Arizona Unit 39: public land, hunts and harvest
Arizona's game management Unit 39 covers 1,939 square miles, and 72.6% of it is public land open to hunting, mostly BLM (measured from USGS PAD-US). AZGFD's 2026 hunt lists open 2 deer hunts and 2 bighorn sheep hunts here. On the hunts held only in Unit 39, AZGFD's 2024 harvest survey counts 143 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.
BLMState trust landAZGFD landNational wildlife refugeTribal land (tribal permit)City, county and otherUnit 39Neighboring unitsLake or riverHighway
| AZGFD region | Region 4 (Yuma), Region 6 (Mesa) |
|---|---|
| Size | 1,939 square miles (1,240,791 acres) |
| Public land open to hunting | 72.6% (900,453 acres) |
| Deer hunts, 2026 | 2 hunts, 500 permits |
| Bighorn sheep hunts, 2026 | 2 hunts, 5 permits |
| AZGFD wildlife areas | Robbins Butte, Arlington, Powers Butte (Mumme Farm), Base and Meridian |
| Towns in and near it | Goodyear, Gila Bend, Avondale, Maricopa, Tolleson and Buckeye |
| Highways | AZ 85, AZ 238, AZ 84 and AZ 347 |
How much public land is in Unit 39?
72.6% of Unit 39 is public land open to hunting: 900,453 of 1,240,791 acres. The largest share is BLM, 798,521 acres or 64.4% of the unit.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Unit 39 |
|---|---|---|
| BLM | 798,521 | 64.4% |
| State trust land | 92,202 | 7.4% |
| City, county and other | 23,299 | 1.9% |
| Tribal land (tribal permit) | 11,387 | 0.9% |
| National wildlife refuge | 6,320 | 0.5% |
| AZGFD land | 3,410 | 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.
What can you hunt in Unit 39 in 2026?
Draw hunts that include Unit 39, 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 39 | Permits | Earliest season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer | 2 | 0 | 500 | Nov 6 to Nov 15 (hunt 1068) |
| Bighorn sheep | 2 | 2 | 5 | Dec 1 to Dec 31 (hunt 6030) |
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).
Bighorn sheep, 2026: hunt 6030 (Dec 1 to Dec 31, 2 permits) and hunt 6031 (Dec 1 to Dec 31, 3 permits).
How many elk, deer and pronghorn are taken in Unit 39?
| Species | Year | Hunts only in Unit 39 | Hunters | Taken | Shared hunts that included it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer | 2025 | 0 | 2 |
Sums of AZGFD's per-hunt figures for the hunts held only in Unit 39. Source: AZGFD 2025 Deer Harvest Summary. Each hunt, year by year, is on the deer page.
Bighorn sheep, 2025: hunt 6028 (39E), 2 hunters, 2 rams taken and hunt 6029 (39W), 3 hunters, 3 rams taken (AZGFD 2025 Bighorn Sheep Harvest Summary).
Over-the-counter archery deer, 2024: AZGFD estimates 168 archers hunted Unit 39 for 1,013 days and took 9 deer (mule deer bucks 9, whitetail bucks 0) (AZGFD 2024 Over-the-Counter Archery Deer Harvest Summary).
What did AZGFD's 2025 surveys count in Unit 39?
Mule deer: 61 classified in 7 groups, 7 bucks and 27 young per 100 does.
Source: AZGFD 2025 Mule Deer Survey Summary.
Which AZGFD wildlife areas are in Unit 39?
Robbins Butte Wildlife Area (5,234 acres inside the unit), Arlington Wildlife Area (2,575 acres inside the unit), Powers Butte (Mumme Farm) Wildlife Area (1,947 acres inside the unit) and Base and Meridian Wildlife Area (408 acres inside the unit).
How do you get to Unit 39?
Highways through the unit: AZ 85 (about 34 miles inside it), AZ 238 (about 13 miles inside it), AZ 84 (about 8 miles inside it) and AZ 347 (about 7 miles inside it). Towns and places inside: Goodyear, Gila Bend, Avondale and Ak-Chin Village. Nearby towns: Maricopa (3 miles), Tolleson (5 miles), Buckeye (6 miles) and Litchfield Park (8 miles).
Which units border Unit 39?
Unit 39 touches 4 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 26M | 2,103 | 17.7% | |||
| Unit 40A | 1,085 | 50.5% | 2 | ||
| Unit 40B | 3,445 | 11.7% | 2 | ||
| Unit 41 | 2,835 | 56% | 2 |
Questions hunters ask
How much public land is in Arizona Unit 39?
72.6% of Unit 39 is public land open to hunting, 900,453 of its 1,240,791 acres; the largest share is BLM at 798,521 acres. 11,387 acres are tribal land, which needs the tribe's own permit.
What can you hunt in Unit 39 in 2026?
AZGFD's 2026 draw lists 2 deer hunts (500 permits) and 2 bighorn sheep hunts (5 permits) that include Unit 39. Over-the-counter seasons are set statewide in AZGFD's regulations.
What is the closest town to Unit 39?
Goodyear, Gila Bend and Avondale are inside the unit. Just outside: Maricopa (3 miles), Tolleson (5 miles) and Buckeye (6 miles).
Which AZGFD region is Unit 39 in?
AZGFD lists Unit 39 in Regions 4 and 6. It borders Unit 26M, Unit 40A, Unit 40B and Unit 41.
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
- 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 4 Region 6 Unit 26M Unit 40A Unit 40B Unit 41