The draw , disappointment, sour grapes , ignorance and the money grab

[NYAZHunter]

(Disappointment) Well, no tag after 28 years.  Other than a lucky as heck 36C, December tag for my 1st AZ hunt , they have all been early hunt ( Oct) in 36B. By choice as I love the unit , my friends come from the east coast and as a rule it is a 100% 1st choice and have often been left over tags . Been hunting with the boys for over 40 years on our acreage in the Catskills Mtns, NY. So imagine my surprise as the minutes became hours and then days and not getting that longed for credit card hit.. WTF. Me and 2 non res on the app ,first 2 choices with over 700 tags. So , I am in disbelief and then find out ( ignorance) that only 10 % of the tags can go to non res , Oops, how did I miss that ? ( sour grapes) Oh, it is buried in the fine print on page 96 at the end of the regs pamphlet. I see that was or should have been required reading for a dumb sh-t like myself.  So , Ok ,it's all on me , you know, the need to take personal responsibility . Better fortune next year , however , ( the money grab) our fine AZGFD has made the non res hunters purchase a license for $160 that is worthless and non refundable . WTF x's 2 . Imagine , paying for the privilege for an opportunity to get a tag. There is no place in my mind that makes this ok. When a non res hunter comes to the state , he leaves a lot of dollars here. I guess that won't be happening with my friends again as I can't imagine they will be stupid enough to apply again and support the AZGFD cash grab. Sad for us to not share in the beauty of hunting Arizona again. New Az hunting motto for the non res : We are happy to take your money for  the license and we do not care if you aren't drawn , cause we got your money anyway. Question: how long has the 10% rule been in effect?  

[GreyGhost85]

the 10% rule has been in place for a long time. I'd love to feel sorry for nonresidents but i cannot. G&F has decimated a lot of our deer herds by over promotion of OTC archery hunts for nonresidents. You can always use that license you bought by hunting OTC archery deer while it is still possible. 

[Ed67]

Residents with points aren’t drawing those tags either. There’s always next year 

[trphyhntr]

I’m glad you had to buy a worthless license ded srs

[MULEPACKHUNTER]

This is in place for a lot of non residents in other states. Nothing new. I have applied for several years out of state and have never drawn so no sympathy from me. The states that have that no refund license fee don’t get my money. It is pretty greedy. 
now where I do get upset is that this is just part of a path, on we are all on it, and the path is not going anywhere good. Too many people, to much development, not enough rain, way more non hunting city voters, you name it it’s all taking part in removing hunting from the landscape. 
im just going to sit back and watch the grizzly attacks double and triple and then when the wolves move forward and get hungry it will be daily hiker mauling time. 

[GJMauro12]

It’s hard to believe you’ve been on this forum since 2010. 

[deerhunter]

So your saying you just made my odds better for next year? Thanks

[NOTAGS]

[NewlyMinted]

I dunno man, non-res applications have 1 in 3 chance for a tag for 0 pts, and a 1 in 2 chance with 1 pt (you must have at least a loyalty point), and better than 2 in 3 with the hunters ed point added.

If you all have hunters ed and the loyalty points for 2 pts each on a 3 person application, should be a no-brainer.

Are non-res hunters eligible for the loyalty and hunter ed?

last year it was the highest non-res applications to date for this hunt but it didn't even hit the 10% non-res threshold (99 apps out of the 1334 total apps for this hunt). obviously more apps overall this year, but might just have been bad-luck rather than the man. grab a bow and come down in December!

 

[GreyGhost85]

if you think it disappointing being a nonresident and not drawing what used to be a guaranteed tag, try being a resident and not drawing the same tag. i probably spend more on app fees every year than most NR's and rarely draw anything. 

[tyler1215]

Lol this guy

[yotebuster]

I spend thousands of dollars every year on non refundable applications across the west as a NR.  That’s just part of the game, you gotta pay to play.  I read and understand the rules and try to make them work for me rather then against.  I’ve drawn a dozen or so really GOOD tags that would have all cost me $5,000-$100,000 if I had to go out and buy them at an auction so I don’t count it as a loss at all.  The money goes to fund wildlife (even though I don’t agree with a lot of what G&F offices do with it that is what it is) so I’m ok with it.  
If they don’t want to eat a NR license fee then there’s always deer hunting in the Catskills.  

[CouesPursuit]

There has to be an incredible number of the social media-captured archers that came down to AZ to try to kill a coues buck with a bow (that couldn't) and made plans to come back and try with a rifle.

Thank goodness for that 10% cap. Now that AZGFD did their recruiting, it would be nice if they stopped NR OTC.

[mikaele]

Thank USO Outfitters also.  I've had a couple friends ask about using them and have to give them my 20 minute rant on that fiasco.

[Couescrazy33]

So you have had 28 deer tags in arizona and didnt get one this one time and you are mad?

I know several residents that didnt draw what used to be southern arizona 100 percent chance tags.

Times are changing. Go thank Randy Newburg, meateater and instagram for ruining not just arizona but all western hunting.