Home › Arizona › Public land › Base and Meridian
Public hunting ground · Wildlife area
Hunt Planning for Base and Meridian Wildlife Area
Wildlife area in Maricopa County with 622 acres across Units 26M and 39.
Photo: William Herron (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Getting to Base and Meridian Wildlife Area
First facts about Base and Meridian Wildlife Area
Base and Meridian Wildlife Area sits on the Commission's wildlife area list at R12-4-802(A)(6), which is the text that decides access. AZGFD GIS polygon puts it at 622 acres; the land lies in Maricopa County. The Mesa regional office of AZGFD (Region VI) covers it. The AZGFD layer names Avondale as the nearby town.
How AZGFD introduces the property: Beginning in 1973, the Arizona Game and Fish Commission acquired approximately 200 acres of river and adjacent riparian habitat at the confluence of the Salt River and Gila River just west of the Phoenix metropolitan area. The B&M Wildlife Area is located 17 miles west of Phoenix at 115th Avenue and the Gila River in Maricopa County, Arizona. Acquisition of the B&M Wildlife Area was made possible with cooperation of County, State and Federal agencies including the Arizona Game and Fish Commission, Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife Service and Maricopa County's Department of Transportation, and Flood Control District.
From lands.json (primary source; acres: GIS area (equal-area) of the AZGFD Wildlife Areas layer (Wildlife_Areas, 2019) polygon), checked November 7, 2026.
Nearby
Places to hunt and shoot around Base and Meridian Wildlife Area
Which units Base and Meridian Wildlife Area sits in
Hunts valid on Base and Meridian Wildlife Area are those for Units 26M and 39. Unit boundaries run along roads, rivers and ridgelines; know which unit you stand in. AZGFD tags the units with javelina, mule deer, dove, quail and bighorn sheep; treat it as a guide to the wider area. Note for Unit 26M: Metro unit, No trapping.
| Unit | Office | Size | Counties | NF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 26M | Mesa | 2,101 | Pinal, Maricopa | Tonto NF |
| Unit 39 | Yuma, Mesa | 1,938 | Maricopa, Pinal | – |
| Unit | Lion zone | Bear female limit 2026 | OTC archery deer cap | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 26M | J (54) | – | 30 | Metro unit, No trapping |
| Unit 39 | L (1) | – | 40 | – |
Units from the AZGFD Game Management Unit layer overlay in lands.json; unit facts, lion zones, bear limits and archery deer limits from the 2026-27 Arizona Hunting Regulations (zones section, unit maps); checked November 7, 2026.
Rule book for Base and Meridian Wildlife Area
Rule R12-4-802 gives Base and Meridian Wildlife Area 6 lines of restrictions. Shotguns are the practical choice, because the rule closes the area to rifled firearms of the kind named. Driving is limited, though the rule leaves room for retrieving big game under R12-4-110(H). There is a specific camping rule here.
| Rule | Short form | Full text |
|---|---|---|
| Fires | No open fires | No open fires. |
| Firewood | No wood gathering | No firewood cutting or gathering. |
| Camping | No overnight camping | No overnight public camping. |
| Vehicles | No motorized travel | Motorized vehicle travel is not permitted on the wildlife area, except for big game retrieval as permitted under R12-4-110 (H). |
| Shooting | No target shooting | No target or clay bird shooting. |
| Hunting | Open, no centerfire | Open to all hunting in season as permitted under R12-4-304 and R12-4-318, except the wildlife area is closed to the discharge of centerfire rifled firearms. |
The general wildlife area rule, R12-4-801, adds short-term postings of up to 90 days.
Rule text: A.A.C. R12-4-802 (Cornell LII copy) and R12-4-801; checked November 7, 2026.
