Arizona Unit 22: public land, hunts and harvest
Arizona's game management Unit 22 covers 1,574 square miles, and 95.5% of it is public land open to hunting, mostly national forest (measured from USGS PAD-US). AZGFD's 2026 hunt lists open 13 elk hunts, 6 deer hunts and 3 bighorn sheep hunts here. On the hunts held only in Unit 22, AZGFD's 2025 harvest survey counts 523 elk and 310 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 forestState trust landAZGFD landTribal land (tribal permit)City, county and otherUnit 22Neighboring unitsLake or riverHighway
| AZGFD region | Region 6 (Mesa) |
|---|---|
| Size | 1,574 square miles (1,007,325 acres) |
| Public land open to hunting | 95.5% (962,487 acres) |
| Elk hunts, 2026 | 13 hunts, 1,325 permits |
| Deer hunts, 2026 | 6 hunts, 1,235 permits |
| Bighorn sheep hunts, 2026 | 3 hunts, 7 permits |
| AZGFD wildlife areas | Three Bar, Roosevelt Lake |
| Towns in and near it | Star Valley, Payson, Pine, Fountain Hills, Mesa and Scottsdale |
| Highways | AZ 87, AZ 260 and AZ 188 |
How much public land is in Unit 22?
95.5% of Unit 22 is public land open to hunting: 962,487 of 1,007,325 acres. The largest share is national forest, 962,319 acres or 95.5% of the unit.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Unit 22 |
|---|---|---|
| National forest | 962,319 | 95.5% |
| Tribal land (tribal permit) | 15,009 | 1.5% |
| AZGFD land | 155 | under 0.1% |
| City, county and other | 123 | under 0.1% |
| State trust land | 13 | 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. National forest: Tonto National Forest.
What can you hunt in Unit 22 in 2026?
Draw hunts that include Unit 22, 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 22 | Permits | Earliest season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk | 13 | 13 | 1,325 | Sep 11 to Sep 24 (hunt 3147) |
| Deer | 6 | 6 | 1,235 | Oct 9 to Oct 15 (hunt 1160) |
| Bighorn sheep | 3 | 3 | 7 | Nov 13 to Dec 3 (hunt 6015) |
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 6015 (Nov 13 to Dec 3, 2 permits), hunt 6016 (Dec 4 to Dec 31, 2 permits) and hunt 6506 (Dec 1 to Dec 31, 3 permits).
How many elk, deer and pronghorn are taken in Unit 22?
| Species | Year | Hunts only in Unit 22 | Hunters | Taken | Shared hunts that included it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk | 2025 | 12 | 1,202 | 523 | 0 |
| Deer | 2025 | 5 | 1,006 | 310 | 0 |
Sums of AZGFD's per-hunt figures for the hunts held only in Unit 22. Source: AZGFD 2025 Elk Harvest Summary, AZGFD 2025 Deer Harvest Summary. Each hunt, year by year, is on the elk page and deer page.
Bighorn sheep, 2025: hunt 6015 (22), 2 hunters, 2 rams taken, hunt 6016 (22), 2 hunters, 2 rams taken and hunt 6506 (22), 3 hunters, 3 rams taken (AZGFD 2025 Bighorn Sheep Harvest Summary).
Over-the-counter archery deer, 2024: AZGFD estimates 959 archers hunted Unit 22 for 4,963 days and took 62 deer (mule deer bucks 23, whitetail bucks 39) (AZGFD 2024 Over-the-Counter Archery Deer Harvest Summary).
What did AZGFD's 2025 surveys count in Unit 22?
Elk: 398 classified in 52 groups, 22 bulls and 6 young per 100 cows. Mule deer: 7 classified in 3 groups, 17 bucks and 0 young per 100 does. White-tailed deer: 28 classified in 8 groups, 19 bucks and 56 young per 100 does.
Source: AZGFD 2025 Elk Survey Summary, AZGFD 2025 Mule Deer Survey Summary, AZGFD 2025 White-tailed Deer Survey Summary.
Which AZGFD wildlife areas are in Unit 22?
Three Bar Wildlife Area (43,842 acres inside the unit) and Roosevelt Lake Wildlife Area (3,463 acres inside the unit).
How do you get to Unit 22?
Highways through the unit: AZ 87 (about 93 miles inside it), AZ 260 (about 37 miles inside it) and AZ 188 (about 31 miles inside it). Towns and places inside: Star Valley, Payson, Pine, Tonto Basin, Strawberry and Round Valley. Nearby towns: Fountain Hills (3 miles), Mesa (11 miles), Scottsdale (11 miles) and Apache Junction (12 miles).
Which units border Unit 22?
Unit 22 touches 7 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 4A | 754 | 62.7% | 7 | 1 | 2 |
| Unit 5A | 692 | 68.5% | 9 | 2 | 2 |
| Unit 6A | 1,146 | 94.3% | 9 | 3 | 2 |
| Unit 21 | 1,052 | 97.1% | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| Unit 23 | 1,185 | 98.1% | 10 | 5 | |
| Unit 24B | 779 | 94.3% | 5 | ||
| Unit 25M | 1,285 | 8.4% |
Questions hunters ask
How much public land is in Arizona Unit 22?
95.5% of Unit 22 is public land open to hunting, 962,487 of its 1,007,325 acres; the largest share is national forest at 962,319 acres. 15,009 acres are tribal land, which needs the tribe's own permit.
What can you hunt in Unit 22 in 2026?
AZGFD's 2026 draw lists 13 elk hunts (1,325 permits), 6 deer hunts (1,235 permits) and 3 bighorn sheep hunts (7 permits) that include Unit 22. Over-the-counter seasons are set statewide in AZGFD's regulations.
What is the closest town to Unit 22?
Star Valley, Payson and Pine are inside the unit. Just outside: Fountain Hills (3 miles), Mesa (11 miles) and Scottsdale (11 miles).
Which AZGFD region is Unit 22 in?
Region 6, run from the Mesa office. It borders Unit 4A, Unit 5A, Unit 6A, Unit 21, Unit 23, Unit 24B and Unit 25M.
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 6 Unit 4A Unit 5A Unit 6A Unit 21 Unit 23 Unit 24B Unit 25M