Contributors to this thread:
What is the reason for unit 27 going to a draw only unit? Are they seeing a crowding of hunters? or are the deer & elk herds starting to suffer from the pressure of wolves? If this is due to wolves is it time for hunters to work with Fish and Game to start managing wolves so their is a good balance between predators and other big game species?
Per G&F, the success rate was over 20%....per their rule, it goes to a draw when that occurs (like unit 1 two years ago).
For deer or elk? Is my OTC NR deer tag bought in January still valid for September in unit 27?
Deer. And no it is not valid, as that unit is going to be a draw for August and no archery hunt in January.
Deer. And no it is not valid, as that unit is going to be a draw for August and no archery hunt in January.
It's not actually based on the archery success rate exceeding 20%. The guidelines state that when the archery deer killed in a unit exceeds 20% of the total take in a unit, they can close some of the archery dates or move the hunt to a draw format. The 20% is just an arbitrary number and never changes. So, no matter how many or what percentage of hunters in Arizona become bowhunters, the number never changes. That's just wrong.
We have been working on an alternate proposal to these Department recommendations and are expecting to send out a survey later today through Christian Hunters of America to see if hunters prefer the Department's recommendation of OTC hunt closures or an alternative plan. I'll try to post a link to the survey on this site once it is finalized.
The way this reads, which is directly from Amber Munig-Big Game Management Program Supervisor who makes these recommendations, it sounds as if the total archery success rate cannot be more than 20% of the total harvest.....which means it did??? If so, TomAto-Tomato.
"Each unit was evaluated under the current Hunt Guidelines where we manage for archery harvest to be no more than 20% of the total deer harvest. This target was exceeded in many units and we are recommending hunt opportunity reductions. There are also numerous units in the State where we are recommending general draw permit reductions.
The archery Hunt Guidelines state that when the 3-year mean archery deer harvest exceeds 20% of the overall harvest, the Department may recommend restrictions in archery hunt opportunity using as series of reduction options a) eliminate December opportunity, b) eliminate last 2 weeks of January, c) eliminate January opportunity, or d) eliminate August-September opportunity; not necessarily in that order. The guidelines do not suggest moving archery opportunity to a draw system unless the unit is down to only one season and the HARVEST STILL EXCEEDS 20%."
For those that aren't sure what we're talking about, see page 7 on the link to the AZGFD proposal to eliminate a large number of the archery OTC deer hunts and put many of them on a draw system. The Commission meeting to possibly approve these recommendations occurs in about a week.
If unit 27 goes to a draw, can I put in to draw even though I have an OTC deer tag good for the 2021 season? Also, any news on the hunter education class to gain a yearly point?
Yes, you can (Saxon). You can have both tags each year, but you can only taken one deer per calendar year. Your OTC tag is also still good in any units that are still open under the OTC season structure, it just might not include Unit 27 anymore. But again, you can only take one deer total.
Thank you all for the explanation, clarification. I appreciate it.
Thanks for the reply. Will wait and see what recommendations are adopted as there are quite a few of them.
Any word from AZGFD and what changes, if any, are coming?
Nothing official, but after Friday's meeting, it appears that they weren't particularly interested in considering any opinions but their own. However, they do sound like they might be willing to discuss it more over the coming year. But we all know, the hunts that we lose (this year) won't likely be returned to us even if they did agree to try another option in the future. I would expect that Unit 27 will go to a drawing as proposed. I've heard nothing on the trail cam issue.
Thanks for the update Marvin.... I agree, I've seen it happen in other states. Once they are gone, they are gone for good. Just wait until they start introducing all these new xgun seasons and taking away from the archery seasons!
I remember asking if the antlerless archery deer hunt would ever come back. They claimed at the time it was in response to a severe drought and we could get it back. We will never get any of our hunts back.
