December/Jan Hunts

[Titan]

Looking for some information about planning a Late November - January hunt. Would prefer to stick with Elk and/or Bear, but not totally ruling out Mule Deer. Rifle is also preferred, but archery would work. DIY only.

I have been researching OTC and Draw hunts, but most of the state wildlife websites are pretty tough to navigate. I have been going Rifle season in Colorado for 15+ years and understand that system, but i'm lost with NM, AZ, WY, etc. I have found threads about people hunting elk this late, but can't seem to find the tag information on the corresponding state's big game website.


This time of year works best for our group of 4-5 hunters. We are in West Texas, so trying to keep driving distance reasonable. Some of the south east Arizona units are showing about 8 hours away which would be fine.

I may be too late for this year, unless there are some OTC tags available in these places.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[Ndbowhunter]

Plenty of archery in Arizona otc

Most states have a hunt planner section. That'll help.

Personally I'd book a direct flight to Nz from Houston and be done with it

 

[JP100]

Plenty of archery in Arizona otc

Most states have a hunt planner section. That'll help.

Personally I'd book a direct flight to Nz from Houston and be done with it

Only really Chamois worth hunting that time of year here.

Stags will still be soft generally and Tahr capes are pretty average.

Summer chamois hunting is good though

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[Wrathchild]

If looking to really have an adventure, Kodiak for Blacktail is great in November. Off road system deer runs til December 31st. The refuge has several cabins (deadman, uganik, Frazier lake etc) that you can fly into. And it sounds like the deer have been really healthy compared to last year.

 

[Ndbowhunter]

kodiak in December is terrible. It's not light till 10am and it's dark just after 4

Unless you enjoy shooting deer off a beach..

Tahr in January off a glacier or chamois in the bluffs is a lot more fun then stalking dinky whitetails in the desert.

Btw Sambar can be a good hunt as well up on the north island if ur after hard antler in January. Not keen on all the details now that national parks have been transferred to maori holdings.

Or wait a few more weeks and do the axis hunt on lanai..

 

[CorbLand]

Arizona has Coues Deer archery during that time period.

 

[Titan]

While an Alaskan or NZ hunt has always been on my "to-do" list, it definitely won't fly for this planned hunt. Cost of out of state tag is about the max these other hunters can spend.

So a couple for mulies and coues in AZ. Are there any states with OTC Elk during those time periods?

 

[realunlucky]

While an Alaskan or NZ hunt has always been on my "to-do" list, it definitely won't fly for this planned hunt. Cost of out of state tag is about the max these other hunters can spend.

So a couple for mulies and coues in AZ. Are there any states with OTC Elk during those time periods?

Nope none I know of.

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[CorbLand]

Utah has some late season cow tags but you have to draw them.

 

[Titan]

I see some of the Utah cow tags. Looks like they may have leftover tags after a certain date, but they don't issue many out of state. I will give them a call and see how it all works. Some of those SE units are only 9-10 hours away.

 

[mrs stonewall]

I'm pretty sure there's some late season OTC cow tags in montana, but I couldn't tell you what units

 

[idahohikker]

You're in cow tag zone. Very few bull opportunities then. They would get slaughtered in that time frame where the elk are migratory. Arizona late rifle elk I think is in early December. Arizona OTC archery deer.

You really want to find a way to move into October or November to greatly expand your options.

 

[Titan]

Cows are fine. I get my chance at a Bull in October in CO.

Might be able to sneak in a november hunt if it falls during the Thanksgiving break.

 

[LongWayAround]

There could be some leftover late season cow tags in Colorado for December. I haven't looked lately.

Doe whitetails in January in Iowa are pretty much a guarantee.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

Az. you'll have to draw...Jan.OTC Mule Deer and some leftover Javelina tags in the less popular zones.

 

[Felix40]

A lot of NM archery deer tags are good in january too. Download the hunting booklet and look at the deer section. Its pretty easy to follow

 

[idahohikker]

Spring bear is sweet in May. MT, ID, or WY. Spot and stalk. Very fun hunt and decent odds of success if you do some research on higher population bear areas.