Arizona Coues left over tags?

[KoozeDeer]

hello all. this year in AZ i drew my second pick, 36A and got a nice Coues. My question is this. from what i have been told, if you select a second option and draw the tag you receive no points. Well i would like to start accumulation points for some better hunts in AZ. I was told you can pick up rifle tags for some of the 36 units. Often there are less hunters than available tags? anyone know the process or dates.

 

[Kellendv]

I am no expert, I also hunted Coues for my first time a few weeks ago and shot a nice buck. My understanding is if you draw any of your choices you get no points. I think you basically have to apply for impossible tags like strip tags, which you won't draw, and then once the drawings are over, whatever is leftover will become available. I am not sure if there is an online database of what is available like we have here in CA.

 

[KoozeDeer]

Yea that's my understanding. But if we can get those Coues tags with fair consistency and still accumulate points for a premium unit would be awsome. Just looking for anyone with experience or knowledge as I can't find much in the AZ book

 

[Kellendv]

Yea that's my understanding. But if we can get those Coues tags with fair consistency and still accumulate points for a premium unit would be awsome. Just looking for anyone with experience or knowledge as I can't find much in the AZ book

You can definitely get them with fair consistency. Many units are under-subscribed. It won't be guaranteed but there are lots of tags you can get every year. So are you trying to figure out where that data is published? The draw success that is posted in the AZ book will tell you just about all you need to know. But I think I did see something when I was doing research when I was applying that had like the last 5 years of draw data in it. You'd have to do some googling.

 

[KoozeDeer]

yea its a challenge in every state to learn all the tricks to draw tags. i will say thats one of the few nice things in CA. you can still apply for premium units, and still draw a less desirable tag while accumulating points.

 

[DayHunter433]

Can you not just buy a point and then buy a left over tag? I’m just getting into the info gathering stages of a possible couse hunt maybe in 2019 so I’m no expert at all. Just thought if here in CA I know I can buy points without applying for a hunt so hoping it’s possible in other, more hunter friendly states.

 

[Kellendv]

Can you not just buy a point and then buy a left over tag? I’m just getting into the info gathering stages of a possible couse hunt maybe in 2019 so I’m no expert at all. Just thought if here in CA I know I can buy points without applying for a hunt so hoping it’s possible in other, more hunter friendly states.

You can, but the process for buying a leftover tag in AZ is kind of a pain I think. They don't do it online. You have to mail in an application for the leftover tag, and since a lot of people want to build points, I think it is probably way harder to get a tag that way: People put in for what they want, if they don't get it they mail in that application and I bet those tags fly off the shelf pretty quick. I'm not totally sure about that but that is my impression. In my mind you have to decide if you want to build points or if you just want to hunt every year. I just want to hunt every year. There is a lot of deer in those southern units that you can draw every year, and some nice ones too. There is probably a happy medium in there where you build points and get a leftover tag, it just won't be guaranteed that you get it every year.

Here's our bucks from last year: