From San Diego. Hunting AZ, NV or Northern CA?

[Wildgame]

Last year I hunted with an A22 tag. While it was really fun and I had a couple of close encounters I can't help to think how great would it be to hunt where there might be more game.

This year I want to have a better opportunity to land my first Deer. I was thinking about either Northern CA, AZ or even NV...The closer to home the better. I can drive or fly if necessary.

I want to DIY the hunt and I want to continue hunting with a bow from the ground. As a bonus, if Northern CA is a better choice I would consider adding a Bear tag to the mix.

7 days is what I think I can handle. Finding a campsite as a home base within a reasonable distance to a small town would be ok with me, but a reasonable drive to a decent room to spend the night would be excellent. I expect it would hot as hell and 7 days in hot weather could be too much.

B,C zones in CA come to mind. In AZ or NV I have no clue.

It is possible that going alone and with limited experience is a very stupid thing to do, especially where there might be Bears and cats. If I could find a hunting partner I would consider it.

If you had to weigh the pros and cons including cost, what would your choice be?

 

[Mud Pigeon]

Excluding a few zones AZ archery tags are OTC for nonresidents. Any NorCal area significantly better than A22 will require points or lots of luck to draw.

 

[Zachappa]

I am in the same situation. Going to check out az otc hunt in dec.

 

[HortoTheSlayer]

Will be trying for my first A22 tag this year but would be into doing AZ otc as well! Just never been out there so wouldnt know where to start.

 

[Wildgame]

Excluding a few zones AZ archery tags are OTC for nonresidents. Any NorCal area significantly better than A22 will require points or lots of luck to draw.

Good to know but..AO which I believe is OTC should work for B zones.

 

[Zachappa]

Will be trying for my first A22 tag this year but would be into doing AZ otc as well! Just never been out there so wouldnt know where to start.

I'm no expert and, have very little experience, but a lot of passion, so take it for what it is, but this is what i did to make my plan

I went here https://www.azgfd.com/

There is a lot of good information here and details on zone(includes tips and access directions).

There are 3 AZ OTC archery seasons(not all units are open to all 3), aug/sep, dec & Jan

Dec works better for me. So I started looking at what areas looked good (based on the internet, the northern part of the state will be better for December and Jan in the south(Rut activity)

Once I narrowed it to a "region" I called the fish and game and got more information from them and they put me in contact with the biologist. (really awesome guys and they were eager to help)

They helped with understanding road access, rules of the road and etiquette when it comes to private land​

Some questions they asked me was:​

Hunting style (spot & stalk) (Ground blind), this helped with guiding me on where to go and what to look for​

How important is quality? Am I looking for a big buck? (I said I wasn't picky, so they pointed me towards quantity vs quality)​

Now I got my date, my place, spent a lot of money at REI and spent a lot of time with onx, mapping out roads and routes. (youtube has a few videos on what to bring, how to prepare etc...)

I plan on going there to scout the general location/area at least once before I hunt there.

This is just high level thinking from a fellow newb, hope it helps.

 

[HATCHET1]

Just make sure to close the gates fellas..

 

[Wildgame]

I'm no expert and, have very little experience, but a lot of passion, so take it for what it is, but this is what i did to make my plan

I went here https://www.azgfd.com/

There is a lot of good information here and details on zone(includes tips and access directions).

There are 3 AZ OTC archery seasons(not all units are open to all 3), aug/sep, dec & Jan

Dec works better for me. So I started looking at what areas looked good (based on the internet, the northern part of the state will be better for December and Jan in the south(Rut activity)

Once I narrowed it to a "region" I called the fish and game and got more information from them and they put me in contact with the biologist. (really awesome guys and they were eager to help)

They helped with understanding road access, rules of the road and etiquette when it comes to private land​

Some questions they asked me was:​

Hunting style (spot & stalk) (Ground blind), this helped with guiding me on where to go and what to look for​

How important is quality? Am I looking for a big buck? (I said I wasn't picky, so they pointed me towards quantity vs quality)​

Now I got my date, my place, spent a lot of money at REI and spent a lot of time with onx, mapping out roads and routes. (youtube has a few videos on what to bring, how to prepare etc...)

I plan on going there to scout the general location/area at least once before I hunt there.

This is just high level thinking from a fellow newb, hope it helps.

sounds like you are doing your homework and I am going to guess you will have at least a realistic opportunity to get your deer.
Thanks for the info.
I did look in to AZ and I'm learning as I read. It looks like AZ is an option for most folks who live around San Diego.
I need to make some decisions soon.
Good luck.

 

[Zachappa]

sounds like you are doing your homework and I am going to guess you will have at least a realistic opportunity to get your deer.
Thanks for the info.
I did look in to AZ and I'm learning as I read. It looks like AZ is an option for most folks who live around San Diego.
I need to make some decisions soon.
Good luck.

Absolutely! The whole reason why i started looking at AZ is b.c so many of the guys at the local archery shops told me, I don't hunt in California, i go to AZ. It's just better

 

[HortoTheSlayer]

I'm no expert and, have very little experience, but a lot of passion, so take it for what it is, but this is what i did to make my plan

I went here https://www.azgfd.com/

There is a lot of good information here and details on zone(includes tips and access directions).

There are 3 AZ OTC archery seasons(not all units are open to all 3), aug/sep, dec & Jan

Dec works better for me. So I started looking at what areas looked good (based on the internet, the northern part of the state will be better for December and Jan in the south(Rut activity)

Once I narrowed it to a "region" I called the fish and game and got more information from them and they put me in contact with the biologist. (really awesome guys and they were eager to help)

They helped with understanding road access, rules of the road and etiquette when it comes to private land​

Some questions they asked me was:​

Hunting style (spot & stalk) (Ground blind), this helped with guiding me on where to go and what to look for​

How important is quality? Am I looking for a big buck? (I said I wasn't picky, so they pointed me towards quantity vs quality)​

Now I got my date, my place, spent a lot of money at REI and spent a lot of time with onx, mapping out roads and routes. (youtube has a few videos on what to bring, how to prepare etc...)

I plan on going there to scout the general location/area at least once before I hunt there.

This is just high level thinking from a fellow newb, hope it helps.

Definitely some hot tips! I dig the way you went about it and will be spending some time making phone calls rather then just looking online. Best of luck to you man and thanks for sharing!

 

[tonyjohnson619]

I just got done doing the draw application for rifle season... I have a friend that lives in Safford so gonna try for some AZtags