Arizona Reservation Land

D

Dirt Nap

New member
I here a lot of guys saying that they hunt on some of the reservations here in Arizona. Which ones allow hunting and how does the license cost/work? Thanks
 
I believe it is on a reservation by reservation basis. If there is a particular reservation you are looking to hunt on, you need to check their specific regulations.
 
I noticed that the winners of the "World" were possibly Native American. I am not sure of course, but Yazzie is a common Native American last name.

Did they have an advantage to hunt on NA land or did all teams get the same privledges???

Just curious, no dog in this hunt. I know that most Reservations charge enormous fees to hunt their land at least for big game. Maybe one day for me.

Does anyone know? Thanks.
 
I've heard that the T.O. Res will allow hunting but not for predators. When I tried to find out who to talk to about getting a license/access nobody I talked to had any idea.

Nate
 
yazzie is a navajo name. navajo rez allows anglo hunters. $36 for non-resident license but, your suppose to be guided by navajo. in the proclamation it says either guided or with family member which means an in-law. hope this helps you feller's out? to be sure on language put in the proclamation i called it in myself for some of my anglo 'yote gettin buddies and was told that is what it says.
 
Salty,

Most of the reservations in AZ do NOT have open regulations for non-tribal members. The ones that do, like San Carlos, get called as much or more than the rest of the state.

I grew up in Globe AZ and have hunted on San Carlos all of my life. I still like going there and calling, but I run into more predator callers out there than anywhere else. There is a false sense among some callers that becasuse it's a reservation, no one must be calling it - not so. It's not any diferent than bass & crappie fishing - when San Carlos Lake is hot, you can almost walk across the lake on the boats.

Here's an interesting note - Our log books for the past 3 seasons show better success rates on an animals called per stand basis when calling off the reservation than on - quite a bit better.

Now then - I'd bet calling on some of the closed reservations, in AZ and elsewhere areound the US, would be awesome beyond belief. Kinda like the coyote stampedes in Mexico. Can a tribal member on a reservation get on edge over guys who aren't allowed to hunt there? Sure they can. Lots and lots of predators with virgin ears would have to equal big success.

I really like calling on San Carlos, as do many, many other hunters. It's easy to get addicted to the large expanses of open land. But, I'm sure I'm not alone in saying it's not a magic bullet - it gets called quite a bit. Heck, the PM hunt has been held there several times - it's a fun place to call, but it's certainly not a secret spot.

Best regards,

Mark Healy
 
It would be a mistake to assume that all reservations have the same rules for members of the tribe or for the common public. I hunt MANY tribes in Az, Ca, and Co, and the only way for me to not get into trouble is to call/investigate into the matter to see what the deal is. Some reservations you can't get a permit to hunt on, period. Others, you have to pay as I just bought two different res permits recently: one for $10 and one for $65. The one for ten bucks covers a HUGE area extending into Ca and Az. The one I paid $65 is about the smallest one ever covering maybe a hundred square miles. But is it worth it? To me--yes. It makes me legal, makes me comfortable, keeps me safe, and ensures I will be able to hunt a bit more land than the general public.
 
I love the assumption that the navajo's might have had an edge. Maybe the Worlds ought to be open only to public land? That would eliminate some of the past winners hunting on private land behind locked gates? Not sure HS team would even place if forced to hunt with the pack.

Last year tons of teams hunted the Navajo and this year a bunch hunted the Ute.
 
No thats wrong i hunted the navajo during the worlds and the non navajo permit was only 30 bucks and we hunted anywhere we wanted to on the res. Was even checked by the wardens and they said only for big game did we need a navajo guide. i will be back next year to hunt for fun and the worlds.
 
So, sounds like to me, that anyone may have the option to hunt Navajo land. Cool! I was just curious as to how it all worked for the Worlds.

I will inquire for permits here locally to hunt coyotes. Seems to be pretty cheap too.

Thanks for the education, I appreciate it.
 
Don't kid yourself Big AL is a [beeep] of a coyote hunter and would probably be in the running if the World contest went to Public land only contest. The only difference would be the winner would check in 6-13 coyotes instead of the 18-22 thats needed to win now. Every contest that I have seen that has implemented a public land only rule has seen the number of coyotes killed slashed. The other thing is its real hard to see one team dominate a contest when everyone is hunting on public ground.
As far as the the reservations go there was a really good post about a month ago that had links to a half of dozen of reservations and what it took for us whiteys to hunt them
 
caller4hire,
I knew it was 30 something. i'm a local. i guess it depends on who you talk to about the guides. its written kinda squirley in the regs thats why i called for my buds.
 
