Arizona Hunting 2026

The Arizona 2026 hunting regulations and applications regarding elk and antelope are available to view and print online at www.azgfd.gov. The printed regulations should be available by mail the first week of January. Arizona big game applications for elk and antelope must be submitted by Tuesday, February 3, 2026. Successful applicants should have their permits mailed out by April 1st. Sheep and deer information will not be available until May and will be covered in our June issue. Bison applications and information will be covered in our June and September issues.

WHAT'S NEW FOR 2026

• Unit 8 dropped its October Muzzleloader antelope hunt and added a new rifle hunt in its place. There is now only one Muzzleloader hunt that takes place in September.
• Units 7 East and 8 were taken out of the early rifle elk pool.
• Unit 5B will now have an early rifle hunt.
• 50 tags each were added to 7 East and West for the late rifle elk hunt.
• Unit 5A will now have an early muzzleloader elk hunt.
• Units 9 and 27 were taken out of the early muzzleloader pool. Units 9 and 27 will have early rifle hunts.
• Units 1/2B/2C were taken out of the early rifle elk pool. Unit 1/2B/2C will have an early muzzleloader hunt.
• 2,650 deer permits have been cut this year from both mule deer and Coues deer areas in central and southern Arizona.
• Units 7F, 9B, 22, and 36A all added December rifle mule deer hunts this year.
• 12AW will have tag increases on both early and late hunts.
• On unit 12B, 5 mule deer tags were added to the late hunt, which will now allow for a non-resident bonus permit.
• Unit 28 now has a dedicated Coues deer hunt available. The hunt will run from November 27 to December 6.
• All Coues deer units received permit reductions, except for 6A, 22, 23, and 34A.
• The coues deer hunt in unit 8 was removed this year, and unit 5A/5B was added in its place.
• 15C North Desert bighorn permits were reduced to 1, and that permit will only be available to residents.
• Two additional Desert bighorn hunts were added to 37A North, but unfortunately, they only have 1 permit each and are only available to residents. This unit now has three separate hunts with 1 permit each.
• Units 40B Tinajas, 41 East, and 44B South all had their Desert bighorn hunts stratified and now have two hunts each.
• Canyon lake in unit 22 for Desert sheep is going to be drained and will remain dry during the Desert sheep hunt. This will make this hunt substantially more physically demanding.
• The bison tag quota was reduced to one tag for both remaining cow hunts in the House Rock Wildlife Area.
• The 6A Rocky Mountain bighorn hunt has had another permit reduction, dropping the quota to 1 permit that will only be available to residents.
• The Upper Blue River was split off completely from the lower Blue River and now has 2 tags, which will allow for non-residents to apply for it.

Arizona Hunting Applications

To apply, go to www.azgfd.com/hunting/draw and use your customer ID to apply. You should also create a Portal account as you will need it to access your draw results and point totals. Do not delay creating this Portal login. The wait times to get through to tech support may be more than an hour during normal conditions.

Applicants are charged the non-refundable application fee of $15 and the license fee if they haven’t purchased one prior to applying. PointGuard and PointGuard Plus may be purchased at the time of application. Once the draw takes place and if you are successful drawn, the Department will charge the credit card you have on file for the entire permit fee. If payment fails, the Department will not make any attempts to notify that your payment has been declined. Applicants can update their credit card information until the application period has closed.

Arizona Hunting Draw Details

Non-residents are limited to up to (not guaranteed) 10% of the elk and antelope tags for a given hunt code. Non-residents may only apply for hunts where none are available for any given hunt code. Non-residents are only eligible for 5% of the 20% quota in the max point draw. The other 5% of the 10% non-resident quota will be available in the random draw. Your first two application choices are considered bonus point choices in the draw. Your third, fourth, and fifth choices will be considered in the “leftover” tags. This will not happen for any bull elk or antelope hunts, as all tags will be taken before they fall to 3rd–5th choice. Bonus points will be purged if any of the five choices are drawn. Groups of up to four hunters may apply together for elk or antelope. Arizona will not over allocate tags to accommodate party applications. Bonus points will be averaged and rounded to the nearest whole number (rounded up if greater than or equal to 0.5). Group applications will be awarded tags if they draw and there are a sufficient number of tags for everyone in the party. There are no waiting periods after being drawn for elk or antelope permits. You must check Arizona’s Portal for draw results.

