Unit 1 deer hunting: 2026 hunts, harvest and draw
AZGFD's 2026 regulations list 2 deer hunts open in Unit 1, with 560 permits in all. The largest is hunt 1001, any antlered deer, October 23 to November 1, with 400 permits. On the 2 hunts held only in Unit 1 in 2025, AZGFD's harvest survey counts 426 hunters and 254 deer taken; AZGFD lists 250 as mule deer and 5 as whitetail.
Data updated October 2026. Hunts: AZGFD's 2026 2026-27 regulations. Harvest: AZGFD harvest summaries, 2021 to 2025. Draw: AZGFD's 2025 report.
National forestState trust landAZGFD landTribal land (tribal permit)City, county and otherUnit 1Neighboring unitsLake or riverHighway
| Unit | Unit 1 |
|---|---|
| AZGFD region | Region 1, Pinetop |
| Deer hunts, 2026 | 2 (560 permits) |
| Hunt types | general and archery only |
| Earliest season | August 21 to September 10 (hunt 1199) |
| Deer taken on its own hunts, 2025 | 254 by 426 hunters |
| 2025 draw, first-choice applicants | 2,785 for 510 permits issued |
| Public land open to hunting | 91.1%, mostly national forest |
What deer hunts does Unit 1 have in 2026?
2 hunts: 1 general and 1 archery only. 2 are held only in Unit 1. Permits are AZGFD's numbers for the whole hunt.
| Hunt | Type | Season, 2026 | Legal animal | Permits | Open area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1001 | General | Oct 23 to Nov 1 | Any antlered deer | 400 | 1 |
| 1199 | Archery only | Aug 21 to Sep 10 | Any antlered deer | 160 | 1 |
Source: AZGFD 2026-27 Arizona Hunting Regulations, PDF pages 29 and 32. Note numbers refer to AZGFD's printed notes, which set boundaries and restrictions; read them before you apply.
How many deer are harvested in Unit 1?
Year by year, the hunts held only in Unit 1. Hunter and harvest totals are sums of AZGFD's figures for those hunts.
| Year | Hunts | Hunters | Hunter days | Mule deer | Whitetail | Deer taken | Deer per 100 hunters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 | 426 | 2,107 | 250 | 5 | 254 | 60 |
| 2024 | 1 | 289 | 1,210 | 156 | 7 | 163 | 56 |
| 2023 | 1 | 257 | 1,031 | 144 | 2 | 146 | 57 |
| 2022 | 1 | 266 | 1,198 | 119 | 7 | 126 | 47 |
| 2021 | 2 | 369 | 1,642 | 188 | 4 | 192 | 52 |
Deer per 100 hunters is worked out from AZGFD's own hunter and harvest figures for the same hunts.
Every hunt that included Unit 1, as AZGFD reported it:
| Hunt | Type | Area | Permits issued | Hunters | Hunter days | Mule deer bucks | Mule deer antlerless | Whitetail bucks | Whitetail antlerless | Harvest | Success (AZGFD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1001 | General | 1 | 337 | 282 | 1,176 | 186 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 190 | 67% |
| 1198 | Archery only | 1 | 159 | 144 | 931 | 64 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 44% |
| Hunt | Type | Area | Permits issued | Hunters | Hunter days | Mule deer bucks | Mule deer antlerless | Whitetail bucks | Whitetail antlerless | Harvest | Success (AZGFD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1001 | General | 1 | 342 | 289 | 1,210 | 156 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 163 | 56% |
Earlier years: 2023, 2022, 2021
| Hunt | Type | Area | Permits issued | Hunters | Hunter days | Mule deer bucks | Mule deer antlerless | Whitetail bucks | Whitetail antlerless | Harvest | Success (AZGFD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1001 | General | 1 | 298 | 257 | 1,031 | 144 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 146 | 57% |
| Hunt | Type | Area | Permits issued | Hunters | Hunter days | Mule deer bucks | Mule deer antlerless | Whitetail bucks | Whitetail antlerless | Harvest | Success (AZGFD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1001 | General | 1 | 296 | 266 | 1,198 | 119 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 126 | 47% |
| Hunt | Type | Area | Permits issued | Hunters | Hunter days | Mule deer bucks | Mule deer antlerless | Whitetail bucks | Whitetail antlerless | Harvest | Success (AZGFD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1001 | General | 1 | 298 | 266 | 1,045 | 156 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 158 | 59% |
| 1196 | Archery only | 1 | 122 | 103 | 597 | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 33% |
Source: AZGFD 2025 Deer Harvest Summary, AZGFD 2024 Deer Harvest Summary, AZGFD 2023 Deer Harvest Summary, AZGFD 2022 Deer Harvest Summary, AZGFD 2021 Deer Harvest Summary. Success is AZGFD's printed figure, and AZGFD's parts (bulls, cows, species) do not always add up to its harvest total; both are shown as printed. Hunt numbers change from year to year; the area column says where each hunt was. Rows AZGFD printed with a blank middle cell are left out rather than guessed.
