Unit 23 deer hunting: 2026 hunts, harvest and draw
AZGFD's 2026 regulations list 5 deer hunts open in Unit 23, with 800 permits in all. The largest is hunt 1038, antlered mule deer, October 30 to November 5, with 250 permits. On the 5 hunts held only in Unit 23 in 2025, AZGFD's harvest survey counts 733 hunters and 226 deer taken; AZGFD lists 124 as mule deer and 98 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 forestAZGFD landTribal land (tribal permit)Unit 23Neighboring unitsLake or riverHighway
| Unit | Unit 23 |
|---|---|
| AZGFD region | Region 6, Mesa |
| Deer hunts, 2026 | 5 (800 permits) |
| Hunt types | general and youth only |
| Earliest season | October 9 to October 15 (hunt 1161) |
| Deer taken on its own hunts, 2025 | 226 by 733 hunters |
| 2025 draw, first-choice applicants | 3,551 for 925 permits issued |
| Public land open to hunting | 98.1%, mostly national forest |
What deer hunts does Unit 23 have in 2026?
5 hunts: 4 general and 1 youth only. 5 are held only in Unit 23. Permits are AZGFD's numbers for the whole hunt.
| Hunt | Type | Season, 2026 | Legal animal | Permits | Open area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1038 | General | Oct 30 to Nov 5 | Antlered mule deer | 250 | 23 |
| 1085 | General | Oct 23 to Oct 29 | Antlered whitetail deer | 175 | 23 |
| 1086 | General | Nov 6 to Nov 12 | Antlered whitetail deer | 175 | 23 |
| 1087 | General | Dec 11 to Dec 31 | Antlered whitetail deer | 75 | 23 |
| 1161 | Youth only | Oct 9 to Oct 15 | Any antlered deer | 125 | 23 |
Source: AZGFD 2026-27 Arizona Hunting Regulations, PDF pages 29, 30 and 31. 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 23?
Year by year, the hunts held only in Unit 23. 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 | 5 | 733 | 3,185 | 124 | 98 | 226 | 31 |
| 2024 | 5 | 740 | 3,336 | 163 | 174 | 338 | 46 |
| 2023 | 6 | 847 | 3,832 | 132 | 190 | 322 | 38 |
| 2022 | 6 | 815 | 3,661 | 110 | 175 | 292 | 36 |
| 2021 | 6 | 1,044 | 4,461 | 105 | 155 | 259 | 25 |
Deer per 100 hunters is worked out from AZGFD's own hunter and harvest figures for the same hunts.
Every hunt that included Unit 23, 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1038 | General | 23 | 341 | 274 | 1,218 | 69 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 26% |
| 1085 | General | 23 | 173 | 149 | 641 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 39 | 26% |
| 1086 | General | 23 | 168 | 141 | 641 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 25 | 18% |
| 1087 | General | 23 | 71 | 44 | 305 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 32% |
| 1160 | Youth only | 23 | 147 | 125 | 380 | 55 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 78 | 62% |
| Hunt | Type | Area | Permits issued | Hunters | Hunter days | Mule deer bucks | Mule deer antlerless | Whitetail bucks | Whitetail antlerless | Harvest | Success (AZGFD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1038 | General | 23 | 347 | 273 | 1,215 | 111 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 111 | 41% |
| 1086 | General | 23 | 173 | 138 | 572 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 0 | 47 | 34% |
| 1087 | General | 23 | 171 | 133 | 571 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 0 | 51 | 38% |
| 1088 | General | 23 | 75 | 67 | 586 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 41 | 61% |
| 1160 | Youth only | 23 | 148 | 129 | 392 | 52 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 88 | 68% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1037 | General | 23 | 325 | 284 | 1,283 | 81 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 81 | 29% |
| 1038 | General | 23 | 10 | 9 | 46 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 78% |
| 1086 | General | 23 | 200 | 169 | 690 | 0 | 0 | 69 | 0 | 69 | 41% |
| 1087 | General | 23 | 200 | 183 | 821 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 0 | 53 | 29% |
| 1088 | General | 23 | 85 | 79 | 563 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 0 | 45 | 57% |
