Arizona Unit 21: public land, hunts and harvest
Arizona's game management Unit 21 covers 1,052 square miles, and 97.1% of it is public land open to hunting, mostly national forest (measured from USGS PAD-US). AZGFD's 2026 hunt lists open 4 elk hunts, 5 deer hunts and 2 pronghorn hunts here. On the hunts held only in Unit 21, AZGFD's 2025 harvest survey counts 8 elk, 185 deer and 2 pronghorn taken.
Data updated October 2026. Hunts: AZGFD's 2026 booklets. Harvest: AZGFD harvest summaries to 2025. Land: USGS PAD-US 4.1. Boundary: AZGFD.
National forestBLMState trust landAZGFD landTribal land (tribal permit)City, county and otherUnit 21Neighboring unitsLake or riverHighway
| AZGFD region | Region 6 (Mesa) |
|---|---|
| Size | 1,052 square miles (673,141 acres) |
| Public land open to hunting | 97.1% (653,284 acres) |
| Elk hunts, 2026 | 4 hunts, 40 permits |
| Deer hunts, 2026 | 5 hunts, 665 permits |
| Pronghorn hunts, 2026 | 2 hunts, 6 permits |
| Towns in and near it | Camp Verde, Black Canyon City, Cordes Lakes, Carefree, Cave Creek and Scottsdale |
| Highways | I-17 and AZ 260 |
How much public land is in Unit 21?
97.1% of Unit 21 is public land open to hunting: 653,284 of 673,141 acres. The largest share is national forest, 546,461 acres or 81.2% of the unit.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Unit 21 |
|---|---|---|
| National forest | 546,461 | 81.2% |
| BLM | 77,849 | 11.6% |
| State trust land | 28,779 | 4.3% |
| AZGFD land | 195 | under 0.1% |
| City, county and other | 166 | under 0.1% |
| Tribal land (tribal permit) | 53 | under 0.1% |
Measured by FilledTag inside AZGFD's unit boundary 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. Arizona State Land Department rules let a licensed hunter on state trust land while hunting; other uses need its recreation permit. National forest: Prescott National Forest http://www.fs.usda.gov/prescott, Tonto National Forest.
What can you hunt in Unit 21 in 2026?
Draw hunts that include Unit 21, by species. A hunt may cover other units too; the count of hunts held only here is in its own column.
| Species | Hunts | Only in Unit 21 | Permits | Earliest season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk | 4 | 4 | 40 | Sep 11 to Sep 24 (hunt 3146) |
| Deer | 5 | 5 | 665 | Oct 2 to Oct 8 (hunt 1159) |
| Pronghorn | 2 | 2 | 6 | Aug 21 to Sep 3 (hunt 2057) |
Source: AZGFD 2026 Pronghorn and Elk Hunt Draw Information (elk and pronghorn) and AZGFD 2026-27 Arizona Hunting Regulations (deer, bighorn sheep, fall javelina and fall turkey).
How many elk, deer and pronghorn are taken in Unit 21?
| Species | Year | Hunts only in Unit 21 | Hunters | Taken | Shared hunts that included it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk | 2025 | 4 | 35 | 8 | 0 |
| Deer | 2025 | 6 | 642 | 185 | 0 |
| Pronghorn | 2025 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Sums of AZGFD's per-hunt figures for the hunts held only in Unit 21. Source: AZGFD 2025 Elk Harvest Summary, AZGFD 2025 Deer Harvest Summary, AZGFD 2025 Pronghorn Harvest Summary. Each hunt, year by year, is on the elk page, deer page and pronghorn page.
Over-the-counter archery deer, 2024: AZGFD estimates 637 archers hunted Unit 21 for 3,427 days and took 43 deer (mule deer bucks 21, whitetail bucks 22) (AZGFD 2024 Over-the-Counter Archery Deer Harvest Summary).
What did AZGFD's 2025 surveys count in Unit 21?
Mule deer: 143 classified in 39 groups, 23 bucks and 18 young per 100 does. White-tailed deer: 129 classified in 71 groups, 17 bucks and 7 young per 100 does. Pronghorn: 478 classified in 48 groups, 47 bucks and 10 young per 100 does.
Source: AZGFD 2025 Mule Deer Survey Summary, AZGFD 2025 White-tailed Deer Survey Summary, AZGFD 2025 Pronghorn Survey Summary.
How do you get to Unit 21?
Highways through the unit: I-17 (about 52 miles inside it) and AZ 260 (about 3 miles inside it). Towns and places inside: Camp Verde, Black Canyon City and Cordes Lakes. Nearby towns: Carefree (4 miles), Cave Creek (4 miles), Scottsdale (8 miles) and Fountain Hills (8 miles).
Which units border Unit 21?
Unit 21 touches 7 other units. Their size, public land and the number of 2026 draw hunts that include each:
| Unit | Square miles | Public land | Elk hunts | Deer hunts | Pronghorn hunts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 6A | 1,146 | 94.3% | 9 | 3 | 2 |
| Unit 19A | 756 | 69.2% | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| Unit 20A | 600 | 82.1% | 6 | 2 | |
| Unit 20B | 755 | 83.4% | 3 | ||
| Unit 22 | 1,574 | 95.5% | 13 | 6 | |
| Unit 25M | 1,285 | 8.4% | |||
| Unit 26M | 2,103 | 17.7% |
Questions hunters ask
How much public land is in Arizona Unit 21?
97.1% of Unit 21 is public land open to hunting, 653,284 of its 673,141 acres; the largest share is national forest at 546,461 acres. 53 acres are tribal land, which needs the tribe's own permit.
What can you hunt in Unit 21 in 2026?
AZGFD's 2026 draw lists 4 elk hunts (40 permits), 5 deer hunts (665 permits) and 2 pronghorn hunts (6 permits) that include Unit 21. Over-the-counter seasons are set statewide in AZGFD's regulations.
What is the closest town to Unit 21?
Camp Verde, Black Canyon City and Cordes Lakes are inside the unit. Just outside: Carefree (4 miles), Cave Creek (4 miles) and Scottsdale (8 miles).
Which AZGFD region is Unit 21 in?
Region 6, run from the Mesa office. It borders Unit 6A, Unit 19A, Unit 20A, Unit 20B, Unit 22, Unit 25M and Unit 26M.
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Where these numbers come from
- Hunts and permits: AZGFD's 2026 Pronghorn and Elk booklet and 2026-27 regulations.
- Harvest: AZGFD harvest summaries (AZGFD harvest reporting).
- Public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee managers). Unit boundary: AZGFD game management unit boundaries.
- Highways and towns: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 primary and secondary roads; U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer, places.
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.
Arizona hunting Region 6 Unit 6A Unit 19A Unit 20A Unit 20B Unit 22 Unit 25M Unit 26M