OTC tags valid on Base and Meridian Wildlife Area
No application is needed for the deer, javelina and mountain lion hunts below. When an archery deer unit hits its limit, it shuts at sundown the next Wednesday; report your deer online within 48 hours. The statewide lion season, August 21, 2026 to May 31, 2027, is managed by zone thresholds.
| Animal | Hunt | Legal wildlife | Open | Units here | Harvest cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer | Archery-only OTC tag deer | Any antlered deer | Dec 11–Jan 31, 2027 | 26M | 30 |
| Deer | Archery-only OTC tag deer | Any antlered deer | Dec 11–Jan 31, 2027 | 39 | 40 |
| Javelina | General OTC tag javelina | Any javelina | Jan 1–Dec 31, 2026 | 39 | – |
| Javelina | Archery-only OTC tag javelina | Any javelina | Jan 1–Dec 31, 2026 | 26M | – |
| Javelina | General OTC tag spring javelina | Any javelina | Jan 1–Dec 31, 2027 | 39 | – |
| Javelina | Archery-only OTC tag spring javelina | Any javelina | Jan 1–Dec 31, 2027 | 26M | – |
| Mountain lion | General mountain lion | Any lion except spotted kittens or… | Aug 21–May 31, 2027 | 39 | – |
| Mountain lion | Archery-only mountain lion | Any lion except spotted kittens or… | Aug 21–May 31, 2027 | 26M | – |
| Mountain lion | Pursuit-only mountain lion | Pursuit of any lion except spotted… | Aug 21–May 31, 2027 | 39 | – |
Nonpermit-tag rows from the 2026-27 regulations and the 2027 spring booklet; reporting rules from the harvest reporting section; checked November 7, 2026.
Draw hunts that include Base and Meridian Wildlife Area
Game in the units around Base and Meridian Wildlife Area.
Counting every booklet, 4 hunt numbers apply in the units here: 2 deer and 2 desert bighorn. That is 505 permit-tags in all. A hunt covers its whole unit or open area, not just Base and Meridian Wildlife Area, so a tag drawn here is good elsewhere in the unit too. Remember the firearm limits of Base and Meridian Wildlife Area: a rifle hunt drawn for the unit still cannot use the barred firearms on the area. AZGFD closed the fall draw June 2, 2026, the spring draw October 6, 2026 and the 2026 elk and pronghorn draw February 3, 2026.
| Game | Hunt numbers | Tags | Earliest start | Latest end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer | 2 | 500 | Nov 6, 2026 | Dec 31, 2026 |
| Desert bighorn | 2 | 5 | Dec 1, 2026 | Dec 31, 2026 |
| # | Species | Hunt | Dates | Legal wildlife | Permit-tags | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1068 | Deer | General | Nov 6–15, 2026 | Any antlered deer | 450 | 39 |
| 1192 | Deer | Muzzleloader | Dec 11–31, 2026 | Any antlered deer | 50 | 39 |
| 6030 | Desert bighorn | General | Dec 1–31, 2026 | Any ram | 2 | 39 |
| 6031 | Desert bighorn | General | Dec 1–31, 2026 | Any ram | 3 | 39 |
Hunt numbers, dates, legal wildlife and permits from the 2026-27 Arizona Hunting Regulations, the 2027 spring booklet and the 2026 pronghorn and elk booklet; deadlines from the draw section; checked November 7, 2026.
Birds and small game near Base and Meridian Wildlife Area
No draw is needed for dove and quail; a hunting license and the statewide dates are enough. Ducks and geese call for the state migratory bird stamp plus the federal duck stamp; shooting starts 30 minutes before sunrise.
| Species | Statewide season | When |
|---|---|---|
| Gambel's, scaled and California quail | General quail | Oct 16–Feb 7, 2027 |
| Mearns' quail | General quail | Dec 4–Feb 7, 2027 |
| Doves | Statewide early dove season | Sep 1–15, 2026 |
| Doves | Statewide late dove season | Nov 20–Jan 3, 2027 |
| Ducks and mergansers | General waterfowl | Oct 23–Jan 31, 2027 |
| Ducks and mergansers | Youth-only waterfowl | Feb 6–7, 2027 |
Statewide season rows from the 2026-27 Arizona Hunting Regulations and the waterfowl and dove leaflets; checked November 7, 2026.
