Tips and tactics to secure an Arizona over-the-counter deer tag and plan for your hunt
GOHUNT Filtering for over-the-counter Arizona mule deer or Coues deer hunting opportunities.
GOHUNT Maps researching Arizona deer hunting options.
Arizona over-the-counter (OTC) nonresident archery deer tags for the 2026 season will go on sale November 3, 2025, at 8:00 a.m. Arizona time. With just 2,785 nonresident tags available this year—a slight decrease from last season—these tags will go fast. If you’re planning to hunt Arizona over-the-counter archery deer next year, you need a plan before sales open.
The best way to be ready? Start your research now with GOHUNT Insider. Members can research available units, check historical success rates, and find the best hunt areas before even leaving for the hunt.
The individual unit harvest quotas are pretty straight forward, but covering the basics is never a bad idea. Harvest quotas will vary from unit to unit and can even be species specific. As an example, the unit you are interested in might be open to Coues deer but could be closed to mule deer. Paying close attention to the individual quotas will be very important for your hunt.
If you want to grab a tag and make the most of it, you need more than luck — you need data. GOHUNT Insider gives you everything you need to plan your Arizona over-the-counter hunt with confidence.
Start your planning with GOHUNT's Filtering, the fastest way to narrow down Arizona over-the-counter opportunities. Quickly sort units by what matters most to you — mule deer or Coues deer, harvest success, public land percentage, trophy potential, season dates, and more. Build your own hit list of high-potential units in minutes.
You can also research these opportunities using our mobile app.
Dig into the numbers that matter. Insider’s season data lets you analyze historical harvest statistics like hunter numbers and success rates for every over-the-counter archery unit in Arizona. With this insight, you’ll know which units consistently produce deer — and which ones to avoid.
Every Arizona unit has a story — and Unit Profiles tell it. Explore detailed breakdowns of terrain, vegetation, access, and deer distribution so you can show up prepared. Tap into real-world feedback from other Insider members who’ve hunted those same units to gain boots-on-the-ground insight before you go.
Turn your research into action with GOHUNT Maps, built specifically for western hunters. E-scout from home, mark glassing points, locate water, and plan routes — all within an intuitive, hunter-focused platform. Everything you need to break down your unit and hit the ground ready.
Arizona’s over-the-counter archery deer tags are a fun and interesting hunt for anyone to consider, but with limited numbers of tags, these sell out quickly, and preparation is everything.
Take the guesswork out of your planning with GOHUNT Insider. From in-depth research tools to powerful maps and unit data, you’ll have everything you need to make your 2026 Arizona over-the-counter hunt your best yet.
2,785 Arizona nonresident over-the-counter archery deer tags will be made available for 2026.
Tags will go on sale November 3, 2025 at 8 a.m. ARIZONA TIME.
Tags can be purchased here.
A Customer ID and date of birth are required to purchase a tag.
If you already have a Customer ID but cannot remember it you can recover that here.
If you do not currently have a Customer ID you can set one up here.
Resident tag numbers are unlimited.
Tags are good for either mule deer or coues deer where applicable.
Each individual unit is governed by stringent harvest quotas.
Individual unit harvest quotas can include the total number of deer harvested or species specific quotas.
Once a quota has been met that unit will be closed to further archery deer hunting at sundown the Wednesday immediately following.
Harvest quotas apply to units between August and January; they will reset each year in August.
It is the hunters responsibility to continually check the hunt quota status page to ensure the unit they intend to hunt is indeed open.
All archery deer nonpermit-tag hunters are required to report their harvest either online or by telephone, 623-236-7961, within 48 hours of taking their deer.
Failure to report a harvest, as well as hunting in a closed unit, will be strictly enforced.
The yearly bag limit for deer(all species) is 1 per year.
