of drawing a hunting tag
Do you want to find the hunts with the best chances of putting a tag in your pocket?
Or, are you more interested in which hunts have the best harvest success? You can find that information and much more in the annual Hunt Arizona resource guide.
The Arizona Game and Fish Department’s annual collection of survey, harvest and hunt data for big and small game has the latest 5-year data as well as historical data that you are bound to find of interest, some of it dating back to 1930s.
Arizona offers some of the best trophy and or unique hunting opportunities in North America for each of these species: Black bear, buffalo, coues whitetail, desert bighorn sheep, elk, javelina, mountain lion, mule deer, pronghorn antelope and turkey (goulds or merriam).
2011 Special Big Game Permit-Tag Program
Each year, in June, the Arizona Game and Fish Commission awards Special Big Game License Tags, sometimes called Commissioners’ tags, to selected 501(c)(3) wildlife conservation organizations who are charged to market and sell those tags to raise funds for Arizona's wildlife.
Up to three tags for each of the following 10 Arizona big game species are typically allocated: pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, black bear, buffalo, elk, javelina, mountain lion, mule deer, Coues white-tailed deer and turkey.
All of the revenues raised are then returned to the Arizona Game and Fish Department to be directly used to benefit those species through wildlife and habitat management in coordination with the Arizona Habitat Partnership Committee.
Tags are typically made available to the public through auctions or raffles, including the Big Game Super Raffle.
The uniqueness of these special tags is that the hunting season is year-round allowing winning tag holders the time to pursue a trophy animal, many of which can only be found in the southwest and some only in Arizona – particularly, the Gould’s wild turkey, desert and Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, Coues white-tailed deer, and the world-famous Kaibab mule deer.
2012 Arizona Big Game Super Raffle
 Mail order deadline to buy tickets is July 6; online ticket sales end July 8; drawing will be held July 14.
Tickets are now on sale for this year's Arizona Big Game Super Raffle. You can win the hunt of a lifetime or other great prizes, including a Swarovski optics package.
Arizona offers some of the best trophy and or unique hunting opportunities in North America for each of these species: Black bear, buffalo, coues whitetail, desert bighorn sheep, elk, javelina, mountain lion, mule deer, pronghorn antelope and turkey (Gould's or Merriam's).
One winner for each of ten Arizona big game hunt-permit tags will be drawin in this raffle. Winners will be able to hunt for 365 days almost anywhere in the state of Arizona during the 2012-13 hunting season. Ticket prices range from $5 to $25 each.
Every dollar raised through ticket sales of each species goes directly toward management projects that benefit that species in Arizona.
For more information about the Arizona Big Game Super Raffle, visit www.arizonabiggamesuperraffle.com.
For more information about how the dollars raised from this raffle and the other Commission-issued Special Big Game Permit-tags are benefiting Arizona's wildlife and habitat, visit the Habitat Partnership Committee section. |