Not open to hunting near Base and Meridian Wildlife Area
Do not cross into Gila River Indian Reservation to hunt on an Arizona tag; tribal permission is required. Federal law (18 USC 1165) makes it an offense to hunt tribal land without permission.
| Place | Closed because | County | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gila River Indian Reservation | tribal land | Pinal, Maricopa | 28 miles |
| Maricopa (Ak Chin) | tribal land | Pinal | 31 miles |
| Salt River Reservation | tribal land | Maricopa | 33 miles |
Closed rows from lands.json: tribal land (18 USC 1165, Census TIGERweb), NPS units (36 CFR 2.2); checked November 7, 2026.
2025 harvest in the Base and Meridian Wildlife Area units
Unit-level 2025 harvest gives a feel for hunting near Base and Meridian Wildlife Area. Multi-unit hunts are excluded so no hunter is counted twice; elk results remain preliminary.
| Unit | Hunt (2025) | Hunters afield | Harvest | % success |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 26M | OTC archery deer | 148 | 15 | 19% |
| Unit 39 | OTC archery deer | 227 | 6 | 4% |
| Unit 39 | Bighorn sheep, 2 hunts | 5 | 5 | 100% |
2025 AZGFD harvest summaries: OTC archery deer, deer, elk (preliminary), pronghorn, spring javelina, spring turkey, bighorn sheep; checked November 7, 2026.
Services for hunters at Base and Meridian Wildlife Area
Avondale is the nearest town with a page here, 5 miles from Base and Meridian Wildlife Area in a straight line. Glendale is the largest of the five, with 258,143 residents in 2024. Closest Game and Fish counter: Phoenix, roughly 30 miles off.
| Town | County | Pop. 2024 | Miles off | Bearing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avondale | Maricopa | 96,609 | 5 miles | south |
| Goodyear | Maricopa | 118,186 | 9 miles | south |
| Glendale | Maricopa | 258,143 | 13 miles | northeast |
| El Mirage | Maricopa | 36,468 | 14 miles | north |
| Buckeye | Maricopa | 114,334 | 18 miles | west |
Towns from places.json (Census 2024 estimates); AZGFD offices from the AZGFD offices page; businesses from services.json listings; straight-line miles. Checked November 7, 2026.
Next public land from Base and Meridian Wildlife Area
Head west about 18 miles for Robbins Butte. By type the six neighbours break down as 3 wildlife areas, 2 BLM field offices and 1 BLM national monument.
| Name | Kind | Size (ac) | County | Away | Bearing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robbins Butte | Wildlife area | 5,679 | Maricopa | 18 miles | west |
| Powers Butte (Mumme Farm) | Wildlife area | 1,948 | Maricopa | 25 miles | west |
| Arlington Wildlife Area | Wildlife area | 2,576 | Maricopa | 26 miles | west |
| BLM Lower Sonoran FO | BLM field office | 1,400,000 | Maricopa | 29 miles | south |
| Sonoran Desert NM | National monument | 486,400 | Maricopa | 33 miles | south |
| BLM Hassayampa FO | BLM field office | 1,000,000 | Maricopa | 50 miles | northwest |
Point: AZGFD Wildlife Areas layer (Wildlife_Areas, 2019) (polygon centroid of the largest part). Straight-line distances. Statewide public land map.
