Arizona Unit 17A: public land, hunts and harvest
Arizona's game management Unit 17A covers 306 square miles, and 70.5% of it is public land open to hunting, mostly national forest (measured from USGS PAD-US). AZGFD's 2026 hunt lists open 6 elk hunts, 2 deer hunts and 1 pronghorn hunt here. On the hunts held only in Unit 17A, AZGFD's 2025 harvest survey counts 48 deer and 1 pronghorn taken.
Data updated October 2026. Hunts: AZGFD's 2026 booklets. Harvest: AZGFD harvest summaries to 2025. Land: USGS PAD-US 4.1. Boundary: AZGFD.
National forestState trust landUnit 17ANeighboring unitsLake or riverHighway
| AZGFD region | Region 3 (Kingman) |
|---|---|
| Size | 306 square miles (195,850 acres) |
| Public land open to hunting | 70.5% (138,156 acres) |
| Elk hunts, 2026 | 6 hunts, 720 permits |
| Deer hunts, 2026 | 2 hunts, 135 permits |
| Pronghorn hunts, 2026 | 1 hunt, 2 permits |
| Towns in and near it | Chino Valley |
How much public land is in Unit 17A?
70.5% of Unit 17A is public land open to hunting: 138,156 of 195,850 acres. The largest share is national forest, 135,330 acres or 69.1% of the unit.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Unit 17A |
|---|---|---|
| National forest | 135,330 | 69.1% |
| State trust land | 2,826 | 1.4% |
Measured by FilledTag inside AZGFD's unit boundary 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. Arizona State Land Department rules let a licensed hunter on state trust land while hunting; other uses need its recreation permit. National forest: Prescott National Forest.
What can you hunt in Unit 17A in 2026?
Draw hunts that include Unit 17A, by species. A hunt may cover other units too; the count of hunts held only here is in its own column.
| Species | Hunts | Only in Unit 17A | Permits | Earliest season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk | 6 | 0 | 720 | Sep 11 to Oct 1 (hunt 3190) |
| Deer | 2 | 2 | 135 | Aug 21 to Sep 10; Dec 11 to Dec 31 (hunt 1207) |
| Pronghorn | 1 | 1 | 2 | Sep 4 to Sep 13 (hunt 2020) |
Source: AZGFD 2026 Pronghorn and Elk Hunt Draw Information (elk and pronghorn) and AZGFD 2026-27 Arizona Hunting Regulations (deer, bighorn sheep, fall javelina and fall turkey).
How many elk, deer and pronghorn are taken in Unit 17A?
| Species | Year | Hunts only in Unit 17A | Hunters | Taken | Shared hunts that included it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk | 2025 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Deer | 2025 | 2 | 130 | 48 | 0 |
| Pronghorn | 2025 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Sums of AZGFD's per-hunt figures for the hunts held only in Unit 17A. Source: AZGFD 2025 Elk Harvest Summary, AZGFD 2025 Deer Harvest Summary, AZGFD 2025 Pronghorn Harvest Summary. Each hunt, year by year, is on the elk page, deer page and pronghorn page.
What did AZGFD's 2025 surveys count in Unit 17A?
Mule deer: 132 classified in 50 groups, 22 bucks and 17 young per 100 does. Pronghorn: 32 classified in 6 groups, 115 bucks and 223 young per 100 does.
Source: AZGFD 2025 Mule Deer Survey Summary, AZGFD 2025 Pronghorn Survey Summary.
How do you get to Unit 17A?
No numbered highway crosses the unit. Nearby towns: Chino Valley (15 miles).
Which units border Unit 17A?
Unit 17A touches 4 other units. Their size, public land and the number of 2026 draw hunts that include each:
| Unit | Square miles | Public land | Elk hunts | Deer hunts | Pronghorn hunts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 17B | 671 | 82.1% | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| Unit 18A | 1,227 | 51.8% | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Unit 18B | 1,214 | 59.7% | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| Unit 19B | 763 | 37.7% | 6 | 3 | 3 |
Questions hunters ask
How much public land is in Arizona Unit 17A?
70.5% of Unit 17A is public land open to hunting, 138,156 of its 195,850 acres; the largest share is national forest at 135,330 acres.
What can you hunt in Unit 17A in 2026?
AZGFD's 2026 draw lists 6 elk hunts (720 permits), 2 deer hunts (135 permits) and 1 pronghorn hunt (2 permits) that include Unit 17A. Over-the-counter seasons are set statewide in AZGFD's regulations.
What is the closest town to Unit 17A?
No town is inside it. The nearest are Chino Valley (15 miles).
Which AZGFD region is Unit 17A in?
Region 3, run from the Kingman office. It borders Unit 17B, Unit 18A, Unit 18B and Unit 19B.
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Where these numbers come from
- Hunts and permits: AZGFD's 2026 Pronghorn and Elk booklet and 2026-27 regulations.
- Harvest: AZGFD harvest summaries (AZGFD harvest reporting).
- Public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee managers). Unit boundary: AZGFD game management unit boundaries.
- Highways and towns: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 primary and secondary roads; U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer, places.
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.
Arizona hunting Region 3 Unit 17B Unit 18A Unit 18B Unit 19B