Feb 13 is the new deadline

This may be your best chance ever for drawing a fall big game tag in Arizona. Not because there are more to be had, but because some hunters are going to forget that the deadline for applications moved from June to February this year. Fewer applications means better odds for those who do get in the draw.

This is the first year that Arizona Game & Fish Department is conducting a winter draw for fall elk and pronghorn tags; the application deadline for fall 2007 elk and pronghorn hunts is Feb. 13. AZG&F will mail out hunt permit-tags to the lucky and refunds to the despondent by April 2. Tag fees, by the way, have shot up significantly.

The last word from AZG&F was that their online application process is still kaput, though they may have fixed it by now; regardless, you can still check the new regulations online and download a printed application at www.azgfd.gov. Make sure you get your application in their hands by the end of the day on Feb. 13 - postmarks don't count.