July 24, 2026
PHOENIX — The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) will once again offer hunters an opportunity to draw additional permit-tags to hunt mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk and Gould’s turkey while generating revenue to support wildlife conservation efforts across the state.
New for this Copper State Draw is an epic two-tag hunt. Just one application fee gets you a chance to hunt both mule deer and elk in Arizona’s highly coveted Game Management Units 22 and 23, which span from the Sonoran Desert to Rim Country.
The Copper State Draw opens at 8 a.m. (Arizona time) Wednesday, July 29, and closes at 5 p.m. (Arizona time) Tuesday, August 4. Learn more and apply starting on July 29 at https://copperstatedraw.azgfd.com/.
Here is a summary of this year’s opportunities:
- Mule deer (antlered) and elk (any elk): Dec. 1, 2026 – Jan. 31, 2027. Open areas: Units 22, 23.
- Mule deer (antlered): Dec. 1, 2026 – Jan. 31, 2027. Open areas: Units 28, 31, 32, 37A, 37B.
- Mule deer (antlered): Dec. 15, 2026 – Feb. 15, 2027. Open areas: Units 10, 17A, 17B, 19A, 19B, 20A.
- White-tailed deer (antlered): Jan. 1, 2027 – Feb. 28, 2027. Open areas: Units 4A, 5A, 6A, 6B, 8, 27, 28.
- White-tailed deer (antlered): Jan. 1, 2027 – Feb. 28, 2027. Open areas: Units 29, 30A, 30B, 31, 32, 33, 34A, 34B, 35A, 35B, 36A, 36B, 36C.
- White-tailed deer (antlered): Jan. 1, 2027 – Feb. 28, 2027. Open areas: Units 21, 22, 23, 24A, 24B.
- Elk (any elk): Dec. 15, 2026 – Feb. 15, 2027. Open areas: Units 1, 27.
- Elk (any elk): Dec. 15, 2026 – Feb. 15, 2027. Open areas: Units 9, 10.
- Gould’s turkey (bearded): April 1, 2027 – May 31, 2027. Open areas: Units 29, 30A, 31, 32, 33 (north and west of Redington Road), 34A, 35A, 35B.
All hunts except the Gould’s turkey hunt are general season hunts. For the general hunts, please see R12-4-304 for legal methods of take. The Gould’s turkey hunt is a limited-weapon shotgun shooting shot hunt.
Important Details:
Applicants must have a Customer ID to submit an application. There are four ways to locate a Customer ID:
1) Log into your AZGFD portal account, and click on “View Details” under “My AZGFD Dashboard.”
2) Check your hunting or combination hunt and fish license, if it was purchased online.
3) A Customer ID number can be retrieved by visiting https://customerlookup.azgfd.com/. If the account is located, AZGFD will send the Customer ID number to that email address.
4) Call AZGFD at 602-942-3000 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Don’t have a Customer ID? Visit www.accounts.azgfd.com/Account/Register to sign up for a free AZGFD portal account. For those applicants who believe they have a portal account but are unable to locate their Customer ID by using the Customer ID Retrieval Tool, call the department at 602-942-3000 to avoid creating a duplicate account.
Applicants who are drawn for a permit-tag will be contacted by the department during the week of August 10, at which time payment will be required before the permit-tag can be mailed. It is the responsibility of each applicant to provide accurate contact information to avoid missing an opportunity to receive the permit-tag for which they were drawn.
These opportunities should not be confused with the annual draws that are conducted by AZGFD in February, June and October. A Copper State Draw permit-tag application does not preclude an applicant from applying for any other hunts throughout the year or impact bonus points. Animals harvested during Copper State Draw seasons are excluded from annual bag limits.
In addition:
- The issuance of a specific number of Copper State Draw permit-tags will not adversely affect management objectives for a species or area. These hunts will not impact the number of permit-tags made available for the annual draws. The related harvest will have an insignificant impact on wildlife populations.
- A valid Arizona hunting (or combination hunt and fish) license is not needed at the time of application; it is required if an applicant draws a Copper State Draw permit-tag.
- Applicants may apply for all available Copper State Draw hunts on one application but may apply only once for each hunt number. Multiple applications will not be accepted.
- At the time of application, an applicant shall submit the required application fee ($13 for Arizona residents, $15 for nonresidents) for each selected hunt number.
- Each applicant must apply individually. Applicants cannot apply as a group, unlike the annual draws.
- If an applicant enters inaccurate information during the application process, or attempts to enter the draw for a hunt more than once, all applications will be deemed invalid.
- After an application has been saved, an applicant cannot begin a new one. An applicant can return to their application to make changes as long as the draw is open and final payment has not been submitted. Once final payment is accepted, an applicant can no longer make changes or apply for additional hunts.