HuntingRulebook

Arizona · Deer · 2026-27

This is Arizona's published 2026-27 season, the whole state at once. A pin reads its Game Management Unit off the map and cuts this to the seasons, arms and limits that apply there.

Arizona deer seasons

2026-27

1 antlered deer per licence year. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)." So one deer on an ordinary tag, and a second only on a population management restricted nonpermit-tag. Arizona counts deer rather than antlers: the limit is the same whether the deer is antlered or not. Regulations p. 26.

  • General Deer

    Any firearm, pre-charged pneumatic weapon, crossbow, or bow and arrowPrinted in 26 columns — check which covers your game management unit.

    Arizona’s general deer hunts are drawn, one hunt number at a time. Every column here is a hunt permit-tag you had to apply for by 2 June 2026 — there is no over-the-counter general season.

    1, 2A, 2B, 2C, 4A, 4B, 10, 17A, 17B, 18A, 18B, 19A, 20A

    Oct 23 – Nov 1Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    3A, 3C, 19B

    Oct 23 – Nov 1Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    5A, 5B

    Oct 30 – Nov 8Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    6A

    Oct 23–29Antlered only
    Oct 30 – Nov 5Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    6B

    Oct 30 – Nov 5Antlered only
    Nov 6–12Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    7, 9

    Oct 30 – Nov 8Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    8

    Oct 30 – Nov 5Antlered only
    Nov 6–12Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    12A

    Oct 23 – Nov 1Antlered only
    Nov 20–29Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    12B

    Oct 23 – Nov 1Antlered only
    Nov 20–29Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    13A

    Nov 13–22Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    13B, 40A, 40B, 41, 43A, 43B, 44A, 44B, 45A, 45B, 45C, 46A, 46B

    Nov 6–15Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    16A

    Oct 23 – Nov 1Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    20B

    Nov 6–12Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    20C, 37A, 37B

    Oct 30 – Nov 5Antlered only
    Nov 13–19Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    21, 23

    Oct 23–29Antlered only
    Oct 30 – Nov 5Antlered only
    Nov 6–12Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    22

    Oct 23–29Antlered only
    Oct 30 – Nov 5Antlered only
    Nov 6–12Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    24A, 24B

    Oct 23–29Antlered only
    Nov 6–12Antlered only
    Nov 13–22Antlered only
    Nov 27 – Dec 6Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    27

    Oct 23–29Antlered only
    Oct 30 – Nov 5Antlered only
    Nov 6–12Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    28

    Oct 30 – Nov 5Antlered only
    Nov 13–19Antlered only
    Nov 27 – Dec 6Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    29, 30A, 30B, 31, 32, 34B, 36B, 36C

    Oct 23–29Antlered only
    Oct 30 – Nov 5Antlered only
    Nov 6–12Antlered only
    Nov 13–19Antlered only
    Nov 27 – Dec 6Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    33

    Oct 23–29Antlered only
    Oct 30 – Nov 5Antlered only
    Nov 6–12Antlered only
    Nov 27 – Dec 6Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    34A, 35B

    Oct 23–29Antlered only
    Nov 6–12Antlered only
    Nov 27 – Dec 6Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    35A

    Oct 23–29Antlered only
    Nov 6–12Antlered only
    Nov 20–29Antlered only
    Nov 27 – Dec 6Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    36A

    Oct 23–29Antlered only
    Oct 30 – Nov 5Antlered only
    Nov 6–12Antlered only
    Nov 13–19Antlered only
    Nov 27 – Dec 6Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    39

    Nov 6–15Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    42

    Nov 6–15Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    • Drawn only. Applications closed 2 June 2026; hunt permit-tags were mailed by 24 July 2026.
    • The species named in a hunt’s Legal Wildlife column is binding: a mule deer hunt is not open to a whitetail and the other way about. Every block below carries the column’s own wording.

  • Youth-only (General) Deer

    Any firearm, pre-charged pneumatic weapon, crossbow, or bow and arrowPrinted in 11 columns — check which covers your game management unit.

    Drawn hunts for hunters up to their 18th birthday. A youth whose 18th birthday falls after opening day may finish the hunt.

