Arizona Unit 18B: public land, hunts and harvest
Arizona's game management Unit 18B covers 1,214 square miles, and 59.7% of it is public land open to hunting, mostly BLM (measured from USGS PAD-US). AZGFD's 2026 hunt lists open 6 elk hunts, 2 deer hunts, 2 pronghorn hunts, 1 bighorn sheep hunt and 1 javelina hunt here. On the hunts held only in Unit 18B, AZGFD's 2025 harvest survey counts 83 deer and 3 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 forestBLMState trust landTribal land (tribal permit)Unit 18BNeighboring unitsLake or riverHighway
| AZGFD region | Region 3 (Kingman) |
|---|---|
| Size | 1,214 square miles (776,854 acres) |
| Public land open to hunting | 59.7% (463,921 acres) |
| Elk hunts, 2026 | 6 hunts, 720 permits |
| Deer hunts, 2026 | 2 hunts, 275 permits |
| Pronghorn hunts, 2026 | 2 hunts, 4 permits |
| Bighorn sheep hunts, 2026 | 1 hunt, 2 permits |
| Javelina (fall) hunts, 2026 | 1 hunt, 100 permits |
| Towns in and near it | Bagdad and Wikieup |
| Highways | US 93 and AZ 97 |
How much public land is in Unit 18B?
59.7% of Unit 18B is public land open to hunting: 463,921 of 776,854 acres. The largest share is BLM, 251,933 acres or 32.4% of the unit.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Unit 18B |
|---|---|---|
| BLM | 251,933 | 32.4% |
| State trust land | 211,916 | 27.3% |
| Tribal land (tribal permit) | 1,268 | 0.2% |
| National forest | 72 | under 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.
What can you hunt in Unit 18B in 2026?
Draw hunts that include Unit 18B, 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 18B | Permits | Earliest season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk | 6 | 0 | 720 | Sep 11 to Oct 1 (hunt 3190) |
| Deer | 2 | 2 | 275 | Oct 23 to Nov 1 (hunt 1027) |
| Pronghorn | 2 | 2 | 4 | Sep 4 to Sep 10 (hunt 2035) |
| Bighorn sheep | 1 | 0 | 2 | Dec 1 to Dec 31 (hunt 6014) |
| Javelina (fall) | 1 | 1 | 100 | Nov 20 to Nov 29 (hunt 5504) |
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).
Bighorn sheep, 2026: hunt 6014 (Dec 1 to Dec 31, 2 permits, with 16A).
How many elk, deer and pronghorn are taken in Unit 18B?
| Species | Year | Hunts only in Unit 18B | Hunters | Taken | Shared hunts that included it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk | 2025 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Deer | 2025 | 2 | 231 | 83 | 0 |
| Pronghorn | 2025 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
Sums of AZGFD's per-hunt figures for the hunts held only in Unit 18B. 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.
Bighorn sheep, 2025: hunt 6014 (16AS/18B), 2 hunters, 2 rams taken (AZGFD 2025 Bighorn Sheep Harvest Summary).
Over-the-counter archery deer, 2024: AZGFD estimates 215 archers hunted Unit 18B for 1,033 days and took 23 deer (mule deer bucks 23, whitetail bucks 0) (AZGFD 2024 Over-the-Counter Archery Deer Harvest Summary).
What did AZGFD's 2025 surveys count in Unit 18B?
Pronghorn: 137 classified in 17 groups, 78 bucks and 77 young per 100 does.
Source: AZGFD 2025 Pronghorn Survey Summary.
How do you get to Unit 18B?
Highways through the unit: US 93 (about 30 miles inside it) and AZ 97 (about 11 miles inside it). Towns and places inside: Bagdad and Wikieup.
Which units border Unit 18B?
Unit 18B touches 6 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 16A | 2,470 | 80.1% | 2 | 2 | |
| Unit 17A | 306 | 70.5% | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| Unit 17B | 671 | 82.1% | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| Unit 18A | 1,227 | 51.8% | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Unit 20C | 759 | 78% | 6 | 3 | |
| Unit 44A | 2,359 | 89.8% | 1 |
Questions hunters ask
How much public land is in Arizona Unit 18B?
59.7% of Unit 18B is public land open to hunting, 463,921 of its 776,854 acres; the largest share is BLM at 251,933 acres. 1,268 acres are tribal land, which needs the tribe's own permit.
What can you hunt in Unit 18B in 2026?
AZGFD's 2026 draw lists 6 elk hunts (720 permits), 2 deer hunts (275 permits), 2 pronghorn hunts (4 permits), 1 bighorn sheep hunt (2 permits) and 1 javelina (fall) hunt (100 permits) that include Unit 18B. Over-the-counter seasons are set statewide in AZGFD's regulations.
What is the closest town to Unit 18B?
Bagdad and Wikieup are inside the unit.
Which AZGFD region is Unit 18B in?
Region 3, run from the Kingman office. It borders Unit 16A, Unit 17A, Unit 17B, Unit 18A, Unit 20C and Unit 44A.
Get Arizona updates from FilledTag
Join the Arizona list and FilledTag will email you when it adds more for Arizona hunters.
The free FilledTag app for iPhone has a map that works in every state, Arizona included.
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 16A Unit 17A Unit 17B Unit 18A Unit 20C Unit 44A