FilledTag Get a hunt plan

Unit 36A deer hunting: 2026 hunts, harvest and draw

AZGFD's 2026 regulations list 9 deer hunts open in Unit 36A, with 1,765 permits in all. The largest is hunt 1141, antlered whitetail deer, November 6 to November 12, with 375 permits. On the 8 hunts held only in Unit 36A in 2025, AZGFD's harvest survey counts 1,606 hunters and 475 deer taken; AZGFD lists 107 as mule deer and 366 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.

Map of Arizona Unit 36A for deer hunters: public land by manager, the unit line, neighboring units 34A, 36B, 36C, 37A and 38M and highways

BLMState trust landNational wildlife refugeTribal land (tribal permit)City, county and otherUnit 36ANeighboring unitsLake or riverHighway

Unit 36A deer at a glance
UnitUnit 36A
AZGFD regionRegion 5, Tucson
Deer hunts, 20269 (1,765 permits)
Hunt typesgeneral, youth only and muzzleloader
Earliest seasonOctober 9 to October 15 (hunt 1196)
Deer taken on its own hunts, 2025475 by 1,606 hunters
2025 draw, first-choice applicants2,470 for 1,950 permits issued
Public land open to hunting68.2%, mostly state trust land

What deer hunts does Unit 36A have in 2026?

9 hunts: 7 general, 1 youth only and 1 muzzleloader. 9 are held only in Unit 36A. Permits are AZGFD's numbers for the whole hunt.

HuntTypeSeason, 2026Legal animalPermitsOpen area
1057GeneralOct 30 to Nov 5Antlered mule deer20036A
1058GeneralNov 13 to Nov 19Antlered mule deer20036A
1059GeneralDec 11 to Dec 31Antlered mule deer1536A
1140GeneralOct 23 to Oct 29Antlered whitetail deer35036A
1141GeneralNov 6 to Nov 12Antlered whitetail deer37536A
1142GeneralNov 27 to Dec 6Antlered whitetail deer35036A
1143GeneralDec 11 to Dec 31Antlered whitetail deer5036A
1173Youth onlyNov 20 to Nov 26Any antlered deer15036A
1196MuzzleloaderOct 9 to Oct 15Antlered whitetail deer7536A

Source: AZGFD 2026-27 Arizona Hunting Regulations, PDF pages 29, 31 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 36A?

Year by year, the hunts held only in Unit 36A. Hunter and harvest totals are sums of AZGFD's figures for those hunts.

YearHuntsHuntersHunter daysMule deerWhitetailDeer takenDeer per 100 hunters
202581,6066,44610736647530
202481,5356,52716647265142
202381,7657,03715546261735
202281,7607,02212642555031
202181,7467,1259735445326

Deer per 100 hunters is worked out from AZGFD's own hunter and harvest figures for the same hunts.

Every hunt that included Unit 36A, as AZGFD reported it:

2025
HuntTypeAreaPermits issuedHuntersHunter daysMule deer bucksMule deer antlerlessWhitetail bucksWhitetail antlerlessHarvestSuccess (AZGFD)
1057General36A223182684460004625%
1058General36A224178757260002615%
1139General36A3753211,19100120012037%
1140General36A4003231,20200104010432%
1141General36A3733071,488005906120%
1142General36A7557349001601628%
1172Youth only36A1991745923504407945%
1195Muzzleloader36A7364183002302336%
2024
HuntTypeAreaPermits issuedHuntersHunter daysMule deer bucksMule deer antlerlessWhitetail bucksWhitetail antlerlessHarvestSuccess (AZGFD)
1058General36A225185790640006435%
1059General36A225167784540005835%
1139General36A3752971,13600144014448%
1140General36A4002991,18700117012040%
1141General36A3743221,51000113011636%
1142General36A7444400001601636%
1172Youth only36A2001675044804809959%
1194Muzzleloader36A7154216003403463%

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 8 deer hunts that included Unit 36A: 2,470 first-choice applications for 1,950 permits issued. These are 2025 counts, not a forecast.

Hunt, 2025AreaHunt typeSeasonFirst-choice applicantsSecond-choice applicantsPermits issued
105736AAntlered mule deer10/31 to 11/6699406225
105836AAntlered mule deer11/14 to 11/20377679225
113936AAntlered whitetail10/24 to 10/30328338375
114036AAntlered whitetail11/7 to 11/13239435400
114136AAntlered whitetail11/28 to 12/7181364375
114236AAntlered whitetail12/12 to 12/3139041375
117236AAny antlered deer11/21 to 11/27226248200
119536AAntlered whitetail10/10 to 10/16302675

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.

How much public land is in Unit 36A?

68.2% of Unit 36A is public land open to hunting: 269,327 of 395,141 acres, the largest share state trust land (199,930 acres). The Unit 36A 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 36A have in 2026?

1,765 permits across 9 hunts in AZGFD's 2026 regulations. The largest is hunt 1141 (antlered whitetail deer).

When is deer season in Unit 36A in 2026?

The first deer hunt open here starts October 9 (hunt 1196, muzzleloader) and the last ends December 31. Each hunt's dates are in the table on this page.

How many deer were harvested in Unit 36A in 2025?

AZGFD's 2025 harvest survey counts 475 deer taken by 1,606 hunters on the 8 hunts held only in Unit 36A, against 651 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 36A deer in 2025?

AZGFD's 2025 draw report counts 2,470 first-choice applications for the 8 deer hunts that included Unit 36A, and 1,950 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

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.