I'm from Minnesota where the big game we have to hunt are whitetail and black bear along with a once in a lifetime moose or elk hunt. I've been thinking about going to school in Arizona. I checked out the Arizona dnr site and it shows a lot more big game than MN.
Basically, I'm looking for any info and help on getting into hunting there.
Is there public land to hunt on? Is game taken at 100 yards or all 300 and up, in other words, will my 375 Ruger shoot flat enough there at 2700 fps? It seems all lottery from what I've read, do you get to draw tags frequently or do you end up waiting many years?

Any info to help me get a better idea of the hunting there would be appreciated.

Yes, it's mostly lottery here. There are some over the counter tags for various game as well. Bull elk can take awhile to draw but antlerless elk you can draw almost every year. Generally 1 to 3 hundred yards would be a normal range for most big game species but there are areas that are flat and shots can be longer. The last two times we saw elk they appeared out of nowhere about 60 - 80 yards from us. They didn't even know we were there but we were well camo'd and scent blocked . The 375 Ruger might be a of extra punch then is needed here but it will certainly work fine. You will find everything from plains to ravines to mountains here as far as topology is concerned.

As I am fairly new to hunting, hopefully Outdoor Writer will see this thread and give you the benefit of his many years of hunting Arizona experience.

Ken....

gohip2000, AZ is a typical Rocky Mountain state in regards to hunting - you might kill something from ~25 to 500 yds and beyond depending upon your skill level and williness to shoot at long distance. Your 375 Ruger has plenty of power and a trajectory akin to a 30-06 (factory 180 gr spire point), the latter having been used with great success through out the Rocky Mountain region for decades. Get a laser range finder, chronograph your ammo, know your trajectory, and get a Leupold Boone & Crocket reticle (or the like) and you'll be fine.

To answer your questions that the others have not touched we have lots of public land as do most western states, roughly 20% private, 25% Native American tribes and the balance Fed and State. As the others said your 375 will work just fine but our most common deer the Coues are very small with a large heavy buch maybe 80 or 90 lbs field dressed. Download the Az Game and Fish regs and you will see the draw odds for each of the hunts and what bonus points are held by hunters. Basically it can take forever to get a tag prime area and prime time (rut) or for rare tags (sheep) and at the same time some less popular areas have left over tags for a hunt that can be picked up without your loosing your bonus points. There is a lot of info on the site.

Gohip,

Arizona, like most of the western states is on a lottery system. Unfortunately, the drawing for elk closed last week.

AZ is on a preference point system. The premium unit tags are very hard to come by. I have put in for 6 years, with no elk tag yet.

AZ is not the only game in town. Good hunts can be found for non residents in 9 other states, also in a lottery system. There are many ins and outs of playing the application game. I would recommend either a service who is familiar with the deadlines and strategies, or calling the Carter's at www.huntinfool.com. They offer a monthly magazine which thoroughly covers the application process in all 10 western states, plus Kansas. Well worth your time.

Good luck!

2000,

We have 12 species here that are classified as big game. They include two each of deer, sheep and turkey, plus lion, bear, elk, pronghorn, javelina and bison.

You can also shoot predators such as coyotes and bobcats, and there's an open season on coati.

Small game includes two rabbit species and a couple squirrel species. For upland birds, we have mourning and whitewing doves, three quail species -- Gambel's, Mearns' and scaled -- blue grouse and a smattering of chukar hunting. Some waterfowl hunting is also available.

ALL of our big game species for rifle hunting are on a lottery system, except for lion and some bear seasons. Most archery permits for deer -- but not all -- are OTC.

Permits for the premium species such as bull elk, sheep, bison and pronghorn are tough draws, even for residents. In regards to deer, it's fairly easy to get a permit if you're not choosy about the species or season. In contrast, certain hunts are tough draws.

As someone else mentioned, an antlerless elk permit is comparatively easy to draw, and bow permits for elk are somewhat easier to get than gun permits.

Our lottery system also offers bonus points -- NOT preference points -- that can better the odds of drawing but do not make any draw automatic as a preference system usually does. Some guys have gone 20 or more years in an attempt to pull a pronghorn or premium early elk hunt. I've been trying to draw a desert bighorn permit for about 35 years now.

If you come to school here and pay NR tuition, you are also classified as NR hunter. Thus, the odds to draw choice permits are worse than what they are for a resident since only UP TO 10 percent of the permits for the premium species may go to NRs.

Your 375 would be fine for the larger game but probably overkill for others. Shot distance will vary, depending on the game, terrain, your hunting/stalking ability and your marksmanship.

And yes, there is plenty of public land to hunt here. About 80% of the non-reservation land is either Nat. forest, BLM or state trust land, all of which is open to hunting.

Any questions???

Az has a lot of hunting pressure. Compared to your home, you will be disappointed in the quantity of animals as well as the size ( except for the elk) We go out of state because the hunting here is not as good as many other states.

I'm going to be going to school for about 4 years. How long does it take to become a resident of Arizona? If I'm going to be living there, I thought I might as well pay some taxes there. Most places I've heard are 6 months to become a resident.

This season in Minnesota, the only deer my party saw where does and one small 3 point buck.
Everyone at work also said they didn't see crap for deer and most almost all of the people I talked to didn't even see a deer.

I'd be mostly interested in muley, and black bear. Of coarse elk would be great, but I would not keep any hopes up about that.

Also, Is there any places to ride ATV's?

I spend a lot of time on my 4wheeler, exploring the trails systems and ditches here.

2000,

In AZ, the residency requirements for tuition are somewhat different than those for a hunting license.

For tuition, among other proof, you must live here for a continuous 12 months BEFORE attending school. But, you must also sever all ties to another state.

The hunting requirement is only 6 months, but also includes the permanent resident status of listing Arizona as your home, i.e. AZ driver's license, vehicle registration, filing state tax here, voting registration, paying RESIDENT tuition, etc.

So if you're here 6 months but have to pay NON-resident tuition, you will NOT qualify as resident for hunting purposes either.

Applying for the resident perks in either case when your actual residence is in another state is considered fraud and prosecuted as such.

There are plenty of places to ride ATVs here, but there has been a recent crackdown on those who do so irresponsibly. They have also just instituted a special OHV tag for off-road vehicles.

These are links for the residency requirements:

Tuition

Hunting

Well, I was planing on moving there for not only school , but because I'm tired of the cold here in MN and I also have family there. I'm definitely not a dependent as I'm 27. I'm honorably discharged veteran. So as far as I know, It would take me 12 months to become a resident.

So let me get this straight, If I wanted to, I could live and go to school in Arizona for 4 years while staying a resident of MN? Then that means I wouldn't have to pay taxes to Arizona as I wouldn't be receiving the Arizona benefits?

What I was planning, was: getting AZ license, an AZ home, an AZ license plate and very likely staying an AZ for some time.

Oh yeah, is there many VA hospitals around there?

quote:

Originally posted by gohip2000:

What I was planning, was: getting AZ license, an AZ home, an AZ license plate and very likely staying an AZ for some time.

Oh yeah, is there many VA hospitals around there?

Do that and you're all set to go as an AZ resident. After six months, you can buy a resident hunting license and after 12 months, you can get resident tuition.

And yes, there is a VA hospital in Phoenix, and I think there is also one in Tucson, but I'm not positive.

Thanks for the help and info