Mathews Inc.
AZ - the age old question??
Elk
Contributors to this thread:
kylet 07-Feb-22
sticksender 07-Feb-22
Bowboy 07-Feb-22
midwest 07-Feb-22
Tilzbow 07-Feb-22
WapitiBob 07-Feb-22
smarba 08-Feb-22
From: kylet
07-Feb-22
My current AZ license expires on 2/8/22. The draw deadline is 2/8/22. Can I get by without buying a license this year to enter the draw?

From: sticksender
07-Feb-22
From the Big Game Brochure:

What are the License Requirements?

When applying for a hunt, you must have a
license valid through deadline day of that
draw. If drawn for a hunt permit-tag, you
must also have a valid license at the time
of the hunt. These may not be the same
license. Please contact customer service
if you have any questions.

From: Bowboy
07-Feb-22
Yes your good to go. Mine ends the same date. I spoke to the AZ office and Wapitibob.

From: midwest
07-Feb-22
lol...Craig! I, too, would have more faith in what Bob says vs. AZGFD!

From: Tilzbow
07-Feb-22
I made it easy on myself and started applying for deer and sheep in year two of my attempt to draw some sort of tag in AZ 18 years ago. Since the deer and sheep drawing is much later than elk, I buy a license each year and no longer have to wonder or worry if my license is valid for the elk drawing.

From: WapitiBob
07-Feb-22

WapitiBob's embedded Photo
WapitiBob's embedded Photo
Licenses are good for 365 days and they need to be valid at the close of the application deadline.

You get 2 application periods for Elk if you buy it on the last day of the app period. Elk then Deer, then Elk.

If you apply for Deer and Elk, you shift the license purchase timeframe and you will get 3 Elk app periods with 2 licenses, then 3 Deer app periods; Elk/Deer/Elk, then Deer/Elk/Deer, then back to Elk/Deer/Elk.

The one caveat, the app and season dates shift back in 2023 so a license used for 2022 Elk won't be valid for the 2023 Elk app period. You'll want to start fresh with a 2023 license purchased/start date on the last day of the Elk app period, Feb 14 I believe.

AZ lets you choose the start date of the license, so you can buy it anytime prior and choose the last day of the app period as the start date. Once that's done, you can then immediately go in and apply; just tick the box that confirms you have a license, and then input the license number in the available field. I do that every year.

From: smarba
08-Feb-22
It would be more clear if their column was labeled "Valid THROUGH" instead of "Valid TO"; however, if you look at the dates in conjunction with the fact pointed out by Wapiti that licenses are good for 365 days, the date in the "TO" column is the last day the license is valid.

Also I think the reason app and season dates shift as pointed out by Wapiti is due to Leap Year.

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