Arizona Deer — Unit 36C
Arizona Unit 36C covers 201,720 acres and lies 33 miles west of Sahuarita and 45 miles south-west of Tucson. 81% of it is public land, mostly state trust land (67%) and wildlife refuge (9%). In 2025, 933 people hunted deer here and took 249 — 27% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 15 tags here for 17 first-choice applicants, and the last tag went to someone with 6 points.
Your chance of drawing here
Every deer license type on offer in Unit 36C, 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-
65% No first-choice applicants 38% as 2nd choice
-
16% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice
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36% Long shot 15% as 2nd choice
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100% Likely draw 26% as 2nd choice
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31% Long shot 16% as 2nd choice
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2% Point builder 3% as 2nd choice
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5% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | As 2nd choice | Points needed | Tags / applicants | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1062 ↗ GENERAL DEER | Antlered mule deer | 36C | 65% No first-choice applicants | 38% | 3 | 4 / 0 | Oct 30 – Nov 5, 2026 |
| 1063 ↗ GENERAL DEER | Antlered mule deer | 36C | 16% Long shot | 0% | — | 4 / 8 | Nov 13–19, 2026 |
| 1148 ↗ GENERAL DEER | Antlered whitetail deer | 36C | 36% Long shot | 15% | 6 +2 since 2023 | 15 / 17 | Oct 23–29, 2026 |
| 1149 ↗ GENERAL DEER | Antlered whitetail deer | 36C | 100% Likely draw | 26% | 4 +2 since 2023 | 15 / 14 | Nov 6–12, 2026 |
| 1150 ↗ GENERAL DEER | Antlered whitetail deer | 36C | 31% Long shot | 16% | 6 +3 since 2023 | 15 / 26 | Nov 27 – Dec 6, 2026 |
| 1151 ↗ GENERAL DEER | Antlered whitetail deer | 36C | 2% Point builder | 3% | 7 −1 since 2023 | 11 / 87 | Dec 11–31, 2026 |
| 1175 ↗ YOUTH-ONLY (GENERAL) DEER | Any antlered deer | 36C | 5% Point builder | 0% | 5 | 2 / 11 | Nov 20–26, 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
- State trust land 136,065 ac · 67%
- Private 37,337 ac · 19%
- National Wildlife Refuge 17,416 ac · 9%
- BLM 10,727 ac · 5%
- Tribal 78 ac · 0%
- County or city land 50 ac · 0%
- Other public 34 ac · 0%
- State land 1 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 | 933 | 249 | 27% |
| 2024 | 898 | 383 | 43% |
| 2023 | 934 | 337 | 36% |
| 2022 | 1,011 | 310 | 31% |
| 2021 | 1,242 | 277 | 22% |
| 2020 | 1,301 | 422 | 32% |
| 2019 | 1,364 | 346 | 25% |
| 2018 | 1,195 | 312 | 26% |
White-tailed Deer
| Season | Hunters | Harvest | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | — | 224 | — |
| 2024 | — | 357 | — |
| 2023 | — | 305 | — |
| 2022 | — | 281 | — |
| 2021 | — | 240 | — |
| 2020 | — | 325 | — |
| 2019 | — | 292 | — |
| 2018 | — | 230 | — |
Mule Deer
| Season | Hunters | Harvest | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | — | 23 | — |
| 2024 | — | 29 | — |
| 2023 | — | 32 | — |
| 2022 | — | 28 | — |
| 2021 | — | 37 | — |
| 2020 | — | 97 | — |
| 2019 | — | 54 | — |
| 2018 | — | 82 | — |
What people carried (2025 harvest)
- Firearm 464 · 94% · 623 hunters, 74% success
- Archery 32 · 6% · 310 hunters, 10% success
What the agency says about the area
Unit 36C – Beginning at the junction of AZ Hwy 86 and AZ Hwy 286; southerly on AZ Hwy 286 to the U.S.-Mexico border; westerly along the border to the east boundary of the Tohono O’odham (Papago) Indian Reservation; 130 ARIZONA GAME AND FISH RULES northerly along the reservation boundary to AZ Hwy 86; easterly on AZ Hwy 86 to AZ Hwy 286.
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
Harvest: 2024 AZ Over-the-Counter Archery Deer Harvest Summary