Our Memberships Include The Most Accurate Draw Odds Available, Join Now!

Hunters may choose the E-tag option when purchasing or applying for any big game hunt. You will not receive a carcass tag if you choose this option. Hunters who choose the E-tag will be required to download the E-tagging app on their phone, upload their big game license, and carry their phone in the field. A printed license and/or carcass tag is not required but flagging or some type of tag will need to be affixed to the antlers for transporting.

Arizona Hunting Fees

Online applications can be paid for with Visa, MasterCard, or Discover only. There is a $15 non-refundable application fee that is collected for each species when applying in Arizona. The non-refundable fee of $15 is also charged when only applying for a bonus point. A $160 combination hunting license is required for non-residents to apply for big game hunts, and it is valid for one year from the date of purchase. Enrollment in PointGuard costs an additional $5 per species, and PointGuard Plus is valid for all species for 365 days from the time of enrollment for $25.

Arizona Hunter Requirements

No one under the age of 14 may hunt big game in Arizona without having completed a hunter education course. Arizona does not require hunter orange clothing to be worn while hunting big game.

Arizona Hunting Age Restrictions

No one under the age of 10 may hunt big game in Arizona. Youth are eligible to apply for a tag if they have completed a hunter education course and are at least 10 years old at the start of the hunt. They may apply for bonus points if they are 10 years old by the application deadline.

Arizona Hunting Point Structure

Arizona has a bonus point system where applicants who apply and are unsuccessful in drawing a tag will obtain another bonus point for the following year’s draw. Applicants who have submitted a valid application for a species every year for five consecutive years will automatically be awarded another point (a loyalty point) in addition to the points they have already accumulated. Points are species specific and cannot be transferred to another species or applicant. For every applicant who applies will have an additional chance in the drawing for that species. If a hunter fails to apply five consecutive years for a particular species, bonus points for that species will be purged.

Arizona has always offered an extra lifetime bonus point that is applied to all species applications for hunters who have passed an AZGFD hunter education course. However, in 2021, AZGFD changed the requirement for obtaining this lifetime bonus point to simply taking an online course and paying a fee. Non-residents pay $300, and residents pay $50. You must be 18 years or older to take the class. A student will have two opportunities to pass the course with a minimum score of 80%. The course must be passed 30 days prior to the draw deadline day for bonus point to be valid for that particular draw. For more information on how to sign up to take the course, go to www.hunter-ed.com/ethically-hunting-arizona/.

If a hunter already has earned an Arizona Education Bonus point by completing Arizona Hunter Education, a second bonus point cannot be obtained through the taking of the Ethically Hunting Arizona course. In addition, completing the online course does not fulfill hunter education requirements to hunt in other states.

Applicants may apply for points only and will be guaranteed not to draw but will obtain a bonus point. Applicants who want to apply for points only are required to buy a $160 license and pay the $15 application fee per species.

Arizona Hunting Draw Odds

The fifth column in the hunt tables represents the minimum number of points needed to be considered in the bonus pass. Not all applicants with the amount of points listed draw a tag, but they were eligible in the bonus pass. We have listed the minimum number of points needed for residents as well as non-residents for the elk draw. The “Simple Draw Odds” listed in the tables are not the true draw odds. The odds we list are the number of first and second choice applicants minus the second choice applicants who drew their The fifth column in the hunt tables represents the minimum number of points needed to be considered in the bonus pass. Not all applicants with the amount of points listed draw a tag, but they were eligible in the bonus pass. We have listed the minimum number of points needed for residents as well as non-residents for the elk draw. The “Simple Draw Odds” listed in the tables are not the true draw odds. The odds we list are the number of first and second choice applicants minus the second choice applicants who drew their

Consult with Hunters Who Have Hunted in Your Unit, Join Now!