Originally Posted By: deathdealer2Navajoe's were very courtious to us. but was warned several times to stay far away from Hopi rez. They will take guns and vehicle.

I can relate to that comment about hunting HOPI land. Back a couple of years ago we did just that, not knowing any better, a rancher had reported us and were pulled over by the local Hopi Police. We were well inside the Navajo Reservation by this time, He searched our vehicle and were lucky we didnt walk home. At last check they had no regular hunting regulations and would only issue permits for ceremonial purpose only.
 
During the worlds I went out coyote calling not knowing that the worlds was going on. I ran into a couple Anglo's out hunting on the Rez. In my hunting grounds in fact. I got a lot of info from them very nice people. Later in the week I heard more stories of hunters on the rez. Just pay the fee and ask the local ranchers for permission soon as you say coyote hunting they are all in. I think all you need is a small games license which is valid from Jan 1 to Dec 31.
 
As for the TO res, I don't think they allow hunting at all. I called them today and got a lady on the phone was as lucid as a soup sandwich. She said she was not sure but that she thought there was no hunting allowed on the res at all. She said she would ask to find out and when she returned, she said, "no hunting is allowed." Then she added this incredibly wise and intelligent comment: "but you can hunt off the reservation."

Hmmmmm Okay, thanks!

Seriously, does anyone know for sure if we can or can't hunt on the TO?

Paul
 
This is why I don't mess around with trying to hunt the rez. Confusing regs and the one's that you can hunt are hunted just as hard or harder than the BLM/ST land.

I'm thinking Mexico is the promise land of predator hunting. If I'm going through all that grief, it's to go to Mexico.
 
CoyotesniperFJ,

I know for a fact that it used to be open for quail hunting. I asked one of the tribal employees and they told me that coyote would most likely be a no go. There are apparently several clans within the tribe, one of which is the coyote clan. It's a sacred animal to some of the members. I never found any written regulations nor any type of wildlife department employee to find out for sure. Unfortunately in my experience disorganization is a hallmark of the Tohono O'odham tribal government.

Nate
 
Yeah but it seems that "People" hunting in Mexico is the game of choice now! I know that the gang wars are going to move into our area soon. My wife and I used to go to Mexico all the time to eat and semi-party. not anymore, it just is not worth the possibility of a violent act to go. I'm waiting for a snow bird to get dusted in Algadones or San Luis, our border towns, and then the crap will hit the proverbial fan. Otherwise, i'm calling tomorrow about hunting Quechan/Cocopah to see if i get a good answer. Man in the Picacho area there are fox everywhere..oops gave out my secret!
 
You can hunt all the coyotes you desire on the Navajo Reservation if you purchase a Navajo Nation Fishing and Small Game Hunting Permit for $30.00. It is good for the calendar year. The good area on the Navajo land is behind locked gates. This is the area where they herd sheep. The herders report continual problems with coyotes. To get the key to this area all you need to do is contact the Navajo Field Office in Sanders and get a key from Keith. Andrew and I did it while scouting for worlds.

The winning team from worlds were Hopi Indians that were the only team allowed to hunt on that land due to their heritage. At the calcutta auction the presenter announced that for all to hear to drive up the bidding for that team- which it did. Fair, unfair? That is up to the members of the board that sit on the World Coyote Calling Championship Committee to decide.

I live directly North of the Gila River Indian Reservation. This area is off limits to hunting to even the Indians living there so there are more coyotes running around than you can shake a stick at. Just keep driving. I know of a few hunters that lost their rifles/shotguns when they were caught hunting on tribal land. Lucky they were allowed to drive away with their truck. I have often hunted on the very edge of reservation making sure I am on the white-man side but last year Andrew had a close call which taught me a lesson. He had a new store-bought map and the indian reservation had annexed some land so the borderline was off 400 yards and Andrew was caught hunting on reservation land. He had shot nothing at that point and after an hour of haggling with 3 officers he was allowed to drive off.
 
Back
Top