| 1161 | Youth only | 23 | 149 | 123 | 429 | 44 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 67 | 54% |
| Hunt | Type | Area | Permits issued | Hunters | Hunter days | Mule deer bucks | Mule deer antlerless | Whitetail bucks | Whitetail antlerless | Harvest | Success (AZGFD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1037 | General | 23 | 316 | 266 | 1,181 | 74 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 78 | 29% |
| 1038 | General | 23 | 10 | 8 | 60 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 88% |
| 1086 | General | 23 | 199 | 181 | 772 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 0 | 52 | 29% |
| 1087 | General | 23 | 197 | 160 | 643 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 0 | 67 | 42% |
| 1088 | General | 23 | 80 | 65 | 540 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 35 | 54% |
| 1161 | Youth only | 23 | 150 | 135 | 465 | 29 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 53 | 39% |
| Hunt | Type | Area | Permits issued | Hunters | Hunter days | Mule deer bucks | Mule deer antlerless | Whitetail bucks | Whitetail antlerless | Harvest | Success (AZGFD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1038 | General | 23 | 472 | 399 | 1,758 | 53 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 13% |
| 1039 | General | 23 | 15 | 15 | 80 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 73% |
| 1087 | General | 23 | 220 | 178 | 720 | 3 | 0 | 45 | 0 | 47 | 26% |
| 1088 | General | 23 | 243 | 208 | 859 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 0 | 55 | 26% |
| 1089 | General | 23 | 102 | 79 | 536 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 25 | 31% |
| 1162 | Youth only | 23 | 199 | 165 | 508 | 38 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 68 | 41% |
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 5 deer hunts that included Unit 23: 3,551 first-choice applications for 925 permits issued. These are 2025 counts, not a forecast.
| Hunt, 2025 | Area | Hunt type | Season | First-choice applicants | Second-choice applicants | Permits issued |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1038 | 23 | Antlered mule deer | 10/31 to 11/6 | 1,381 | 1,477 | 350 |
| 1085 | 23 | Antlered whitetail | 10/24 to 10/30 | 421 | 514 | 175 |
| 1086 | 23 | Antlered whitetail | 11/7 to 11/13 | 345 | 489 | 175 |
| 1087 | 23 | Antlered whitetail | 12/12 to 12/31 | 928 | 736 | 75 |
| 1160 | 23 | Any antlered deer | 10/10 to 10/16 | 476 | 490 | 150 |
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 23, AZGFD's 2025 mule deer survey classified 111 animals in 27 groups: 23 bucks and 16 young per 100 does. In Unit 23, AZGFD's 2025 white-tailed deer survey classified 80 animals in 40 groups: 36 bucks and 24 young per 100 does.
Source: AZGFD 2025 Mule Deer Survey Summary, AZGFD 2025 White-tailed Deer Survey Summary.
How much public land is in Unit 23?
98.1% of Unit 23 is public land open to hunting: 743,832 of 758,423 acres, the largest share national forest (743,728 acres). The Unit 23 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 23 have in 2026?
800 permits across 5 hunts in AZGFD's 2026 regulations. The largest is hunt 1038 (antlered mule deer).
When is deer season in Unit 23 in 2026?
The first deer hunt open here starts October 9 (hunt 1161, youth only) and the last ends December 31. Each hunt's dates are in the table on this page.
How many deer were harvested in Unit 23 in 2025?
AZGFD's 2025 harvest survey counts 226 deer taken by 733 hunters on the 5 hunts held only in Unit 23, against 338 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 23 deer in 2025?
AZGFD's 2025 draw report counts 3,551 first-choice applications for the 5 deer hunts that included Unit 23, and 925 permits issued. AZGFD publishes no forecast for 2026; these are 2025 counts.
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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.