OTC - Over The Counter Deer Hunts in Arizona

Archery Deer OTC Tags

Arizona offers unique and flexible opportunities for any archery deer hunter! This guarantees you the ability to hunt deer every year, and gives you the flexibility to plan a hunt during a time of year that works best for you. It also allows you to accrue bonus points for that trophy AZ Strip, Kaibab or rut Coues hunt through the draw process. There are 3 archery OTC tag seasons for both coues deer and mule deer, that you can hunt:

• Early Season "Velvet" Hunts - Mid August to mid September - Mule deer and coues deer bucks form bachelor groups this time of the year. Hunting methods vary depending on hunter preference and weather conditions.
• Late Season "Rut" Hunts - Mule deer and coues deer in central and southern Arizona begin rutting in mid December and peaks in late December to mid January depending on weather and habitat conditions.  
  • Late December 
  • January

Archery OTC tags are valid for several units around the state (not statewide)! There are harvest thresholds in place for each species in each unit. The bag limit remains at one deer per year whether it’s killed during an OTC hunt or permitted draw hunt. 

Arizona residents - You can simply purchase a tag at any AZ Game and Fish Department office or license dealer and plan your hunt. 

Non Residents - Your archery deer OTC tags will only be sold online — on a first come, first served basis — at otcarchery.azgfd.com. This takes place in early November at 8am sharp (Arizona time) online. The hard date will be published in the regulations.

Approximately 2800 non-resident archery OTC deer tags will be available but typically sell out in less than 15 minutes!!! Be prepared!

Prices - We offer 5 and 7 day OTC archery deer hunts from $4,000 to $6,500. 

REQUEST INFO