Clock times on Base and Meridian Wildlife Area by season date
Arizona allows hunting in daylight hours, which the AZGFD booklet ties to its sunrise and sunset chart; ducks, geese, doves, pigeons and cranes may be shot from half an hour before sunrise.
| When | Marker | First light | Last light | Big and small game | Waterfowl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 21, 2026 | Archery deer | 5:56 a.m. | 7:10 p.m. | 5:56 a.m. to 7:10 p.m. | 5:26 a.m. to 7:10 p.m. |
| Sep 1, 2026 | Dove opener | 6:03 a.m. | 6:57 p.m. | 6:03 a.m. to 6:57 p.m. | 5:33 a.m. to 6:57 p.m. |
| Oct 16, 2026 | Quail opener | 6:34 a.m. | 5:56 p.m. | 6:34 a.m. to 5:56 p.m. | 6:04 a.m. to 5:56 p.m. |
| Oct 23, 2026 | General deer and waterfowl opener | 6:39 a.m. | 5:48 p.m. | 6:39 a.m. to 5:48 p.m. | 6:09 a.m. to 5:48 p.m. |
| Dec 21, 2026 | Shortest day | 7:29 a.m. | 5:25 p.m. | 7:29 a.m. to 5:25 p.m. | 6:59 a.m. to 5:25 p.m. |
| Jan 1, 2027 | Spring javelina | 7:33 a.m. | 5:32 p.m. | 7:33 a.m. to 5:32 p.m. | 7:03 a.m. to 5:32 p.m. |
Hours rules from the 2026-27 Arizona Hunting Regulations (A.R.S. 17-301); sunrise and sunset worked out for this location with the NOAA solar formula (Mountain Standard Time); the AZGFD Phoenix sunrise-sunset chart; checked November 7, 2026. Legal hours for every county.
Base and Meridian Wildlife Area hunters: an AZGFD range plus clubs
Ben Avery Shooting Facility Rifle and Pistol Range, on AZGFD’s public range list, is 31 miles from Base and Meridian Wildlife Area. The other cards are clubs or private benches inside a 30-mile radius.
From AZGFD’s Shooting Range Facilities page, operators’ own sites and directory listings, checked November 7, 2026.
FAQ for hunting Base and Meridian Wildlife Area
Which license and tags does Base and Meridian Wildlife Area take?
Carry an Arizona hunting or combination license and the tag for your hunt; youth 10 to 17 pay $5 for a combination license.
Which game units cover Base and Meridian Wildlife Area?
Units 26M, 39, per the AZGFD unit layer.
Acres on Base and Meridian Wildlife Area?
622 acres, per the AZGFD GIS polygon.
How many hunt numbers cover Base and Meridian Wildlife Area?
The booklets list 4 hunts for deer and desert bighorn whose open areas include it.
Are there OTC hunts on Base and Meridian Wildlife Area?
For deer, javelina and mountain lion, yes.
What does Base and Meridian Wildlife Area allow for overnight stays?
No overnight public camping.
Where can I drive on Base and Meridian Wildlife Area?
Motorized vehicle travel is not permitted on the wildlife area, except for big game retrieval as permitted under R12-4-110 (H) .
Hunter orange on Base and Meridian Wildlife Area?
No. Arizona has no hunter orange rule; wearing it is up to you.
Which Game and Fish region is Base and Meridian Wildlife Area part of?
Region VI, Mesa; phone 480-981-9400.
Closed areas near Base and Meridian Wildlife Area?
Gila River Indian Reservation, about 28 miles off, is tribal land, closed to state-licensed hunting without the tribe’s permission.
Is chronic wasting disease found around Base and Meridian Wildlife Area?
No detection in Arizona to date.
Does the law allow hunting on Base and Meridian Wildlife Area?
It is open under R12-4-802(A)(6). The hunting line says: “Open to all hunting in season as permitted under R12-4-304 and R12-4-318, except the wildlife area is closed to the discharge of centerfire rifled firearms.”
Loose ends before driving to Base and Meridian Wildlife Area
Tag your animal as soon as it is down and keep your license and tags on you while hunting Base and Meridian Wildlife Area.
Sources: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4 · source 5; seasons from the 2026-27 Arizona Hunting Regulations. Checked November 7, 2026.
Other photos on this page: Alan Stark (CC BY-SA 2.0); Henry (CC BY 2.0).