How many hunters applied in the 2025 draw?
AZGFD's 2025 draw report lists 2 deer hunts that included Unit 1: 2,785 first-choice applications for 510 permits issued. These are 2025 counts, not a forecast.
| Hunt, 2025 | Area | Hunt type | Season | First-choice applicants | Second-choice applicants | Permits issued |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1001 | 1 | Any antlered deer | 10/24 to 11/2 | 2,569 | 1,754 | 350 |
| 1198 | 1 | Any antlered deer | 8/22 to 9/11 | 216 | 220 | 160 |
Source: AZGFD 2025 Deer draw report. AZGFD's report also prints a percentage column whose basis it does not state, so it is not copied here.
What did AZGFD's 2025 survey count?
In Unit 1, AZGFD's 2025 mule deer survey classified 191 animals in 33 groups: 14 bucks and 46 young per 100 does.
Source: AZGFD 2025 Mule Deer Survey Summary.
How much public land is in Unit 1?
91.1% of Unit 1 is public land open to hunting: 492,123 of 540,414 acres, the largest share national forest (410,826 acres). The Unit 1 page has the full land table, towns and roads.
Measured by FilledTag inside AZGFD's unit boundaries from USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee managers). Public land open to hunting here means national forest, BLM, state trust land, AZGFD land, national wildlife refuges, national recreation areas and Bureau of Reclamation land. Tribal land, military land and national parks are counted on their own rows and left out of that figure.
Questions hunters ask
How many deer permits does Unit 1 have in 2026?
560 permits across 2 hunts in AZGFD's 2026 regulations. The largest is hunt 1001 (any antlered deer).
When is deer season in Unit 1 in 2026?
The first deer hunt open here starts August 21 (hunt 1199, archery only) and the last ends November 1. Each hunt's dates are in the table on this page.
How many deer were harvested in Unit 1 in 2025?
AZGFD's 2025 harvest survey counts 254 deer taken by 426 hunters on the 2 hunts held only in Unit 1, against 163 in 2024. Hunts shared with other units are counted in AZGFD's table for each hunt, not added here.
How many hunters applied for Unit 1 deer in 2025?
AZGFD's 2025 draw report counts 2,785 first-choice applications for the 2 deer hunts that included Unit 1, and 510 permits issued. AZGFD publishes no forecast for 2026; these are 2025 counts.
Get Arizona updates from FilledTag
Join the Arizona list and FilledTag will email you when it adds more for Arizona hunters.
The free FilledTag app for iPhone has a map that works in every state, Arizona included.
Where these numbers come from
- Hunts, seasons, legal animals and permits: AZGFD 2026-27 Arizona Hunting Regulations.
- Harvest, hunters and days: AZGFD 2025 Deer Harvest Summary, AZGFD 2024 Deer Harvest Summary, AZGFD 2023 Deer Harvest Summary, AZGFD 2022 Deer Harvest Summary, AZGFD 2021 Deer Harvest Summary.
- Draw applicants and permits: AZGFD 2025 Deer draw report.
- Unit boundaries: AZGFD game management unit boundaries. Public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee managers).
FilledTag is not part of the Arizona Game and Fish Department. Numbers are copied from AZGFD's published reports or measured from AZGFD and USGS maps; nothing here is estimated by FilledTag. AZGFD's regulations are the final word on every rule.