Unit 16A elk hunting: 2026 hunts, harvest and draw
AZGFD's 2026 Pronghorn and Elk booklet lists 2 elk hunts open in Unit 16A, with 14 permits in all. The largest is hunt 3189, any elk, September 4 to September 24, with 8 permits. On the 2 hunts held only in Unit 16A in 2025, AZGFD's harvest survey counts 14 hunters and 10 elk taken; AZGFD lists 3 of them as bulls and 6 as cows and calves.
Data updated October 2026. Hunts: AZGFD's 2026 Pronghorn and Elk booklet. Harvest: AZGFD harvest summaries, 2021 to 2025. Draw: AZGFD's 2025 report.
BLMState trust landAZGFD landNational wildlife refugeTribal land (tribal permit)City, county and otherUnit 16ANeighboring unitsLake or riverHighway
| Unit | Unit 16A |
|---|---|
| AZGFD region | Region 3, Kingman |
| Elk hunts, 2026 | 2 (14 permits) |
| Hunt types | muzzleloader and archery only |
| Earliest season | September 4 to September 24 (hunt 3189) |
| Elk taken on its own hunts, 2025 | 10 by 14 hunters |
| 2025 draw, first-choice applicants | 107 for 14 permits issued |
| Public land open to hunting | 80.1%, mostly BLM |
What elk hunts does Unit 16A have in 2026?
2 hunts: 1 muzzleloader and 1 archery only. 2 are held only in Unit 16A. Permits are AZGFD's numbers for the whole hunt.
| Hunt | Type | Season, 2026 | Legal animal | Permits | Open area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3112 | Muzzleloader | Sep 25 to Oct 15 | Any elk | 6 | 16A (excluding Mohave County Park Lands) |
| 3189 | Archery only | Sep 4 to Sep 24 | Any elk | 8 | 16A (excluding Mohave County Park Lands) |
Source: AZGFD 2026 Pronghorn and Elk Hunt Draw Information, PDF pages 17 and 19. Note numbers refer to AZGFD's printed notes, which set boundaries and restrictions; read them before you apply.
How many elk are harvested in Unit 16A?
Year by year, the hunts held only in Unit 16A. Hunter and harvest totals are sums of AZGFD's figures for those hunts.
| Year | Hunts | Hunters | Hunter days | Bulls and spikes | Cows and calves | Elk taken | Elk per 100 hunters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 | 14 | 80 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 71 |
| 2024 | 2 | 14 | 83 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 36 |
| 2023 | 2 | 6 | 29 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 83 |
| 2022 | 2 | 7 | 32 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 100 |
| 2021 | 2 | 6 | 34 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 83 |
Elk per 100 hunters is worked out from AZGFD's own hunter and harvest figures for the same hunts.
Every hunt that included Unit 16A, as AZGFD reported it:
| Hunt | Type | Area | Permits issued | Hunters | Hunter days | Bulls | Spikes | Cows | Calves | Harvest | Success (AZGFD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3189 | Archery only | 16A | 8 | 8 | 43 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 75% |
| 3112 | Muzzleloader | 16A | 6 | 6 | 37 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 67% |
| Hunt | Type | Area | Permits issued | Hunters | Hunter days | Bulls | Spikes | Antlerless | Harvest | Success (AZGFD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3188 | Archery only | 16A | 8 | 8 | 64 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 50% |
| 3111 | Muzzleloader | 16A | 6 | 6 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17% |
Earlier years: 2023, 2022, 2021
| Hunt | Type | Area | Permits issued | Hunters | Hunter days | Bulls | Spikes | Cows | Calves | Harvest | Success (AZGFD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3200 | Archery only | 16A | 4 | 3 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 67% |
| 3119 | Muzzleloader | 16A | 3 | 3 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 100% |
| Hunt | Type | Area | Permits issued | Hunters | Hunter days | Bulls | Spikes | Cows | Calves | Harvest | Success (AZGFD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3208 | Archery only | 16A | 4 | 4 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 100% |
| 3130 | Muzzleloader | 16A | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 100% |
| Hunt | Type | Area | Permits issued | Hunters | Hunter days | Bulls | Spikes | Cows | Calves | Harvest | Success (AZGFD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3191 | Archery only | 16A | 4 | 4 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 75% |
| 3117 | Muzzleloader | 16A | 2 | 2 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 100% |
Source: AZGFD 2025 Elk Harvest Summary, AZGFD 2024 Elk Harvest Summary, AZGFD 2023 Elk Harvest Summary, AZGFD 2022 Elk Harvest Summary, AZGFD 2021 Elk Harvest Summary. Success is AZGFD's printed figure, and AZGFD's parts (bulls, cows, species) do not always add up to its harvest total; both are shown as printed. Hunt numbers change from year to year; the area column says where each hunt was. Rows AZGFD printed with a blank middle cell are left out rather than guessed.
How many hunters applied in the 2025 draw?
AZGFD's 2025 draw report lists 2 elk hunts that included Unit 16A: 107 first-choice applications for 14 permits issued. These are 2025 counts, not a forecast.
| Hunt, 2025 | Area | Hunt type | Season | First-choice applicants | Second-choice applicants | Permits issued |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3112 | 16A | Any elk | 9/26 to 10/16 | 81 | 61 | 6 |
| 3189 | 16A | Any elk | 9/5 to 9/25 | 26 | 31 | 8 |
Source: AZGFD 2025 Elk draw report. AZGFD's report also prints a percentage column whose basis it does not state, so it is not copied here.
How much public land is in Unit 16A?
80.1% of Unit 16A is public land open to hunting: 1,266,601 of 1,580,816 acres, the largest share BLM (1,180,125 acres). The Unit 16A page has the full land table, towns and roads.
Measured by FilledTag inside AZGFD's unit boundaries from USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee managers). Public land open to hunting here means national forest, BLM, state trust land, AZGFD land, national wildlife refuges, national recreation areas and Bureau of Reclamation land. Tribal land, military land and national parks are counted on their own rows and left out of that figure.
Questions hunters ask
How many elk permits does Unit 16A have in 2026?
14 permits across 2 hunts in AZGFD's 2026 booklet. The largest is hunt 3189 (any elk).
When is elk season in Unit 16A in 2026?
The first elk hunt open here starts September 4 (hunt 3189, archery only) and the last ends October 15. Each hunt's dates are in the table on this page.
How many elk were harvested in Unit 16A in 2025?
AZGFD's 2025 harvest survey counts 10 elk taken by 14 hunters on the 2 hunts held only in Unit 16A, against 5 in 2024. Hunts shared with other units are counted in AZGFD's table for each hunt, not added here.
How many hunters applied for Unit 16A elk in 2025?
AZGFD's 2025 draw report counts 107 first-choice applications for the 2 elk hunts that included Unit 16A, and 14 permits issued. AZGFD publishes no forecast for 2026; these are 2025 counts.
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Where these numbers come from
- Hunts, seasons, legal animals and permits: AZGFD 2026 Pronghorn and Elk Hunt Draw Information.
- Harvest, hunters and days: AZGFD 2025 Elk Harvest Summary, AZGFD 2024 Elk Harvest Summary, AZGFD 2023 Elk Harvest Summary, AZGFD 2022 Elk Harvest Summary, AZGFD 2021 Elk Harvest Summary.
- Draw applicants and permits: AZGFD 2025 Elk draw report.
- Unit boundaries: AZGFD game management unit boundaries. Public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee managers).
FilledTag is not part of the Arizona Game and Fish Department. Numbers are copied from AZGFD's published reports or measured from AZGFD and USGS maps; nothing here is estimated by FilledTag. AZGFD's regulations are the final word on every rule.