Arizona Unit 45C: public land, hunts and harvest
Arizona's game management Unit 45C covers 301 square miles, and 99.8% of it is public land open to hunting, mostly national wildlife refuge (measured from USGS PAD-US). AZGFD's 2026 hunt lists open 1 deer hunt and 2 bighorn sheep hunts here.
Data updated October 2026. Hunts: AZGFD's 2026 booklets. Harvest: AZGFD harvest summaries to 2025. Land: USGS PAD-US 4.1. Boundary: AZGFD.
BLMNational wildlife refugeMilitary (closed or by permit)Unit 45CNeighboring unitsLake or riverHighway
| AZGFD region | Region 4 (Yuma) |
|---|---|
| Size | 301 square miles (192,774 acres) |
| Public land open to hunting | 99.8% (192,329 acres) |
| Deer hunts, 2026 | 1 hunt, 250 permits |
| Bighorn sheep hunts, 2026 | 2 hunts, 7 permits |
How much public land is in Unit 45C?
99.8% of Unit 45C is public land open to hunting: 192,329 of 192,774 acres. The largest share is national wildlife refuge, 192,249 acres or 99.7% of the unit.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Unit 45C |
|---|---|---|
| National wildlife refuge | 192,249 | 99.7% |
| BLM | 80 | under 0.1% |
| Military (closed or by permit) | 42 | 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.
What can you hunt in Unit 45C in 2026?
Draw hunts that include Unit 45C, 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 45C | Permits | Earliest season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer | 1 | 0 | 250 | Nov 6 to Nov 15 (hunt 1072) |
| Bighorn sheep | 2 | 2 | 7 | Nov 13 to Dec 3 (hunt 6053) |
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 6053 (Nov 13 to Dec 3, 4 permits) and hunt 6054 (Dec 4 to Dec 31, 3 permits).
How many elk, deer and pronghorn are taken in Unit 45C?
| Species | Year | Hunts only in Unit 45C | Hunters | Taken | Shared hunts that included it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer | 2025 | 0 | 1 |
Sums of AZGFD's per-hunt figures for the hunts held only in Unit 45C. Source: AZGFD 2025 Deer Harvest Summary. Each hunt, year by year, is on the deer page.
Bighorn sheep, 2025: hunt 6047 (45C), 3 hunters, 3 rams taken and hunt 6048 (45C), 3 hunters, 3 rams taken (AZGFD 2025 Bighorn Sheep Harvest Summary).
Over-the-counter archery deer, 2024: AZGFD estimates 27 archers hunted Unit 45C for 282 days and took 7 deer (mule deer bucks 7, whitetail bucks 0) (AZGFD 2024 Over-the-Counter Archery Deer Harvest Summary).
How do you get to Unit 45C?
No numbered highway crosses the unit.
Which units border Unit 45C?
Unit 45C 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 41 | 2,835 | 56% | 2 | ||
| Unit 43A | 942 | 39.7% | 1 | ||
| Unit 43B | 859 | 19.9% | 1 | ||
| Unit 45A | 322 | 99.9% | 1 | ||
| Unit 45B | 416 | 99.9% | 1 |
Questions hunters ask
How much public land is in Arizona Unit 45C?
99.8% of Unit 45C is public land open to hunting, 192,329 of its 192,774 acres; the largest share is national wildlife refuge at 192,249 acres. 42 acres are military land.
What can you hunt in Unit 45C in 2026?
AZGFD's 2026 draw lists 1 deer hunt (250 permits) and 2 bighorn sheep hunts (7 permits) that include Unit 45C. Over-the-counter seasons are set statewide in AZGFD's regulations.
What is the closest town to Unit 45C?
No Census town lies inside Unit 45C or within 20 miles of it.
Which AZGFD region is Unit 45C in?
Region 4, run from the Yuma office. It borders Unit 41, Unit 43A, Unit 43B, Unit 45A and Unit 45B.
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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 4 Unit 41 Unit 43A Unit 43B Unit 45A Unit 45B