Arizona Deer — Unit 28
Arizona Unit 28 covers 1,427,567 acres and lies 17 miles south-east of Safford and 77 miles north-east of Benson. 86% of it is public land, mostly BLM (61%) and state trust land (24%). In 2025, 795 people hunted deer here and took 116 — 15% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 17 tags here for 17 first-choice applicants.
Your chance of drawing here
Every deer license type on offer in Unit 28, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.
Chances are from the 2026 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.
Simple view Odds at every point level-
17% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice
-
53% Real chance 15% as 2nd choice
-
100% Undersubscribed 0% as 2nd choice
-
29% Long shot 13% as 2nd choice
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | As 2nd choice | Points needed | Tags / applicants | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1042 ↗ GENERAL DEER | Antlered mule deer | 28 | 17% Long shot | 0% | — | 17 / 17 | Oct 30 – Nov 5, 2026 |
| 1043 ↗ GENERAL DEER | Antlered mule deer | 28 | 53% Real chance | 15% | 5 −3 since 2024 | 17 / 19 | Nov 13–19, 2026 |
| 1099 ↗ GENERAL DEER | Antlered whitetail deer | 28 | 100% Undersubscribed | 0% | — | 2 / 1 undersubscribed | Nov 27 – Dec 6, 2026 |
| 1163 ↗ YOUTH-ONLY (GENERAL) DEER | Any antlered deer | 28 | 29% Long shot | 13% | 5 | 2 / 3 | Oct 9–18, 2026 |
What these columns mean
- Your odds —
- the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2026 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year.
- The badge —
- plain language for that number. Likely draw 75% or better · Real chance 40%+ · Long shot 15%+ · Point builder below that, so you are applying mainly to bank a point · Undersubscribed means fewer first-choice applicants than tags, so everyone who applied drew.
- As 2nd choice —
- Arizona lets you name more than one hunt on the application. Miss on your first choice and you go into the pot for whatever tags are left, alongside everyone else's second choices. Points never help a lower choice, so this number is the same whatever you have banked — it is usually worth naming a hunt that goes undersubscribed.
- Points needed —
- the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2026 draw, and how that cut has moved since the earliest draw we hold.
- Tags / applicants —
- tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them. Under five tags we print counts instead of a percentage, because one applicant either way swings it.
What it costs to apply (2026 nonresident fees)
| License | Up front | Gone if you miss | If you draw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per application | $175 | $175 | $475 |
Application window: closes Jun 2, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
The country
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Who owns the ground
- BLM 876,606 ac · 61%
- State trust land 337,537 ac · 24%
- Private 196,789 ac · 14%
- National Forest 15,824 ac · 1%
- State land 317 ac · 0%
- Tribal 247 ac · 0%
- County or city land 35 ac · 0%
How the hunting has gone
What Arizona Game & Fish Department publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast. Arizona Game & Fish Department publishes these per hunt rather than per unit; the rows below add its own figures together, since a hunter holds one tag for the species in a season. 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.
All deer
| Season | Hunters | Harvest | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 795 | 116 | 15% |
| 2024 | 747 | 289 | 39% |
| 2023 | 768 | 279 | 36% |
| 2022 | 838 | 203 | 24% |
| 2021 | 1,241 | 187 | 15% |
| 2020 | 1,171 | 328 | 28% |
| 2019 | 1,166 | 380 | 33% |
| 2018 | 1,182 | 533 | 45% |
Mule Deer
| Season | Hunters | Harvest | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | — | 106 | — |
| 2024 | — | 266 | — |
| 2023 | — | 249 | — |
| 2022 | — | 203 | — |
| 2021 | — | 162 | — |
| 2020 | — | 281 | — |
| 2019 | — | 339 | — |
| 2018 | — | 518 | — |
White-tailed Deer
| Season | Hunters | Harvest | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | — | 6 | — |
| 2024 | — | 23 | — |
| 2023 | — | 30 | — |
| 2021 | — | 26 | — |
| 2020 | — | 47 | — |
| 2019 | — | 41 | — |
| 2018 | — | 15 | — |
What people carried (2025 harvest)
- Firearm 194 · 85% · 399 hunters, 49% success
- Archery 34 · 15% · 396 hunters, 9% success
What the agency says about the area
Unit 28 – Beginning at I-10 and the New Mexico state line; north along the state line to AZ Hwy 78; southwest on AZ Hwy 78 to U.S. Hwy 191; northwest on U.S. Hwy 191 to Clifton; westerly on the Lower Eagle Creek Rd. (Pump Station Rd.) to Eagle Creek; northerly along Eagle Creek to the San Carlos Indian Reservation boundary; southerly and west along the reservation boundary to U.S. Hwy 70; southeast on U.S. Hwy 70 to…
Boundary: AZ Game and Fish Hunt Units (AZGFD ArcGIS feature service, layer 0)
Harvest: 2025 AZ Deer Harvest Summary (draw hunts only)
Harvest: 2025 AZ Over-the-Counter Archery Deer Harvest Summary