Arizona Unit 33: public land, hunts and harvest
Arizona's game management Unit 33 covers 1,037 square miles, and 72.2% of it is public land open to hunting, mostly national forest (measured from USGS PAD-US). AZGFD's 2026 hunt lists open 8 deer hunts and 1 javelina hunt here. On the hunts held only in Unit 33, AZGFD's 2025 harvest survey counts 658 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 landNational park or monument (no hunting)City, county and otherUnit 33Neighboring unitsLake or riverHighway
| AZGFD region | Region 5 (Tucson) |
|---|---|
| Size | 1,037 square miles (663,689 acres) |
| Public land open to hunting | 72.2% (478,885 acres) |
| Deer hunts, 2026 | 8 hunts, 1,515 permits |
| Javelina (fall) hunts, 2026 | 1 hunt, 50 permits |
| Towns in and near it | Saddlebrooke, San Manuel, Oracle, Oro Valley, Mammoth and Benson |
| Highways | AZ 77 |
How much public land is in Unit 33?
72.2% of Unit 33 is public land open to hunting: 478,885 of 663,689 acres. The largest share is national forest, 260,643 acres or 39.3% of the unit.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Unit 33 |
|---|---|---|
| National forest | 260,643 | 39.3% |
| State trust land | 216,104 | 32.6% |
| National park or monument (no hunting) | 66,413 | 10% |
| City, county and other | 20,411 | 3.1% |
| BLM | 2,138 | 0.3% |
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 33 in 2026?
Draw hunts that include Unit 33, 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 33 | Permits | Earliest season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer | 8 | 8 | 1,515 | Oct 9 to Oct 15 (hunt 1169) |
| Javelina (fall) | 1 | 1 | 50 | Nov 20 to Nov 26 (hunt 5508) |
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 33?
| Species | Year | Hunts only in Unit 33 | Hunters | Taken | Shared hunts that included it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer | 2025 | 8 | 1,491 | 658 | 0 |
Sums of AZGFD's per-hunt figures for the hunts held only in Unit 33. Source: AZGFD 2025 Deer Harvest Summary. Each hunt, year by year, is on the deer page.
Over-the-counter archery deer, 2024: AZGFD estimates 899 archers hunted Unit 33 for 4,487 days and took 81 deer (mule deer bucks 19, whitetail bucks 62) (AZGFD 2024 Over-the-Counter Archery Deer Harvest Summary).
What did AZGFD's 2025 surveys count in Unit 33?
Mule deer: 24 classified in 4 groups, 11 bucks and 22 young per 100 does. White-tailed deer: 361 classified in 107 groups, 18 bucks and 21 young per 100 does.
Source: AZGFD 2025 Mule Deer Survey Summary, AZGFD 2025 White-tailed Deer Survey Summary.
How do you get to Unit 33?
Highways through the unit: AZ 77 (about 17 miles inside it). Towns and places inside: Saddlebrooke, San Manuel, Oracle, Catalina, Mescal and Summerhaven. Nearby towns: Oro Valley (2 miles), Mammoth (3 miles), Benson (4 miles) and Tucson (8 miles).
Which units border Unit 33?
Unit 33 touches 6 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 30B | 1,440 | 51.8% | 8 | ||
| Unit 32 | 1,535 | 74% | 2 | 7 | 2 |
| Unit 34B | 500 | 72.7% | 6 | 2 | |
| Unit 37A | 1,674 | 67.6% | 2 | ||
| Unit 37B | 1,182 | 83.6% | 3 | ||
| Unit 38M | 766 | 20.5% |
Questions hunters ask
How much public land is in Arizona Unit 33?
72.2% of Unit 33 is public land open to hunting, 478,885 of its 663,689 acres; the largest share is national forest at 260,643 acres.
What can you hunt in Unit 33 in 2026?
AZGFD's 2026 draw lists 8 deer hunts (1,515 permits) and 1 javelina (fall) hunt (50 permits) that include Unit 33. Over-the-counter seasons are set statewide in AZGFD's regulations.
What is the closest town to Unit 33?
Saddlebrooke, San Manuel and Oracle are inside the unit. Just outside: Oro Valley (2 miles), Mammoth (3 miles) and Benson (4 miles).
Which AZGFD region is Unit 33 in?
Region 5, run from the Tucson office. It borders Unit 30B, Unit 32, Unit 34B, Unit 37A, Unit 37B and Unit 38M.
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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 5 Unit 30B Unit 32 Unit 34B Unit 37A Unit 37B Unit 38M