Arizona Hunting Youth Information

Arizona has created a youth hunt program. The hunting/fishing license cost for youth hunters under 18 years of age is $5. Only youth between the ages of 10 and 17 may apply for Arizona’s juniors-only hunts. The juniors-only elk tags will be for antlerless elk only and cost $50. All bull elk hunts will be at the regular non-resident fee. There are no juniors-only antelope permits for 2026. Arizona will allow a parent, grandparent, or guardian to whom a big game hunt tag is issued to transfer the tag to a minor child who is 10-17 years old on the date of the transfer. The minor child must have a valid youth combination hunting and fishing license on the date of the transfer, and, if they are younger than 14 years old, they must have completed a Department-approved hunter education course by the beginning of the hunt.

Arizona Hunting Weapon Restrictions

Arizona places very few restrictions on muzzleloaders. Scopes of any magnification are legal as well as muzzleloading rifles with any type of ignition firing any type of projectile. Crossbows are not legal during the archery seasons in Arizona without a special permit. Bows must have a standard pull of 30 pounds or more using arrows with broadheads no less than 7/8 inches in width with metal cutting edges.

Other Tag Opportunities

Following the main drawing, any remaining permits available for elk and antelope will be available to residents and non-residents on a first-come, first-served basis. These permits are referred to as first-come permits. Applications will be accepted by mail on or after 8 a.m. MST on March 16, 2026. A list of leftover permits is available online at www.azgfd.gov/Hunting under “Big Game Draw” or at any Department office. Arizona does not have a landowner tag system. They offer raffle tags for each of the big game species within the state. The lucky winner of each of the big game Super Raffle tags will be permitted to hunt for up to 365 days beginning August 15, 2026. All public land within all game management units will be open to hunt. All residents and non-residents can participate. All raffle tickets must be purchased within the state of Arizona to be valid.

Refunds/Returns/Transfers

Applicants will have their permits mailed out by April 1, 2026. You can update your credit card information until the update card period has ended. Keep an eye on the AZGFD website for the deadline to update your card information. You cannot modify your application once it is submitted.

Arizona allows applicants with a valid AZGFD Portal account who purchased either PointGuard or PointGuard Plus to surrender their tag one time only for bonus point purposes for any reason the business day prior to the opening day of the hunt. Applicants are required to surrender the permit along with a completed Tag Surrender Application Form to AZGFD. All bonus points will be reinstated plus applicants gain a point for that year’s application. Applicants will forfeit tag fees associated with the tag. If the applicant chooses to surrender their tag, they will not be eligible for the PointGuard program again for that species until their bonus points for that species have been purged. Applicants can choose to be enrolled in the PointGuard program for each individual species during the online application process for a $10 non-refundable fee per species. Applicants can also choose to be enrolled in the PointGuard Plus program, which enrolls them for all species for a 365-day term for a $25 non-refundable fee.

Arizona will allow a parent, grandparent, or guardian to whom a big game hunt tag is issued to transfer the tag to a minor child who is 10-17 years old on the date of the transfer. The minor child must have a valid youth combination hunting and fishing license on the date of the transfer, and, if they are younger than 14 years old, they must have completed a Department-approved hunter education course by the beginning of the hunt. Arizona will also allow a person to transfer tag to a non-profit organization that provides opportunities and experiences to children with life-threatening medical conditions.

Harvest Reporting

Elk and antelope harvest reporting in Arizona is voluntary. We strongly encourage all hunters to complete their hunt survey to help with accurate harvest data

Access

Arizona works with different ranches throughout the state to secure private land for public use. Most of these ranches allow access through a sign-in box at the gate, but more information on which units and ranches have private land that is accessible by the public can be found at www.azgfd.gov/Hunting.

Wolf Updates

Arizona has a growing population of Mexican gray wolves in the eastern portion of the state. The Mexican gray wolf population is starting to increase more rapidly, and they are having negative impacts on elk populations in isolated areas along the New Mexico border. Through the third quarterly wolf update of 2025, 149 livestock have been killed by wolves across Arizona and New Mexico. Additional information can be found at www.azgfd.com as well as subscribing to AZGFD’s Mexican Wolf Update email.