Arizona Unit 5B: public land, hunts and harvest
Arizona's game management Unit 5B covers 810 square miles, and 83.6% 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, 2 deer hunts, 2 pronghorn hunts and 1 turkey hunt here. On the hunts held only in Unit 5B, AZGFD's 2025 harvest survey counts 714 elk and 22 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 landNational park or monument (no hunting)Unit 5BNeighboring unitsLake or riverHighway
| AZGFD region | Region 2 (Flagstaff) |
|---|---|
| Size | 810 square miles (518,150 acres) |
| Public land open to hunting | 83.6% (433,245 acres) |
| Elk hunts, 2026 | 13 hunts, 2,354 permits |
| Deer hunts, 2026 | 2 hunts, 470 permits |
| Pronghorn hunts, 2026 | 2 hunts, 33 permits |
| Turkey (fall) hunts, 2026 | 1 hunt, 175 permits |
| AZGFD wildlife areas | Raymond |
| Towns in and near it | Flagstaff, Winslow and Sedona |
| Highways | US 180 and I-40 |
How much public land is in Unit 5B?
83.6% of Unit 5B is public land open to hunting: 433,245 of 518,150 acres. The largest share is national forest, 347,800 acres or 67.1% of the unit.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Unit 5B |
|---|---|---|
| National forest | 347,800 | 67.1% |
| State trust land | 75,808 | 14.6% |
| AZGFD land | 9,596 | 1.9% |
| National park or monument (no hunting) | 2,954 | 0.6% |
| BLM | 41 | 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 5B in 2026?
Draw hunts that include Unit 5B, 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 5B | Permits | Earliest season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk | 13 | 12 | 2,354 | Sep 11 to Sep 24 (hunt 3132) |
| Deer | 2 | 0 | 470 | Oct 9 to Oct 15 (hunt 1152) |
| Pronghorn | 2 | 2 | 33 | Aug 21 to Sep 3 (hunt 2044) |
| Turkey (fall) | 1 | 1 | 175 | Oct 2 to Oct 8 (hunt 4505) |
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).
How many elk, deer and pronghorn are taken in Unit 5B?
| Species | Year | Hunts only in Unit 5B | Hunters | Taken | Shared hunts that included it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk | 2025 | 17 | 1,724 | 714 | 1 |
| Deer | 2025 | 0 | 2 | ||
| Pronghorn | 2025 | 4 | 32 | 22 | 0 |
Sums of AZGFD's per-hunt figures for the hunts held only in Unit 5B. 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.
Over-the-counter archery deer, 2024: AZGFD estimates 456 archers hunted Unit 5B for 2,354 days and took 18 deer (mule deer bucks 17, whitetail bucks 1) (AZGFD 2024 Over-the-Counter Archery Deer Harvest Summary).
What did AZGFD's 2025 surveys count in Unit 5B?
Pronghorn: 237 classified in 38 groups, 35 bucks and 14 young per 100 does.
Source: AZGFD 2025 Pronghorn Survey Summary.
Which AZGFD wildlife areas are in Unit 5B?
Raymond Wildlife Area (14,638 acres inside the unit).
How do you get to Unit 5B?
Highways through the unit: US 180 (about 14 miles inside it) and I-40 (about 14 miles inside it). Nearby towns: Flagstaff (3 miles), Winslow (18 miles) and Sedona (20 miles).
Which units border Unit 5B?
Unit 5B 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 5A | 692 | 68.5% | 9 | 2 | 2 |
| Unit 6A | 1,146 | 94.3% | 9 | 3 | 2 |
| Unit 7 | 1,390 | 75.4% | 16 | 3 | 2 |
| Unit 11M | 281 | 74.2% | 4 | 4 | 1 |
Questions hunters ask
How much public land is in Arizona Unit 5B?
83.6% of Unit 5B is public land open to hunting, 433,245 of its 518,150 acres; the largest share is national forest at 347,800 acres.
What can you hunt in Unit 5B in 2026?
AZGFD's 2026 draw lists 13 elk hunts (2,354 permits), 2 deer hunts (470 permits), 2 pronghorn hunts (33 permits) and 1 turkey (fall) hunt (175 permits) that include Unit 5B. Over-the-counter seasons are set statewide in AZGFD's regulations.
What is the closest town to Unit 5B?
No town is inside it. The nearest are Flagstaff (3 miles), Winslow (18 miles) and Sedona (20 miles).
Which AZGFD region is Unit 5B in?
Region 2, run from the Flagstaff office. It borders Unit 4A, Unit 5A, Unit 6A, Unit 7 and Unit 11M.
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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 5A Unit 6A Unit 7 Unit 11M