Arizona Unit 29: public land, hunts and harvest
Arizona's game management Unit 29 covers 1,013 square miles, and 66.4% of it is public land open to hunting, mostly national forest (measured from USGS PAD-US). AZGFD's 2026 hunt lists open 7 deer hunts and 1 javelina hunt here. On the hunts held only in Unit 29, AZGFD's 2025 harvest survey counts 257 deer 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 landNational park or monument (no hunting)City, county and otherUnit 29Neighboring unitsLake or riverHighway
| AZGFD region | Region 5 (Tucson) |
|---|---|
| Size | 1,013 square miles (648,505 acres) |
| Public land open to hunting | 66.4% (430,645 acres) |
| Deer hunts, 2026 | 7 hunts, 550 permits |
| Javelina (fall) hunts, 2026 | 1 hunt, 50 permits |
| AZGFD wildlife areas | Clarence May and C.M.H. May Memorial |
| Highways | I-10, AZ 181 and AZ 186 |
How much public land is in Unit 29?
66.4% of Unit 29 is public land open to hunting: 430,645 of 648,505 acres. The largest share is national forest, 231,199 acres or 35.7% of the unit.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Unit 29 |
|---|---|---|
| National forest | 231,199 | 35.7% |
| State trust land | 138,686 | 21.4% |
| BLM | 59,675 | 9.2% |
| National park or monument (no hunting) | 13,150 | 2% |
| City, county and other | 5,763 | 0.9% |
| AZGFD land | 1,085 | 0.2% |
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: Coronado National Forest.
What can you hunt in Unit 29 in 2026?
Draw hunts that include Unit 29, 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 29 | Permits | Earliest season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer | 7 | 7 | 550 | Oct 9 to Oct 18 (hunt 1164) |
| Javelina (fall) | 1 | 0 | 50 | Nov 20 to Nov 26 (hunt 5507) |
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 29?
| Species | Year | Hunts only in Unit 29 | Hunters | Taken | Shared hunts that included it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer | 2025 | 7 | 570 | 257 | 0 |
Sums of AZGFD's per-hunt figures for the hunts held only in Unit 29. Source: AZGFD 2025 Deer Harvest Summary. Each hunt, year by year, is on the deer page.
Over-the-counter archery deer, 2024: AZGFD estimates 503 archers hunted Unit 29 for 2,804 days and took 98 deer (mule deer bucks 12, whitetail bucks 86) (AZGFD 2024 Over-the-Counter Archery Deer Harvest Summary).
What did AZGFD's 2025 surveys count in Unit 29?
Mule deer: 32 classified in 5 groups, 43 bucks and 10 young per 100 does. White-tailed deer: 43 classified in 11 groups, 13 bucks and 30 young per 100 does.
Source: AZGFD 2025 Mule Deer Survey Summary, AZGFD 2025 White-tailed Deer Survey Summary.
Which AZGFD wildlife areas are in Unit 29?
Clarence May and C.M.H. May Memorial Wildlife Area (553 acres inside the unit, closed to hunting).
How do you get to Unit 29?
Highways through the unit: I-10 (about 17 miles inside it), AZ 181 (about 8 miles inside it) and AZ 186 (about 3 miles inside it).
Which units border Unit 29?
Unit 29 touches 2 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 28 | 2,230 | 86% | 2 | 4 | |
| Unit 30A | 1,727 | 45.9% | 7 | 2 |
Questions hunters ask
How much public land is in Arizona Unit 29?
66.4% of Unit 29 is public land open to hunting, 430,645 of its 648,505 acres; the largest share is national forest at 231,199 acres.
What can you hunt in Unit 29 in 2026?
AZGFD's 2026 draw lists 7 deer hunts (550 permits) and 1 javelina (fall) hunt (50 permits) that include Unit 29. Over-the-counter seasons are set statewide in AZGFD's regulations.
What is the closest town to Unit 29?
No Census town lies inside Unit 29 or within 20 miles of it.
Which AZGFD region is Unit 29 in?
Region 5, run from the Tucson office. It borders Unit 28 and Unit 30A.
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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.