    5A, 5B, 20B, 22, 23, 27, 35B, 37B

    Oct 9–15Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    10, 20C

    Oct 2–11Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    12A

    Oct 9–12Antlerless only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    17B, 19A, 19B, 20A, 28, 29, 30A, 30B, 31, 32

    Oct 9–18Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    18B

    Nov 20–29Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    21

    Oct 2–8Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    33

    Oct 9–15Antlered only
    Nov 20–26Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    34A

    Oct 9–15Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    35A

    Oct 9–15Antlered only
    Nov 13–29Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    36A, 36B, 36C

    Nov 20–26Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    42

    Nov 20–29Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    • "Persons ages 10 through 13 must have satisfactorily completed a Hunter Education Course that is approved by the Director per ARS 17-332(E)." No one under 10 may hunt big game in Arizona.

  • CHAMP (General) Deer

    Any firearm, pre-charged pneumatic weapon, crossbow, or bow and arrowPrinted in 3 columns — check which covers your game management unit.

    Three drawn hunts open only to holders of a Challenged Hunter Access/Mobility Permit.

    7, 9

    Oct 23–29Either sex

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    12A

    Sep 18–24Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    34A

    Nov 13–19Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    • A Challenged Hunter Access/Mobility Permit under R12-4-217 is required in addition to the hunt permit-tag.

  • Muzzleloader Deer

    Muzzleloader, crossbow, or bow and arrowPrinted in 12 columns — check which covers your game management unit.

    Drawn muzzleloader hunts. A crossbow or a bow and arrow is legal on a muzzleloader tag; a centrefire rifle is not.

    3B

    Oct 23 – Nov 1Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    6B

    Oct 23–29Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    12A

    Nov 6–12Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    12B

    Nov 6–12Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    15A, 15B, 15C, 15D

    Oct 23 – Nov 1Antlered only
    Nov 6–12Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    20B

    Oct 23–29Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    30B

    Oct 16–22Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    33, 34A

    Nov 13–19Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    35A

    Oct 23 – Nov 1Antlered only
    Oct 30 – Nov 5Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only
    Dec 18–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    35B

    Oct 30 – Nov 5Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    36A

    Oct 9–15Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    39, 40A, 40B, 41, and 42

    Dec 11–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    • "Muzzleloader weapons as prescribed in R12-4-101 and R12-4-318, crossbow or bow and arrow as prescribed in R12-4-304."

  • Youth-only (Muzzleloader) Deer

    Muzzleloader, crossbow, or bow and arrowPrinted in 2 columns — check which covers your game management unit.

    Two drawn muzzleloader hunts for hunters up to their 18th birthday.

    15A, 15B, 15C, 15D

    Oct 2–11Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    16A

    Nov 20–29Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

  • Archery-only Deer (Drawn)

    Bow and arrow, or a crossbow with a crossbow permitPrinted in 6 columns — check which covers your game management unit.

    The archery hunts Arizona draws for rather than sells over the counter — units 1, 3A/3C, 11M, 12A, 12B, 13A, 13B, 27 and Camp Navajo.

    1, 3A, 3C, 12B, 13A, 13B

    Aug 21 – Sep 10Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    6B

    Aug 21 – Sep 10Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    11M

    Aug 21 – Sep 10Antlered only
    Oct 30 – Nov 12Antlerless only
    Dec 11–31Antlerless only
    Dec 11–31Either sex

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    12A

    Aug 21 – Sep 10Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    17A

    Aug 21 – Sep 10Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    27

    Aug 21 – Sep 10Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    • "Bow and arrow as prescribed in R12-4-304 and R12-4-318, or crossbow if you possess a crossbow permit as allowed under R12-4-216."

  • Archery-only Deer (Over the Counter)

    Bow and arrow, or a crossbow with a crossbow permitPrinted in 12 columns — check which covers your game management unit.

    The one Arizona deer season anybody can buy into. A nonpermit-tag from a licence dealer, no draw — but each unit carries a harvest limit and closes for the season once it is reached.

    2A, 2B, 2C, 3B

    Aug 21 – Sep 10Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    4A, 4B, 5A, 5B, 7, 9, 10, 15A, 15B, 15C, 15D, 17B, 18A, 18B, 19A, 19B, 20A, 20B, 20C

    Aug 21 – Sep 10Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only
    Jan 1–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    16A

    Aug 21 – Sep 10Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only
    Jan 1–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    6A, 8, 21, 22, 23, 24A, 24B, 28, 29, 30A, 30B, 31, 32, 33, 34B, 35B, 36A, 36B, 36C

    Aug 21 – Sep 10Antlered only
    Aug 21 – Sep 10Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only
    Jan 1–31Antlered only
    Jan 1–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    6B

