Speedy

I got one but it took some time. I can't believe there were so many website issues with only 2880 tags to sell (same as they sold in 2021 before the limit). Last year it took 5 days to sell out. There are going to be some PO folks who couldn't get through but who cares they are Non-Resident right? Glad I got mine after missing out last year. I agree it's probably time for a draw and pref points. The internet has killed another great hunt.

Actually in a way it is I look to this site and Rokslide for news, but the drawing was never mentioned in a topic! It's still my fault and you can call me an idiot but I'm just expressing frustration at the process, the same one you guys complain about all the time. It's my way of coping for missing out on a hunt I dream about all year. Of all the years I've applied and drawn tags out west never was a change made literally weeks before the season started. And even more frustrating I was on the AZGFD website several times in late Oct and early November to buy a leftover javi tag and either I missed the notice or it wasn't posted yet. Eastman's reported the drawing on Nov 7 so I think I just missed it. My mistake was thinking there couldn't be anymore changes this close to the season, and it wasn't mentioned on the 2 websites I rely on for AZ hunting news. Missed it by 🙏 much! I guess the lesson learned is much as we hate social media we have to follow it as the government now believes that's their only responsibility they have to inform the public now. I maybe an idiot but I'm not the only one who got burned. Oh well, time to start dreaming about 2024 and hope it doesn't get any worse. Good luck to all who have tags, consider yourself fortunate to be able to hunt Coues deer another year.

Wow, rough crowd! Not sure when the bill was passed limiting NR tags but it was well after they implemented the quota system. The AZGFD was caught off guard and had to go to a vendor for the online tag sales (interesting the tab logo is the same as this website). It crashed when they went on sale 12/1 and some were issued 2 tags which they had to sort out. The NR tags are capped at 10% of resident sales. Limiting NR is easy but at 10% or less it won't solve the problem. There are too many resident hunters and more are moving to AZ everyday. I might be one next year, so ha! Consider yourself lucky that you only have 30,000 bowhunters. WI has 10x that many. And now that they legalized crossbows it even worse now.

Myself and others thought the quota system was the change they were talking about for years. I guess those who are tired of keeping up on social media and junk email got burned. Tags going on sale 1 month before a season starts is last minute so they could have waited until 2024, but they really sold out fast because they were online only which is yet another change. However the AZGFD person I spoke to blamed residents. Apparently you all are complaining that the 3000 (~12%) of non-resident hunters are too successful and filling up the quotas before resident hunters can get out. That makes no sense. We all have the same vacation time so this sounds like weekend warriors complaining. To be clear I don't have an issue with the changes, just the timing. The AZGFD has been promoting these hunts for years so they got what they wanted, more $. But I've run into non-resident hunters before too so it's getting crowded but this won't stop that as unrestricted resident sales keep climbing too. Despite having a valid hunting license in 2023 and buying deer archery tags for the past 8 years the AZGFD never told me that there are no longer over the counter deer licenses. Folks drive a long way to hunt in AZ so screwing them with changes is one thing, letting them find out the hard way is pretty crappy. Speaking of crappy I found out on my phone while taking my morning constitutional on Christmas day. That was so fitting.

Arizona pulled a fast one on us non-residents, after implemented a quota system earlier this year (OK IMO) then at the last minute the legislature added a cap of 2890 non-resident archery deer over-the-counter nonpermit-tags only available online. They went on sale 12/1 with little notice and sold out in 3 days. That's hard to believe as they only sold just over 3000 all of last year. There are going to be a lot of unhappy out of state hunters who show up expecting to buy a tag in person to find out there aren't any. I was "lucky" enough to find out by accident on Christmas day and told a buddy in CO who was going to leave next week too. We heard of the quota but not this new cap and issuing method that was added later. I'm not too upset at the changes, just them being made 1 month prior to the season. What a great Christmas present Arizona. What's even worse is I still have a valid 2022 tag but found out too late to make use of it. Is it worth driving 1300 miles for just javelina? That is the question.

Yikes, the internet ruins another hunt...

The date of the 2022 Spring First Come Left-over Permits is 12/13/21. I thought that's when they went on sale? It also states: First come permit-tag results are not posted. So this isn't the leftover list? Last year at this time there were still tags available for some type of spring javi hunt. And there was still a list of tags that were sold out too. Very strange.

Am I missing something? There are always leftover archery only spring javi tags, I've been buying them for several years running. But the only thing listed on the AZ G&F website are a few falconry tags. Usually they list all the tags that were available even if they are sold out?

That doesn't make sense as rifle tags are limited so they control the overall harvest %. Add more rifle tags and the % harvested with archery goes down. No doubt archery equipment has improved allowing much longer shots. This affects Coues deer hunting more than anything. Just wait till you get crossbows, or those dang airbows. I'd rather see equipment restrictions over tag numbers but that's not perfect either. Why not give traditional archers a longer season, we don't hurt anything The real solution is what Matt Rinella said, stop recruiting new hunters. The US simply doesn’t have the habitat needed to support the wildlife and hunters it used to.

Is it a trophy unit or something? Are rifle tags more limited too? I've been interested in hunting Coues there but that doesn't give me much time to do so.

Covid has increased deer hunting license sales everywhere, even in WI where we just reversed a decline trend. So while they are going up it's not clear how much or how long that will continue once we get past this pandemic. I also can't wait for it to be over so all the urban campers and hikers go back to the malls and coffee shops. Not easy finding a camping spot or parking at trailheads either.

Good write up. I just killed my first javi too and was contemplating smoking one of the hams, but bone in. I have a great brine recipe I use for deer with the sirloin tip roast (which requires injecting brine as it's too thick). I smoke them to 140-145 and there is never an issue with dryness. I figure keeping the bone in with the javi would help. I see no reason to smoke javi to a higher temp? This is what the venison looks like. It's fully cooked, the brine has sodium nitrate just like a comercial ham which gives it a pink color.

LOL. I might have to steal that!

Pronghorn is one of my favorites too. Moose tops my list though. This Meateater podcast interviewing a meat scientist is a good one and dispels a few myths (like bleeding). https://www.themeateater.com/listen/meateater/ep-227-red-cutter

I joined the club a few weeks ago when I finally was able to connect with a javi (story is on the AZ forum). I located them by smell which was quite strong. I killed a nice sow but she had hardly any odor at all, so was it the boar that stunk? The next day when I went to get the skull there was still a strong lingering odor in the area. I did the gutless method with several pairs of gloves, not my best work but the meat (what little of it!) seems fine. I pan fried a piece of backstrap as I never had javi before and it was delicious. No unusual odor cooking either. I'm kinda wondering what the fuss is all about. Or did I just get a good one?