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Arizona · 2026-27 season year

Arizona Deer Season 2026-27

Archery-Only Deer Nonpermit-tag: August 21, 2026 to January 31, 2027. General Deer: October 23, 2026 to December 31, 2026. Every date below was read from Arizona Game and Fish Department’s own published page, linked beside it, on September 2, 2026.

This page covers the 2026-27 season year. Dates were read from the agency sources linked below, last checked September 2, 2026. Seasons change annually and agencies correct their own pages; confirm against the linked agency page before you hunt.
August 21, 2026 to January 31, 2027
Archery-Only Deer Nonpermit-tag
published
October 23, 2026 to December 31, 2026
General Deer
published
October 16, 2026 to December 31, 2026
Muzzleloader Deer
published
11 zone rows
Zone structure
as the agency draws it
The four questions in one

Arizona deer seasons, 2026-27

“When does deer season open” is four questions wearing one coat. Arizona Game and Fish Department dates mule deer and Coues white-tailed deer seasons separately by weapon, so each one is below under the agency’s own name for it, with the zone rows exactly as the agency lists them.

Archery-Only Deer Nonpermit-tag

published

Archery-Only Deer Nonpermit-tag opens in 53 days, on December 11, 2026 (The units the department opens in December).

Arizona archery-only deer nonpermit-tag, as published by Arizona Game and Fish Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
The units the department opens in late summerAugust 21, 2026September 10, 2026Most of these units also open in the December and January windows
The units the department opens in DecemberDecember 11, 2026December 31, 2026
The units the department opens in JanuaryJanuary 1, 2027January 31, 2027The department notes a nonpermit tag is valid for one calendar year, so a January hunt needs a new year's tag

Dates read from 2026-2027 Arizona Hunting Regulations, Arizona Game and Fish Department, accessed 2026-09-02.

Arizona is a draw state for nearly everything, but its archery deer season is the exception: an over the counter nonpermit tag opens most units for three windows a year. The department closes a unit to archery deer hunting once its harvest limit is reached, so an open window is not a guarantee the unit is still open.

General Deer

published

General Deer opens in 4 days, on October 23, 2026 (Hunts the department dates in the fourth week of October).

Arizona general deer, as published by Arizona Game and Fish Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Hunts the department dates in the fourth week of OctoberOctober 23, 2026October 29, 2026Twenty hunt numbers
Hunts the department dates across the end of OctoberOctober 23, 2026November 1, 2026Eighteen hunt numbers
Hunts the department dates at the turn of the monthOctober 30, 2026November 5, 2026Twenty one hunt numbers
A small group of hunts running a week longer from the same openerOctober 30, 2026November 8, 2026Three hunt numbers
Hunts the department dates in the second week of NovemberNovember 6, 2026November 12, 2026Twenty two hunt numbers, the largest single group
Hunts the department dates in the second and third weeks of NovemberNovember 6, 2026November 15, 2026Seven hunt numbers
Hunts the department dates in the third week of NovemberNovember 13, 2026November 19, 2026Thirteen hunt numbers
Hunts the department dates across the third and fourth weeks of NovemberNovember 13, 2026November 22, 2026Three hunt numbers
Hunts the department dates in the fourth week of NovemberNovember 20, 2026November 29, 2026Five hunt numbers
Hunts the department dates across the turn of DecemberNovember 27, 2026December 6, 2026Sixteen hunt numbers
Hunts the department dates in the second half of DecemberDecember 11, 2026December 31, 2026Twenty seven hunt numbers

Dates read from 2026-2027 Arizona Hunting Regulations, Arizona Game and Fish Department, accessed 2026-09-02.

Arizona's general deer hunts are numbered permit hunts, each tied to named units and drawn for. The department repeats the same handful of windows across the state, and the rows above are those windows with the number of hunt numbers in each. The Commission Order 2 tables say which hunt number covers which units.

Muzzleloader Deer

published

Muzzleloader Deer is OPEN now in the Hunt 1193, unit 30B, through October 22, 2026.

Arizona muzzleloader deer, as published by Arizona Game and Fish Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Hunt 1193, unit 30BOctober 16, 2026October 22, 2026
Hunts the department dates in the fourth week of OctoberOctober 23, 2026October 29, 2026Two hunt numbers
Hunts the department dates across the end of OctoberOctober 23, 2026November 1, 2026Three hunt numbers
Hunts the department dates at the turn of the monthOctober 30, 2026November 5, 2026One hunt number
Hunts the department dates in the second week of NovemberNovember 6, 2026November 12, 2026Three hunt numbers
Hunts the department dates in the third week of NovemberNovember 13, 2026November 19, 2026Two hunt numbers
Hunts the department dates in the second half of DecemberDecember 11, 2026December 31, 2026Three hunt numbers

Dates read from 2026-2027 Arizona Hunting Regulations, Arizona Game and Fish Department, accessed 2026-09-02.