    Aug 21 – Sep 10Antlered only
    Aug 21 – Sep 10Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only
    Jan 1–31Antlered only
    Jan 1–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    25M, 37A, 37B, 39, 40A, 40B, 41, 42, 43A, 43B, 44A, 44B

    Dec 11–31Antlered only
    Jan 1–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    26M

    Dec 11–31Antlered only
    Jan 1–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    27

    Dec 11–31Antlered only
    Jan 1–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    34A

    Aug 21 – Sep 10Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only
    Jan 1–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    35A

    Aug 21 – Sep 10Antlered only
    Aug 21 – Sep 10Antlered only
    Aug 21 – Sep 10Antlered only
    Aug 21 – Sep 10Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only
    Jan 1–31Antlered only
    Jan 1–31Antlered only
    Jan 1–31Antlered only
    Jan 1–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    38M

    Dec 11–31Antlered only
    Dec 11–31Antlered only
    Jan 1–31Antlered only
    Jan 1–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    45A, 45B, 45C, 46A, 46B

    Jan 1–31Antlered only

    One deer per tag. "Two (2) deer per calendar year, provided one (1) is taken with a restricted nonpermit-tag issued under R12-4-115 (Population Management Seasons)."

    • "Archery-only deer nonpermit-tags are valid for one calendar year. If you plan to hunt in January, you must purchase another archery-only deer nonpermit-tag for the new year."
    • "When the number of deer harvested during the over-the-counter, nonpermit-tag archery season equals the harvest limit for a particular unit and legal deer has been reached, that unit will close to archery deer hunting at sundown the Wednesday immediately following for the remainder of the archery deer hunting season." Check the unit is still open at azgfd.gov/harvestreports before you go.
    • Mandatory reporting under R12-4-308: report the harvest online within 48 hours.

New This Season

What changed since last year, and is therefore easiest to get wrong.

  • "Starting in fall 2026, mandatory harvest reporting requirements for bear, mountain lion and over-the-counter archery deer will be accepted online only. Harvest limits have been set by unit and species for bear, mountain lion and over-the-counter archery deer seasons. Hunters are required to report their harvest within 48 hours at azgfd.gov/harvestreports; the call center and phone numbers will no longer be an eligible way to report your harvest." (Regulations p. 3.)
  • Archery-only deer nonpermit-tags go on sale at department offices on 2 November 2026 and at licence dealers on 23 November 2026. (Regulations p. 31.)

Legal Arms

2026-2027 Arizona Hunting Regulations weapon specifications, as the digest prints them.

General hunt

Regulations pp. 26 and 8 (PDF 28 and 10)

  • "Any firearm, pre-charged pneumatic weapon, crossbow, or bow and arrow as prescribed in R12-4-304."
  • Taking wildlife by moonlight or artificial light.
  • Lighted sight pins or other artificial light sources used to extend legal shooting hours.
  • Taking wildlife from a motor vehicle, watercraft or aircraft, except under a Challenged Hunter Access/Mobility Permit (R12-4-217).

Muzzleloader hunt

Regulations p. 26 (PDF 28)

  • "Muzzleloader weapons as prescribed in R12-4-101 and R12-4-318, crossbow or bow and arrow as prescribed in R12-4-304."
  • A centrefire rifle, on a muzzleloader tag.

Archery-only hunt

Regulations p. 26 (PDF 28)

  • "Bow and arrow as prescribed in R12-4-304 and R12-4-318, or crossbow if you possess a crossbow permit as allowed under R12-4-216."
  • Any firearm, on an archery-only tag.

Hunting Hours and Orange

What the state defines as legal light, and what has to be worn in it.

Legal Shooting Hours

Regulations pp. 21 and 25 (PDF 23 and 27)

"Legal shooting time is during daylight hours ... In general, if you can see well enough to shoot safely, you are legal. Taking wild animals or birds by moonlight or artificial light is illegal." Arizona gives no half-hour either side: the day is the day. The regulations print a sunrise and sunset chart drawn for Phoenix and tell you to "figure up to nine minutes earlier for eastern areas, nine minutes later for western areas" — the times here are computed at the pin instead, which is what that correction is reaching for. Arizona does not keep daylight saving time, so the clock never moves under a season.

Fluorescent Orange

Regulations — no orange requirement is printed

Arizona requires no fluorescent orange of a deer hunter, and the regulations print no orange rule. The only orange in them belongs to landowners: "a post with one hundred square inches or more of orange paint may serve as the interval notices" marking a boundary closed to trespass. Individual military installations and some parks impose their own requirements — read the area's rules.

