Arizona Unit 17B: public land, hunts and harvest
Arizona's game management Unit 17B covers 671 square miles, and 82.1% 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, 2 pronghorn hunts and 1 javelina hunt here. On the hunts held only in Unit 17B, AZGFD's 2025 harvest survey counts 70 deer 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 forestBLMState trust landUnit 17BNeighboring unitsLake or riverHighway
| AZGFD region | Region 3 (Kingman) |
|---|---|
| Size | 671 square miles (429,750 acres) |
| Public land open to hunting | 82.1% (352,727 acres) |
| Elk hunts, 2026 | 6 hunts, 720 permits |
| Deer hunts, 2026 | 2 hunts, 525 permits |
| Pronghorn hunts, 2026 | 2 hunts, 10 permits |
| Javelina (fall) hunts, 2026 | 1 hunt, 175 permits |
| Towns in and near it | Prescott, Chino Valley and Prescott Valley |
| Highways | AZ 96 |
How much public land is in Unit 17B?
82.1% of Unit 17B is public land open to hunting: 352,727 of 429,750 acres. The largest share is national forest, 189,853 acres or 44.2% of the unit.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Unit 17B |
|---|---|---|
| National forest | 189,853 | 44.2% |
| State trust land | 162,378 | 37.8% |
| BLM | 496 | 0.1% |
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 17B in 2026?
Draw hunts that include Unit 17B, 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 17B | Permits | Earliest season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk | 6 | 0 | 720 | Sep 11 to Oct 1 (hunt 3190) |
| Deer | 2 | 1 | 525 | Oct 9 to Oct 18 (hunt 1155) |
| Pronghorn | 2 | 0 | 10 | Aug 21 to Sep 3 (hunt 2054) |
| Javelina (fall) | 1 | 0 | 175 | Oct 9 to Oct 18 (hunt 5503) |
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 17B?
| Species | Year | Hunts only in Unit 17B | Hunters | Taken | Shared hunts that included it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk | 2025 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Deer | 2025 | 1 | 254 | 70 | 1 |
| Pronghorn | 2025 | 0 | 2 |
Sums of AZGFD's per-hunt figures for the hunts held only in Unit 17B. 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.
Over-the-counter archery deer, 2024: AZGFD estimates 235 archers hunted Unit 17B for 1,120 days and took 29 deer (mule deer bucks 29, whitetail bucks 0) (AZGFD 2024 Over-the-Counter Archery Deer Harvest Summary).
What did AZGFD's 2025 surveys count in Unit 17B?
Pronghorn: 66 classified in 5 groups, 59 bucks and 40 young per 100 does.
Source: AZGFD 2025 Pronghorn Survey Summary.
How do you get to Unit 17B?
Highways through the unit: AZ 96 (about 6 miles inside it). Nearby towns: Prescott (3 miles), Chino Valley (8 miles), Prescott Valley (10 miles) and Dewey-Humboldt (15 miles).
Which units border Unit 17B?
Unit 17B touches 5 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 17A | 306 | 70.5% | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| Unit 18B | 1,214 | 59.7% | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| Unit 19B | 763 | 37.7% | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Unit 20A | 600 | 82.1% | 6 | 2 | |
| Unit 20C | 759 | 78% | 6 | 3 |
Questions hunters ask
How much public land is in Arizona Unit 17B?
82.1% of Unit 17B is public land open to hunting, 352,727 of its 429,750 acres; the largest share is national forest at 189,853 acres.
What can you hunt in Unit 17B in 2026?
AZGFD's 2026 draw lists 6 elk hunts (720 permits), 2 deer hunts (525 permits), 2 pronghorn hunts (10 permits) and 1 javelina (fall) hunt (175 permits) that include Unit 17B. Over-the-counter seasons are set statewide in AZGFD's regulations.
What is the closest town to Unit 17B?
No town is inside it. The nearest are Prescott (3 miles), Chino Valley (8 miles) and Prescott Valley (10 miles).
Which AZGFD region is Unit 17B in?
Region 3, run from the Kingman office. It borders Unit 17A, Unit 18B, Unit 19B, Unit 20A and Unit 20C.
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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 17A Unit 18B Unit 19B Unit 20A Unit 20C