Unit 42 deer hunting: 2026 hunts, harvest and draw
AZGFD's 2026 regulations list 3 deer hunts open in Unit 42, with 400 permits in all (one of them shared with other units). The largest is hunt 1070, any antlered deer, November 6 to November 15, with 275 permits. On the 2 hunts held only in Unit 42 in 2025, AZGFD's harvest survey counts 282 hunters and 59 deer taken; AZGFD lists 59 as mule deer and 0 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.
BLMState trust landAZGFD landBureau of ReclamationMilitary (closed or by permit)City, county and otherUnit 42Neighboring unitsLake or riverHighway
| Unit | Unit 42 |
|---|---|
| AZGFD region | Region 4, Yuma |
| Deer hunts, 2026 | 3 (400 permits) |
| Hunt types | general, youth only and muzzleloader |
| Earliest season | November 6 to November 15 (hunt 1070) |
| Deer taken on its own hunts, 2025 | 59 by 282 hunters |
| 2025 draw, first-choice applicants | 847 for 400 permits issued |
| Public land open to hunting | 66.8%, mostly BLM |
What deer hunts does Unit 42 have in 2026?
3 hunts: 1 general, 1 youth only and 1 muzzleloader. 2 are held only in Unit 42. Permits are AZGFD's numbers for the whole hunt.
| Hunt | Type | Season, 2026 | Legal animal | Permits | Open area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1070 | General | Nov 6 to Nov 15 | Any antlered deer | 275 | 42 (excluding Skyline and White Tank Mountain Regional Parks) |
| 1177 | Youth only | Nov 20 to Nov 29 | Any antlered deer | 75 | 42 (excluding Skyline and White Tank Mountain Regional Parks) |
| 1192 | Muzzleloader | Dec 11 to Dec 31 | Any antlered deer | 50 | 39, 40A, 40B, 41, and 42 (excluding Buckeye Hills, Skyline, Estrella Mountain and White Tank Mountain Regional Parks) (AZGFD note 6 and 7) |
Source: AZGFD 2026-27 Arizona Hunting Regulations, PDF pages 30, 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 42?
Year by year, the hunts held only in Unit 42. 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 | 282 | 1,462 | 59 | 0 | 59 | 21 |
| 2024 | 2 | 288 | 1,429 | 102 | 11 | 113 | 39 |
| 2023 | 2 | 320 | 1,433 | 89 | 0 | 89 | 28 |
| 2022 | 2 | 280 | 1,342 | 67 | 0 | 67 | 24 |
| 2021 | 2 | 304 | 1,479 | 67 | 0 | 67 | 22 |
Deer per 100 hunters is worked out from AZGFD's own hunter and harvest figures for the same hunts.
Every hunt that included Unit 42, 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1070 | General | 42 | 274 | 224 | 1,216 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 16% |
| 1176 | Youth only | 42 | 72 | 58 | 246 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 40% |
| 1191 | Muzzleloader | 39, 40A, 40B, 41, and 42 | 46 | 35 | 313 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 20% |
| Hunt | Type | Area | Permits issued | Hunters | Hunter days | Mule deer bucks | Mule deer antlerless | Whitetail bucks | Whitetail antlerless | Harvest | Success (AZGFD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1071 | General | 42 | 275 | 224 | 1,168 | 80 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 85 | 38% |
| 1176 | Youth only | 42 | 75 | 64 | 261 | 22 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 28 | 44% |
| 1190 | Muzzleloader | 39, 40A, 40B, 41 & 42 | 50 | 44 | 317 | 14 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 21 | 48% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1070 | General | 42 | 275 | 248 | 1,216 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 22% |
| 1174 | Youth only | 42 | 75 | 72 | 217 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 49% |
| 1188 | Muzzleloader | 39, 40A, 40B, 41 and 42 | 50 | 48 | 363 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 38% |
| Hunt | Type | Area | Permits issued | Hunters | Hunter days | Mule deer bucks | Mule deer antlerless | Whitetail bucks | Whitetail antlerless | Harvest | Success (AZGFD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1070 | General | 42 | 273 | 210 | 1,082 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 26% |
| 1174 | Youth only | 42 | 75 | 70 | 260 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 19% |
| 1188 | Muzzleloader | 39, 40A, 40B, 41 and 42 | 49 | 47 | 386 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 19% |
| Hunt | Type | Area | Permits issued | Hunters | Hunter days | Mule deer bucks | Mule deer antlerless | Whitetail bucks | Whitetail antlerless | Harvest | Success (AZGFD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1071 | General | 42 | 273 | 237 | 1,187 | 56 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 24% |
| 1175 | Youth only | 42 | 74 | 67 | 292 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 16% |
| 1190 | Muzzleloader | 39/40A/40B/41/42 | 47 | 43 | 342 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 38% |
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 3 deer hunts that included Unit 42: 847 first-choice applications for 400 permits issued. These are 2025 counts, not a forecast.
| Hunt, 2025 | Area | Hunt type | Season | First-choice applicants | Second-choice applicants | Permits issued |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1070 | 42 | Any antlered deer | 11/7 to 11/16 | 361 | 432 | 275 |
| 1176 | 42 | Any antlered deer | 11/21 to 11/30 | 74 | 62 | 75 |
| 1191 | 39/40A/40B/41/42 | Any antlered deer | 12/12 to 12/31 | 412 | 262 | 50 |
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 42, AZGFD's 2025 mule deer survey classified 23 animals in 5 groups: 19 bucks and 25 young per 100 does.
Source: AZGFD 2025 Mule Deer Survey Summary.
How much public land is in Unit 42?
66.8% of Unit 42 is public land open to hunting: 636,664 of 952,561 acres, the largest share BLM (383,692 acres). The Unit 42 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 42 have in 2026?
400 permits across 3 hunts in AZGFD's 2026 regulations. The largest is hunt 1070 (any antlered deer). One of these hunts also covers Unit 39, Unit 40A, Unit 40B and Unit 41.
When is deer season in Unit 42 in 2026?
The first deer hunt open here starts November 6 (hunt 1070, general) and the last ends December 31. Each hunt's dates are in the table on this page.
How many deer were harvested in Unit 42 in 2025?
AZGFD's 2025 harvest survey counts 59 deer taken by 282 hunters on the 2 hunts held only in Unit 42, against 113 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 42 deer in 2025?
AZGFD's 2025 draw report counts 847 first-choice applications for the 3 deer hunts that included Unit 42, and 400 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.