Arizona Unit 5A: public land, hunts and harvest
Arizona's game management Unit 5A covers 692 square miles, and 68.5% of it is public land open to hunting, mostly national forest (measured from USGS PAD-US). AZGFD's 2026 hunt lists open 9 elk hunts, 2 deer hunts, 2 pronghorn hunts, 1 bighorn sheep hunt and 1 turkey hunt here. On the hunts held only in Unit 5A, AZGFD's 2025 harvest survey counts 365 elk and 10 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 landAZGFD landTribal land (tribal permit)City, county and otherUnit 5ANeighboring unitsLake or riverHighway
| AZGFD region | Region 2 (Flagstaff) |
|---|---|
| Size | 692 square miles (443,037 acres) |
| Public land open to hunting | 68.5% (303,617 acres) |
| Elk hunts, 2026 | 9 hunts, 969 permits |
| Deer hunts, 2026 | 2 hunts, 470 permits |
| Pronghorn hunts, 2026 | 2 hunts, 7 permits |
| Bighorn sheep hunts, 2026 | 1 hunt, 2 permits |
| Turkey (fall) hunts, 2026 | 1 hunt, 75 permits |
| Towns in and near it | Winslow, Blue Ridge, Winslow West, Star Valley and Payson |
| Highways | AZ 87, I-40, US 180 and AZ 99 |
How much public land is in Unit 5A?
68.5% of Unit 5A is public land open to hunting: 303,617 of 443,037 acres. The largest share is national forest, 179,284 acres or 40.5% of the unit.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Unit 5A |
|---|---|---|
| National forest | 179,284 | 40.5% |
| State trust land | 124,198 | 28% |
| Tribal land (tribal permit) | 167 | under 0.1% |
| BLM | 94 | under 0.1% |
| AZGFD land | 41 | 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: Coconino National Forest.
What can you hunt in Unit 5A in 2026?
Draw hunts that include Unit 5A, 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 5A | Permits | Earliest season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk | 9 | 9 | 969 | Sep 11 to Sep 24 (hunt 3131) |
| Deer | 2 | 0 | 470 | Oct 9 to Oct 15 (hunt 1152) |
| Pronghorn | 2 | 2 | 7 | Aug 21 to Sep 3 (hunt 2043) |
| Bighorn sheep | 1 | 0 | 2 | Oct 1 to Oct 31 (hunt 6504) |
| Turkey (fall) | 1 | 1 | 75 | Oct 2 to Oct 8 (hunt 4504) |
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 6504 (Oct 1 to Oct 31, 2 permits, with 4A).
How many elk, deer and pronghorn are taken in Unit 5A?
| Species | Year | Hunts only in Unit 5A | Hunters | Taken | Shared hunts that included it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk | 2025 | 13 | 848 | 365 | 0 |
| Deer | 2025 | 0 | 2 | ||
| Pronghorn | 2025 | 4 | 11 | 10 | 0 |
Sums of AZGFD's per-hunt figures for the hunts held only in Unit 5A. 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 6504 (04A/05A), 2 hunters, 1 ram taken (AZGFD 2025 Bighorn Sheep Harvest Summary).
Over-the-counter archery deer, 2024: AZGFD estimates 262 archers hunted Unit 5A for 1,201 days and took 15 deer (mule deer bucks 9, whitetail bucks 6) (AZGFD 2024 Over-the-Counter Archery Deer Harvest Summary).
What did AZGFD's 2025 surveys count in Unit 5A?
Pronghorn: 171 classified in 31 groups, 37 bucks and 17 young per 100 does.
Source: AZGFD 2025 Pronghorn Survey Summary.
How do you get to Unit 5A?
Highways through the unit: AZ 87 (about 49 miles inside it), I-40 (about 11 miles inside it), US 180 (about 10 miles inside it), AZ 99 (about 4 miles inside it) and AZ 260 (about 3 miles inside it). Towns and places inside: Winslow, Blue Ridge and Winslow West. Nearby towns: Star Valley (9 miles) and Payson (10 miles).
Which units border Unit 5A?
Unit 5A 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 4A | 754 | 62.7% | 7 | 1 | 2 |
| Unit 5B | 810 | 83.6% | 13 | 2 | 2 |
| Unit 6A | 1,146 | 94.3% | 9 | 3 | 2 |
| Unit 22 | 1,574 | 95.5% | 13 | 6 | |
| Unit 23 | 1,185 | 98.1% | 10 | 5 |
Questions hunters ask
How much public land is in Arizona Unit 5A?
68.5% of Unit 5A is public land open to hunting, 303,617 of its 443,037 acres; the largest share is national forest at 179,284 acres. 167 acres are tribal land, which needs the tribe's own permit.
What can you hunt in Unit 5A in 2026?
AZGFD's 2026 draw lists 9 elk hunts (969 permits), 2 deer hunts (470 permits), 2 pronghorn hunts (7 permits), 1 bighorn sheep hunt (2 permits) and 1 turkey (fall) hunt (75 permits) that include Unit 5A. Over-the-counter seasons are set statewide in AZGFD's regulations.
What is the closest town to Unit 5A?
Winslow, Blue Ridge and Winslow West are inside the unit. Just outside: Star Valley (9 miles) and Payson (10 miles).
Which AZGFD region is Unit 5A in?
Region 2, run from the Flagstaff office. It borders Unit 4A, Unit 5B, Unit 6A, Unit 22 and Unit 23.
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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 2 Unit 4A Unit 5B Unit 6A Unit 22 Unit 23