Arizona Unit 27: public land, hunts and harvest
Arizona's game management Unit 27 covers 1,353 square miles, and 94.6% of it is public land open to hunting, mostly national forest (measured from USGS PAD-US). AZGFD's 2026 hunt lists open 10 elk hunts, 6 deer hunts, 5 bighorn sheep hunts and 1 turkey hunt here. On the hunts held only in Unit 27, AZGFD's 2025 harvest survey counts 445 elk and 392 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 landTribal land (tribal permit)City, county and otherUnit 27Neighboring unitsLake or riverHighway
| AZGFD region | Region 1 (Pinetop) |
|---|---|
| Size | 1,353 square miles (865,872 acres) |
| Public land open to hunting | 94.6% (819,474 acres) |
| Elk hunts, 2026 | 10 hunts, 1,045 permits |
| Deer hunts, 2026 | 6 hunts, 1,390 permits |
| Bighorn sheep hunts, 2026 | 5 hunts, 10 permits |
| Turkey (fall) hunts, 2026 | 1 hunt, 450 permits |
| Towns in and near it | Clifton, Alpine, Duncan and Eagar |
| Highways | US 191 and US 180 |
How much public land is in Unit 27?
94.6% of Unit 27 is public land open to hunting: 819,474 of 865,872 acres. The largest share is national forest, 779,713 acres or 90% of the unit.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Unit 27 |
|---|---|---|
| National forest | 779,713 | 90% |
| State trust land | 28,747 | 3.3% |
| BLM | 11,014 | 1.3% |
| Tribal land (tribal permit) | 118 | under 0.1% |
| City, county and other | 5 | 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: Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.
What can you hunt in Unit 27 in 2026?
Draw hunts that include Unit 27, 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 27 | Permits | Earliest season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk | 10 | 8 | 1,045 | Jul 31 to Aug 6 (hunt 3169) |
| Deer | 6 | 6 | 1,390 | Aug 21 to Sep 10 (hunt 1208) |
| Bighorn sheep | 5 | 2 | 10 | Nov 1 to Nov 30 (hunt 6501) |
| Turkey (fall) | 1 | 1 | 450 | Oct 2 to Oct 8 (hunt 4512) |
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 6501 (Nov 1 to Nov 30, 2 permits, with 1), hunt 6508 (Dec 1 to Dec 31, 1 permit), hunt 6509 (Dec 1 to Dec 31, 2 permits), hunt 6510 (Nov 13 to Dec 3, 3 permits, with 28) and hunt 6511 (Dec 4 to Dec 31, 2 permits, with 28).
How many elk, deer and pronghorn are taken in Unit 27?
| Species | Year | Hunts only in Unit 27 | Hunters | Taken | Shared hunts that included it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk | 2025 | 10 | 882 | 445 | 0 |
| Deer | 2025 | 3 | 757 | 392 | 3 |
Sums of AZGFD's per-hunt figures for the hunts held only in Unit 27. 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 6501 (01/27 Black River), 2 hunters, 2 rams taken, hunt 6508 (27 Upper Blue River), 1 hunter, 1 ram taken, hunt 6509 (27 Upper/Lower Blue River), 1 hunter, 1 ram taken, hunt 6510 (27S/28N), 3 hunters, 3 rams taken and hunt 6511 (27S/28N), 2 hunters, 2 rams taken (AZGFD 2025 Bighorn Sheep Harvest Summary).
Over-the-counter archery deer, 2024: AZGFD estimates 1,026 archers hunted Unit 27 for 4,990 days and took 174 deer (mule deer bucks 105, whitetail bucks 69) (AZGFD 2024 Over-the-Counter Archery Deer Harvest Summary).
What did AZGFD's 2025 surveys count in Unit 27?
Elk: 758 classified in 43 groups, 28 bulls and 15 young per 100 cows. Mule deer: 170 classified in 41 groups, 12 bucks and 39 young per 100 does. White-tailed deer: 23 classified in 16 groups, 11 bucks and 11 young per 100 does. Pronghorn: 46 classified in 3 groups, 19 bucks and 18 young per 100 does.
Source: AZGFD 2025 Elk Survey Summary, AZGFD 2025 Mule Deer Survey Summary, AZGFD 2025 White-tailed Deer Survey Summary, AZGFD 2025 Pronghorn Survey Summary.
How do you get to Unit 27?
Highways through the unit: US 191 (about 83 miles inside it) and US 180 (about 2 miles inside it). Towns and places inside: Clifton and Alpine. Nearby towns: Duncan (16 miles) and Eagar (16 miles).
Which units border Unit 27?
Unit 27 touches 2 other units. Their size, public land and the number of 2026 draw hunts that include each:
Questions hunters ask
How much public land is in Arizona Unit 27?
94.6% of Unit 27 is public land open to hunting, 819,474 of its 865,872 acres; the largest share is national forest at 779,713 acres. 118 acres are tribal land, which needs the tribe's own permit.
What can you hunt in Unit 27 in 2026?
AZGFD's 2026 draw lists 10 elk hunts (1,045 permits), 6 deer hunts (1,390 permits), 5 bighorn sheep hunts (10 permits) and 1 turkey (fall) hunt (450 permits) that include Unit 27. Over-the-counter seasons are set statewide in AZGFD's regulations.
What is the closest town to Unit 27?
Clifton and Alpine are inside the unit. Just outside: Duncan (16 miles) and Eagar (16 miles).
Which AZGFD region is Unit 27 in?
Region 1, run from the Pinetop office. It borders Unit 1 and Unit 28.
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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.