Sundays

Regulations — no Sunday closure is printed

Arizona places no restriction on hunting on a Sunday.

Standing Rules

The parts of the digest that are true every day of the season.

How a deer tag is got

Regulations p. 26 (PDF 28)

"To hunt deer in Arizona, you need a valid hunting or combination license and a deer tag. To hunt deer during a General, Youth-Only, Muzzleloader, CHAMP or Archery-Only season, you must apply through a draw for a hunt permit-tag. For Archery-Only Nonpermit-Tag hunts, you may purchase a nonpermit-tag from a license dealer as prescribed in R12-4-114."

  • The application deadline for the 2026 fall draw was 11:59 p.m. Arizona time on 2 June 2026.
  • Hunt numbers are required on a draw application; the number is what identifies the dates, the units and the species.
  • Hunt 1000 is a bonus point only and no other hunt may be chosen with it.

What counts as open ground

Regulations p. 26 (PDF 28)

"Open Areas do not include areas within municipal parks, municipal preserves, county parks, county preserves, airports, golf courses, or posted water treatment facilities (except as specifically opened in this Commission Order) or areas closed to hunting under A.R.S. Sections 17-303 and 17-304 or Commission Rules R12-4-321, R12-4-801, R12-4-802 and R12-4-803."

  • The Grand Canyon National Park is excluded from every hunt in units 12A and 12B.
  • Camp Navajo is excluded from the unit 6B hunts and is its own separate archery hunt.
  • Fort Huachuca is excluded from the unit 35A hunts and is its own separate set of hunts.
  • Buckeye Hills and Estrella Mountain Regional Parks are excluded from unit 39; Skyline and White Tank Mountain Regional Parks from unit 42; Cave Creek Recreation Area from unit 26M; Mohave County park lands from unit 16A. Note 18 (p. 66) opens the Maricopa County parks — Lake Pleasant, White Tank Mountains, Estrella Mountain, McDowell Mountain, Buckeye Hills, McDowell Sonoran Preserve and the back country of Skyline — "only during the archery-only seasons", never within a quarter mile of a developed picnic area, camp ground, shooting range, occupied building, boat ramp or golf course.

Youth hunters

Regulations p. 26 (PDF 28)

"The Department offers 'Youth-Only' designated hunts, in which persons are eligible to participate up to their 18th birthday. A youth hunter, whose 18th birthday occurs after opening day of a 'Youth-Only' designated hunt for which the hunter has a valid permit or tag, may continue to participate for the duration of the 'Youth-Only' designated hunt. Persons ages 10 through 13 must have satisfactorily completed a Hunter Education Course that is approved by the Director per ARS 17-332(E). ... No one under age 10 may hunt big game in Arizona."

The over-the-counter archery season closes unit by unit

Regulations p. 31 (PDF 33)

  • "Hunters are responsible for determining if their desired hunt unit is still open before hunting by checking the status online at www.azgfd.gov/harvestreports"
  • "When the number of deer harvested during the over-the-counter, nonpermit-tag archery season equals the harvest limit for a particular unit and legal deer has been reached, that unit will close to archery deer hunting at sundown the Wednesday immediately following for the remainder of the archery deer hunting season."
  • "Archery-only deer nonpermit-tags are valid for one calendar year. If you plan to hunt in January, you must purchase another archery-only deer nonpermit-tag for the new year."

Tagging and Reporting

The clock that starts the moment the deer is down.

Regulations pp. 3 and 31 (PDF 5 and 33)

Every deer must be reported Within 48 hours, for over-the-counter archery deer only..

  • Report online at azgfd.gov/harvestreports. From autumn 2026 this is the only accepted route — the call centre and phone numbers no longer take reports.
  • "The report shall include the hunter's name, hunting license number, tag number, species of deer taken, management unit where the deer was taken, and telephone number at which the hunter can be reached."
  • Drawn deer hunts carry no mandatory harvest report; the hunter questionnaire at azgfd.gov/huntersurvey is voluntary.

Chronic Wasting Disease

Background, and the rules that apply if you carry a carcass out of a management area.

Regulations p. 33 (PDF 35)

"No CWD has been detected in Arizona's deer or elk to date." The department runs surveillance rather than a management zone, and the rules that bite are on what may be brought into the state.

