Arizona Deer · Unit 21
Arizona Unit 21 covers 700,845 acres and lies 22 miles north of Cave Creek and 32 miles north of Scottsdale. 93% of it is public land, mostly national forest (78%) and BLM (11%). In 2025, hunters took 154 white-tailed deer here (sum of published weapon rows); hunter counts not published. Its most applied-for hunt, 1081, put up 2 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 40 nonresident first-choice applicants.
5 licenses · NR capped at 10%
first choice, NR
not published
78% Forest Service
700,845 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Best Bets at 0 Points
Ranked by your odds times how often that license type's hunters filled their tag in 2025. Nonresident, first choice, 2026 draw; licenses with at least 10 tags that anyone can buy.
Every License in Unit 21
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1035 | General Deer | 10% | — | |
| 1079 | General Deer | 29% | 4 ▼1 | |
| 1080 | General Deer | 32% | 5 ▲1 | |
| 1081 | General Deer | 1% (small sample) | — | |
| 1159 · youth | Youth-Only (General) Deer | 27% (small sample) | — |
First-choice nonresident odds at your points, 2026 draw. Cut = points the last tag went at; ▲ = points added since the earliest draw on file.
Draw results: AZGFD 2026 F Draw Report, retrieved Aug 31, 2026.
If you draw (2026 nonresident fees): $475 ($175 to apply). Closes Jun 2, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
Harvest
All deer
| Year | Hunters | Deer | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 (summed) | 1,911 | 226 | 12% |
| 2024 (summed) | 1,238 | 324 | 26% |
| 2023 (summed) | 1,467 | 350 | 24% |
| 2022 (summed) | 1,951 | 347 | 18% |
| 2021 (summed) | 1,954 | 323 | 17% |
| 2020 (summed) | 1,886 | 439 | 23% |
| 2019 (summed) | 1,864 | 401 | 22% |
| 2018 (summed) | 2,205 | 590 | 27% |
White-tailed Deer
| Year | Hunters | Deer | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 (summed) | — | 154 | — |
| 2024 (summed) | — | 208 | — |
| 2023 (summed) | — | 228 | — |
| 2022 (summed) | — | 220 | — |
| 2021 (summed) | — | 265 | — |
| 2020 (summed) | — | 320 | — |
| 2019 (summed) | — | 282 | — |
| 2018 (summed) | — | 339 | — |
Mule Deer
| Year | Hunters | Deer | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 (summed) | — | 70 | — |
| 2024 (summed) | — | 119 | — |
| 2023 (summed) | — | 122 | — |
| 2022 (summed) | — | 124 | — |
| 2021 (summed) | — | 58 | — |
| 2020 (summed) | — | 119 | — |
| 2019 (summed) | — | 119 | — |
| 2018 (summed) | — | 251 | — |
A dash under Hunters: hunter counts not published for that year or sub-species.
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Deer | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| General · 245 licenses | 190 | 38 | 20% |
| Mule deer · firearm (hunt 1 of 3) | — | 38 | — |
| General · 10 licenses | 10 | 6 | 60% |
| Mule deer · firearm (hunt 2 of 3) | — | 6 | — |
| General · 220 licenses | 195 | 46 | 24% |
| White-tailed deer · firearm (hunt 1 of 4) | — | 46 | — |
| General · 222 licenses | 191 | 61 | 32% |
| White-tailed deer · firearm (hunt 2 of 4) | — | 61 | — |
| General · 25 licenses | 18 | 12 | 67% |
| White-tailed deer · firearm (hunt 3 of 4) | — | 10 | — |
| Youth-only (general) | 38 | 22 | 58% |
| Mule deer · firearm (hunt 3 of 3) | — | 10 | — |
| White-tailed deer · firearm (hunt 4 of 4) | — | 12 | — |
| Otc archery | 1,269 | 41 | 3% |
| Mule deer · archery | — | 16 | — |
| White-tailed deer · archery | — | 25 | — |
2025 split: firearm 129 (84%), archery 25 (16%)
What Arizona Game & Fish Department publishes after each season, for everyone who hunted the area: harvest statistics, not draw odds. Arizona Game & Fish Department publishes no whole-unit line for 2025; a year's total is the sum of published weapon rows, added only where the lines do not overlap. Hunter counts not published for 2025. Arizona's figures come from AZGFD's post-season hunter questionnaire - survey estimates carrying a 90% confidence interval and a return count, not a census of animals checked in. Source: AZGFD 2025 AZ Deer Harvest Summary; AZGFD 2025 AZ Over-the-Counter Archery Deer…; AZGFD 2024 AZ Deer Harvest Summary.
The Ground
| National Forest | 546,766 ac | 78% |
| BLM | 78,499 ac | 11% |
| Private | 46,380 ac | 7% |
| State trust land | 28,873 ac | 4% |
| Tribal | 132 ac | <1% |
| Other public | 81 ac | <1% |
| County or city land | 59 ac | <1% |
| State land | 50 ac | <1% |
What the Agency Says About the Area
Unit 21 – Beginning on I-17 at the Verde River; southerly on the southbound lane of I-17 to the New River Rd. (Exit 232); east on New River Rd. to Fig Springs Rd.; northeasterly on Fig Springs Rd. to Mingus Rd.; Mingus Rd. to the Tonto National Forest boundary; southeasterly along this boundary to the Verde River; north along the Verde River to I-17.
▸ Sources 21
- AZGFD 2026 F Draw Report draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- AZGFD 2026 Pronghorn and Elk Hunt Draw Information fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- AZGFD 2026 Game and Fish Laws and Rules Book fees, area description, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- AZGFD 2025 AZ Deer Harvest Summary harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- AZGFD 2025 AZ Over-the-Counter Archery Deer… harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- AZGFD 2024 AZ Deer Harvest Summary harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- AZGFD 2024 AZ Over-the-Counter Archery Deer… harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- AZGFD 2023 AZ Deer Harvest Summary harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- AZGFD 2023 AZ Over-the-Counter Archery Deer… harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- AZGFD 2022 AZ Deer Harvest Summary harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- AZGFD 2022 AZ Over-the-Counter Archery Deer… harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- AZGFD 2021 AZ Deer Harvest Summary harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- AZGFD 2021 AZ Over-the-Counter Archery Deer… harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- AZGFD 2020 AZ Deer Harvest Summary harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- AZGFD 2020 AZ Over-the-Counter Archery Deer… harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- AZGFD 2019 AZ Deer Harvest Summary harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- AZGFD 2019 AZ Over-the-Counter Archery Deer… harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- AZGFD 2018 AZ Deer Harvest Summary harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- AZGFD 2018 AZ Over-the-Counter Archery Deer… harvest, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- AZGFD 2026 AZ Game and Fish Hunt Units boundary, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- Bureau of Land Management Arizona State Office with the Arizona State Land Department (Arizona Land Resources Information System, ALRIS) and Premier Data Services 2026 BLM AZ Surface Management Agency land ownership, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
About These Numbers
Odds are from the 2026 draw, the latest on file, computed from Arizona Game & Fish Department's published results. They are what happened in that draw, not a forecast. Under five tags a percentage carries a *, because one applicant either way swings it. A dash means the agency did not publish the number, and a date marked expected is last cycle's schedule rolled forward.
Report an error on this page
We don't take applications: check Arizona Game & Fish Department's site and apply there.
Prior-draw odds from Arizona Game & Fish Department's results, not a forecast · All Arizona deer hunts