Arizona's muzzleloader deer hunts are a short list of numbered permit hunts rather than a statewide season, each covering named units.

Youth-Only Deer

published

Youth-Only Deer opens in 32 days, on November 20, 2026 (Youth general hunts the department dates in the fourth week of November).

Arizona youth-only deer, as published by Arizona Game and Fish Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Youth general hunts the department dates in the first week of OctoberOctober 2, 2026October 11, 2026Two hunt numbers
Youth general hunts the department dates in the second week of OctoberOctober 9, 2026October 15, 2026Eleven hunt numbers, the largest group
Youth general hunts running ten days from the same openerOctober 9, 2026October 18, 2026Seven hunt numbers
Youth general hunts the department dates in the fourth week of NovemberNovember 20, 2026November 26, 2026Four hunt numbers
Youth general hunts running ten days from the same November openerNovember 20, 2026November 29, 2026Two hunt numbers
Youth muzzleloader hunts the department dates in DecemberDecember 11, 2026December 31, 2026Three hunt numbers

Dates read from 2026-2027 Arizona Hunting Regulations, Arizona Game and Fish Department, accessed 2026-09-02.

Arizona runs a full set of youth only deer hunts, both general and muzzleloader, ahead of the adult general hunts in October and again in late November. The department notes that no one under the age of ten may hunt big game in Arizona.

2026-2027 Arizona Hunting Regulations
Arizona Game and Fish Department, read September 2, 2026. Read it at the source
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Zones

Arizona deer zones

Arizona does not have a deer season. It has 11 of them, and the boundaries between them were drawn by Arizona Game and Fish Department along highways, rivers and county fragments rather than anything you can see from a stand. In several states those boundaries are not even the same from one weapon season to the next.

This page publishes the agency’s zone names and links the agency’s own zone map, which is where a hunter’s zone is determined. A wrong zone answer is a wrong season date.

Heavy antlered mule deer buck standing shoulder deep in snowy sagebrush in Wyoming
A mule deer buck in Wyoming sagebrush. Western general seasons run by unit and draw. Photo: Tom Koerner/USFWS. “Mule Deer Buck in Southwest Wyoming (23007137314)” — Tom Koerner / USFWS Mountain-Prairie — Public domain
Rules

Arizona deer hunting regulations

Season windows are carried here with their source and read date attached. Everything else a hunter is bound by is set by Arizona Game and Fish Department, and its regulations page is linked below.

Current Arizona regulations

Harvest limits, antler restrictions, permitted arms, shooting hours, tagging and reporting, and license and permit requirements for Arizona are set by Arizona Game and Fish Department, are legally binding and change annually. Its current regulations page is linked here.

Arizona Game and Fish Department: current regulations
Two hunters in blaze orange and camouflage beside a wheelchair at the edge of bare winter woods, one helping the other with gear
Getting ready at the edge of the winter woods on a mobility assisted deer hunt. Many states date a season specifically for hunters with disabilities, and those windows are on the state pages. Photo: U.S. Marine Corps. “USMC-11410” — U.S. Marine Corps (official photo, marines.mil) — Public domain

Deer season dates in other states

Arizona turkey seasonSpring and fall wild turkey windows for 2026-27, under the same sourcing rules.Arizona duck seasonDuck and goose season dates by zone and flyway, read from the same agency.Arizona fall foliagePeak color and the archery weeks overlap. Plan the same trip.

Arizona deer season questions

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Buck with antlers in velvet standing in tall summer grass in golden light
A buck still in velvet in late summer. The earliest archery openers land within weeks of antlers hardening. “White-tailed Deer Buck in Velvet (48804848567)” — USFWS Mountain Prairie — Public domain

This page covers the 2026-27 season year with data as of September 2, 2026. Every season window is republished from the Arizona Game and Fish Department page linked beside it, read on September 2, 2026; windows the agency had not yet published are labelled not yet published. Harvest limits, antler restrictions, permitted arms, shooting hours and license rules are set by Arizona Game and Fish Department, whose page is the final word on the day you hunt. See also the national deer season guide.