  • "Do not bring the brain, spinal column, or guts into Arizona" from a deer or elk taken out of state.
  • "Hunters who are successful in units 1, 2A/B/C, 27, 28, 29, 30A/B, 34A/B, 35A/B and 36A/B/C are especially encouraged to submit heads because these units are close to New Mexico, Colorado, or Utah; all states that have detected CWD in deer and elk."
  • Testing is free. Samples may be dropped at any department office 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, or at the submission freezers listed at azgfd.gov/cwd.

Where This App Is Coarser Than the Digest

Said plainly, because an absence is easy to read as a permission.

  • Arizona's deer seasons are almost all drawn. Every general, youth, CHAMP and muzzleloader column here, and some of the archery ones, is a hunt permit-tag that had to be applied for by 2 June 2026. A season showing open on this calendar tells you the dates the department set; it does not tell you that you hold the tag.
  • The over-the-counter archery season closes unit by unit as each unit's harvest limit is reached, at sundown on the Wednesday after the limit is hit. This app carries no harvest counts and cannot show that a unit has closed. Check azgfd.gov/harvestreports before you hunt.
  • Arizona runs mule deer and Coues whitetail hunts over the same unit in different weeks, and the species named in a hunt's Legal Wildlife column is binding. This app's harvest field has no way to say "antlered mule deer but not antlered whitetail", so every block quotes the column's own wording in its note instead. Read the note, not just the colour.
  • The department splits units 12A and 12B into East and West halves for hunt purposes, and unit 7 pairs with 9. The boundary layer shipped here carries whole units only, so a pin in 12A cannot tell you which half you are standing in. Where the two halves run different dates the block note says which half it is; where they run the same dates the note is dropped.
  • Hunt numbers and permit quotas are not carried. Each column below merges the hunts that share dates and units, and a hunt is applied for by its number — 1001 through 1209 on printed pp. 27-32. Read the digest before you apply.
  • The Hopi hunts in units 4A/4B and 5A/5B are open to Hopi tribal members only and are not shown as seasons here.
  • The four areas the department marks "No AZGFD Administration" — the Navajo Nation with the Hopi, Hualapai and Havasupai reservations, the San Carlos and Fort Apache reservations, and the Tohono O'odham Nation with its San Xavier District — are carried as units so that a pin there gets an answer, but that answer is that Arizona's seasons do not reach them. They were named by intersecting the department's own unadministered polygons with the Census Bureau's Federal American Indian Reservations layer.
  • Population management seasons under R12-4-115, which are what the second deer of a calendar year must be taken on, are announced separately and are not carried here.
  • Arizona's peak breeding date is an estimate and covers two animals with different chronologies. AZGFD publishes none; 20 December is read off where the department puts its late hunts, and its Coues whitetail rut runs later still into January. The rut meter is one date over both.
  • Arizona publishes no open statewide parcel service, so there are no property lines on the map here.

Useful Numbers

The agency, when the app cannot answer it.

Report a wildlife violation
1-800-352-0700 (Operation Game Thief).
Hunter education
623-236-7239, or azgfd.gov/huntered.
Harvest reporting
azgfd.gov/harvestreports — online only from autumn 2026.

Transcribed from the published 2026-27 Arizona digest. Where this app and the digest disagree, the digest is the law. Read the Arizona Game and Fish Department digest.

Arizona deer seasons, 2026-27

Arizona’s 2026-27 deer seasons run August 21, 2026 to January 31, 2027, and what is open on a given day depends on the game management unit your stand is in. Drop a pin above and this app reads the Game Management Unit off it, then answers the rest from there — the dates, the legal arms, the bag limits and the shooting hours, transcribed page by page from the Arizona Game and Fish Department digest. It is a planning aid, not the law: check the digest before you hunt.

Every screen for Arizona

  • Today in Arizona — Whether the season is open at your pin this morning, what you may take, and the legal light either end of the day.
  • Map in Arizona — Drop a pin and see the unit, the public land and the property lines under it.
  • Weather in Arizona — Wind, temperature and the scent cone over your ground, hour by hour, for the days you can still choose between.
  • Calendar in Arizona — Every day your tags are good for in your unit, from opening day to the end of the season.
  • Rut in Arizona — When the rut runs where you hunt, and which week is worth taking off.
  • Rules in Arizona — The legal arms, bag limits, antler restrictions and shooting hours that apply at your pin.
  • Tags in Arizona — The licences and permits you hold — what turns the published season into your season.

The other states

Every state — the app opens on whichever one your own pin falls in.